silver idyll

On our anniversary last Monday, I worked in the daytime and Sang taught in the evening. It was Thursday that we finally got around to walking down the street to the Delta Cafe to celebrate.

I love the Delta’s cocktail menu. This time the lavender-and-vanilla Pink Lady called to me. I ordered it without considering whether it went well with deep-fried catfish bites and okra. It did not. I didn’t care.

The music was 100% Aretha Franklin.

We had a tipsy, romantic walk back to the house. The air was clearing out after several days of wildfire smoke. At home a new episode of Elementary was waiting for us.

Fan Service

battered old-style metal fan with Portland State College ID tag

Not sure why this fan showed up in my office this morning, but PSU hasn’t been Portland State College since 1969.

Summer!

The blog posts I’ve been reading from other parts of the country talk about summer being halfway over. An ultrarunner in my hometown even says she counts July 1 as the first day of fall! Well, okay, she goes to Badwater in July and everything feels cooler when you return from Badwater, so I see what she means.

But. Here in the Pacific Northwest, summer starts right after the Fourth of July. My life has become easier since I accepted this. Portland has long, long springs. They start in February and go right through June.

Now it’s time for our couple of months of real summer. The tomatoes and peppers in the garden can get serious now. We can ditch the down comforter on the bed some nights. And sunshine is coming, maybe even in the mornings!

So today is hot dogs cooked outside, and a cooler full of soda pop, and watermelon and ice cream. I’m about to go see if there’s enough rhubarb for another cutting yet. Happy summer, everybody.

The Summer Book

When a new Harry Potter book was coming out each summer, I’d pick it up from the library and sit out back reading all day, with trips inside for snacks and drinks. I really missed that when the series ended! But I found my substitute for this year: Frances Hardinge’s The Lost Conspiracy. The culture clashes and dirty politics feel real, the plot keeps twisting, and there are 566 pages. (I’ve read about 200.) I’m so glad this year’s Battle of the Kids’ Books put it on my radar.

So that’s what I was reading out back in the sunshine today– it felt like the first day of summer. When I wasn’t reading, I fixed up our bikes so Sanguinity and I can go to the farmers market tomorrow if we want. I made potato salad and threw some otter pops in the freezer. The doors and windows were open, and there was always a lawnmower in earshot. Now I’m good and tired, and I didn’t even go running.