Summer has been flying by. I had a long list of things I wanted to accomplish while Edie was at camp for three weeks, which completely wilted in that heat wave we had. It was all I could do to walk the dog in that 100+ degree weather some days.

I put Edie on the bus this morning for high school orientation – an event I’m not at all ready for. I’m talking both the return of school as well as having a high school age child. Thankfully, there are another 11 days before the actual start of school, so we have time for some more adventures before we get back into the swing of things. I can count on one hand the number of ‘unstructured’ weeks we’ve had around there this summer, which I find sorely disappointing. I may be alone in feeling this way however, as the people I live with seem to prefer structure.

There have been any number of things I’ve meant to share here – like the blueberry lemon icebox cake I made for Virginia’s birthday a few weeks ago or even my adventures in attempting to keep the house clean.  I have perpetual problems with the wheels of my canister vacuum falling off and rolling away while I’m cleaning. This doesn’t really affect my ability to use the vacuum and I realize that the parts are contained within the house, so I don’t find it that big of a deal, but it is rather perplexing that I spend days on end wondering where the parts in question landed. They usually turn up under a chair or a table eventually.  It has happened with more regularity this summer thanks to the addition of Betsy which finds me vacuuming more often, mostly because I’m afraid that if I let the dog hair accumulate, all hope of my house ever being in any sort of respectable shape ever will fade. That said, she is awfully cute and I do otherwise like my vacuum cleaner and I no doubt would have who know what problems with another one, so I’ll just stick with the one I have.

I also meant to blog about the lovely getaway to DC we took while Edie was at a camp, where we stayed in the most charming Airbnb that was within walking distance of the show we attended. I realized it was the first time since my cousin Molly’s wedding at New Year’s that I’ve been out of town that hasn’t been a visit with the Smileys. I do love them dearly, but maybe I need to get out more. I most definitely enjoyed soaking up the city, even if I spent a good deal of time texting multiple neighbors about the dog, because apparently, while I’ve never ever checked in with a babysitter to make sure my child was okay, I get nervous about leaving the dog. Edie assured me this was because I didn’t want to have to explain to her that anything happened to her dog while she was gone and I’m buying that answer, because I refuse to believe I’m a dog person. All in all, though, Besty is as catlike as a dog can be, so I am slightly fond of her.

So what else has been keeping me busy? I certainly haven’t been canning much, as it’s just been too hot. I have been working on some new free lance articles that are out of my usual range that have been rather fun. I’ve read some good books, spent some much needed quality time with numerous friends, watched some television – conventions, Olympics, Better Call Saul, Stranger Things…and done epic amounts of laundry since bringing Edie home from camp. SO. MUCH. LAUNDRY. I seem to forget every year that it all needs to be washed to get rid of the pond smell, which seems to permeate the house. Well, maybe not the house, but definitely the basement, where the laundry awaits doing.

Mostly though, I just haven’t felt like sitting down and writing much beyond what I get paid to write about. Lame, I know.  Nor do I have a lot of pretty photos, as  the majority of the photos I have been taking here lately have all been on my phone, since it’s so much easier to lug around. Also, carrying the phone with me makes people think I may actually be easier to get in touch with, although that reality burst last week. I had trouble getting my car to start one day and in the process of dealing with it, my phone kept dropping calls from both the shop and my husband, so there I was, walking around town on thankfully, not such a blistering hot day, but still, with no working car and no working phone, which is pretty much up the creek these days as my granny would say. Thankfully, I tend to keep my world within a very comfortable walking distance and my boss was more than accommodating about schlepping me when needed and I only needed a new battery. It was the same day that I discovered I had somehow inexplicably gotten breakfast both on my forehead and in my hair, so all in all, I definitely felt like adulting was beyond my abilities that day.  Thankfully, Edie was still ensconced at camp, so there was no teenage lectures on what a disappointment I am as a responsible grown up nor were there her head pats for trying my best. It could go either way on any given day, because ah, the teen years are fully upon us. Did I mention she had her high school orientation today? I’m not at all prepared for this…..