Reading: Quick summary of recent read: Candy Girl: A year in the life of an unlikely stripper, by Diablo Cody - one word: "yuck!".

To come in future posts: Elizabeth Enright's The Melendy Quartet which I have been listening to on CD - wonderful! Every child should read these along with the Little House series and the All-of-a-kind Family books. Harry Potter 6 and 7 and the recent movie for year 5 - I could read these again and again. Oh wait! I have!

Upcoming selections for my bookclubs (now I am part of 3!): KnitLit, Wicked, and Eye Contact. I will review as I complete these.

Eating: In addition to the salmon cakes and pesto I mentioned before, I will post about other quick and cool meal ideas for cooking on busy hot summer nights: pasta salad ideas, what to do with chicken breasts, great grilling ideas and more!

Gardening: To be posted soon: the mid-summer report of what is still alive and what has succumbed to the heat and/or garden pests (like deer and rabbits). I have done better this year than in years past, surprisingly so considering the early and persistent heat and drought and the frequent long weekends when my gardens have been left to survive without me. I have several small but tasty tomatoes, peppers though the deer have eaten the leaves, an abundant supply of herbs, and several hardy drought-resistant flowers. I am going to figure out how to post pictures...

Stay tuned for these exciting stories and more! Also, I may start blogging on current knitting projects.