Drought

Fast, violent summer storms keep happening in the area...but not here.  We still haven't had a drop of rain.  It's been two weeks now since Warrenton mandated water conservation, and my beautiful new dogwood is shriveled.  I don't expect it to make it.  The same goes for one of my burning bushes, but the other seems alright.  We had a pair of caladiums that are quite dead, too.  The thing in my yard that looks the healthiest, and you are free to laugh, is my "dying" maple tree.  It's perfectly cheerful, surrounded by yellow grass.  My poor baby dogwood is shriveled and possibly already dead, and surrounded by the greenest grass in the yard.  You can see how I favored it, while I was still permitted.  Josh's lilies were about to bloom, too, but they've changed their minds.

In short - it's dry.  Dry and hot.  Today we have been "relieved with cool temperatures".  That means that it is now 85 degrees, and we are all appreciating it instead of complaining of being hot.  If all our hot, dry conditions came a month early, I wonder what it will be like next month.

Swim lessons were to start today, but the water conservation mandated by the city included the city pool being closed from Friday to tonight.  Presumably, lessons will begin tomorrow.  We do still have our music lessons today, though.  I was actually looking forward - from a planning perspective - to having both lessons today, so I could learn how to do it.  Sadly, next Monday will be the first Swim And Music Lesson day, so I have another week to worry about details.

We are expecting a visit from Brother soon, and have plans to visit the new Sea Lion Sound exhibit at the St. Louis Zoo.  And probably Olive Garden.  But it just seems too hot for pasta to me.  I'd rather have sushi, but Brother isn't much of a fan, to my recollection.

Abbie is reading The Wizard of Oz.  Grant is reading his Ocean Life Encyclopedia.  With Josh's encouragement, I'm using his Kindle.  I put some Sherlock Holmes stories, and the complete works of Jane Austen.  And Middlemarch, because I've never read any George Elliot.  Do you think I'll enjoy it?  Just reading the title kind of makes me bored.  We shall see!  Please do not imagine for a second that I am converting away from paper books.  I think that in the home I will ALWAYS want rows, rows and rows of hard back books - made of paper.  I want a library.  But I have decided that for Miss Manners' "always bring a book" policy, the Kindle should prove most useful.  Well, except that they might be phasing it out.  Typical me, don't you think?

We're having pork chops for dinner tonight.  It's required.  I thawed them out, meaning to cook them yesterday, but they were still too frozen.  But they've been in the fridge too long to not act fast.  It's a shame, though, because really I was wanting ramen noodles and boiled eggs.  Maybe I can have it for lunch tomorrow.

I've been having pain in my knuckle.  At first I thought it was arthritis, but now I think maybe I injured it back when I was working, and that I might be aggravating it.  I don't know who to ask, since it seems too trivial to make a doctor's appointment over.

And were you wondering about how taiko was yesterday?  I did stay to lend a hand with the new session of the community class.  Not as many new members as were expected.  Fun, though.  I wonder what next week will be like.  I don't know how frequently Josh will be indifferent to my being gone ALL DAY Sunday.  We shall see.

I really wish it would rain.  We were supposed to have it all yesterday and all today.  Didn't get so much as a cloudy sky yesterday (although we could see lightning in the distance), and they've changed today's chances to 20%.

Please send rain!  We're parched!