The patchy clouds have done little to cut down the heat, at least during the middle of the day. I'm finding that one of the benefits of actually getting up in the morning is that it's nice and cool for a few hours. This is a good time to get things done, before the heat sucks all the energy away and all I want to do is sit in the shade.

I'm nervously checking my bank balance, waiting for that last summer camp paycheck to appear there. I like direct deposit, but sometimes it seems like just one more way for things to go wrong. What if my paycheck gets electronically transferred into the internet equivalent of a dead letter office? What if a retiree from Des Moines was the recipient of my e-mailed timesheet? I'll check again tomorrow.

I took Willow to a barbeque at an old friend's house on Saturday. That's right. House. You know you've hit some sort of temporal plateau when your childhood friends start buying houses. Especially in this area. That's more of a feat than having kids. Anyway, Willow had a great time pulling up the decorative pinwheels stuck in the dirt out back, chasing the small dogs, and eating handfuls of mini chocolate chip cookies. She also expressed fondness for one of the doormats - the one emblazoned with pictures of small dogs. As for me, I got to try barbequed portabello mushrooms (with soy sauce and garlic) and barbequed rice balls (also with soy sauce and garlic). Yummy. I also admired the hardwood floors that my friend was crazy enough to put in himself. I left when Willow started acting tired. Not that she was about to admit it, of course. She was having too much fun. She pointed to the rising moon as we left. She always notices the moon. She was asleep before we were off the block.

(Slight pause while I go and rescue Nate from the really large, apparently fearsome, spider in the bathroom)

Almost September. Hopefully it will be a good month.