Dog Days of Summer

It is hot Near Philadelphia. Hot and humid. Downright sultry as Mama would say (Didn't you just love that movie? It was on a hot August day that we first saw it and laughed until we cried).

When I was a kid, August was for paperdolls. Paperdolls and Monopoly on the side porch. And accepting any and all invitations from friends who belonged to swim clubs. And starting to look at school supplies and, of course, plaid dresses.


Must be some kind of an instinct -- My own kids used to haul out the Monopoly game and take it to the front porch around mid-August, with no prompting that I can recall. They'd set up a jigsaw puzzle on the coffee table and we'd all pause a couple of times a day to insert a few pieces.


So it's hot, Near Philadelphia. And we've got about a month to go. We'll survive. But the pace slows down, the iced tea drinking accelerates, and while I certainly don't want to have to play Monopoly again, a jigsaw puzzle might feel very good. In the living room, on the coffee table, under the gentle ceiling fan.


The picture at the top reminds me of Sirius Black in the HP5 movie, which we saw last weekend in air-conditioned comfort. And if you, like me, wonder about why these are the dog days, you can find out here.


Cheers!