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Today, the heat broke in a magnificent storm and downpour, but by this evening the sun had reappeared.  I slept forever into the afternoon with the fan on me, recuperating from a week in which late nights kept me up (in a good way) and early-ish mornings offered no reprieve. I'm mostly recharging this weekend, organizing and cleaning.  Maybe some writing, maybe some reading. So far I've eaten an entire pound of strawberries and organized some clothes into underbed bins.  We've reached t the mid point of summer where I inevitably get a little nostalgic for fall sweaters, but I will not be deterred.

I am still working on squeezing as much out of summer as I can, including last weekend's camping trip that included s'mores and tequila and a remarkably comfy air mattress. There was also some more thrifting which procured me some more dried flower frames, a metal cocktail shaker, a vintage blue floral serving plate, and a NWT cream colored dress in the perfect size.  Also a trip to Monroe (see photo above) for cheese and petit-fours and gourmet sodas.

I've had some good writerly things happening of late, including an acceptance for some blonde joke poems in a print journal for early next year; (in addition to the one that appeared at HOUND recently)  a review of major characters in minor films @ Atticus Review, and some early prep for the release of my Black Lawrence book next spring.   I've mostly been playing catch up with press orders  & author copies this week, but I'll be delving into new layouts this coming week.   Until then...

I find myself firmly ensconsed in Rockford for the holiday weekend & the next few days after a busy week attending to all the things, including making some new zines for the rather lonely zine exchange and launching our new music feature on the Aesthetics blog.   In press news, we've closed submissions for the mermaid anthology, which I will be making my way through in the coming weeks, but are still open for a two more months in our regular reading period for chapbooks we'll be publishing in 2016.  Otherwise, there are orders to get out, new layouts, some books waiting for finalized proofs. We've hit the point where I usually fall a bit behind in the schedule, but I should remedy it by the end of the month with a bunch of new releases.

The holiday was filled with the usual picnic festivities, which increasingly are a little bit Cinco de Mayo, a little bit 4th of July (pinatas, tequila drinks, fried chicken, potato salad).  This morning is rainy and humid and it's harder than usual  to sleep here.  I miss my comfy bed, my lake breezes and giant windows.  There's been a little bit unsanctioned wildlife in the form of a tiny snake that must have hitched a ride either in the open pocket of my luggage while it was sitting outside for a bit the night I got here, or in the depths of the vintage sleeping bag I acquired for next weekends camping trip.  I'm not actually afraid of snakes, but this one creeping over my suitcase was a bit of a surprise and despite my rural roots, I've never actually dealt with one in person  (they're sort of rare this high away from the river.).  I shut him up in the suitcase swiftly and he escaped out in the yard, but not before all my dresses were comicly strewn across the lawn trying to find him.