I sat in the sun on the back porch and finished reading “Valley of the Dolls.” Man, what a depressing book.

When I finished reading I swept pine needles off of the deck with a push broom and wiped down the table. Tossed a couple dead flowerpots into the composter.

Brian is out there in the yard, digging up a stump that’s been sitting there for years, sliced down to ground level. Now he’s chopping at it with a pick ax. Kona is bouncing around helpfully.

We’ve been invited to the neighbors’ tomorrow for a cookout — these are the ones on the other side, the ones with two dogs and two kids. I only had nice neighbors once the whole time I lived in CA. Now we have them over both fences.

It’s hot today. Sticky. I feel like I should stay up really late and write.