Happy Day

I try to never wish my life away but I've been longing for July 3rd for a while now. My regular readers know my daughter won a grant from the rulers of Oman to do a 6 week long intensive language study in Arabic. She's had a lovely time, greatly improved her language skills and had a close look at a truly peaceful Muslim culture. That doesn't mean I wasn't nervous about her being in the Middle East. But today she's flying into Washington DC.

I'm dreading the traffic issues around the nation's capitol this holiday weekend but it's worth it to have her home. We'll be combining a July 4th family gathering with a celebration of my daughter's return and her 21st birthday which actually occurred while she was in Oman. We may consume some wine.

Like many Americans, I spent a lot of the 4th being grateful for what we have in this country. It's not perfect in many, many ways but it's so much better than a lot of other places. I'm grateful for the people who work to keep the USA the place it is. I'm grateful that we don't have to all agree with each other and can have civil discourse about our differences. I love this country. I really enjoy watching the bald eagle that circles over our property some days.

"It has gone so far that we must now be a free, independent state or a conquered country." Abraham Clark, signer of the Declaration of Independence
I'm glad we went with the free, independent state idea.

Today, July 3rd, starts the Dog Days of summer. Lots of heat and humidity. My kind of weather though it's not for everyone. It has to improve over June when our local area had rain 23 out of 30 days. I actually had trouble with my pool's PH balance because we had so much acid rain.

Hope you have a safe and happy July 4th. If you're not in USA, be happy for us anyway. Do you have special plans for the holiday weekend? Does this holiday fill you with gratitude or is it all about the fireworks? Love or hate the Dog Days?

Happy 4th and Dog Days

Happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans. I hope we all remember what the day means as we indulge in cookouts and perhaps some swimming. I hope my east coast friends don't get stormed out as Hurricane Arthur spins his way up the coast.

My trust Old Farmer's Almanac planner told me that the Dog Days of summer started yesterday, July 3rd and will extend through August 11th. At least for us in the Northern Hemisphere. Here in PA, this humid sultry season will extend deeper into August. As I mentioned before, I love this weather. The moniker of 'dog days, goes all the ways back to the Romans and even the Greeks who associated the dog star, Sirius, with this time of year. Wikipedia explains that the Sirius no longer rises at the same time as the sun in the summer so we don't have to sacrifice a red dog anymore to forestall the evils of the hot weather such as spoiled wine, dogs going mad and all those killer fevers that plagued mankind during that era. Good to know.

I'm working on my next romance novel, another space adventure, and weather is going to come into play as it did in one of my previous novels. In The Marine's Heiress, the first part of the novel was set on a planet that had a peculiar but predictable weather cycle. Every tenth day, drenching downpours would move across the occupied area of the distant world. Of course the weather issues came into play in the novel's plot. There are lots of things to consider when world-building for science fiction or fantasy. Weather can be a minor or major factor an author needs to create.

So what fun are you having this holiday? Did Arthur hit you? Are you familiar with the term 'dog days?' Did you cook out today?

Happy 4th

And I am happy.  The economy is slamming most of us and too many of my former students are in foreign unfriendly places.  My profession, teaching, is under attack by many politicians as usual when money gets tight. My children are facing challenges I never had to and I worry they may never be able to afford the physical comforts to their future children that my husband and I provided for them. 

But I still feel like I live in a great country with more opportunities than any where else in the world. My son and I watched a soccer game where the USA women trounced Columbia.  My son had watched the women play before and said our ladies are mostly faster and stronger than their opponents.  But what other country provides the opportunity for their young women to start at an early age and compete at any level they can manage?

So happy birthday, USA, I love ya.  Thanks to those who work to keep her strong and growing.  Thanks to our wonderful friends at our borders and across the big pond for having our backs when we really need you. Happy July 4th to all.