The ice we skate is gettin’ pretty thin. The water’s gettin’ warm so you might as well swim · My world’s on fire, how ’bout yours? – All Star, by Smash Mouth

Michigan has the worst air quality in the world due to Canadian wildfires. We are at the center of a diarrhea parasite outbreak. Temperatures are in the 90s with high humidity as it is time for corn sweat. Also, I have to say I’ve personally had a pretty, um, – shitty – week at work. So I’m ready for autumn.

Summer Reads Update

My choices at the start of the summer for reading:

• Last One Out by Jane Harper. Harper is one of my favorite authors. Her novels take place in Australia, and often involve mysteries. This book was published April 14, 2026.
• The World Doesn’t End by Charles Simic. I love prose poetry, and would like to get back to writing some again.
• On Looking: A Walker’s Guide to the Art of Observation by Alexandra Horowitz. This non-fiction book helps to give one a new perspective on seeing things you miss regularly. It honestly sounds amazing and I can’t wait to read it.
• The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan, non-fiction. This books shares some stories from the people who survived the American Dust Bowl. It won the 2006 National Book Award for Nonfiction and was featured in a Ken Burns documentary.
• Waiting on a Friend by Natalie Adler. This new novel won’t be released until the end of May.

And I’ve finished three so far! On Looking was good. It had one of the best sentences I’ve read in a long time:

“A spill of spaghetti, cooked and sauced, formed a sunburst at my feet, attended to by a cluster of pigeons.”

On Looking: A Walker’s Guide to the Art of Observation by Alexandra Horowitz.

After I finished it, I sent it to my friend Lois as I thought she would enjoy it. Next up was The Worst Time, about the dust bowl. It was very interesting! That one I sent to my Uncle Steve. Third, I read Waiting on a Friend by Natalie Alder. I loved how she writes, and her characters. I sent that one on to my friend Holly. After those three, I got sidetracked a bit and read The Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson. I loved it so much I didn’t want to part with it, but I bought two copies and sent one to my Mom and one to my sister. It takes place mostly in the 1980s in Niagara Falls, Canada. I’m currently reading This House Will Feed by Maria Tureaud, which takes place during the Irish potato famine. It’s a horror book with some Irish superstition in it, and very enjoyable. When it’s too hot and too smoky to be outside, your next best choice is indoors in the air conditioning on the couch with a book. And a cat, if you have one.

Craft Projects

I’ve sold maybe nine of the Wish You Were Here – Summer Vacation snail mail clubs, and do plan on putting one together for September. I’m getting ready for the Mutt Market, with only five weeks to go. Right now, I have all of the key chains and bag charms made but they need to be packaged up. I have so, so many bag charms I expect it will take a week to get them done.

I have one of three birdhouses painted but it needs to be sealed and the other two painted and sealed.

I plan on selling 3-4 mosaic garden bricks. I have my first three attempts that are just to test the concept, and they need to be grouted and sealed. I am also going to make a few driftwood sun catchers for gardens as well.

As I said, time is running out and I need to get busy. It’s just a challenge to work when it’s been so hot. And did I mention work has been stressful? I’m managing to get up every day, brush my teeth, shower, and get to work and try to get work done. But anything beyond that has been impossible. We haven’t had a salad in over a week, so maybe it’s lack of nutrients?

I did make up a batch of bracelets and bag charms under the Liberal AF design, and donated them to the Calhoun County Democrat Headquarters. I had hoped they would offer them for suggested donation of $10 each and make some money from them.

I did my own linocut block carving and printing on the packaging. It was a bit of an awkward exchange when I took them in, so maybe they pitched them in the dumpster right after I left. Who knows? I honestly thought they were super cute. The bag charms have “eat the rich” and “deport racist” charms on them. The bracelets spell out something like “liberal af”, or “vote dems” and the second of the bracelet duo has a charm that reads “hope”.

My World’s On Fire

As I mentioned, it’s hot and humid and smoky. I haven’t spent much time out in the garden this week, except for turning on and off the sprinkler, and dumping and filling the five birdbaths I have around the gardens at home. It seems as if our vegetable garden has been super slow to produce. The green beans are growing like crazy, but no flowers or beans yet.

I worked the Marshall Garden Tour as a volunteer hostess last weekend, which was a fun experience. The next day, I went to see the rest of the houses on the tour. I think the word of the year for gardens is “whimsy” which maybe would be good for me as a trend if I plan on working on garden mosaic bricks, suncatchers, and birdhouses. The Battle Creek Garden Tour is tomorrow, and Mom and I are going in the morning but will likely have to wear N95 masks.

Yeah, I’m struggling. But who isn’t at this point?