Ring around the ________________.

Well, it's not much of a garden party here right now, since this is the busy part of my summer, but from (roughly) July 12th through August 16th I am going to be out of the office and working on nothing (roughly) but writing.

I've never done anything like this before. The only way I'm able to do it is thanks to the Ohio Arts Council. The closest thing from the past was when I won a two-week residency at Ragdale during the summer as a Ph.D. student, but then I had no children and few responsibilities and really didn't need a break like I need one now.

I should probably put together a reading list, but I'm not quite there yet, and that seems kind of contrary to the notion of free writing time.

I have a lot of house cleaning / purging to do before then, too.

And I need to give my month of writing a name. Hmm.

Random:

My kids will turn 4 and 8 on the 12th. How did that happen?

More than halfway through my summer class. It's a stellar bunch of students, which makes the teaching a pleasure, but I am way beyond worn out.

Still haven't put any flowers in the ground yet. I need some serious mulch, too.

Took the kids to the outdoor pool on Monday and had serious childhood flashbacks when a thunderstorm rolled in and everyone had to flee.

Happy June. May lasted forever this year. Au revoir.