Summer arrives in Seattle at Last, In-Laws, and The Journal issue 35.1

Cautiously, I announce: as of today, August 1, summer has finally arrived in Seattle! The sun is shining, the mountains (Rainier and Baker) are out, and the flowers (roses, lavender, sunflowers) are blooming. Happy Monday, the weather shouts, and in accord, I apply for a job and send in a poetry submission. I’ve started two new books (The Imperfectionists and The Pale King) in hope that they will inspire me into some long-form writing.
I am in that frenzied cleaning mode that happens right before a visit from the in-laws, and they arrive early tomorrow morning. Glenn is making a chocolate ricotta cheesecake for them in advance. It’s tougher with my ankle trouble to do stuff like laundry and anything that requires balancing on one foot, but I think we’ve got our little apartment looking respectable.
I am also sneaking in a quick coffee meeting with haiku-expert Deborah P Kolodji, in town for the haiku conference, probably at Espresso Vivace, my coffee-snob husband’s downtown coffee shop of choice, in case you were wondering where to go for the best espresso downtown.

I had to make a quick mention of the beautiful issue of The Journal Spring/Summer 2011, which arrived in the mail, with a gorgeous and appropriately cheerful painting on the cover of a bluebird, which contains some wonderful poems. You can sneak a peek at the TOC and some of the contents (including my poem, “The Robot Scientist’s Daughter [one of us]“) are available online here. C.J. Sage and Martha Collins also have some fantastic work in the issue.