To August: Broken Molars, Garden Parties, Cats, and Cutting Flowers

Zinnias from McMurtrey’s

Here’s to August, everyone: Wildfire smoke blowing in, Molars blowing up, and Garden Parties

It’s been an eventful week—I broke a back molar (that I think had a filling from my elementary school days) and had a very painful crown (and a threat of root canal). Glenn bought tickets to a garden party at Willows Lodge with a French theme and visited the newly opened McMurtrey’s farm to bring home cut flowers (it will be a pumpkin farm soon, but is opened for limited hours for cutting, and has a gorgeous dahlia garden that I myself could only dream of). Also, wildfire smoke from the Olympic Park fire has started blowing in, not too bad yet but a gray screen on the horizon.

I’ve also finished up the essay class I was taking and wanted you to see where the cats are right after the Zoom class ends. The baby goldfinches and other birds have been fluttering about, and so too the Anna’s hummingbirds. My folks are coming into town in a week or so, and we’re cleaning out the spare room in the basement, donating items that have been taking up space (goodbye, old television set!) and I’ll be going to the endocrinologist and the endodontist this week (hooray) to check my thyroid and my back tooth. These crowns are so expensive and not covered by my insurance, so every time it’s like an expensive piece of jewelry or a nice fridge. (Boo…hiss….) I hope a future America with universal health insurance also covers dental health…which might be wishful thinking, as this horrid government continues to tear down everything good (this week, PBS and NPR). In the meantime, I’m still thinking about how to earn an independent living as a disabled writer in this economy where everyone is facing layoffs and inflation. I’m not doing the Sealey Challenge this year because of my family visiting, and I’m also judging the SFPA poetry contest, so I’ll have plenty on my plate. But I do love seeing other people’s reads!