Um...

Rain! whose soft architectural hands have power to cut stones, and chisel to shapes of grandeur the very mountains. ~Henry Ward Beecher

My guest blogger for today was unable to appear due to an unexpected death in the family, so I'm a bit caught with my pants down...so to speak.

Worse, we had thunderstorms all night (which thankfully cooled it down -- the "real feel" yesterday was 109) and DD couldn't sleep, so I didn't get to sleep, either. My big concern, Dakota (and her first thunderstorm) turned out to be no worry at all, though she did "oof" twice with the thunder was REALLY loud.

Went out this a.m. to put out the bird feeders, and nearly stepped on a snake. Stupid thing...don't know why it was out. The sun wasn't really up, and it was a bit cool for him. He was quite sluggish, and he's lucky I was the one to find him, not DH. He's safely away for now. EDITED TO ADD: Dru asked what kind of snake, and where exactly was "safely away". He was just a little garter snake, about 18" long, and I carried him out to the woods, a ways back. My DH will kill any snake he sees without hesitation, and these little guys are harmless, so I try to encourage them to make their homes away from mine!

Still haven't caught the vole. I'm going to build a trail, of sorts, to the live trap today. He has two main holes, so I'm going to make only one route from both of them: into the trap. I hope it works.

Recorder lessons were okay -- DD loved them! BUT, we were in the second floor room of a local library and THERE WAS NO AIR CONDITIONING. Did I mention it was 109 degrees yesterday? Dear heavens. We go again tomorrow. Thankfully, the weather will be cooler. I thought I was going to melt away...

Someone on my Crea8Buzz page asked me about my summer writing goals. I got to thinking two things. 1. Am I supposed to have summer writing goals? and, 2. Summer for me, the heat aside, is pretty much the same as winter. That's one of the things about homeschooling and not working outside the home.

But, goals. Hmmm... How about just WRITING something.

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What Marianne Means

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated. You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want. You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing. You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long. You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?