By Autumn Rain

I’m running into mental fatigue with my fiction writing, and now that it’s July and the weather is HOT HOT HOT, I’d say that it’s time for a little vay-cay.

I’ve settled on getting Alice and the Warden fully polished and published by the end of summer. Since I’m a finicky sort and I don’t handle deadlines very well — and I’m having dreams about an impending storm — I’m not announcing any set dates until later.

In other news, our favorite Mom&Pop restaurant that we’ve been going to every Saturday for the last four (or so) years is now closed forever, so … I don’t know what to do with the family today. It’s not exactly like there’s a multitude of other small restaurants to explore …

Even I like to leave the house occasionally.

And there was a rather amusing bit where everything went wrong with trying to go out on my mile walk the other day, and I still haven’t gotten a new bicycle pump to fix the flat tire on the stroller.

The height of summer isn’t all that great for doin’ stuff.

I had to scrap my plans to write in the morning, and start exercising instead. Frankly, it’s a lot easier to take the kids out on a long walk than it is to do aerobics in the living room — go figure — so I need to get out early enough to “beat the heat.”

Aaaand I’m not remotely an early riser. LAWL.

The good news is that our local swimming pool has finally reopened, and water is great for circulatory problems. I’ll definitely be adding that to the routine.

I *know* that my health suffers when I become inactive, so I’m kicking myself over this.

Anyway

I like to get the stroller loaded up with drinking water and outdoor toys, then walk a mile to the park with the children. There are usually a few other kids on the playground, as well as a tennis group on the courts, so it feels community-like without having to do anything other than smile.

I’ve noticed a brand new trend this year:

People aren’t using their phones anymore.

At all.

I guess they have gotten sick of it.