Summer Vacation in the Backyard

I have this week off from my Big Corporate job, and I’m having an old-fashioned summer vacation … it feels just like when school let out and you’d get to hang around the house for a few days doing nothing (we went to camp every summer for eight weeks, which was wonderful, so I never had enough time to get really bored with summer, a week or two at each end lying around the house reading books and eating popsicles was usually plenty for me). They finished my fence yesterday afternoon, and I am now free to hang out in my own backyard, in fact, I’m typing this from the table underneath one of my apple trees. It’s astonishing what a difference a little privacy makes … the fence was hardly up when, despite the racket from the air compressor, nail gun, and five people building a fence in my backyard, I began to feel myself really relax. I wish I was the sort of patient soul who could have put up with poor old bored Betty next door, but it’s incredibly nice to be able to hang out in my own yard without feeling like I’m the entertainment for the day.

So, as part of my vacation-at-home (which, considering what the fence cost, will probably be the first of many), I went out and bought a bunch of fun summer books, including three by Jamie Harrison who lives here in town. I’m not a mystery fan, but these are great fun … especially as Blue Deer, the town in which they are set, is a very thinly veiled version of Livingston. Plus, Jamie is both a fabulous gardener and a cook, so there’s food and plants and local gossip galore. They’ve been the perfect summer reading … check out the Current Reading section for links …