Dog days of summer

Just to be redundant - IT'S HOT! Last night was a broiling sweatlodge-vision kind of a night in the tiny house. I almost ordered bamboo shades for our windows last week and I'm glad I didn't because it will be fall soon enough and we need the money for more pressing projects, but DANG, IT'S HOT! Due to the 100°+ temps during the day, we've spent the better part of the last week sequestered in my parents' house (yay, air conditioning!!) and make our way out to the sweatlodge tiny house after 8 p.m. when it's cooled down to an almost-comfortable 95° or so.

And we haven't made any more progress on the "lav." AHEM. Not that we haven't been nagging talking about it, oh we have!So, what have we been doing, other than trying not to bake to death?

Plenty of swimming at the river with the dogs. Well, Lazlo swims and Mia wades in to her stomach only when properly persuaded with the temptation of getting to fetch a stick. Lazlo swims in circles and circles and it's great exercise for him (no stress on his joints, at his age it's a good thing) and Mia travels up and down the rock beach looking for surprises to eat. Don't ask, don't tell is our policy on the beach buffet.

On our last visit to the river I took an underwater disposable camera I'd bought for Keith's fishing gear a couple years ago and used it up on swim time, so we'll see how those turn out...  I tend not to take my DSLR because it's one more thing to worry about and the river is a place where we go specifically NOT TO WORRY.

This is what happens when you give a baseball to a pit bull. It gets peeled in no time at all.

We've been trying to cook some of the things coming out of the garden. This weekend I expanded my limited culinary knowledge by successfully adapting a recipe into a delicious frittata. Shown above are Hungarian wax and jalapeno peppers from the garden with some garlic and red onion that eventually joined some zucchini, artichoke hearts, romano cheese, and EIGHT eggs and we ate every bite (some left over for brekkie!).

 We met some friends visiting from Portland (pictured above with one of the last shots of my PX600 pack from pow-wow) at a nearby beach Thursday afternoon and almost didn't want to leave. They're expecting a baby in February and we haven't seen them for almost a year, so it was nice to catch up and relax at the same time!

Found this neat praying mantis when I was raking up cut grass from our fender planters and moved it to the pear tree.

In lieu of actual progress on the lav (formerly known as the THAUDCTSSR), I started making a Project List and an Inventory List of Items We Already Have On Hand that can go toward finishing some of those projects (i.e. barn wood, medicine cabinet, mirrors, wire crates, wooden crates). And sending Keith emails about the sizable Pinterest board I've collected for Possible Future Projects.

So summer is drawing to a close, calendar-wise, and we have a lot of projects still in the hopper that need to be completed for a comfortable existence in the tiny house this fall and winter. Taking bets on what percentage of those projects actually get finished! Nothing like a looooooming deadline to give us that kick in the butt we need!

PS. It's hot!!!!