Dogs Days of August

Daily posts are absent due simply to lack of adventurous or envelope pushing days. Don’t misinterpret this for malaise or boredom. I’m loving my days. Working at the cafe is still a labor of love as opposed to ‘a job’. Hitting the links still happens at least once a week, but it has become more of a challenge. Robin’s continued improvement has me scrambling to keep pace with her scores. Thank goodness I still have a keen putting eye or she would be spanking me into shame in front of the boys at the turn. Ryan and Carolyn visited us this past week for an overnight stay and then we returned a visit on Tuesday to help Ryan in his home office. If I were still working a day to day job, he would be my envy, being able to work from home. However, his pace is far too great and stressful for my tastes. Erin will be tracking out soon to trek north to visit with us and spend two weeks traversing between LIW and southern Jersey with Ryan and Carolyn. My daily workouts have become routine and I’m guilt ridden when I miss a day. I’ll continue to push to be in the best shape possible for the upcoming surgery. However, the week’s end finds me trucking back to Pittsburgh to shoot a friends wedding this Saturday.Neighbors, Terry and Jackie will be taking their vows poolside and it’s presenting a challenge. I’m lacking for unique ideas and the ambient lighting will be dim due to the 7 p.m. event time. It will be good to visit the old neighborhood and commiserate with friends that are in my thoughts on a daily basis. Mike, the Porkmeister will be filling in for me at the cafe. And that reminds me of last week’s barbecue event that he entered near Gap, PA. Mike used my rub on his ribs and took home a third place. I’m sure it was the way he does his pork for his winnings but I like to believe I had a small part in that. Mike has entered numerous contests in the past and has taken down many firsts as a result of his special techniques. His barbecue is about the best I’ve ever sampled. Mike takes over for me at the cafe when I disrobe of my apron at 2 in the afternoons. This works out best for both of us. Mike is not too partial to doing breakfast, which I love and I’m not too fond of dinner, which is his forte. Robin will be his sidekick this weekend as she has no fill-in at the cafe so she won’t be able to make the wedding trip. And now we welcome the rains from above. We’ve been without precip for some time now and with the heat in the 90’s and the humidity as high, the change is more than welcome.