Summer arrived in Mazatlán a bit late this year, but it is in full swing now.  I think there have only been four rains so far this year, though… and that just doesn’t seem like enough!  Yesterday seemed like a particularly steamy day and towards evening we had our usual discussion about whether it just might rain overnight.  The rain brings a bit of humidity but it cools off the concrete, too, and that helps a lot. In the middle of the night I was pleased to hear the rain and got up to shut the doors to our upstairs patios just in case it started raining hard.  (We have wrought iron doors so we are secure.) This morning it felt a bit fresher, so that was nice.

In the summertime I kind of hole up at home during the day.  Dog walks and bike rides are over by 10 am and the rest of the day I putter around with my projects.  Then in the evening we venture out again.  Recent projects… well I rearranged my office into more of an office-craft-sewing space.  I made terry cloth arm covers for our tv room chairs.  I sewed new dog bed covers.  I knitted.  I baked bread.  I read.  I have read a lot, lately.

When I was a kid I used to go to the library every week and come home with a pile of books I could barely carry.  The only time I  haven’t been an avid reader was when I was in college when there was too much required reading to do.  One of the things that I love most about this time in my life is that I can read whenever I want to and as much as I want to.

Before I had a Kindle I used to stockpile books for the possibility that I’d be stuck it the house or something and couldn’t get out and get books.  I didn’t feel right unless I had about a dozen books in the house waiting for me.  Now that I have the Kindle I can just relax – I can fill it up with books and read to my heart’s content.

I have a large library of ebooks I have accumulated.  They’re all in various formats but it is easy to convert them to Kindle formats (.mobi and .azw) using the free software Stanza or Calibre.  In addition to those, there are lots of books available through Project Gutenberg, Full Books,  Free Books,  and MobileRead.  If you’re considering or have an e-reader, check them out.  I am having the time of my life being able to read all I want anytime I want.  I keep track of my books on a Google documents spreadsheet, if you are looking for ideas of books to read, check it out.

Paul has been reading a lot, too, but most recently he has been working on learning some new web content management tools just for fun.  That’s when he isn’t working or snacking on my latest bread creation!

While we are lounging around reading and mopping our perspiration, we also have been enjoying our new puppy, Coco.  You can watch her play with Henry, below – while Lucy supervises.