Hi there and welcome to my monthly post! Hope your summer is going well. It’s been really hot and humid here in the Northeast.

My running lately can basically be described as short and sweaty. I could toss slow in there too. But I’m actually loving it.

An evening run with some sprinkler hopping last week

A lovely run by the beach also last week

Mr. SOTSS and I each slogged through 4 miles on the 4th of July and just about died it was so hot.

It’s like my weeks get punctuated with short runs of 3-4 miles a couple of times a week and with no real training schedule, no injuries, no long runs, I’m not so absorbed with it all like I’d be with marathon training—so I’m free to be overly absorbed with packing and moving 🙂

Speaking of, I swear, every single time I think I have a handle on things I open another closet or cabinet door and find myself sorting and sifting through yet more stuff. I have no problem saying goodbye to things like old kitchen blenders or coffee makers and vases and such. But it’s so hard to pare down my coats. I love coats.

Hooray for an empty cabinet!

I’ve already made one trip to Goodwill and will probably end up making about a dozen more trips. They have a drive through lane where you literally have someone to greet you and take your stuff. Easy peasy!

remember these? A stereo from the 90s. Woah! Relic 🙂

Oh, and while we’re talking about relics, I found some old photos too….Here’s a shot of me from about 25 years ago—and yes i have shoulder pads in that dress.

And going even farther back…this one is closer to 30 years ago when I got my first car. Notice the matching scrunchy in my hair. Again, the 90s…

I’ve also been taking advantage of some free yoga here on Staten Island this summer with friends.

Every other Saturday morning I’ve enjoyed some gentle flow and a lovely view of the NYC skyline to my left and the Verrazano bridge to my right.

NYC Skyline

Verrazano Bridge

And now that my work situation is back to a more normal schedule, I’ve been able to join my Wednesday night hiking crew a bit more.

8pm summer sun

Duncan is happy that the 4th of July is now over with and so are the fireworks. He hid under the bed and I could hear him muttering under his breath about how rude people are to set them off. He doesn’t think fireworks are that cool.

The bathroom was another safe haven for him.

But now we’re back strutting around with no worries! (Well sometimes we take little breaks)

How has your summer been going? Do you have dogs with firework issues? Any tips for moving/packing?