At the moment, I’m very into packing. We’re headed for Ireland, and even though it’s July, do I still bring boots? Average temps don’t generally top 70 degrees, so I kinda think I do. And while we’re not expecting much warmth, do I bring a summer outfit anyway? Just in case? And what about BOOKS? Because there are few things more distressing for a book-lover than being caught on vacation without a good one. On my short list: Somebody I Used to Know by David Bell; Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon; Sleeping in Eden by Nicole Baart; The Untold by Courtney Collins. Thoughts, advice, recommendations?

On a not-really-but-kind-of-related note, I’m also very into dresses. I am a dress girl. I love the simplicity of them, the look of them, the feel of them. If the Pacific Northwest weather allowed, I’d wear ’em year-round. As it is, I get in as many dress-wearings during the spring and summer months that I can. And as we’ve been, so far, enjoying a beaut of summer, even I am getting my fill.

You know how big life events go in waves, when for a few years it seems that everyone is, say, getting married or having babies? Well, for us, this year it’s high school graduations, and we’ve had a bumper crop of them. I think I counted eight new graduates in our circle, including the first of our extended family’s next generation–our niece, Caitlyn. She’s the cutie in the middle here, photo taken on her 18th birthday, just days before she graduated. Thus marks the beginning of a new era for us, leaving us wondering where on earth the years went. They fly fast, folks.

So that’s it for me. What are you into these days?