Update with protests and purple and and a bit of dancing

Life continues to be rich and full here in Enoughsville.  My own life happens to be kinda full of noise still; most of today was tolerable, but as I sat down to write this letter I was reminded of how the ringing definitely still shapes how I spend my days.  I also still have a bit of stuffed-up pain in one ear, and I'm holding out hope that my upcoming ENT appointment (3 or 4 weeks from now) will diagnose that and miraculously solve both problems at the same time.

Our area had been under a mild drought (we'd instituted a burn ban, and local officials had started to urge people to conserve water), and so the thunderstorms and rains that have come through have been incredibly welcome.  We've had hard rains interspersed with bright sun, which is exactly what farmers had been hoping for.   The terrible temperatures that have been whomping the south haven't made their way here.  It does get hot and humid during the day, but overnight the temperatures have dropped back down nicely -- one morning I ran with my friend in 60-degree temps.   Alas, later in the week, the smoke came through and turned the air quality to red, which meant I canceled a bunch of other outings with my friends.

In these not-too-miserably-hot days, OfSnough is putting his protest muscles to work.  The group that calls themselves "Mothers for Liberty" is meeting in Philadelphia (ironically, in the same Marriott Hotel with another group -- the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs, who was not particularly happy to find who they were cloistered with).  My guy has been part of the crowd outside asserting their support for . . . um, actual liberty and justice.  

Last week, I wrote that I *thought* Inkling was Square Dancing; turns out I was right.

"This year was my 22nd nationals!"

When she got back, she got to join our "Thriller Thursdays" group again.  By now, we've made it all the way through Michael Jackson's dance moves, and so we're to the point of just learning to put it all together and practice to get it smooth (if "smooth" is the right word for a dance about zombies).  At the end of this past Thursday's session, we ran the dance through at 50% speed, . . . and then 75% speed, . . . and then at 100% speed (with LOTS of laughing and fumbles, but still, 100% speed!).  Go, us!

This year's purple dress dinner was a lovely gathering.

And, that's our news, or at least as much as I could squeeze in before I go find a way to bathe my ears in brown noise and such.  (Drat this goblin who sits on my shoulder, hissing and squealing in my ear!  And thanks to those of you who've offered encouragement and sources of optimism.)