I'm dreaming of a lazy paddle in my Hornbeck boat on a quiet lake that everyone has left behind.

I'm dreaming of reading a book in the late August sun while the dragonflies buzz around my ears and land on my knees and shoulders.

I'm wishing for time to bake a green apple cake and an hour to pick ripe blackberries in my meadow.

I'm wishing for a long lunch with one of my good buddies, where we talk about everything's that's happened to us this summer. But my friends are still too busy, as am I. Slower times will return as the tourists pack up their bags and return to their lives in the city and suburbia far to the south. By November, it'll be so damn quiet around here, I'll be talking to myself for company.

But that's forever away because September and October are going to be very busy. I hope. For more details, check the website.

Those of you who own a business probably know that the experts tell you that you should spend at least 25% of your working hours on marketing. I'm a bit out of balance because I spend 80% of my time on it. Perhaps this is the norm for new businesses. The other 20% I spend with clients. Somewhere I squeeze in a few moments to pay the bills for the business. I need more time working on the financial part of the picture. But there is no financial picture without customers, so I continue to work on marketing.

I definitely need to spend more time gaining in expertise in a number of areas.

In other news...Wait a minute, I don't think I have any other news.

I'm reading Chill Factor by Sandra Brown. I can't believe I am--It's the kind of bestseller potboiler that usually has me so bored by page 50, I return it to the library without going any further. But it's still in the house, so I may make it to page 75. I do love stories in which all the action takes place during a blizzard. Better yet, Chill Factor is set in the mountains of North Carolina.