Dear Readers – Happy July 4th weekend! Summer has finally come to Southern California and we're having sunny mornings instead of the June gloom. Here's a writing exercise for your journal this weekend:

Write about a past 4th of July. Write about the sounds, the temperature of the air, what you wore, what you ate, how the air smelled, who you were with, what the sky looked like. 

And here's a second writing prompt: The best laid plans…..  

(This was inspired by the best laid plans R. and I had for a trip to Montana with Emma and our friends Carol and Cy two weeks ago. The Big Hole River – above – flooded it's banks and my stepdaughter said there would be nothing for us to do up there but look at muddy cows. So our best laid plans simply sank.)