Aussie, our Australian Kelpie, is delighted that August is named after her: the Dog Days of Summer. When Aussie is not watching television with us, sometimes lunging for a ball she can never catch, or looking at us with that "you know you are going to give me some of what you're eating, so do it" look, she is sprawled out, straight-legged, eyes black furry slits, oblivious to the dog days of summer. 

        If you are looking for some gentle but not boring activities during this imposed slow down, herewith are some suggestions

Books, Movies, Trivia~

Pigs Have Wings by P.G. Wodehouse is a very English satire on the goings on in the fictional world of Blandings Castle. Wodehouse worked in the London office of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank when he started writing stories. Two years later he left the bank to become a full time writer and by 1909 a regular contributor to The Saturday Evening Post making America his home. He died at age 93 having published over 90 books.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Noble Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez is an epic tale tracing the history of a town and a family packed with eccentricities and imagination: fantastical and real at the same time. YBD

The Devil and Miss Prym by another award-winning Latino writer, Paul Coelho, also weaves his story around a small town to explore the fine line between good and evil, between temptation and rationalization. PYE

Dream Golf  by Stephen Goodwin: Now if someone had told me I would be reading a book about golf...never! However, while Mike and I were at Bandon Dunes on the coast of Oregon last month, I found Dream Golf to be an interesting read about the creation of these new top rated golf courses outside the tiny town of Bandon. Entrepreneurism at its best.  PYE

Miss Potter, the movie about Peter Rabbit's creator, Beatrix Potter, starring Renee Zellweger is delightful- both the acting and animation; writers MNH.

The Pianist, the power of music and the horrors of Nazism starring Adrien Brody for which he won an Oscar is based on the life of Polish concert pianist W. Szpilman. YBD

The Talented Mr. Ripley with Jude Law, Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman is as beautifully filmed as I remembered and as haunting. American haves and a have-not in Italy. PYE

The Red Violin, Golden Globe winner, would have been even better if we had figured out how to click on the English subtitles. Life, love, death, politics, greed following the 14^th century musical instrument. PYE

Ocean Thirteen is sheer entertainment; George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Al Pacino, et al.

Casino Royale, ditto, the newest James Bond movie.

Hairspray with John Travolta we loved! Great music, very funny, good content. I plan on dancing to the DVD at home. PYE

                 BD- Your Bounden Duty  PYE- Part of Your Education (acronyms à la Archibald Edwards) MNH- Might Need a Handkerchief (à la LA)