"The dog days are over, the dog days are done...

...the horses are coming so you'd better run! " Florence And The Machine

You may not be surprised to hear that since my last post I have gotten myself an air conditioner.

I threw in the towel (damp with sweat) and gladly took a friend up on their offer of an old air conditioner. It came to live with me on Friday, just in time for another weekend in the 90s! I celebrated by drinking copious amounts of hot Oolong tea, eating toast and roasting beets.

It's possible I even bought flowers...

Oh! And curtains! I finally found some! Ikea of course. I also picked up some elderflower syrup which over some ice is soooo refreshing in a strangely floral sort of way. It's like something they would drink in the Redwall books or Harry Potter.

All in all, I'm actually enjoying Summer now. The other night I had the windows open, curtains blowing listening to the cicadas and eating sweet cherries. There's something I love about that sound, for me it's not officially Summer until the cicadas sing. If Winter is all about stillness and quiet, then Summer is all about sound. The paleta man's jingling bells, cicadas, music in the parks and spilling out from stereos in cars and open windows.

And of course music festivals have been a big part of my life due to the Rock Star Job. A few weeks ago I worked Pitchfork, but not for Souldier, for the lovely Natalie of Ornamental Things, who makes pretty little things in Austin, TX. I was sore tempted to buy oh, one of everything, but I ended up just getting this necklace with a wee gold bead on it. I liked it right off because it's so pretty, but after thinking a bit I realized the stylization of the rose was very similar to the "vergina sun/Macedonian star" charms I took a fancy to in Greece. There's still some debate (of course.) but basically it's linked to the Kings of Macedonia, one of which had a son you may have heard of? Alexander? He really liked conquering things. And what's my name? Oh yes, Alexandra. Clearly it was meant to be, clearly!

I picked up the eye milagros at an flea market this weekend, it may end up with my other milagros, tamatas, and icons on the shelf but I kind of like it as a charm for now. I also got my first sunburn of the season there. It's pretty mild and hopefully will be the last one as I'm not working Lollapalooza this year! Wohoo! I'll miss the music but hey, no heatstroke for me! I'll just bop around in my air conditioned apartment to my Summer playlist, and I encourage you to do the same!

Sound of Summer, 2011

1. She's Got You High, Mumm-Ra

2. Sweet Disposition, The Temper Trap

3. I Am Blind, Elephant Stone

4. Of Moons, Birds & Monsters, MGMT

5. Helena Beat, Foster The People*

6. Rill Rill, Sleigh Bells

7. Two Ways, The 1900s

8. Summerboy, Lady Gaga

9. Don't Stop (Color on the Walls), Foster The People*

10. Summer Girl, Beck

11. Walcott, Vampire Weekend

12. The Seven Seas, Elephant Stone

13. Young Folks, Peter Bjorn & John*

14. Goodbye, The Sundays

15. 4th of July, Lux Land

16. Can't Hardly Wait, Justin Townes Earle

17. For The Summer, Ray LaMontagne & the Pariah Dogs

18. Dog Days Are Over, Florence & The Machine

19. Ridin' In My Car, She & Him

20. Lay A Ghost, The 1900s

21. Put Your Records On, Corinne Bailey Rae

* additions to the CD I sent my folks earlier, apparently that was just the Early Summer Edition!