12 minute post...that's all the time I have, as I am a

procrastinator.

The intention of this was to post every day and surprise, I'm on a role. A goal I'm keeping, crazy! (Diet? Exercise? No, and No, but writing I can do.)But, the idea behind the goal was to write more and think of ways to incoporate that writing into and about what I'm already doing in my life. It's working...example:

When I bought my house I fully expected that on hot summer days I would need to sleep somewhere lower than my bedroom. My bedroom has low ceilings and an A-frame ceiling, as that same ceiling also is the roof of the house. There are two skylights which thankfully open and a widow on each side of the house to draw a breeze across. So far, I've slept pretty well up there and there have been several 95+ degree days. I put a fan against one window to draw in the night air and have no trouble falling asleep.

Staying asleep past seven in the morning is a whole different issue. A chorous of birds proclaim their existance on the electric line that runs outside my window. They begin asserting their place in the world at approximately 4:30. That's the first time I wake up. It is just getting light and I am usually able to roll over and return to sleep or just close the window. In case you were wondering, hitting the widow or yelling at the warbeling creatures is not effective.

At about six the dogs start barking. There are more than one and I am only sure of the homestead of one of the creatures. One is a large retriever looking thing that lives behind me. I have no idea why he is out at six in the morning nor, why someone would allow him to bark, and bark, and bark at such a dimly lit hour.

Actually, that's a lie. In Washington, in July, six in the morning is almost light. So, when the dog starts going off, it's harder to fall back to sleep. So, I toss and turn and turn and toss and eventually wait for the next round of roosters...metaphorical, not actual.

At 7:15 there are garbage men, or the recycling guys, I'm not sure who comes first. On nice days, which is almost everyday lately, there is a motorcycle, there's the train and some days there are screaming children. Who lets kids out of the house that early? Answer: obviously people who are trying to sleep.

So, to get back to my original goal, as I listened to the barking dog this morning, an practiced finding new and creative sleeping positions (I NEED a new matress), it occured to me that today's post would be about how loud it is in my neighboorhood every morning....especially when I have nothing I'm supposed to get up for.