This is the hot and breathless time of year most everywhere. The sun rises early and inches up, taking its first look at the horizon, then glows warmly all day. In some places the heat settles in, working its way into every nook and cranny.  ‘Tis not surprising August is called the heyday of summer.

If you are traveling around the Northwest this month, plan on taking in Sequim’s Lavender Festival, July 16 to 18.  Sequim, pronounced “Skwim,” is a growing community of about 5,700 in the Sequim-Dungeness Valley.  The valley is bounded by Jefferson County on the east, the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the north, Port Angeles on the west, and the Olympic National Forest on the south.  In the rain shadow of the 7,000-foot Olympic Mountains, Sequim is one of the driest locales in Western Washington, receiving an average of 16 inches of precipitation annually.  It is also known as “Sunny Sequim” as it is blessed with an average of 300 days a year of sunshine.

Linguine dishes are light and simple, and quick and easy—just what the doctor ordered when one has been on the road all day, and it is a little too chilly to pull the barbecue out. It is springtime now and we look for light and simple meals, and the quicker and easier, the better. One of the tastiest, easiest and most versatile meals is a pasta dish.

Whenever I packed our RV kitchen I always tossed in a couple of lemons. Since my husband was a fisherman, one always needed a lemon, but lemons also just lend themselves to springtime cooking.