well, it has rained a couple days in a row now, so maybe my question is mute.

Telling you how often and/or how much we water would be of little help to you, really. We all have different soil types, different sun exposure, plants with different watering needs, raised beds, shallow beds, etc, etc. There are just too many variables involved to give you one definitive answer. I guess the best thing to tell you is: read up on what your individual plants need, get to know how quicky different areas of your yard dry out after watering by digging with your hands & squeezing the soil for moisture content. Pretty soon you'll get a handle on how much to water & how often. You may kill a few in the process, but don't worry, we ALL have. It's the only way to learn. Hope this helps, at least a little.