That's Hot.

The highest temperature I observed today was the display in my car: 97. Yuck. I've been "moist" all day. Our air conditioner has had a limp for a few days, and yesterday it decided it just couldn't keep up. For most of the week, it stayed within five degrees of the target temperature, but yesterday it was set on 72 and reached 84, so a repair guy's coming on Monday. It was new last summer, so who knows what the problem is. Hopefully something easy and fast.

I went out to the grocery store early this morning to get a few things, including charcoal so Hubs could smoke some meat in his (former water heater) smoker. On my way out, I saw a yard sale at a house down the street, so Big Girl and I went to check it out after I returned. We found some beautiful wood furniture that was already sold - figures - but we did score a nice train table, in good condition, with a storage bin full of wooden tracks, trains, and accessories. It was a great deal, and both kids are ecstatic. It will go in Two's room, once we finish a little cleaning and maintenance (minimal, really - it would be fine, but we want to reinforce a couple of places just in case). I don't think we would have considered a new one, given the price, but this one was a wonderful bargain and will keep them occupied for hours.

Big Girl helped me water her herb garden and flowers after that, and then we went to swim at my parents' house. The water was wonderfully warm, and yet so refreshing given the heat. Both kids paddled around wearing water wings and clutching floats until they were worn out, and then we had lunch before I brought them home. Two passed out in the car, snoring softly with his mouth open, and Big Girl happily went down for a nap once we got home as well.

Live Free or Die Hard - actually kind of fun. Hubs has been on a Die Hard kick lately, and really wanted me to watch this one with him since I had never seen him. He described it as "John McClane meets Swordfish," and that's a pretty accurate description. The hacker character played by Justin Long, the "Mac" guy from the commercials, has a fun rapport with Bruce Willis' character, and there were a lot of fun connections and action sequences. Hubs was happy that I watched something he wanted to watch, and enjoyed it, since lately I haven't been in the mood to watch some of his favorites (I get burned out on Deadliest Catch and Dirty Jobs, and I've never liked Ax Men or Man Vs. Wild - what can I say?).

It's 82 in the house now, at 9 pm. I picked up yet another box fan late this afternoon, so now there's one in each bedroom and one in the den. Two gets terribly hot and sweaty in his room - he's a hot sleeper anyway, and I feel so bad for him. I put him to bed with a huge sippy cup of ice water, and one for Big Girl too. I'm looking forward to several hours of air conditioned comfort at church in the morning.

Silent night

So, so quiet here. Kids are asleep and Hubs isn't home yet - late night for him. Only sound is the whirring of my beloved box fan (have I mentioned my love of fans on here yet? I LOVE fans, love the white noise to help me sleep, love the feel of wind blowing on me...) and the occasional thunk of a dog pinning another dog to the back deck in some sort of fancy canine wrestling mood.

It has been a mildly productive day. The kids and I mooched lunch at my parents' house, and I spent too much time on the computer, but I did get some laundry done. And a load of dishes. This housework is never done. :(

I have this great bottle of white wine that I picked up a while back, thinking that Hubs and I would enjoy it over the weekend. It's still in the fridge. I am tempted to open it and enjoy it without him, but I don't want to do that when I'm the sole responsible parent type. I suggested it several times last weekend but he was in the mood for Irish coffees instead, and I must say they were quite tasty. We even made decaf ones (I know! Heresy!) for late-day consumption, since we both have trouble sleeping if we have too much caffeine in our systems.

Ah, wine. I enjoy wine so much, although it goes to my head much faster than it used to affect me. I'm picky. I don't like chardonnay at all. Can't stand it. Messes with my reflux, gives me heartburn. Strange, I know. But I love a nice riesling or pinot grigio. I like certain reds with meals, to accompany beef, but not so much on their own. I have to watch them too because some reds also get to my acid reflux. I take meds for it but it sometimes breaks through.

Hubs and I don't drink wine often anymore. We had it more frequently before we moved, as there were more places to get nice, inexpensive bottles of wine, and there were more occasions where we dined with friends and had wine. I think the fabulous places to shop for good food and wine are one of the aspects I miss most about our old home. We've moved hundreds of miles away, and while ye olde hometowne has its advantages, shopping for wine and cheese at a podunk Kroger just isn't the same.

And, well, I don't know that the Food Lion is even a contender. I have a bit of a longstanding bias against Food Lion since the cashier at a Food Lion near my undergrad alma mater was rude to me - and that has been a dozen years, but I still remember. I wish we had better places for shopping here. I think there are enough people who would go there to support a Target or a nicer grocery store, but change comes slowly. After all, we just got the first Starbucks less than a year ago (and now there are three).

Some of my favorite teevee shows are finally coming back after the writers' strike-induced hiatus. Bones will be back soon. Hubs mocks me for watching Bones, but I like it (I could mock a lot of the crap he watches but I refrain). I'm also enjoying New Amsterdam - in particular the lead actor, my new tv boyfriend, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Don't worry, Anderson Cooper. You're still on my list. You too, Alex O'Loughlin.