Our Grandchildren and "Adopted" Grandchildren

Gadszooks! It has been hot.

thinking cool thoughts...



It is August after all, keep that in mind. But this August in St Louis could possibly be the hottest August on record. I believe it. But anything over 90 degrees is too hot to me.

I don't remember the summers being this hot when I was a kid oh, so many years ago. I grew up in California where the temperature also reached the 90's to 100's degrees, sans the brutal high humidity. But, as a kid, we could run around half-naked through sprinklers and play in wading pools. Now, I become irritable when I have to spend any amount of time outside for anything.

St Louis summer is a bummer,
I'll take the Autum, Winter, Spring
Keep your Summer, heat and dampness
that always makes my clothing cling.

I want the coolness even coldness,
Not the heat that makes my face red.
I'll take the cold nose and chilly toes and
let me wrap between the throws
of blankets on my bed.
--sentiments by me

Have you heard of National Night Out?

The national date for this event usually falls on the hottest day of the year (so far). This year was no exception. Tuesday evening, August 7th, the temperature reached 101 degrees with the heat index at 109-111 degrees. I didn't need to know what the humidity was--I was miserable enough.


Our block has had a street party every year since before He and I moved to the City in 1993. It's America's Night Out Against Crime! The "24th Annual National Night Out" (NNO), a unique crime/drug prevention event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), has been active since 1981, but I had never heard of NNO before moving to St Louis. It's a good thing. Except for the time of year it is held.



Despite the oppressive heat, we may have had the biggest turnout at our street party ever. Our dedicated friends and neighbors braved the conditions and cooked, baked, and brought their good humor to the middle of the street where we set up tables, bales of hay, chairs, wading pools, and sprinkers. The theme was "The Wild West" so we wore silly cowboy hats and red bandanas--and yes, we wore clothing. We caught up with the news with old neighbors and met new neighbors. We spoke of neighbors who moved away and who we miss very, very much. We discovered that we will have a new addition to the block next February--Kim and Dave are expecting.

Please enjoy the pictures...leave your comments.

Hot August Day

We went to breakfast at the neighborhood Grill and Provisions this morning and enjoyed some good 'ole eggs and sausage with hashbrowns; He had whole wheat toast and I had an english muffin. This was a treat for us since we have been on low fat diets since he had his "cardiac incident" in February. However, we got back home hot and full. I slipped the dog a sausage I brought home from my plate, then slipped into my recliner for a nap. It was 10 a.m. and this was a "dog day."

Ever wonder why they call the hot, sultry days of summer “dog days?” Well, I looked it up and
the brightest of the stars in Canis Major (the big dog) is Sirius, which also happens to be the brightest star in the night sky. In fact, it is so bright that the ancient Romans thought that the earth received heat from it.

In the summer, however, Sirius, the “dog star,” rises and sets with the sun. During late July Sirius is in conjunction with the sun, and the ancients believed that its heat added to the heat of the sun, creating a stretch of hot and sultry weather. They named this period, from 20 days before the conjunction to 20 days after, “dog days” after the dog star.

So now you know. (Thanks Wilstar-d0t-com)