Eight degrees? That's how much our pool dropped in temperature between last week and this week. 80 degrees feels a lot different than 88 does, but we still enjoyed hanging out and floating around the pool on Saturday. It was a pretty nice day weather-wise and both Rick and I got more sun than we intended to. 

We ate lunch pool side: a refreshing and delicious ceviche with calamari, shrimp and scallops with tomatoes, red onion, red pepper, avocado and cilantro. Rick made the recipe up and I must say, I was impressed.

Yesterday we met up with the Miata club once again for a short run. The weather was not the best however, and on our drive down to the meet-up point it poured. And poured. And then it poured some more.

Have you ever been in a rag top convertible in the pouring rain? It's very loud. Rick and I had to raise our voices and practically yell at each other just to talk. Yikes. Thankfully the pouring rain stopped when we got to the meet-up point and it turned into a drizzle. Its was a tops-up kind of day I'm afraid. About ten cars showed up and a few people didn't come, and I can't say that I blame them. 

Blairstown, NJ (the only town we drove through)

The drive was very pretty and mostly through hilly, densely wooded terrain.  The trees formed a tunnel over the road and it got very dark. It was a bit eerie with patches of fog hanging closely to the ground and in between the thick woods. It would have looked much different on a hot sunny day, but it had its own peculiar charm. 

We finally braved the elements and about 3/4 of the way through the run we put our top down. We finished the run at Lake Mohawk and the rest of the club stayed for lunch, but Rick and I opted to just come home.

We plan on joining them next Sunday too, but after that there aren't any planned runs until October. We're enjoying the runs! It's a good way to see countryside we haven't seen before and meet new people at the same time. Next week we plan on staying for lunch (which will be at an old-fashioned drive-in) and getting to know the people better. Here's hoping for good weather!

It's been a pretty good day today. Alex was not at his best early this morning and I feared we were taking backward steps. Not so, thankfully, as he ate a HUGE amount of food today and was bouncy and barking and pretty much his normal self after getting over his early morning grumpies.  Yeah, Alex! The back side of this is that he goes back in two days for yet another chemo treatment. Hopefully this next one won't affect him as much. Fingers crossed.

We had a lap fest in the pool again tonight. The water temp is at 86 freakin' degrees. It's like a hot tub. I did 30 lengths and could have done more, but I stopped while I was ahead of my game. The water is luscious. Warm. Inviting. Only one bat tonight. It seems the bug population is not to their liking. We still have a few fireflies on and off (more off than on) and the cicadas have not yet really arrived.

We are in the midst of a heat wave here. The heat indices have been over 100 degrees F for the past couple of days. Tomorrow is supposed to be our hottest yet. It seems silly to say, but it can be too hot to be outside in the pool. I hide in the air conditioning with the dogs. I don't think we've had the house open for about a month now. We really need two zones for our house to keep it cool upstairs which we don't have, so we have a room air conditioner in our bedroom that runs constantly at night. During the day of course, we keep all necessary rooms closed off. I try to get everything done that I need to do such as watering outside plants, errands to the store, etc., done before the afternoon heat sets in. It's supposed to end this weekend with a round of (naturally) severe storms. We need a break.

But for now we'll enjoy the crazy pool temps and lap it all up.

I have no photos.

Swimming 20 lengths of the pool.

Bats flying overhead.

The occasional lost firefly blinking on and off in the woods.

After the 20 lengths, floating face up listening to my heartbeat, watching the bats flying above me. I felt as if I was still afloat in amniotic fluid. A child reborn.

Frogs croaking.

A dog doing so well after his second chemotherapy treatment that it makes my heart sing.

The first cicada heard today while floating in the pool with hubby. Not the guest cicadas, but the real ones that come every year. Welcome, cigales.

Goodnight world. All is well. At least for now.

On Sunday we took a drive in Mia to Milford, PA. Milford is a quaint little town right on the Delaware River. We took twisty-turny back roads the whole way there and it was a lovely drive even though the day was quite hot. I love that about where we live: you can take back roads to just about anywhere if you so choose to do so. 

We walked around a little, talking in the historic buildings and quaint shops but it was just too hot and stifling to do much. 

We headed to lunch at the historic WaterWheel Cafe where it seemed everyone else in town was also eating there. We waited for about 15 minutes or so before we could be seated but I really didn't mind since we got to stand right in front of the air conditioning unit. Ahhh, cool bliss! Our little table was right by the window looking into the mill and we could see the wheel turning round and round. The food was good.

All in all, it was a beautiful drive and a great way to spend the day with a little convertible car.

Right now I am sitting pool side in the ChicSheikShack. Life has thrown me a curve ball this past week which I will talk about later when I have more information. Those of you closest to me know what I am talking about.

Our pulled pork is cooking away slowly on the Weber grill as I type. The day is not the "perfect" pool day since we have episodes of sun and cloud.  But my sweet husband just brought me down a Caipirinha with lots of lime and I am listening to cool pool tunes like Steve Tyrel and Julio Iglesias. Since the Caipirinha is a Brazilian drink, at least Julio fits (somewhat). I have decided that I was Latina in a former life. I feel most at home in Latin-based countries. The music calls my name. I can see myself dancing the tango or stomping out a flamenco avec castanets with my skirts swirling around my legs.

If you don't travel, you lose.

I am lucky in that respect, and probably haven't taken full advantage of traveling as I could have in recent years. I have vowed to be more open to long flights in the years to come while Rick is still working. The South American sales force that we were with in Cartagena is looking into getting Rick to Brazil or Argentina. It's a long way, but if he goes can I let him go without me? It would be my only chance to see that part of the world. How could I possibly say no?

I am continually reminded to seize the day and make the most of every single one. Make each day count.

We are so spoiled that I am typing on my new keyboard/cover for the iPad via a WiFi booster plugged into an outdoor electrical plug. You gotta love computer geek hubbies.

It's so quiet here this weekend. Neighbors Kim and Mark are at their house at the shore and Aileen must be celebrating the holiday elsewhere as well. So here we sit at the pool with the neighborhood to ourselves.

We'll be feasting soon on pulled pork, corn on the cob and coleslaw. Yum. I can't wait.

I know I am behind in posting and I'm sorry about that. I'll try to make up for lost time in the coming week. Until then, wherever you are, whatever you are doing on this 4th of July 2013 I hope you're having a good time!