I just read on CNN that it's supposed be hot here. The article stated that Raleigh was supposed to hit 103 degrees today. I just don't think it's that bad. If I was in Louisville I would be dying from the heat and humidity. The heat here does not bother me that much. I'd can handle 103 with a light breeze and low humidity. You haven't suffered until you have lived through a hot and muggy day in Louisville.

As I have mentioned before, the husband convinced me to "downsize" and rent this tiny little house so we could save lots of money. Well this house has ended up being a money pit. The slum lord that owns it still has not finished putting in the floor in the back section of the house (it's only been 10 weeks) and the air conditioner does not cool the house on most days.

To make matters worse our electric bill has been around $400 each month. To me $400 in utilities seems a little excessive for a house that is about 900 sq. feet and hot.

So after I threatened to leave the husband and the little house and move into my own place he called the landlord for a "heated discussion" about his wife's unhappiness.

Good news is that I am getting a new air conditioner next week. The floor? Well I am starting to get used to the look of raw plywood.

It's been around 100 degrees the past few days. Everyone around here thinks they are dying. But 100 degrees with little humidity is much better than the high humidity days back in the 'ville. They do know hot until they have survived 98 or above in the sticky Ohio Valley.

The husband and I took Evan to the "city" yesterday. When he caught a glimpse of the tall buildings he said "Hello City." You would think we lived 200 miles from nowhere the way Evan acts.

We drove 30 minutes to the city to go to the farmer's market. All the farmers from our town sell at the city farmer's market because they make more money there. So to buy local farm produce I have to drive to the city. Go figure.

Evan decided that he wanted a "phoenix fly trap" from one of the vendors. He has been asking for a "phoenix fly trap" since he watched an Animal Planet show about flies and how they land on your food and do nasty things to it. Now when he sees a fly he freaks.

Anyway, after gently trying to tell him it was a Venus Fly Trap, I gave up and he announced that he was naming his new plant "phoenix" and it was going to protect us from all the insects in the world.

On the way home from the "city" we stopped at our local deli to pick up a couple of slices of cheesecake for dessert.

As we drove around the Town Square I noticed smoke coming from a parking lot behind the courthouse. I told Mark to pull over and we noticed smoke coming from one of the Sheriff's cars.

Realizing that no one else was around I called 911. (I know Twinkie, if only your co-workers had realized they could do this from the parking lot.)

I couldn't tell them what street I was on but I explained that I was behind the court house. So they tracked my location by locking my cell phone and tracking it through GPS. It only took a few minutes for the truck to get there because the station is two blocks away.

The car was a loss though. Cars burn up very fast and they are very scary when the windshields and tires blow from the heat. I had to stay for the entire thing because no one could figure out how to get my cell phone unlocked from the 911 emergency lock.

Finally someone figured it out and we drove the six blocks to our house and enjoyed our cheesecake. This town is too exciting for me; I need to move back to the city.

My grandmother used to tell me many things. Don’t go out in the cold with your hair wet or you’ll get sick, don’t sit to close to the TV or you’ll go blind, don’t talk on the phone in a storm...

Of course I never listened.

On Wednesday we had a big coastal-type storm with heavy rain and lightning. I was at work so I did not pay attention to it. When I got home I found out that lightning had struck very close to the house.

The hubby, Mark, had just installed a new ceiling fan and when he flipped the switch the entire room lit up. At first he thought he had blown up the house but realized that the boom that went with the flash of light was thunder.

At the same moment as the lightning strike, little Evan was playing Nintendo. Mark said Evan jumped, then slowly put down his controller, walked over to his bed and crawled completely under the cover and said nothing.



Mark walked over and said “you okay buddy?” A few seconds later Evan responded “it shocked me.”


According to Mark, Evan stayed under the covers for a while -- he figured it was safer under there. So Mark proceeded to look through the house. Here’s the damage count –

Evan’s TV and VCR
Nintendo controller
Kenwood surround sound system
Several components in Mark’s two-week-old computer
Cable modem

When I asked Evan what happened he held up his pointer finger and said "it shocked this finger and went krazzzxxxzzzxxxxkzzzkkzkzzzz."

Imagine that him making that sound and imitating someone in the electric chair and you get a good idea of his impression of being brushed by a lightning bolt.

I can see it now, 60 years from now Evan will tell his grandchildren not to play Nintendo when it storms and they will give him that "you are really old and stupid" look.

Fourth of July in Mayberry was everything you'd expect in a small southern town -- there were cookouts and festivals everywhere you looked. We figured the beach would be packed so Mark and I decided to just hang out around the house.

The night before, we went to Target and bought one of those Intex Easy Set pools for Evan. It was on sale for $36 so I did not expect much. Well if you ever want a pool these things are wonderful. Just spread out the pool in a level area (yes it has to be very level to work right, inflate the top ring and fill with water. The pool walls really do rise with the water.

We bought the small 8 foot diameter one, but it was much deeper than I imagined. Evan and I spent about 5 hours in it that first day. Okay I know sitting in kiddie pool on July Fourth is not the most exciting thing to do, but we were happy.

Evan had so much fun in the pool. He has always been afraid of water but he suddenly decided to hold his nose and go under. Next thing I knew he let go of his nose and was swimming like a fish. Now he loves being under water and holds his breath like a champ.

Late in the afternoon Mark fired up the grill and threw on a few burgers. I plugged in the blender and whipped up some pool-side pina coladas.

Evan surprised us again when he announced that he would like a burger. While this may not seem monumental, it was for us. This kid has existed on hotdogs, donuts and chicken nuggets for the past three years. And his willingness to try new food was non-existent.

He not only ate that burger but asked for a second. These were adult-size burgers so he only made it a couple of bites into burger number two.

Around 8:30 I woke Mark and Evan from their after-dinner nap and we went to the down to the Town Commons to listen to a beach music band and watch the fireworks show. Beach music bands play a lot of Motown classics and songs like "Under the boardwalk."

There were several carnival style rides and Evan once again surprised us by going down a huge inflatable slide. Since he is very scared of heights we could not believe he climbed up the tall structure and slid down. He loved it so much he did it three times. It was definitely a day of taking risks for Evan.

The show (while not even in the same universe as Thunder Over Louisville) was more than I expected and they even coordinated the firework to music. I did tear up a little during the show. I thought about my family back in the 'ville and wondered what they were doing for the fourth.

Overall it was a good day, but I don't know if the "I wish I was back home" feelings will ever go away.