7 More Weekends

Well, our 25 mile Mamma Jamma ride is 7 weekends away! For the first time all summer, we went to our neighborhood pool Saturday. We swam 7 laps and then were evicted from the pool because of lightening in the area. We heard thunder, saw lightening & dark clouds, but only got about 4 drops of rain (if you can call it that) at our house. But, someone in the area got rain and we figure it is because we finally decided to go swimming. So, we tried again on Sunday afternoon--figured we'd either get in a good swim or we'd get rain and that we'd be happy with either outcome! This time we completed the full 15 laps as planned & did a little stretching in the pool. The skies looked dark, but it didn't look like anyone around us got rain.

What does this have to do with the Mamma Jamma ride? Well, ukulele playing & crocheting will not help to get me in shape for the ride and it is way too hot for me to handcycle (we have had 60 days of 100plus temperatures here), so swimming is the most relevant exercise Mark and I can do. We really enjoyed it and are planning to go again next weekend.

As for the ukulele--I can't say how much fun I'm having with this little instrument. I always thought of the uke as a novelty type instrument, but it actually can be quite pretty. I've mostly been playing whatever music I have available, so that's included lots of hymns. Many hymns are really old folk tunes and some of them sound quite nice on the uke (even the way I play!)

What to do when it is 105 Outside

1. Blog. I haven't been writing much, because there has been nothing to write about. But, we did have temps below 100 yesterday & rain (well, sprinkles at least) for the first time in ages--so I'd call that news-worthy!

2. Garden. Really? No, not really. It is too hot to do much. We did plant some cantaloupe and black eyed peas recently. Mark tends to them mostly late in the evening.

3. Crochet. This is one of my favorite ways to pass the time! Just stay away from heavy afghans. Summer is a good time to work on smaller, lighter projects. Since we're about to welcome our first great-nephew, I'm enjoying making baby booties & baby afghans.

4. Learn to play the ukulele. This is a picture of the 'Flea' ukulele Mark bought for me. It's great! I'm having lots of fun picking out different songs. (This picture was taken shortly before Oscar let out a big sigh, left my lap, and crawled under a pillow. It is kind of sad when even the dog is a critic. It could be that he's not fond of my playing, but I prefer to think that he just doesn't want anything to do with an instrument called a 'FLEA.'.)

5. Nap! This is Oscar's favorite way to pass the time when it is too hot to go outside. I think he has the right idea.