Sunday, July 8, 2012

Sunday Salon: Hot Hot Hot

 I'm giving everyone a shout out today from a puddle of what used to be me...the only thing you can see is my hair and a flip flop I think.  It never fails that every time I come up to Indiana, a heat dome moves in and just stops everything.  While we were staying at our beach house on Lake Michigan, it was hovering right around a hundred degrees.  Who can deal with that?  Who can even walk on the sand in the middle of the day with that kind of heat?  Well, we did our best to entertain ourselves and ignore the weather.  I never knew I could sweat so much in a day's time and still live.  My husband and I either walked or ran every day, but had to do it at 5:30 in the morning, else we give ourselves a stroke.  




We took a little jaunt to Michigan City one day to see a lighthouse, which is always a highlight for me!  Our fun was interrupted by a crazy, intense storm that ended up causing thousands to lose their power (but not us thankfully).  We watched some fireworks.  We went to the movies one day to find some efficient air conditioning and saw the new Spiderman movie (review tomorrow.)


  
We took a commuter train into Chicago two different days, seeing The Bean, the Sears Tower (sorry I refuse to call it by the new name), shopping on Magnificent Mile, and Navy Pier.  We also got a tour of the Chicago Board of Trade, and went to see a Chicago White Sox game.  Sox killed the Rangers, 19-2.  I ate Giordano's pizza.  It was good.  Very good. 


   
 We are now on my parents' farm.  My husband and our Polish relatives will be here for a couple more days, but the kids and I will be here for another week and a half.  I am looking forward to some sweet corn, seeing friends, and getting some reading done.


So the thing about the reading.  I am basically not listening to audio.  It is hard to do that when you are hanging with family.  I have a review due on Karin Slaughter's "Criminal" in a little over a week and I can't imagine how I am going to make that happen.  It has started off really good though.  I really like the characters in her series.


In print I read Wendy Wax's "Ocean Beach" and am now about halfway through Jeff Ashton's "Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony" and it has completely gripped me.  I've always been a huge fan of true crime, but this happened in my back yard so I was invested before I read the first page. Invested in the most visceral, blood-boiling kind of way.  After that, I'm going to dig into Gillian Flynn's back list, because I must.


Cross your fingers that things turn off a bit cooler today.  They are saying it will.  If any of these farmers want to be able to buy groceries, it had better.  Wishing you ALL a cooler Sunday!  





23 comments:

bermudaonion said...

You must have brought that heat up from Florida with you. That part of the country is actually warmer than we are right now.

Jenny said...

I'm glad you're enjoying Jeff Ashton's book! I need to get to Flynn's back list too!

Megan said...

Ah, so this crazy heat wave is *your* fault? It's good to finally have someone to blame. ;-)

Sounds like you're having a good time of it, despite the heat. Hope the rest of your travels are a little cooler and at least as much fun!

rhapsodyinbooks said...

So jealous you have Criminal! I wanted to buy it yesterday but it is just in hardback and expensive... But I love her books and her characters!

Unknown said...

White Sox?!?! Really?!?!

Sounds like a fun trip, in spite of the heat. I must get back to Chicago sometime soon.

JoAnn said...

Sounds like a lot of fun, even with the heat. Family vacations are definitely not conducive to audiobook listening ;-)

Carrie K. said...

I am excited to dig into Flynn's back list, too- hoping my library has some on audio.

We're having some high temps, too - in the high 90s - but I'm trying not to complain because our June was so rainy and cold.

I'm still slogging through 11/22/63 - I need an e-reader, because that sucker is heavy to hold!

WiseOldOwl said...

Dear Sandy:
Thanks so much for your kind comments about Jeff's book. I am glad he wrote it because it really filled in a lot of gaps for me on the story of what happened before the trial.
Do you have plans to read the book just released by Jose Baez? Let me know if you have any other good ideas for books. I am always looking for new things to put on my Kindle.
Sincerely
Susan Clary
Campaign Manager
Jeff Ashton for State Attorney
www.electjeffashton.com

caite said...

so, we have your Indiana visit to thank for the giant heat bubble...and the storm that shot across the country and knocked out 1 million peoples electric on the east coast, including me!?

maybe next summer you should go to..like Europe. lol

caite said...

..and I too am SO JEALOUS about Criminal. Does Ms. Slaughter not know I am her number one fan? ;-)

Peppermint Ph.D. said...

Oh, I know what you mean about the heat. When I take the dogs in the mornings, they come in and collapse and I have to get in the shower just to cool off. It is literally like melting...just as you described. My AC bill is ridiculous and I just don't even care.
I'd like to read the Ashton book...there's so much about that story that just infuriates me, yet I feel there's so much more.
Chicago is one of my favorite places in the US! LOVE!

Marion said...

I have to say as ghastly as the subject was, I read Ashton`s book when it came out and I could not put it down either, I have always enjoyed a good True Crime book and this fit the bill.

Vicki said...

This heat is awful!! I want to move to Alaska NOW! I love Lighthouses, visiting them and collection them. My house looks like a lighthouse museum. I had no idea the Sears Tower got a name change. I'll have to Google it to find out what it is. I've seen Ocean Beach blogged about here and there and added it to my 28 mile list of to reads.

Hope the weather cools down some for you! and all of us!

Ti said...

It is just now starting to get warm in So Cal. Last week our AC died so I was glad that it did not get to be over 85 but this week, we are between 100-102.

Hope it's cooler for you today!

Literary Feline said...

I would love to get out of town for awhile. I told my husband we should try and plan something for next year. This year it's long weekends here and there--but always at home.

I am glad you didn't lose power during the storm! So many did. :-(

Enjoy the rest of your vacation and try to stay cool!

Zibilee said...

I bet you will be glad when summer is over, though in Florida, it is kind of always summer :) I am glad that you are having fun seeing relatives and that you are keeping cool. A movie sounds like a great way to get some air conditioning, and plus you get to watch a man in tights. My kind of day. See you soon!

Marie Cloutier said...

it's been crazy hot here, too. you know it's bad when you think mid 80s is a relief!

Beth(bookaholicmom) said...

So you were the one who brought that miserable heat up here! Sorry it happened during your trip. It really was miserable. I invested in an air conditioner after not having one for over a decade. I am looking forward to fresh sweet corn and hope it survives! We haven't had rain since early June! Enjoy the rest of your trip. I hope the weather co-operates for you!

Alyce said...

I'm glad you've been able to have fun with relatives, but that heat would be a pain. Things have just started getting hot here in Oregon - in the high 80s. It's like we're a month behind our normal hot weather, but I'm not complaining.

Melissa said...

Ok, now I'm confused. I think I was reading too fast... I thought you said Criminal wasn't going to good, but maybe it was reading in general that wasn't going too well....

It's been crazy hot here too. We've finally gotten some rain over the past few days that have cooled us down.

Unknown said...

I think we need to swap some of our weather - if you take some of our cold air and we have some of your hot stuff we'll all be perfect :-) Enjoy your time at the farm!

Anonymous said...

Except for the heat, it all sounds like fun! You probably don't want to hear that I'm sitting here considering turning on the heat though. ;-p

Kathleen said...

Sounds like a lot of fun except for the HOT part! I can't wait to hear about the Casey Anthony book. As your soul sister in true crime you know I am all over that one!