burning in my heart

For those of you who may not have heard, the DMV area found themselves smack-dab in the center of a heat wave these past few weeks. As a result, it's been too hot to blog. I've started several posts but haven't finished them. Today, however, it's a glorious 75 degrees and cloudy. I'm still recovering, though, so all you'll get from me is a top ten list, some photographs, and a short little video. Enjoy!

Top Ten Ways to Beat the Heat

10. Pick radishes. You've read about our past experiences with container gardening here and with our community garden plot here. Well, I think we finally got it right. We constructed our own little raised garden plots at the side of our house, and we've got radishes!

9. Read Ann Patchett and watch Weeds. No explanation needed.

8. Visit the National Gallery of Art. This D.C. site has lots to offer in a heat wave - air conditioning, gelato, Leo Villareal's Multiverse, and a nearly empty contemporary art gallery where little ones can crawl around until their heart is content.

7. Follow up visit to art gallery with a visit to RDF. After strolling around the art museum, we stopped off at RDF for some hummus, beer, and white sangria. A great halfway stopping point between the museum and the metro.

6. Trek out to Tysons Corner. We window-shopped, played at Barnes and Noble, and dined at Gordon Biersch. Unfortunately, a lot of other people had this same idea. As a result, Tysons Corner wasn't much cooler than our living room.

5. Learn new tricks. We thought we could make this video go viral by replacing our silly jabbering with "I'm so mad at Pepco!"

4. Drink Pimm's Cups. This drink really is the ultimate heat wave drink. Combine a quarter of a cup Pimm's with three-quarters of a cup of ginger ale. Add ice and a slice of cucumber.

3. Make baby-friendly popsicles. There are so many creative sites out there with recipes for popsicles! I made mine with yogurt and frozen blueberries, and I put them in the rocket pop molds that I bought at Whole Foods. Yummy!

2. Make your own country club. Combine one inflatable pool with one goofy grin. What heat wave?

1. Get a haircut. Yup. We finally did it. A few tears were shed (mine, not his), but around these parts, it's a hundred percent cooler.

Keep sweeping, Martha

Finished reading State of Wonder by Ann Patchett. Watching Weeds: Season 7. 

Happy day-after-birthday to Fairy Godmother M! We love you lots around here.