June & July - another fun filled / action packed couple of months

The Weather

Normally I wouldn’t bother even mentioning the weather however we are experiencing a hotter than hot summer and I just wanted to share it with ya’ll.

June really was hot, sizzling with the warmest temperatures on record! We topped 104° twice, which was the hottest temperature ever recorded in Houston during the month of June. Altogether, we had seven consecutive triple digit days apparently another new record – and we’re told to expect temperatures to be warmer than normal in July and August as well. We’ve had quite a few impressive thunderstorms – very speccy!

It is soooo hot here – I don’t remember it being nearly this hot during the last two summers. Thank goodness for airconditioning and the beautiful pool here at the apartment complex.

And I haven’t even mentioned the humidity…….

The last couple of months in brief –

Our friend Penny (from Adelaide but currently living in New York) visited for a week. We had a great time (read separate blog entry). The heat was really oppressive and I think Penny was glad to hop on that plane and fly out of here into a cooler place…….

Saw 4 movies during this time – some better than others!

Food Inc (with Lydia & Nancy) – a must see for everybody!

Living the Path of Conscious Language (at the Path of Tea)

– interesting, certainly brings awareness to the words we use and initiates change of vocab!

Leap (with Nancy & Melissa at Unity) – makes you question so many things!

I Love You Beth Cooper (with Penny, Judy & Patrick) – bad, very,very bad!!

2 Theatre outings –

• 42^nd Street at Miller Theatre with Judy and Penny - fabulous
• Phantom of the Opera with Lydia and Nancy – amazing costumes, amazing voices

Went blueberry picking with Pat, Anna, Judy, Candace & Carlan. We had a wonderful time picking blueberries – putting some in the bucket, some in the mouth…….yum, yum!

We celebrated birthdays with special friends –

Anna’s big day was celebrated with lunch at Baba Yega’s

with all the yoga girls after a great morning workout!

Bill’s birthday was celebrated at his apartment along with Kerry, Paula & Dickie, George S and Eric (Ensco). John was out of the country on a work assignment so missed out on this fun night.

Kocksi’s birthday – enjoyed a wonderful phone call – it was so good to hear your voice Kocksi!

3 boat trips –

• Swamp Tour in Lafayette – fun time although cut short when severe thunderstorm erupted directly over us! More info in “Penny’s visit…”

• Cruised out of Keemah on Bill & Anna’s yacht. John was still out of the country so Bill had a 3-girl crew (Anna, Kerry & me). So peaceful & pleasant, so relaxing & restful until the thunderstorm hit! (2 boat trips, 2 thunderstorms, I see a pattern….) Large waves, sheet lightning, booming thunderclaps, pouring rain however with Bill’s expertise behind the wheel and Kerry’s amazing directions, we did arrive back at the mooring safely although soaked to bone! Another fun experience……

• Port of Houston Boat Tour with Heather, Nancy, Bill, Anna & Kerry. We cruised along a section of the 50-mile channel that leads to the Gulf of Mexico and one of the busiest ports in the world and saw ocean freighters, ships and barges, industry lined banks and overall witnessed a different aspect of Houston. It was a great day and I look forward to doing it again with John as he missed out (actually on his own cruise somewhere in the North Sea or perhaps the English Channel). Very hot but not a thunderstorm in sight!!

John was out and about for quite a while during this time including 2 separate trips to Santa Barbara and nearly 3 weeks away in Canada, Ireland and the Netherlands (read separate blog entry for this trip). While in Santa Barbara he & Bill visited Aussies Maureen & Rob’s newly built house. Rob used to work for EDN but it wasn’t that job that purchased this mansion!

While in town, John joined in on 2 yoga sessions – one at the Arboretum followed by a walk through the beautiful grounds where we were lucky enough to witness some baby hawks leaving their nest for the first time. It was amazing to see them hanging on to the branches high above the ground – apparently it would be a few more days before they would fly.

June 5^th - Joined a company named Shop to Earn and am now building my own business, based around on-line shopping (right up my alley!) Have been organizing presentations and personally delivering them – I’m certainly stretching myself – great learning curve for me - very enlightening if not a little challenging! Enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Vietopia’s with Lydia & Dawn (also STE Brokers) where Lydia shared her amazing marketing skills with us.

Saturday July 11^th saw the opening of the walking season – a special season for John and me as we are both assistant coaches this year. We’re looking forward to walking in the San Antonio half marathon again in November and the full marathon in Houston in January. We’ve actually registered for several other events but you can read about them when we’ve crossed the finish line!

Sunday 12^th June - Spent the afternoon updating my CPR along with fellow coaches from Houston Fit and now hold a current certificate. The training was a little different from what I previously received in Adelaide – this was called Heartsaver and is a simplified and easily remembered CPR method.

Saturday, July 25^th - Pat & Sam hosted our group dinner this time with Candace & Bart and Diane & George. We had a ‘salad’ theme - so appropriate with this extreme weather we are currently enduring. John arrived home from his trip at 7pm, showered, changed and went straight to dinner – what a guy!! It was another great night and we just love spending time with these wonderful people.

That’s about it for now – wonder what August has in stall for us?