Hotter Than a Firecracker!

It's been awhile since I posted here.  Have had my daughter and family here in my house-on-a-slab for a delightful week for Grandma!  It might not have been so delightful for my family because THIS early July turned out to be the hottest on record.  I think the temperature sensor on my patio read 108 for a short time on the 7th...and only slightly lower 100s on the few days previous. 

This was to be my son-in-law's first "traditional" Fourth of July, complete with cookout/picnic, patriotic T-shirts, professional fireworks at the park just west of my house...sparklers on the patio, watermelon and ice cream.  (Denis is Russian.  He has only been in America since 2008, and is on the fast-track to American citizenship.) 

Because of the drought and awful temperatures, most of Indiana is under a "burn ban", and several communities in the county canceled or postponed their fireworks displays.  Indianapolis also banned personal fireworks.  Plainfield did not.  I think the message was, "If you can stand the heat, so can we!"  Plainfield has a number of activities at Hummel Park on the Fourth--inflatable "bounce" houses, a climbing wall, concessions, live bands in the band shell, and fireworks.  I think they even have duck races (featuring little yellow rubber duckies) on the river, if you get there early enough.  On a normal day, it would be lots of fun.  In 105-degree heat, however, not so much!

On the 3rd, Grandma Judy and Grandpa Phil had us over for good food at their house.  On the 4th, they joined us.  Because of the weather, we had an indoor picnic consisting of homemade potato salad, baked beans and chips, potatoes au gratin (because Robin didn't think she'd like potato salad), green and black olives, three kinds of bratwurst that Denis cooked on the grill with two kinds of buns, watermelon, and little pudding tarts that Meg made, complete with strawberries and blueberries to make them festive. 

After dinner, it was time to head for the park.  (Grandpa Phil opted not to go with us, due to asthma-related problems with air quality.)  Robin desperately wanted to walk there (which we used to do before Grandma Peggy's back got so bad and Grandma Judy's knee was replaced).  God bless Denis, he agreed to take them there on foot!  Megan drove Judy and I to the west entrance of the park near the bandshell so we didn't have much of a walk.  We hooked up with Denis and the children, at one point, and enjoyed the "oldies" music that was coming from The Knightsmen.  As the sun went down, so did the temps a little.  As long as we were holding still, it wasn't so unbearable.  We brought out the glow-sticks at dark and enjoyed the fireworks.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!

I think Judy and I were the only complainers, but the music that was piped in during the fireworks display wasn't the patriotic stuff.  (I've already written to the Powers That Be about that.)  In the traffic jam on the way home, we took care of it!  Denis plied his phone magic, typing in what we wanted to hear, and it came through the car radio.  "Stars and Stripes Forever", "Washington Post March", and another...I forget.  At least we got our fix!  We drove Judy home and came home ourselves. 

Once home, we retired to the patio to do sparklers.  Megan took pictures.  Sparklers ain't what they used to be when I was a kid, but they are sure better than nothing.  For at least 20 minutes after we got back, there were sirens everywhere.  I was concerned that there were fires or something, but Megan noticed that one of the passing fire trucks was from Avon, IN...going home in a blaze of Fourth of July glory!  I was happy just to sit and watch my family enjoy what was left of the day.  When the sparklers were gone, we came in for ice cream and bed.  Thanks to Daylight Savings Time, it was LATE.  Still, I am so happy we had as good a time as we did, considering how desperately hot it was.

A couple of days later, we actually melted chocolate chips in the sun in order to make "puppy chow"...and fried an egg or two in the sun, as an experiment.  The choc chips were easy...the eggs took a little more...but at least Robin got it. 

In some respects, I think Denis took the brunt of the Fourth, since he was the one who walked to the park with the children in the heat...he was the one to cook the brats on the grill in the heat...he is the one who faithfully does his "insanity" workout, no matter what.  Still, I hope he had fun.  When this fellow achieves American citizenship, I think we need to throw a helluva party!