the july cocktail hour: sweltering heat, bathroom renovations, political upheavals & other miscellany

July 31, 2024: Welcome! Come right in for our July cocktail hour. I’m so happy you’ve dropped by. We’ll have to stay indoors for tonight’s cocktail hour because it’s too hot outdoors to venture to the screened porch. We can be pleasantly air-conditioned in the house, where I have stayed almost all of July.

I can offer you some chilled Castellana white wine, or any wine of your choice. Mike can make a delicious Vodka Tonic with lime. Or we can offer a Michelob Ultra or Hop Slam. I’ve also borrowed one of my sister Steph’s favorite cocktails: Fresca and rum.  Soda or seltzer water is also available.

In the spirit of preparing for our upcoming trip to Japan (& Bali), I wish you “Kanpai (乾杯!)” which means “dry the glass” or “bottoms up.”

welcome to our screened porch

a pasta with mussels dish I made

me on the screened porch another night

A red, white, and blue concoction we made for July 4th that just turned murky

How are things going as we have so quickly moved into the second half of the year? Have you read any good books, seen any good movies, binge-watched any television series? Have you planned any adventures or had any summer getaways? Have you dreamed any dreams? Gone to any exotic restaurants, cooked any new dishes? Have you been surprised by anything in life? Have you enjoyed the simple things in life? Have you learned anything new, taken any classes or just kept up with the news? Have you sung along with any new songs? Have you undertaken any new exercise routines? Have you marched or otherwise participated in political protests? Have you been battered, or alternately, uplifted by any news?

July’s miserable heat

The heat here has been unbearable during July. I don’t know how much longer I can tolerate another Virginia summer; I’m dreaming of where we can move when Mike fully retires. Of course, I would love to move somewhere outside of the U.S. in case a certain horrible someone gets elected as President in this year’s election. The Mexican highlands are appealing to me because of the constant cool weather. I’ve also been entertaining the idea of moving our U.S. home to Portland, Maine, where winters are supposedly harsh, but summers are lovely. In my ideal world, as of this moment, I could see summer and fall in Maine, and winter and spring in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. For now, that is my dream scenario. I’m sure it will change as we explore our options.

As much as I’m sick of summer, I did manage to force myself to get out and take my 3-mile walks, where I found some huge plate-sized flowers (Hollyhocks?) and a chalk message from Hash House Harriers, which brought back memories of my time in Egypt in 2007. I also continued with yoga and rowing.

plate-sized flowers found on a Reston walk

plate-sized flowers found on a Reston walk

Lake Anne in Reston

Hash House Harrier message on one of the Reston trails

Political Upheaval

At the beginning of this month, I felt rather hopeless about our political situation in the country. With two old men running for president – a faltering Biden who is 81 years old but remains a compassionate human being versus a 78-year-old wanna-be fascist who sows chaos and hatred and wants  to turn this country into a white supremacist, Christian nationalist nation – I thought for sure all was lost.

It didn’t help with the failed assassination attempt against Trump at one of his hateful rallies on July 13, which he, of course, milked for all it was worth. So predictable. I won’t say the quiet part out loud, but I’m sure many of you can guess what I thought about that.

At long last, on Sunday July 21, Biden did the right thing for the country (under pressure from fellow Democrats) by withdrawing from the race and endorsing VP Kamala Harris as the candidate for the presidency. With all the rollbacks of women’s rights to bodily autonomy in this country after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, and with her strong and tough prosecutor mentality, plus her hope and optimism about the country, I feel that she offers the best hope to go forward for this country. #I UNDERSTAND THE ASSIGNMENT.

Suddenly, like Kamala’s coffers (she’s raised an extraordinary amount of money in a short time), my hope has risen. I hope she has the wisdom to choose an excellent running mate. As there are many good people to choose from in the Democratic party, she needs to be very strategic. But I really think she can win, if she projects the right image and message of hope. Only time will tell of course. Sadly there are millions of either greedy, idiot or racist Trumpers in this country; they make my skin crawl.

Assassination attempt on Trump

Biden Exits Race, endorses Kamala Harris

Bathroom renovations

Meanwhile, against this backdrop of political upheaval, we have been going through an upheaval in our house. On Friday, July 12, we signed a contract with José Montano to have our two upstairs bathrooms renovated. They were original to the house – over 40 years old – and I can’t believe we’ve lived with them for so long. We are slow to move on big projects such as these. José and his co-worker Jimber began work on the hall bath on Monday, July 15. Finding a previous repair to the toilet was problematic and had damaged the flooring underneath, they had to cut a hole in the floor, subfloor and the ceiling in the dining room and replace the flooring and ceiling drywall. They finished that bathroom by Monday, July 22. As of today, the dining room ceiling has yet to be repaired and the new toilet started leaking today because of an insufficient wax seal, so another repair to the toilet had to be done.

During that week of July 15, when the contractors started working and when the temperatures were over 100°F, our air-conditioning went out for almost two days (from the afternoon of the 16th – on a 104° day – to the morning of the 18th). It was horrible, and I felt so bad for the contractors having to work upstairs in that heat. We told them they could take the day off, but they had a schedule to meet and they insisted on continuing to work. Mike and I slept for two nights in the basement, the coolest part of the house.

Hall bath BEFORE

Hall bath BEFORE

Hall bath BEFORE

Hall bath BEFORE

Hall bath BEFORE

Hall bath BEFORE

Hole in dining room ceiling due to rotting in floor in hall bath above

rotted floor that had to be replaced in the hall bath

Hall bath DURING

Hall bath DURING

Hall bath DURING

Hall bath DURING

Hall bath DURING

Hall bath DURING

Our A/C broke for two days and then we found this article in the Washington Post about the relief offered by A/C repairmen!

Hall bath AFTER

Hall bath AFTER

Hall bath AFTER

Hall bath AFTER

Hall bath AFTER

Hall bath AFTER

Hall bath AFTER

On the same Monday that the contractors finished the hall bath, they also demolished the master bathroom. They were out for a day as they waited for parts to come in, and then they began working on the master bath on Wednesday, July 24, on the same day that Mike left for his Ohio trip. As of today, July 31, the master bathroom is almost finished except that the water isn’t hooked up for the sink or toilet and the glass shower doors, which José had to order, won’t come in for another week. In about 2 1/2 weeks, our hardworking contractors ALMOST completed the job, with a minimum of disruption.

Master Bath BEFORE

Master Bath BEFORE

Master Bath BEFORE

Master Bath DEMOLISHED

Master Bath DURING

Master Bath DURING

Master Bath DURING

Master Bath DURING

Master Bath DURING

Master Bath DURING

Master Bath DURING

Master Bath ALMOST AFTER

Master Bath ALMOST AFTER

Master Bath ALMOST AFTER

Master Bath ALMOST AFTER

Japan and Bali trip planning

In between all of this renovation and political upheaval, I spent countless hours pinning down our itineraries for Japan and for Bali, reading up on where to go and what to see, booking hotels and plotting out our transportation options. This will be a 6-week trip, so it requires a lot of planning. I’ll be exhausted by the time we finally get to take off!

July miscellany

In other happenings, we tried to keep ourselves entertained by going out to eat and watching a lot of movies and shows on TV. We spent the first two weeks of the month trying to make decisions about cabinets, hardware, etc. for the bathrooms. We ate pizza at California Pizza Kitchen, sampled Lao and Thai cuisine at Padaek, noshed on flatbreads at Seasons 52, ate appetizers and salmon salad while sitting at the bar at Artie’s, enjoyed sushi at Ariake then went to Target to look for bathroom accoutrements, ate Thai food at Sister’s Thai in Fairfax and then cooled off with ice cream at Woody’s followed by a short stroll around the small city park. Finally, we went to our favorite Ethiopian restaurant, Enatye.

Me at California Pizza Kitchen

Mike at California Pizza Kitchen

me at Fairfax Corner

dinner at Padaek

dinner at Padaek

Mango sticky rice at Padaek

me at Padaek

Mike at Seasons 52

Me at Tyson’s Corner after dinner at Seasons 52

Tyson’s Corner

me at Artie’s

me at Ariake

Mike at Ariake

me at Target buying stuff for bathrooms

me at Sister’s Thai

dinner at Sisters Thai

Mike at Sisters Thai

downtown Fairfax

me in downtown Fairfax

Mike in downtown Fairfax

Downtown Fairfax

me at Enatye

Mike at Enatye

We got some cheering up with some pictures from the kids and grandkids. Alex, Jandira and Allie spent a day at the Museum of Illusions in Atlanta. Adam, who is still in the U.S. working (we still haven’t seen him yet), sent us a picture of little Mike in Nicaragua.

Alex, Jandira and Allie at the Museum of Illusions

Alex, Jandira and Allie at the Museum of Illusions

Little Mike in Nicaragua at 2 months old

We went to see a lot of movies this month. We saw Touch, which I loved, about an Icelandic man who goes to Japan in search of his first love; he met her in London when he worked at a Japanese restaurant that her father owned. She had disappeared with no word and he had never stopped thinking of her. We watched Find Me Falling on Netflix, where an aging rock star (Harry Connick Jr.) moves to a house in Cyprus that fronts a cliff where people often commit suicide; there he meets an old flame (predictable and a bit hokey). We also finished watching four limited TV series: Apples Never Fall, The Nurse, Midtsommernatt (Swedish), and One Day.

We didn’t go anywhere this month, or at least I didn’t. At the end of the month, Mike headed off to Centerville, Ohio for his annual five-day weekend with his close-knit high school buddies. They started this gathering in 2004 and have gathered every year except during the 2020 COVID year. They come in from Virginia, Michigan, Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Colorado and occasionally the UK. Golf, disc golf, backyard games, whiskey tasting contests, music listening, plain-old hanging out and reminiscing occupied the weekend. 

Mike and his buddies on a golf outing in Ohio

Mike’s annual get together with his friends

Mike and his friends walked to Dianne’s Memorial bench

I stayed home and enjoyed having the house to myself (except for the contractors on Wednesday-Friday). While Mike was in Ohio, I saw two movies: Widow Clicquot, the story behind the Clicquot champagne family and business that began in the 18th century (good!), and The Fabulous Four, about four old friends who reunite for a wedding in Key West (meh).

Also, while Mike was out of town, I went out to eat at Yama Chen and at P.F. Chang. On the last Saturday of the month, I met my friend Leah at Coco B’s in Arlington, where we had bottomless mimosas and talked about politics and Leah’s social life and Mike’s and my travel and retirement plans.

drink at P.F. Chang

crab wontons at P.F. Chang

dumplings at P.F. Chang

Veggie breakfast burrito at Coco B’s

me with Leah at Coco B’s

Finally, I read 6 books this month, bringing my total up to 32/52, with my favorites being Rainbirds by Clarissa Goenawan, The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama (how I love books set in Japan!), Wintering by Peter Geye, and Walking with Buddha: Pilgrimage on the Shikoku 88-Temple Trail by C.W. Lockhart. I also finished Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake, which was barely tolerable (so boring in the first half though it picked up momentum in the second). This was a disappointment as I usually love her books.

I hope you’ll share how the year is panning out for you, and what plans you have for the rest of your summer.