Fireworks

Today we celebrated July 4 in July--odd concept, but it fits with the "Holidays in July" theme. There was a parade of decorated golf carts, with people wearing red, white, and blue and tossing candy to the onlookers. This evening there was a party on the beach and fireworks, a really nice display.

Mother Nature put on a fireworks display last night. We had major thunderstorms passing through the area and got quite a bit of rain besides the lightening and thunder. I talked to Carol today, and she said that Tyler has now had 32 straight days of temps over 100 and no rain.

We drove in to Union City to pick up a few things, including candy to hand out to the kids who will come trick or treating tomorrow (Halloween in July, of course....). The Discount Grocery and Veggie Barn had some really nice beefsteak tomatoes. I'm a sucker for a good tomato, so we picked up a bunch. We'll do some more extensive grocery shopping in Battle Creek.

We stopped in at the Thrift Store for the last time (it's only open Thurs.-Sat., and we leave here next Thursday). They had a half-price clothing sale, and I got four tops for a buck. One is a purple tee-shirt from the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. I got it because I like the turtles on the front, with the idea of making some cutouts and using it for a beach shirt.

We went to the clubhouse this evening to watch part of the billiards tournament. We got a chance to see how the game is supposed to be played (in contrast to our amateur efforts).

Sarah led the exercise class again this morning. It reminded me of how lucky I've been in the past to have easy access to good exercise opportunities, like aerobics at USC and Pilates at Pomona. I'm feeling inspired to keep up the aerobic and resistance and stretching exercises even when there's no exercise class. I've added a mat and some free weights to the shopping list.

I'm feeling a bit depressed that the Progressive Slate causes in the Pepsi Refresh grant contest are doing so poorly. In the past, I've felt good about voting for the causes, since many ended up getting funding. Now the Progressive Slate's featured causes are far back in the voting. I asked why and got the response that some other groups are buying up Pepsi at Walmart to get the "power vote" codes under the caps. I'm sure Pepsi is pleased about that, but the Progressive Slate says it's not about to start recommending that its members/voters do the same. Now it looks like the top vote getters include lots of animal rescue causes. Not that animal causes aren't important, but people are more important in my book.