Hot hot hot

It hit 101 or 102 today, breaking all kinds of records. Since I grew up here, I kind of like the heat and humidity. When you first step outside, it's like having a comforting blanket settling around you. It makes me recall walking to the pool when I was a kid and buying chocolate eclair or toasted almond ice cream bars. Still, 102 is a little much, and it made the most sense to stay inside. Nobody accused me of having a lot of sense, however, so while my husband took Philip on an errand to his work, I packed up Angelina and Sofia and we went trawling for yard sales and thrift shop goods. It was a lot of fun, despite the heat. Angelina and Sofia each got a pretty hair band at a yard sale, and Sofia and I are still fighting over who's going to end up with a great Wonder Woman notebook that only cost a dollar. Then we went to Unique Thrift Shop and I watched the girls having fun playing dress-up with fancy hats and yucky wigs. Sofia is a natural at this, and I'm definitely going to encourage her to take up drama someday (and she's always been quite the drama queen). I met a nice older woman who encouraged me to buy a couple of dresses, including one Maggie London dress for only $9.99 http://www.maggylondon.com/#collections/maggy .

I love Unique, because everything is so affordable, and it's like going on a treasure hunt. You may end up with something amazing, like a pair of $200 shoes (score!!!), but then there's a ton of tacky stuff. And of course there are guys hanging around there who could either be the typical undocumented construction worker types or else gang members. The construction workers are the ones looking at cheap jeans and boots, while the gang members have tattooes. Actually, I haven't really seen too many gang member types, but I'm always ready to assume the worst. And the police are there a lot, which makes me think there may be a potential for crime. And then there's a big Korean supermarket nearby, as well as one of those greasy-looking taqueria trucks that I haven't gotten up the courage to try yet. And on federal holidays everything is 50 percent off, which makes the whole place a zoo. It's a lot of fun, and I think Sofia has already absorbed the spirit of thrift store shopping.

Afterwards, we had a cheap-ish lunch at Duncan Donuts, where Sofia and Angelina danced in their chairs to "Isn't She Lovely," the song that Sofia's dance class performed to at their recital. Then Sofia turned up her nose at the bathroom there, so we went on to my favorite Asian Store, Han An Rheum, or H-Mart for short. H-Mart is in the same type of area, where you really see people from all over the world and you read about shootings in the nearby apartment complex. Okay, maybe not that often, but from time to time. Also, my former daycare provider had her groceries stolen there. At the same time, you see wealthy Asian-looking people pulling up in Mercedes and other expensive cars, because the food is so diverse and fresh. Each time I see things that I never knew existed. Last time I saw a Chinese or Korean-looking man putting some bitter melon in a bag. It was on sale, and he had a t-shirt with a slogan that referred to genetics, so I felt comfortable asking him how he cooked the melon. (I suppose I felt comfortable because it meant he spoke English, was educated, and possibly worked in the same field as my father.) He told me that he basically stir fried it, so I bought some and tried it later that week. It was...bitter. I don't think I'd buy it again, but it's always nice to try new things. Today I saw some dragon fruit, which until now I had only heard of as one ingredient in vitamin water. It looked so crazy...I can't really describe it, but here's a link -- http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img.alibaba.com/photo/104906322/Vietnam_Dragon_Fruit.jpg&imgrefurl=http://makeupgeek.com/forum/viewtopic.php%3Ff%3D6%26t%3D19952%26p%3D174491&h=302&w=350&sz=53&tbnid=Dj6r19r9CFt2TM:&tbnh=104&tbnw=120&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddragon%2Bfruit&usg=__0Ft7WVqbMKF9Zi9oDpOaOZPR1Sc=&sa=X&ei=5q9LTIr0JcKC8gbW3bDyCA&ved=0CDQQ9QEwAw. And each time we pass the sugar cane, Sofia makes a reference to our book about the Day of the Dead. The other good thing about the Asian store -- aside from the fresh, cheap produce, meat and fish, and the 80s music soundtrack -- is the fact that they're always giving away free samples. Today we tried bottled green tea, Japanese bean cakes, and mango aloe drink. The latter was a bit odd, but I was compelled to purchase the delicious bean cakes. I love Japanese food, and I should really make the effort to cook it more.

Later today, I had another cultural experience. Philip has been going to a French language and culture camp for the past week. It's at a place I could never afford, but my parents offered to subsidize him because my mom was excited that he was interested in learning French. It's at Sidwell Friends, so I had visions of running into one of the Obamas there (but alas, they're away in Maine). Anyway, it's been a great experience so far, and it pisses me off a bit because why can't they have such a great experience at public school? He's been eating French cheese, drinking Orangina, and building models of Notre Dame. Also, they've been learning about Senegal and Mali. On Friday, they had a Senagalese drummer come in to teach them how to drum. He brought all sorts of drums for the entire class, and they counted in French. Tonight, Philip gave Sofia and me a drumming lesson. It was so much fun! Angelina really got into it as well. She was drumming away with chopsticks, while Sofia and I drummed on a diaper carton and a baby wipes box, respectively. It's inspired me to plan a trip to the African Art Museum tomorrow, and Philip is excited about it.

So, Mr. Evil Glen Beck, what is my crazy liberal self grateful for today? (See, you evil wingnuts, we left-of-center people can stick to a schedule and keep our commitments about what we say we're going to write.)

1. Girls' days out. So much fun today with Angelina and Sofia.
2. Air conditioned cars.
3. That I live in a multicultural area, and that nonetheless we still have pretty decent public schools. (Okay, shoot me for being politically incorrect, but I know how these things work.)
4. That Philip has the opportunity to go to such a great program, even if it's only for 2 weeks.
5. My kids.
6. That my parents are so involved in my kids' lives.
7. Free museums.
8. Netflix (what I'm thinking about doing after this, even though I shouldn't).
9. Our new-ish dishwasher.
10. My health.
11 Freedom of religion (Take that, Glen Beck!)

Okay, that's all for now. I'll write more tomorrow, but it may not be as long. This is a great exercise.