Keeping cool in Detroit

It's been a hot couple of weeks up here. Like, temperatures that compete with the hellish confines of Houston, Hot. People are making deeply questionable fashion choices,   wandering around the city in outfits that would make even the total slobs among us weep. The Riverwalk is packed, and the Belle Isle beach is hopping every afternoon. I have not cooked a meal inside for 9 days, and everybody is getting sick of BBQ and salads. 

The Dog is shedding like crazy, and mostly lies around the house panting and wishing he had been adopted out to a family in Alaska. 

The Kid is extra whiny and needy, refusing to wear clothes, preferring to lie butt naked on the filthy hardwood floors, complaining to the dog about the unfairness of parents who won't take her to the swimming pool  Right. This. Minute. 

As for Stone, things around here look a lot like this:

Indeed as I type, Stone is sitting in front of the open window, smoking a cigarette, in full view of the neighbors, wearing nothing but a worn out pair of  blue briefs. Our neighbors must be counting the seconds until we leave...

The forests and parks on Belle Isle are providing an almost daily escape from the opressive heat inside out house. On a recent walk we discovered some really cool art made out of gathered sticks and logs, about 1/4 mile into the forest. How Neat!

Tuesday evenings, we go watch our neighbourhood Football team play one of the other neighbourhood teams. GO VILLAGES!! We are currently undefeated!!  There are about 30 Detroit neighborhood soccer teams that play in the football league.

Nothing is more fun than kicking back with an ice cold Martini while watching your neighbors and friends run around in the heat.

Yeah, those guys brought a real martini shaker, glasses, olives, and a silver tray. Class. 

Later in the week I am hoping to write a little bit about our nightly happy hour chit-chat sessions in the back yard. Our neighbors come out for a glass of wine and we all just sit around and talk. We can talk for hours about everything under the sun, but mostly about politics, race, and the future of Detroit. I'm telling you guys, the conversations are fascinating. I feel so lucky to get to be a part of them, and to learn from some of the old souls in our city, and the young movers and shakers.