Good friends, Great Weather

Yesterday was a great day.  We went out for a buffet breakfast at Yilmaz with our friends Tara and Serkan, then spent most of the afternoon in Anadolu Kavagi.  We climbed the hill to gaze out at the Bosphorus where it meets the Black Sea and then back down in the village ate our weight (okay, that was me) in fried mussels and kalamari.  Afterwards, we headed back to our place for a late-afternoon swim to rinse the heat of the day off of us.  (It was over 104F at one point!)  It was nice to spend time with some other people (who speak English!) and just basically lounge around.  One of the best parts was a brief discussion about childbearing practices in Istanbul and not being told that I'm dangerous or don't care about my baby because I'm not willing to be fear-suckered into every test conceivable to man.  Oh, and they are heading back to the US in a week or so and have agreed to bring back some cloth diapers for me.  Yippee!

Today, the rain came in, and boy how!  The day started out a little overcast, but still hot and humid.  Late this afternoon, though, the rain started and brought thunder and lightening with it.  The cool breeze was wonderful and heralded the falling of some tiny hail.  Of course our basement flooded again, not that we were surprised.  We've pretty much given up hope of this house ever being fixed.  It's such a shame--huge house, lovely view, great neighbors, but a pit when it comes right down to it with 1/4 of the house completely unusable.  But anyway, the weather has cooled off considerably and I hope it stays for a while.  I'd love to be able to cook at home again--with the kitchen over 90F, I just don't want to run the oven or stove.