No rain is in sight, and in Boston it got to 100°. We were cooler but not by a whole lot. I hated it, but I had to go to Hyannis yesterday. The air conditioner was on in the car but it just wasn’t enough. The sun beat through the windows and sucked up all that cool air. I stayed in my allergists’ office longer than I needed. It was the coldest place I’d been all day.

The deck has a slight breeze, and I’m headed there as soon as I finish. I bought a couple of books yesterday, perfect reasons for sitting on the deck with a cold drink, my feet up and the rest of me immersed in a murder.

I left my bedroom air conditioner on. Gracie does not abide the heat well so when she starts her panting, we’re heading upstairs.

My mother used to keep the shades down when I was a kid. All the  rooms resembled caves. She said it kept the sun away and the rooms cooler. I remember going inside to get a drink and not being able to see until my eyes adjusted to the darkness. It was even worse going back outside when I had to cover my eyes because of the brightness of the sun. My mother was never one for sun. She wore sunglasses all summer for years. We used to call her the mole.

My mother used to make Zarex pops, and I’d sit on the back step slurping it before the sun got it. I always loved popsicles. They were pure relief for a parched mouth on a hot day. I bought some when I last went shopping, but mine have gone upscale and are now juice bars. I bought two favorites: lemon and coconut. I would have bought root beer popsicles, but there weren’t any. They’ll still my favorite.

Languid is about the best I’ll do today.