Have you ever seen a Belgian sky so blue?

Natan's Quotes of the Day

"You can stay up reading until it is to
dark to read then you go to sleep." I say
"Oh, but I have eyes that see
in the dark," Natan responds quickly
"you see black eyes see best in the night
and blue eyes see best in the day!"

July 19th and 35ºc (95ºf) in Brussels. It is said to be the warmest day so far this year and the warmest summer in 3 years. We have had above 26ºc (80ºf) pretty much since the first of July or so. I love warm weather, and day after day of sun and warm is what I grew up with, but after living in Brussels for 6 years I am use to damp and cold. Walking around in Brussels now feels like something is terribly wrong. Brussels is dead in the summer no matter what the weather, but now it really seems dead with all the windows closed and the streets empty and the sun shining down hard on everything and everybody.

Of course every time I look at the thermometer and begin to complain I remember again that I grew up with this and more. So on that note I looked at the weather in Elliott, Iowa today and the weather chart said 101ºf (real feel 112ºf). Gotta love that real feel note in there, because that is exactly what hits you in the face when you walk out into 101ºf. Which in Celsius equals over 38ºc (real feel 44.5ºc) and it was actually close to that in some places of Belgium today and London, which got to 37ºc. So, I have to say I NEVER thought we would have an Iowa summer in Belgium, but luckily, or un-luckily I guess depending on who you are speaking to, we seem to be have one!

I guess I am so happy for this Iowa heat wave because our house, which is more like a cave, is staying quite cool. Like a cave I guess it only changes a few degrees between winter to summer, so our 16ºc (60ºf) in the winter is only a few degree warmer to 22ºc (71.5ºf) in this heat wave. Of course if it where completely up to me I would try to keep it 22ºc all year round.