The heat is on!

My brother, Troy, and cousin, Rob, attended Summerfest with us Sunday to see INXS. We staked out a picnic table up front for 3 hours taking turns running for water and the cool down tent where they spray mist so you don't pass out from heat exhaustion. The band put on a GREAT show which made the wait in 103 degree temps worthwhile! (JD was sporting a full beard and long hair!)

Then Troy stayed with Rob at his apartment in West Allis while we went back to the airport Radisson. We picked Troy up Monday morning to take him back to Rapids since he had rode down with Rob Sunday morning. The drive from Rapids to Big Lake is 4 hours making a total of almost 7 hour drive for the day. We eventually made it back to our empty house in time to get some of the 8 loads (or so) of laundry started! Whoo hoo!

We thought for sure our lawn would be burnt to a crisp like last year when we went to Summerfest for the week but luckily it must have rained a bit since we still had a bit of green (mostly weeds, though) and some water in the one bird bath we didn't pack. Patrick is out mowing the weeds right now. I regret not putting in the in-ground sprinkler system we discussed adding 2 or 3 years ago but obviously it's too late now.

Not much is happening with our properties here in Minnesota. Patrick has been diligently trying to get the duplex to close but the mortgage officer won't call back the buyer or Patrick. Also, the young couple we would like to sell our Big Lake home to can't get approved for the loan so we are discussing a carry-back option. It's nothing I'm excited about but we do need to sell so something is better than nothing, right?

As far as our place in San Rafael (Costa Rica), the previous owner moved out at the beginning of July and worked out a deal with the neighbor who owns the coffee plantations. He is staying at our place and we are paying him $50 per week until we get down there. It's not quite the arrangement I was hoping for (again) but hopefully it will help our standing in the community and we won't be the "awful gringos". Making friends with the owner of a coffee plantation can't be all bad! I can't wait to enjoy real coffee again (we have Yuban at home but we had plenty of crap while vacationing).

Oh, by the way, the Weird Al concert exceeded my expectations so I would highly recommend checking him out next time you get a chance! We missed the Asia concert due to a slight family melt-down and huge crowds. Cat Empire funked and jammed. Patrick and Azure thought Spoon was too mellow but I enjoyed them and at least caught "I Turn My Camera On" and "The Way We Get By" before we left.