All I can say is that this week has been hot...really hot! We're not used to this type of heat in Vancouver. There were a couple of days (Wednesday and Thursday I think) when the car thermometer read 36 degrees. Our house was like an oven and it was so difficult to get the kids to sleep. In fact we had 2 or 3 virtually sleepless nights as we tended to River, who woke up constantly. People were generally very cranky and everyone had a tired, desperate look. Only 6% of people in Vancouver have air-conditioning in their homes, so at least we didn't feel like we were the only uncomfortably, over-heated family around. Yesterday the temperature was a little cooler. Still very warm, but compared to earlier in the week it was okay. It was too hot to go to the beach (for me anyway), but we went down to Marpole pool a couple of times. It's a large outdoor wading pool that is great for the kids, as well as adults. Only $2 an adult (kids under 5 are free) so it's also an inexpensive outing. River didn't seem to like it at first, but on the second trip he felt better and thought he could just walk into the deep part without any trouble at all. It's sometimes scary keeping that little boy out of harm's way. He seems to have absolutely no sense of danger.
I read another Emma Donoghue book; The Sealed Letter. It is based on the true story of a scandalous divorce case that took place in the mid 1800s in England. It was a very interesting read about the rigid structure of divorce laws at this time (they were in a certain flux) and the rights of married women during this period in England (they had none). I felt the characters were somehow sacrificed to the plot and that none of them seemed to have a great deal of depth. But it was an interesting read. I just picked up "The Little Stranger" by Sarah Waters. It is long-listed for the 2009 Manbooker prize and, having read her previous novels, I am looking forward to reading it.
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