Fair Weather Friends...

This is where our friends are at the moment, on the island of Giglio off the coast of Italy, near the knee of country's boot so to speak. A friend of ours, who I swear was born under a lucky star, has a family time share on the island and had visited at least once a year since he was an infant. There are mussels in white wine broth, a near-private beach, a penis-shaped rock, a bistro on the sand with fresh brioche, bad but strong local wine, a reclaimed castle with colorful laundry hanging on lines between the walls of narrow alleyways, dangerously steep walking paths and a welcoming blue gate that is always open. It says come in, bitte and mille grazie, come as you are with your rock-torn feet and mosquito-bitten skin. Play poker with seeds from a nearby tree as money. Sleep in the breeze of the ocean. Shower outdoors and pick basil from the garden.

This is where The Boyfriend and I were last summer and, if we are good, where we may return some other time. I hope you guys had tons of fun while we were back in Phoenix. Let's see, while you were in paradise we were:

• Holding a garage sale in 118 degree heat
• Fixing my Jeep's broken hose and mopping up coolant
• Watching out for the serial killer who stalks our neighborhood
• Seeing Pirates of the Caribbean from a neck-wrenching angle
• Avoiding going to the gym
• Burning through Netflix movies like there is no tomorrow

Ahh yes. Summer in Phoenix. Because there has to be spontaneous combustion in order for there to be ashes for the Phoenix to rise from, right?