I’m Wilting – and Other Thoughts

It is 10:06 in the morning on this day, and my weather center says it is 94 degrees on the front porch. Oh yay, say I. Yes, I say that, with tongue firmly in cheek. Yesterday it got to 110 degrees on our front porch, and my weather app says today will be 117. I am not liking this summer.

Yesterday we got our first veggies from our gardens.

These may also be the last of our green beans, because those plants are looking very parched, despite our nightly waterings.

My Shasta looks like this, in the air-conditioned house:

She is only going outside when absolutely necessary, which is exactly what the rest of us are doing.

So what do I do with my days in this heat? Well, I try to warp my loom to do some weaving – with which I have a helper:

Eventually I was able to complete my warp, and this is what’s happening on my loom now:

Otherwise, my time is spent reading, napping, lounging. Because it is hot, I am retired, and I can do what I want. Thank you.

This household will be moving this summer. My daughter will be teaching in the town 45 miles away, and that is a longer drive than she wishes to make every day of the week, so they will be selling the house we are in and buying in the town 45 miles away. The quest for a new home is exciting. Frustrating. Interesting. The market is crazy and things move very quickly. They were going to look at some houses today, but the forecast says it’s supposed to get up to 117 degrees, so everything is closing down. There will be no showings of houses and, I suspect, little else going on in the town that is 45 miles away. Inside, in air-conditioning, is the only place to be. I appreciate that our air conditioner was returned to functioning early in June, after a minor, short-lived heat wave, before this monster moved in. Can you tell the weather is taking over my brain?

We are moving closer to our planned vacation by the ocean. I am excited to be able to see the ocean, hear the sound of the waves lapping on the shore, smell the salt in the air, and feel the calming effects of all of those. I missed my ocean reprieve last year because of – well, you know why. How could you not know why?

Our state will be opening up for regular business again July 1, it is said. I suspect this is happening mainly for economic reasons, although the numbers of new Covid cases are dropping daily. I hope it stays that way. I will probably still mask up when I go into crowded shops despite the fact that I am fully vaccinated. For awhile, at least. Until I grow more weary of masking up, and feel more secure.

I find that I’m looking for lighter reading fare these days – books written with humor. My TV viewing has gone the same direction. I’m avoiding drama, darkness, toils and troubles. I think it’s called self-preservation, in this time when the world seems to have gone crazy and is too full of all those things I’m avoiding. Am I alone in wanting to find some beacons of light and hope, that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel? How are you feeling?

Lighter fare also describes the way we’re eating these days. Lighter, cold dishes. Lots of salads. I would like some chocolate chip cookies, but I don’t want to turn on the oven. That’s a psychological thing I think, because truth is the oven doesn’t add a lot of heat to the inside of the house. Maybe I will make some chocolate chip, oatmeal, zucchini cookies with the first of our squash. Although really, a lemon pie sounds so much better. Hmmm. I’ll give it some thought. The thoughts will determine whether I take any action.

Before I leave, I want to share a photo of this mama and her babies, who were our neighbors but have now moved with their human dad to a new home. I want to share because who can not love this?

And then there’s our little girl from Siam, who curls up with me when I am in my room watching TV, or reading, or sleeping.

And there you have my heat-soaked thoughts, examples of all the ways I have enough.