thursday already

time to put out the trash and the empty produce bins.

Monday I don't think we went anywhere all day.

Tuesday Ray went to his office for a few hours in the afternoon and came home about 6. I didn't go anywhere.

Yesterday I volunteered at Sandy Creek Nature Center. It was good, but man, was I tired and hungry when I left there a little after 12:30. There were 22 children, ages 4-6, more boys than girls. I have a theory that children who are more difficult, or just active, are more likely to be sent to camp by their caretakers. I think there were more boys than girls, for instance. The three staff members were a little overwhelmed at times. The activities were perhaps not active enough for some of the kids some of the time. Some kids didn't want their Moms to go...or Grandmas. It was really hot out for hiking and games. But it was fun, too. The kids were affectionate and curious. Some were really knowledgeable about animals.

I picked Ray up and it was one by the time we left UGA. I was really hungry by then and we stopped at Mardie's for lunch. It was hot walking from the car to the restaurant--and there was a sign on the door, "closed for the summer, see you 7/21." Really? We were annoyed. I guess regular customers would have known. We saw two other cars come and go, as well. There is always a wait, so I guess they don't have to worry about driving people away. So we went to Agua Linda instead and had delicious Mexican food. We also bought a new hose at the hardware store nearby. As we were driving home, it started raining! We hoped it would be raining at our house too, for the garden. It stopped before we got there, but I checked the rain gauge and we had about 1/4 of an inch. More would have been good, but even that much makes a big difference. It's hard for me to water evenly with the hose long enough to do 1/4 of inch.

I rested up for awhile. Now I was too full. It was after 2, so no cooking or air conditioning or TV. I had cleverly cooked some potatoes that morning before we left, so I spent most of the afternoon peeling them. They were ones we grew, so some were very small and some had bad or wormy parts to cut out. I added oil and vinegar, onion, salt and pepper, and celery and celery salt. No mayo.

Late in the day, when it starts to get pretty hot inside (81) and we can't run the air, I usually go out. It's hot out, too, 86 I think yesterday, and humid, but there was a breeze. I let the chickens out, which is always entertaining. I was planning to pick blueberries, but got about 6. Those days are gone. Then I looked in the garden and there were green beans that needed to be picked! Also a few tomatoes. The beans are funny. They hide, somehow, because some were really big and fat (not so good to eat). There are still flowers, so there are still more coming. We have a couple cantaloupes and three watermelons that I hope make it to the eating stage!

Ray came out and said, "we need to go." Oh, no. I had to put the chickens up and I didn't have time to change out of my jeans and t-shirt, dirty from the garden. I wasn't wearing my watch and didn't realize what time it was. Ray bought some corn the other day and the young chickens (and old ones too) are much easier to get in the coop now. They come when I call and know they will get a treat in the coop. We got to the Fellowship at 6:29, not late, but not by much. Ange, Clarissa, Elizabeth and Ed, Stu and Kay and their granddaughter, who is about 8. The food was good, especially some cold cucumber soup. Yum.There were deviled eggs for protein.

Post-Holiday Blues

Ray making pancakes

Friday was a holiday and then we had the weekend. We did not have to worry about our electricity fast during those days. Yesterday was relatively cool and we kept the house below 78 without running the air. This morning the windows are open again, but I don't think it is as cool.

The service yesterday involved members of the congregation sharing their thoughts on independence, interdependence, and patriotism. Some of the speakers were moving or inspirational. I think particularly of Mary, who spoke about growing up here, subject to discrimination and segregation. They even had a separate window at Dairy Queen! She couldn't go to college at UGA and went to a small historically black college. She went to Beirut as part of their Junior Year Abroad program. Someone there referred to her as American, not Negro or worse. It was the first time she thought of herself that way.

We talked to people and then took ourselves to the "new" Transmet on Tallassee for lunch. We had blueberry pancakes for breakfast, so salads seemed right...but we split one piece of pizza to go with. The woman who greeted us, Jen, was super friendly and enthusiastic. When we came in, she said hello to us like we were old friends. I was trying to think who she was, and then looking behind me to make sure she was really talking to us. She was very high energy and said "Fantastic" after each item we ordered. It made us laugh. She liked Ray's t-shirt, too, of course, and he talked to her quite a bit...kind of like my Dad.

One of the many advantages of an early service (10:30 in the summer) is that there's more afternoon left, even after lunch. We were home before 2. I lay around inside, reading e-mails and recipes. About 5, Ray went out and started working on getting rid of the boxes in the garage. He is breaking them down and using them for mulch around the blueberries. Not very pretty, but effective. I came along and let the chickens out. I started to clean out the nesting boxes and got chased by some wasps that had built a nest in the old coop. I only got stung once, on my hand, but I was terrified. I screamed and screamed for Ray to come help me. He came, of course, but the crisis was over. Cameron came too. My sting hurt (I put baking soda toothpaste on it, which helps a surprising amount), but I also felt a little queasy. I think I had a megadose of adrenaline that affected me for several hours. I felt shaky and just not right. The chickens were fine. I guess they don't eat wasps and are not bothered by them. Ray knocked down the nest and killed at least one wasp. I was a little nervous for a few hours whenever anything buzzed near me, which is often, when I'm outside.

Some of the chickens had trouble figuring out how to get out of the coop.

I watered the main garden for about an hour, concentrating on the cucumbers, which are wilting from the heat and lack of rain. Most of the zucchini have died, probably from borers, but I think they are more likely to attack the plants during a dry spell. I picked a few cherry tomatoes and kept working on pruning the suckers off, and one banana pepper. Ray got about a cup of blueberries.

We ate leftover potato salad with hard-boiled egg and pie with raspberry sorbet. That pie is delicious!

I discovered that Ancestry.com was allowing access to the census records through the Fourth of July weekend, so spent the rest of the day looking up as many of our relatives as I could. We watched a pretty intense episode of Leverage, ending with Nate getting shot and turning himself in. This did not help with the excess adrenaline problem and I thought I would never get to sleep, but Ray read to me for a long time and eventually I relaxed.

We had so much fun Friday at Gini and John's. There was a croquet game that lasted more than two hours and everyone got poison. I was in the pool twice, and in my bathing suit for most of the day (my new rule for Fourth of July). I had a lot of fun, didn't eat much, and drank no alcohol. We were home by 8:30 or so. I was exhausted and sore.

Amaryllis blooming

Saturday morning Ray slept late. I was eating breakfast. It was nice and cool and I had the windows open. Cameron started barking and I said, "there's my Dad." Ray woke up and came downstairs. Dad was tired, too, but he did some gardening and watered. Things are really suffering from the heat and dryness. He did find some green beans to pick and Ray and I picked about two cups of blueberries. They are smaller now, harder and less tasty, but still good. We took a walk, but I wimped out and came home early. I spent an hour or so on the couch, on the computer, feeling tired and dispirited. "I know," I said. "Let's invite John and Deb over to play cards." It had been a while. Ray agreed that was a good idea. We had a couple pounds of chicken to grill and I had been in the process of making some potato salad. They were happy to join us.

I studied recipes on the NY Times Cooking site. I'm a beta tester and I love it. There are so many choices. Ray mowed the lawn some and vacuumed the house. I cut up the beans and marinated the chicken. I made a blueberry strawberry pie and watermelon daiquiris. About 5 or so, I went outside. It was hot, but not too humid. I let the chickens out while I grilled the chicken.

When they arrived, I added some more ice and buzzed the blender again. I poured out some daiquiri for our friends, who were definitely game for watermelon daiquiris. They were delicious and pretty. Big chunks of watermelon, some lime juice and rum and ice. The one thing I would do if I were serious is chill the glasses. I got out a few crackers and bits of cheese, and turned the green beans on. Ray finished cooking the chicken and I got out the
potatoes. The food was good, but not great--healthy, though.

We dealt the cards and played half the game before eating dessert. Ray was way ahead and John couldn't win for losing, as my Dad says. Deb and I just had fun. I was even ahead briefly. When we had played down to one, we went out and got the chickens in. Deb and John helped. It was pretty fun. Then we ate pie, still slightly warm. Sadly, we had no vanilla ice cream, but offered raspberry sorbet to those who wanted. The pie didn't really hold together and I served it up with a giant spoon. We ate it in bowls, with spoons. Oh, man, was it good. The strawberries came in our box on Thursday and they were starting to go, even though they had been in the fridge. What a great use for them!

We finished the game by 10...Ray beat us badly, with a score well over 200. He was in a good mood, naturally.

So, now we have a pretty clean house and nothing we have to do today. It's cool again this morning and I probably need to water the garden thoroughly, even this morning or tonight.

Happy Independence Day, Americans!

O, happy, noisy bird,

Right outside my bedroom's open window,

I wish you had not waked me,

But I cannot be angry at you. 

You are so authentically cheerful

about this bright new morning.

No rain.

It will be hot. 

But yes, it is once again daylight

And we are alive and well.

Do you know about global climate change? 

No, there are still bugs and seed for you to eat. 

You do not worry about corruption and greed, 

but rather hawks and snakes and foxes, 

and whether there are bits of grass to make your nest. 

It is cool this morning, 74 in my house. It has been a while since it was that cool. I must rush downstairs and bake cookies while the windows are open. It will heat it up some, but I have been out of cookies for awhile. 

Ray is asleep, his work done for now.  

Didn't sleep very well. Up at 5:10. Going to pick up my Dad for some diagnostic procedures, a trans-esophogeal echocardiogram and another thing. We'll have the results before he leaves the hospital. I just have to wake up enough to drive to his house and be pleasant. You know how it is when you have to get up early. You wake up every hour or so from 2:00 on.

I am sure there are some things that like this weather: tree frogs, for instance? or insects/ The chickens are panting. The cucumbers are dying. I'm not great, but I appreciate air conditioning and not having to work outdoors all day.

Same Story

I feel like I am writing the same story over and over. It must be pretty boring to read.

Today, like most days, is divided into chunks, at least in my mind.

I wake up before 6. Ray is already up. I figure out the sound I am hearing is the washing machine. Good old Ray! He has remembered. I had this plan to run the wash before 7 (during the 11-7 super off peak electricity period), but I didn't get up early enough yesterday and I forgot the load ready to start until my Dad arrived with his laundry. "Oh, no, that's okay," he said. "No rush. I just thought I'd bring it in case you weren't using the machine today."

I feel groggy. I can't seem to summon any energy for the things that I want to do while it is still cool. Breakfast doesn't really appeal, but I eat more than half of it, while trying to find a chink in the difficult Sudoku I am working on. Ray is full of energy. It is the day of the final for his summer class and then he will be free until August...except for his new responsibilities as Assistant Head of the Geology Dept. He has a meeting tomorrow to find out more about what those might be.

He is ready to go for a walk and I drag on my dirty jeans. I have washed the dirty socks I was wearing every morning, so have to go upstairs and take some clean ones out of a drawer. This pains me, as I like to use already dirty socks and then put them in the wash, rather than take out clean ones (when I am not clean). This is not a problem during the winter, but I rarely wear socks now.

This brown thrasher, and his or her mate, spent a lot of time in our yard, but they are gone now, I noticed today. 

It is a little cooler outside, over 70, but under 75, and very humid. I opened a few windows, against my better judgement, and there is a little breeze. I lag behind, but manage to complete the walk route with Ray. He rushes up to shower and leave. I reluctantly work on the beans left in the sink from yesterday. My Dad picked them and I committed to washing and freezing them. Then I was so decadent, I left them all day, spending the time looking at my new knitting books and inventorying needles and yarn. We left the house again at 5:15 to go to the movies and eat dinner out.

We saw Obvious Child and enjoyed it. I will say, however, that it is clearly a movie of my children's generation. There are many movies we all like for lots of reasons and there are some movies they do not want to see, like Casablanca. Mind boggling. There are a few movies that they love and I just don't get. Garden State is one example. There are also movies that I thought were guy humor, but might be just for younger viewers. Generally, they feature lots of sex and drinking and sometimes drugs, or maybe fart jokes. This movie was like that. Except the protagonist was a woman. Hmm. Anyway, very enjoyable and well done. Set in NYC, which I enjoyed.

After, we went to dinner at Highwire, the "new" restaurant Shawn, the maitre d from Porterhouse, is managing. Sadly, he was not there. The food was good and not expensive. Kent liked the decor. I was disappointed. It felt like a bar...with food. I had fish and chips and it was very good, but the menu had lots of sandwiches and fried food. There were some vegetarian options, which I appreciate, but not a lot of veggies. Anyway, we had a lovely evening with them, and it wasn't very late at all.

We went by J's to leave the bridesmaid dresses and pick up some food they were getting rid of before their trip. They were sitting watching TV, not rushing around as I had expected. They are driving up to the northeast in the convertible, so they will pack this morning and leave about 11 or so. They plan to stop and see Amelia today...and hopefully will connect with Molli at some point. So, the dresses will be delivered. We will probably visit later this summer, but won't be driving, so it will be harder to transport the gowns. The gown itself is not horrible. It has one shoulder strap, but the color is a bright apple green...or even appletini green. Amelia, as matron of honor, has a different color, a dark brown. I hope to see pictures when they try them on.

The beans in the sink were slimy--note to self, don't do that again. We had a little rain two days ago, so they were a little muddier than usual, and that mud had redistributed itself, combined with the heat, and the beans were already starting to rot. Sadly. However, I have cleaned them now.

After Ray left, I spent some time outside. It is the only time of day to do it. I found a few more green beans to pick and about a cup of blueberries. I fed the chickens. They are suffering some from the heat, too, losing feathers and looking a little pathetic. There was a nice fresh egg, though. I did the sunny parts first, and spent the last half hour in the shade. The sweat drips down my face, but it's not that bad. I look forward to my bath. When I have done all my outdoor work, I can go in.

You can tell it's hot because Cameron, the dog, is inside. When the warm weather started, he spent most of his time outside on the porch, particularly on the chaise lounge. My mother used to sit there enjoying the sun. I can still see her in my mind's eye, and even feel her presence a little bit. Now it is Cameron's spot in the spring. But these hot days, he is inside before I am, waiting for me to close up the breezeway doors and window. He hopes I will invite him into the air-conditioned house, and I probably will, later in the day.

I take the beans and blueberries in and rinse them. I try to convince myself to cut the beans up and cook them, before it gets any hotter, but I tell myself I will do it later. Sadly, I have left the windows open too long. It is 80 out now and I have wasted probably an hour of the time that the house has been getting hotter instead of staying cool.

Then I remember the laundry. I have to hang it out before I go upstairs to my bath. I really don't want to. Just the towels, I tell myself. I put the wet things in a basket and take the towels out to the line and hang them up. It's not that bad in the back yard, in the shade. I go back in and get the t-shirts. They need to be hung up, they will mildew in minutes. Pretty soon, I have hung up all the laundry and feel good about myself.

Now I can go upstairs and take my bath, making sure all the windows and shades and doors are closed against the heat. Today's forecast high was 99, but they have adjusted it down to 95. Such a relief!

Funny thing about the water heater. Every day it was shutting itself off. When you start to run the hot water and you can tell it's lukewarm, you have to go down two floors to the basement and reset it. It's not electrical, not the circuit breaker, but a reset switch on the water heater itself. My Dad suggested, and he must be right, that it shuts off when it is too hot. The solar water heater in this heat and sunshine, is routinely pre-heating our water to temperatures higher than the water heater finds acceptable. So, we are saving electricity there for sure.

Today I am so hot I don't bother to reset it. I let the water run into the tub, tepid feels about right. My skin cools down and I am very comfortable. I even wash my hair. Having wet hair on a day like this is quite agreeable. I figured out some time ago that long hair is best in hot weather, as it can be very effectively pinned up off my neck. Sadly, I cut it a month or so ago for a job interview. I thought it went well, enjoyed talking to the director, but never heard a word. Even the temp agency hasn't called me. It used to be I could count on temp work when all else failed, but I guess the combination of my not being young and cute and the recession has made me less in demand.

Out of control

It was a wild ride this morning.

I slept late, almost until 7. We stayed up late, finishing our Janet Evanovich mystery, Notorious Nineteen. It was pretty good, better than some of hers, and that was the denouement. It was probably after 11 before we went to sleep. It has been really hot and humid, so we don't open the windows at night. We turned the ac down to 76 for a while and I slept well, kept my mask on all night. Yes, I am trying to be good about it again.

Breakfast came right after I got up and I didn't have much appetite. I noticed a weird lump in my neck, like a swollen gland. My Dad arrived while I was not eating. We chatted some...he always has things to say, but I don't remember any of them today. Eventually, he headed out to the garden. Ray and I took a very short walk, since we had no time. Daddy asked me where the string was and I said I would find some, which I did after a bit.

We showered and dressed and were getting in the car. Dad asked if I would bring him a bucket, so I did. Then we were gone. On the way to Ray's office, I called the doctor and got an appointment for 11:45. I went from his office to Earth Fare, where I enjoyed taking my time. I needed ginger for the cookies I started to make yesterday. I couldn't believe I had used up the ginger and not even put it on the list, but could not find it anywhere. Then I bought some other critical supplies, like potato chips and tea and chocolate...

Next stop, Watkinsville. Sadly, Main Street Yarns is going out of business. They are a beautiful shop with lovely things and I regret that I have mostly been too cheap to buy the quality that they sold. They did still have some gorgeous 100% wool yarns (as well as all kinds of other interesting things) and I bought a ton of stuff, spending huge extravagant amounts of money...but I am generally pretty frugal and feel like this was a good treat. Some of the books will end up as Christmas presents for Amelia, so they don't count. I wished I had inventoried my needles, too, as they have great wooden ones and I need to know what the gaps are in my collection. Surprise! I bought 3 red wooden chairs to be our backup chairs when we have guests. I checked and they were quite comfortable. They let me have them for $35 each. Someone could refinish them if they wanted.

After paying my bill (!), I checked the time and decided I could zip over to the peach stand. I bought some peaches and found I had enough appetite for an ice cream cone.

The real reason for my trip in with Ray today? I had to pick up Molli's bridesmaid dress and get it to Janna before she left for her trip north, when she will be seeing Molli, at least briefly. As I was texting with her, Amelia chimed in, "me, too." So I picked up two dresses at I Do I Do bridal. They are not the worst bridesmaid dresses, but the bright green is pretty horrible. They have only one shoulder strap. I am sure the bride loved them. Maybe a rule of wedding planning is pick the dresses first and then the color scheme?

Got to the doctor's office in plenty of time. She says not to worry about it, it's probably my lymph fighting a virus, like Ray's cold, and will go away within a week. If not, we'll do blood work and start worrying. Of course, I still had to pay the $20 copay (and my insurance paid a lot more).

Picked up Ray, got prescriptions at the drug store, and came on home...only an hour before the power fast.