Weeds

I hate weeds. I usually have my lawn guy take down the largest weeds in the flower beds. This year he said no. So I have to do it. And so far I haven't. With the heat as hot as it has been I wasn't getting out there. They'd have to call an ambulance quick! Finally the heat broke a little bit. It rained last night and it was only mid-90's out there today and some of those weeds, taller than I am, were really beginning to bug me. So out I went and spent about half and hour until I was done with the heat. Not all of the weeds are down, but I made a good dent in them. A couple more days like today and I might have them all taken care of.

Of course coming back inside to cool off, Gertie reminded me that she would have been happy to help me but first she had to take a nap. So she curled up next to my feet, happy that my big adventure outside was over and I was back inside where I belonged.

The on-going tale of Earl the Scaredy Skunk

Last night I had the outside light on to keep Earl away from the front door. Skunks do not like light and they will run and hide. You could definitely smell that Earl was about and Gertie didn't really want to go out. That smell I'm sure brought back to many fresh memories. Nature won out. She ran out and ran right back in. No one sprayed and all was well. For the moment. Earl, that Scaredy Skunk had hid around the back side of the house where the central air conditioner unit is. It came on and scared Earl and he sprayed it. Now every time the air conditioner comes on - Eau d' Earl . . . .

Frog of the Day

Hamilton Collection - Reflections of a Promise, a photo by KenCalvino on Flickr.

OMG - Don't faint! Yep, it's a new frog!

Gertie and I are trying to keep cool as we go back under heat advisories today - temps are supposed to top out around 105. And I woke up this morning all stuffed up and with a hacking cough - summer cold's are the worst.

This frog collectible is from The Hamilton Collection and is the 4th in the 4 part series Hope Hops Here Art Glass Collection. This piece is entitled Reflections of a Promise. As with all of their breast cancer pink ribbon pieces, a portion of the proceeds from the sale go to research. This is a very heavy piece and very pretty with the red color running down the back. These pieces are limited edition and individually numbered - this piece is 0043.

Norway

It never ceases to amaze me what people do to each other. How this guy could randomly shoot so many people (after he set off a bomb) eludes me. I don't understand how a person loses their compassion and humanity so completely. My heart goes out to the people of Norway as they deal with this tragedy. Sad times indeed.

Telephone Directory Season

You know I've been a little shy about opening my door, especially after dark. But this afternoon Gertie could not hold it any longer and signaled to me that maybe we should chance it. With reluctance I slowly opened the door. No skunk odor. All was well. I flung the door open wide and told Gertie to go play. The first thing that hit us both was a wall of heat - 120 heat index again today, just like every day. It reminds me of that movie Groundhog Day. When we recovered from the heat we saw it - a pile of plastic bags sitting on the ramp - taunting me - telephone directory season has started again.

It takes about a year to get over the fear of opening the door every day for week to see a new phone directory sitting there. And recently there was all the talk about doing away with directories because everyone looks up want they want on-line anyway! But there they were. Back again. So I picked up the 3 books sitting on the ramp and brought them inside. Three down and two to go. There are seriously five different directories for this area and each has something a little bit different. If you want to find a specialty shop you have to look through 5 different books! So you can't throw any of them out. So I brought them inside and found last years for each, put the new ones in, threw the old ones out. Then I heard a thud on the ramp - book four just arrived.......

Schwan's Delivery Day

I placed an order for Schwan's delivery for today. The guy is in town every other week. Some items can be expensive, so I look for the deals wherever possible. My big splurge is their ice cream - it is delicious. I tried the taco pizza this evening. That was really good too, but I hated heating the house up by turning the oven on.

The temps here were in the high 80's at 7 a.m. We are under heat advisories and they've extended the advisory through the weekend - each day hotter than the next! I went out this evening with the trash - it goes at the end of the driveway. I thought I was going to die by the time I got back into the house. It was so stifling I couldn't catch my breath. And I was only out there for a couple minutes! Thank goodness for air conditioning - otherwise I'd be living at the North or South Pole!

I made it into the basement again today. I was down there over the weekend to start on a huge pile of wash. Stairs are a big problem for me, but I made it down again today. I'm determined to get all the wash caught up. I'd like to buy one of those European style all in one washer/dry units. Maybe for Christmas - in the meantime I take my chances on the steps.

Another Heat Wave Starts

Yesterday we slipped back into a heat advisory that is supposed to last until Thursday evening. Ugh! I almost wish for a bit of snow on the ground again - I did say almost. Meanwhile I heard from mom who tells me that the temps there overnight are in the upper 30's and low 40's. Daytime temps might hit 80. Who says you can't go home again! lol I'm ready to pack up and head out!

The genealogy project has been keeping me extra busy. I've located a new family which is always exciting. Of course that creates a new pile of paper, folders galore and days of research. It's a hobby that has gone out of control. A cousin calls it a "pox" and it is so apt.

Gertie has been really feeling the heat. Her trips outside for business are shorter and shorter. She doesn't even seem to care about the other animals out there - strictly business and get back inside as quick as possible. At the moment she's asleep at my feet. All I have to say to that is Nap Time!

Another scorcher

Today's heat index is topping out at 115 degrees! The local news station showed roads that have buckled due to the heat. I know when I open the door to let Gertie out she runs out does her business and runs right back in and with her black fur she is hot. She won't lay across the air conditioning vent like Shadow loved to do - but she'll lay close until she gets cooled off. Then she wants to crawl into my lap like usual and it takes everything in me to not shove her off - she is a little heat factory and I'm sweating in no time.

Keep cool if you can!

Hot, Hot, Hot

This morning I woke up to the temperatures already in the mid-80's. We're shooting into the hundreds and the heat index is supposed to top out at 112 degrees. Ouch! Way to hot to step outside to do anything. Even Gertie doesn't want to go out. She steps out on the ramp and looks at me as if to say "Do I have to?" The air conditioner is cranked up on high and it's nice and cool inside - I don't know how anyone could live in this heat without it!

I've been working on my genealogy project almost full time these days. I'm getting everything organized in file folders so I can actually find things. The project keeps growing!

Keep cool. Bring the animals inside. And never leave a car or baby in the car while you run into the store for a minute. It's way too hot and a killer. Be cool and be smart.

Wood smoke can cover skunk smell

That's something I did not know until today. Of course, the skunk smell is really slight - you get a whiff every now and again - mostly from the dog, thank goodness. But today the neighbor decided to burn a huge pile of wet wood. I assume it's huge, because the amount of smoke in my living room at the moment is so thick I can't see television - sorry Young and Restless. The fact I can't breathe makes me wish for the skunk smell!

I don't understand this intense desire to set things on fire that my neighbors have. They pile up leaves in a great big pile each fall and set them ablaze. And living next to them during the fall months is painful for the eyes as well as the respiratory system. After each storm they dutifully pick up all the downed branches into a big pile and yep, set them ablaze. Here's the thing. If you push your leaves about 5 feet further - to the curb - the city picks them up. They have this great big truck with a giant vacuum on it that comes along and sucks them up. They take them away to who knows where and who really cares - it's not a smoke filled pile filling my lungs making me wish I started smoking at age 18 so I wouldn't be affected by this. And the limbs after a storm - the city picks them up to as long as you put them at the curb - all you have to do is call them. I don't need to feel what it's like to be a slab of pork in the smokehouse! Ninety plus degree temps and they are out there burning crap.

I now relinquish my spot on the soapbox and return you back to normal viewing......

Gertie, Me, and a Skunk named Earl

Earl likes to roam through my yard many nights - on the prowl for grubs and other tasty treats. When I open the door and it's dark outside, I will often take a little whiff to see if Earl is around. Gertie doesn't need to go roaming about when Earl is nearby. I don't know for sure, but I bet they wouldn't get along. I say I don't know for sure, but that's not exactly true. I found out last night that Earl is a little monster. With a very big stink. And now Gertie and I have been on the receiving end of Earl's wrath for entering his territory. It may be my yard during the day, but it's his domain at night - and he reinforced that most strenuously. I opened the door last night to let Gertie out - remember I'm not feeling all that well - and so I did not double check to see if Earl was about. Earl was not only about, but right outside the door. I heard Gertie give a rather pained howl and I opened the storm door to check on her only to have the smell of Earl wafting through the air. I've heard tell that it's akin to the smell of burning rubber. I have to say that's about as good a description as any - as long as you realize that the burning rubber is stuffed up your nose and there is nothing you can do to get it out! And as I was calling Gertie back in I saw the white stripe for just a second before Earl reminded me that I was in his domain.

Baths of a mixture of peroxide, baking soda, and dawn dish washing liquid were given all around. A night spent tossing and turning and every time you move the smell of Earl renewed was horrible. The smell is still there and will be for a while I'm sure. All I know is I would not want to be down-wind of either of us anytime soon!

A Quick Update and Have a Happy 4th of July

Just a real quick note - I have been unbelievably ill this last week. And I honestly do not think I'm getting better, but instead a bit worse. I seem to be running a bit of a temperature now. Hopefully a long weekend of rest and relaxation will help. So have a good 4th and enjoy the fireworks. I'll see you back here afterwards.