Hot Weather -

It is so hot . . .

First son has a heat problem - he had heat prostration several times while in the Army, and now must be very careful to not get overheated. This makes yard care rather difficult in the summer (which, for him, lasts from April through November). So the Ol' Curmudgeon, with his bad ticker, is having to "do" our yard. He broke down and got an electric lawnmower (got a *deal* on Amazon). So it is now early (relatively) on a Sat AM, and he's out there working on the lawn - chopping it back to a reasonable height.

Why the concern about yard? Well, we have a brand new Neighborhood Council. Never had one before, but faced with some of the real estate problems of the current market, it was decided that we needed one. Thank goodness it's NOT a "covenant community" kind of organization, but they are still nosy and want all the yards pruned. Have to invest in some "better living through chemistry" products to get rid of all the poison ivy and poison oak. Need to chop the English Ivy and Virginia Creeper down, too. For the parts in the trees, we just cut the link to the ground, and it will "die up" the tree and eventually fall off.

I'd just as soon dig it all up and put in Astroturf.

Oldest Son will be over shortly to clean the gutters and sweep the roof clear of the accumulated pinestraw and leaves. Shoulda-coulda-woulda done it last winter, and it will have to be done again in December - once all the leaves have fallen.

I'd just as soon replace the entire roof with photovoltaics, but the Ol' Curmudgeon says it would cost more than it would save in the long run, given our ages. O well, my attempts at "greening" are rather desultory. Living "green" for the most part means doing more ourselves - planting, gardening, recycling, etc. We are just too exhausted too much of the time to do that. It also would end up costing us more - example: to heat our house with wood (or at least part of the house), we'd have to have the chimney removed and rebuilt. Don't have the $$$ for THAT little project! We heated our house in SC very efficiently with a stove insert in the chimney with tubes and a fan that circulated the air warmed by the fire. We would go through about 1 cord of wood a year - that little stove was REALLY efficient, and didn't use much wood. I even made "logs" out of old newspaper until DH pointed out it would make the chimney more likely to burn because of the residue, so I quit doing that.

As far as planting goes, I've **never** been a "green" thumb person. My XH used to forbid me going into his garden because all I had to do was touch a plant and it would die! No joke! the Ol' Curmudgeon hasn't been a gardener for the entire 30 years we've been married. He says, "I don't do 'yard.' " Well, now he's talking about putting in a "square-foot" garden, elevated so he can get to it without bending over. I've put in my bid for several tomato plants. There is NOTHING like a fresh tomato, just picked from the vine and warm from the sun. Take your salt shaker with you, go out to the garden, and graze! That's my idea of salad. We'll see if he actually does it.

As far as recycling goes, once again it requires too much of MY energy. And I'm really not convinced of the efficacy of it. Now if I could just find a use for used cat litter ...

Well, time for breakfast. It's the Dormition Fast, so no butter, eggs, meat, etc. Toast, fruit juice and coffee.

The Ol' Curmudgeon has been baking bread, recently, so we'll probably have toasted Pain de Mie for breakfast. He even got a Matfer Bread Pan with Cover 15.75x4">from Amazon so he could make "real" Pain de Mie.


He's turning into quite the baker! I may have to "show him up" when I next have a good day.

Well, we stay indoors and try to keep cool. Speaking of cool, it is getting warmer "out there" and I need to call the Ol' Curmudgeon in. He forgets the time, sometimes, when he's concentrating on getting a task done.