Outside My Window ~ 8.14.11

Outside my window…is what appears to be a foggy afternoon.  I say “appears” is because it is not fog but smoke from the Great Dismal Swamp fire in Suffolk, Virginia.  The fire continues to burn despite our rain yesterday afternoon and evening.  We will need quite a bit more rainfall to help this fire…some firefighters say it may take a tropical storm to put it out.  The fire is not fully contained but currently the smoldering peat moss is creating the obvious problems.  Peat moss causes the smoke and is near to impossible to put out.  The fire is smoldering in approximately 6 feet of organic soil in some areas near the heart of the swamp…smoldering and smoking.  The smoke is obvious outside…as I said, like fog.  It burns your eyes, nose and lungs….we are under health advisories because of the smoke.  When the winds shift, it is clear outside and the sun is shining.  Kind of odd.  Currently our temperature is 83°F but feels like 89°F.  We received about a half an inch of rain yesterday…hopefully it will rain some more this evening.  Our forecast is for 80% chance of rain this evening.  It appears as if we have settled back into our average temperature weather cycle, at least for the coming week.

I am glad…I had the opportunity to take a trip to Catawba, South Carolina this past week for a wonderful visit with my parents.  The time went much too fast, as vacations always seem to…but it was fabulous!  I am also quite glad my two daughters were with me on this trip…it made it that much more fabulous!  🙂

I am thinking about…upcoming projects…things I need to do…vacation memories…world events.

From my kitchen…was the sound of silence for a week.  Although my kitchen was silent, I was enjoying…freshly made fig preserves….homemade sausage gravy and biscuits….bacon, eggs and fresh tomato for breakfast….coffee every morning with my dad….boiled peanuts…and watermelon ~ plus I learned a secret on how to buy the sweetest melons.  We enjoyed several meals dining out…popcorn, candy and drinks while at the movies.

I am working on…vacation images.  While I took a lot of photographs, I didn’t go crazy with the camera.  I will post a few this coming week as time allows.  And as you may or may not have noticed, I was unplugged from the internets for the most part while I was away.  I did check my email and Facebook a couple of times while I was away…usually when I went to bed.  I’m slowly but surely catching up on news from other blogs I follow and Facebook postings.

I am going to…enjoy my last day of vacation for a little bit longer and then begin to get things together for work tomorrow.  Sigh…always a little bit of a let down when you return from vacation and going to work is on the horizon.

I am hoping…the pile of work on my desk isn’t the nightmare proportions I am envisioning when I walk in there tomorrow.  I have a feeling it will be…and I will be very, very busy for a couple of weeks….very busy.  😐

I am hearing…the ticking of my many clocks….my fingers tapping out my words on the keyboard…the movie “No Mercy” with Kim Bassinger and Richard Gere in the background…..an otherwise quiet house.

Plans for the week include…getting back into the mindset of going to work each day….putting a dent in the work that has backed up….working from home a couple of days this week which will help put that dent in the work….and seeing my baby girl off on an airplane as she leaves for Colorado to visit her father.  She will be traveling with a friend that has taken several trips with us before, however this girl has never flown.  Cailin has been flying since she was a baby and flying alone with her sister since she was 5….she is pretty much a veteran at it.  I’m glad I was able to make it happen for her this year and that her friend was able to go along with her.

One of life’s little pleasures…realizing dreams can become a reality when you have people who believe in you.  I am one of those fortunate ones.

From my camera…an image that caught my eye yesterday…