Outside My Window ~ 8.5.2012

Outside my window…is sunshine, blue skies, white puffy clouds and a lot of humidity and heat.  A lot.  Currently at nearly 1:00 p.m we are at 88°F with about 59% humidity.  It feels like 95°F outside right now….I would say that is about right.  Our forecast high temperature for today is 89°F with an isolated chance of thunderstorms.  There is a light breeze currently blowing but it is not cooling things off all that much.  Tomorrow will be about as warm with a greater chance of thunderstorms and then we will cool off to the low 80’s for a few days.

I am thinking about…how once upon a time I could stand the heat….I could go to the beach and sit all day without any problems….work out in my flower garden for a good part of the day without too much difficulty….not anymore.  I needed to do some work in the flower garden because heat loving weeds that weren’t too bad when I left for vacation had a growth spurt while I was gone, they were beginning to take over  so I decided earlier this week that something had to be done this weekend.  Yesterday was a carbon copy of today and after about 4 1/2 hours, beginning at 9:00 am,  including breaks and some time working in shady areas, I didn’t think I was going to make it.  I had cut some limbs that were too close to the house, pulled some weeds and cut back some lilies and still had the debris and tools to clean up.  I would make one trip to the dumpster and have to come back and sit in the shade for a few  before I could make another.  The only thing that got me moving was thinking that if my 75 year old mother can work that long in her yard, surely I could too. I managed to get everything all cleaned up, came inside,  laid down in front of a small fan because the central air needed help cooling me off and promptly took a nap. I kept myself hydrated but I’m pretty sure I got too overheated.  When I awoke I decided I was wrong, I can’t work in my yard that long in this heat….I was whipped, my mother wins.  😀   Sad thing is I wasn’t able to finish what I needed to do so it was back out there this morning.  The area I needed to finish was in the sun yesterday and I just couldn’t take another minute of it.  This morning it was hot, it was miserable but fortunately I didn’t have as much to do today so it was fairly quick and painless….only a couple of hours today.  I knew it had been a while since we had a good soaking rain but I discovered just how long….the ground was pretty hard and dusty, I will have to wait on transplanting a couple of new flowers I bought recently until either we get a few good rains or I water for several days in a row and allow it to soften up some so I can mix the organic soil I purchased in with my oh so average soil.

I am glad…that the gas prices actually came down a little bit before I had to fill my car up again.  Just a bit though…I was able to do so at $3.39.  I felt a bit humbled after  whining and complaining last week about $3.42 per gallon prices when a friend of mine from Australia commented that it was $5.51 per gallon there and the electricity providers had raised their prices by 20% the first of July .  YIKES!  😯  A bit more grateful for the prices we are paying now.

I am going to…go out with my mother and my oldest daughter this evening  to celebrate her 21st with a late birthday dinner.  We had originally planned on this past Thursday but her work schedule and a unplanned but necessary stop at a friends house would have had us dining closer to 8 or 8:30.  Tonight we will be able to go much earlier.

I am hoping…that my neighborhood happens to be in the area of one of those isolated thunderstorms.  A good rain soaking will help my soil, not to mention cool things off for a bit.

From my kitchen…is not too much of anything new lately.  I have good intentions but the heat effects my appetite….when it is hot, I’m not all that interested in eating not to mention heating up the kitchen to prepare something new.  Perhaps I can come up with some summer type recipes by next week.

I am currently working on…my new photography business plan.  I hope to have it all in place by Labor Day…we will see if I can bring everything together by that time.

A recap of last week…included the free August 2012 desktop calendar and a little tribute to my oldest daughter on her 21st birthday.

I am hearing…the ticking of my many clocks….my new beast of an ice maker filling up with water {this thing produces a lot of cubes ~ I’m totally in love with it!}….an occasional song from my wind chimes….an otherwise quiet house.

Plans for the week include…playing with my new macro lens that arrived on Friday….working from home on Tuesday….working on little projects that really need to be finished instead of lying around waiting for me to pick them up.  The clutter they have created is becoming unbearable.  I’m also seriously considering getting some things together and perhaps listing them on eBay….there is some stuff I just don’t need any longer so why continue to hold on to it.

One of life’s little pleasures…is doing the right thing.

From my camera…I have two to share with you today….first up, I designed and ordered some new business cards right before I went on vacation ~ they were here when I got home so I included them with a couple of things I had picked up while on vacation.  One of the workshops I had recently taken suggested listing three words that describe what you want your photography to portray….the three words I selected were unique, imaginative, and creative.  On the counter of one of the stores I went in to while on vacation, I found all but one of those words and decided to incorporated them into my image….

…..and finally, we welcomed a new member to our family Friday evening.  My oldest was in love and he was soon to be homeless…besides, who could resist this face?  😀  Meet Turbo, a Jack Russell terrier mix.