Sunday 26 July 2020

Hot and cold, and inbetween

Before I start my weekly litany of the week that was, I want to say thank you to everyone who commented about the photos in the last post.  While I may be the one holding the camera, it does most of the work.  I just take a bazillion photos and only select the best of these to share...there are a lot of duds in the bunch. But I appreciate your kindness. :)


Another enjoyable week is almost in the books.  There wasn't any big lottery win nor did Covid-19 finally disappear (as once was promised), instead I enjoyed  the routine of my days, lovely weather including a dramatic light show, and a visit with a good friend.

Last weekend I received an order from Amazon containing the new curtains I purchased for the sun room.  The old ones were at least 10 years old and showing wear and tear, the result of a kitten (Sheldon) who liked to climb, and fading from the sun.  I had been looking locally but everything was so expensive and no one had 12 curtains of the size I needed in stock.  I was thrilled to find two curtains for the price I would have paid for 1 locally, there was ample stock,  and good reviews on Amazon.  Too, I had a $50 Amazon gift card that paid for the taxes, and with free shipping it was a no-brainer!  I got them hung on Sunday morning, and I'm so pleased with them.

These are considered theatre style curtains, as they are lined.  As you can see they definitely keep out most of the light!  I'm not sure that cats are happy but I certainly am.  On Tuesday, I had the curtains closed for much of the day, and my a/c didn't cut in until 7:15 p.m. when normally it would have been running by mid-afternoon.  I didn't even close up the sun room door to the house. It wasn't a terribly hot day and later in the week I was back to shutting the sun room up earlier in the day.  When the cats come in and lay on the cool linoleum in the kitchen I know it's time! 

That evening I looked out to see what appeared to be a very big robin on the back fence.  I grabbed the camera so I could zoom in and see it better.  I'm assuming it is a fledgling robin just losing its baby feathers (probably not the right term but you understand).  

It was a bit shy, keeping its head turned away from me for many of the photos but with I did manage to capture the side view.

Tuesday I did my grocery shopping circuit, mowed the lawn, did some weeding, and spent a bit of time out on the front patio.  The next day my friend K came for a socially distanced visit on the back deck in the afternoon.  It was a hot day but with the breeze and moving the chairs around for some shade we had a lovely visit.  It has been a few weeks so we had lots to catch up on.  The cats may or may not have gotten their dinner later than normal.  

On Thursday, the forecast was for heat and thunderstorms throughout the day.  It was quite nice for part of the morning, so I headed up to do some more weeding.  I noticed that the siding on the garage looked dirty and there was a streak of something (I thinking bird doo-doo) that needed cleaning.  So I grabbed a bucket of water and a mop and scrubbed it off.  It wasn't the best idea as the dirt behind the siding kept running down the wall.  I had to work at it to get it reasonably clean.  This wall doesn't generally get rain since it's shaded by the overhang above the walkway leading into the house.

The thunderstorms didn't materialize during the day.  After my clean-up I sat outside on the front patio and read, but I didn't stay too long.  It was so humid out there it wasn't comfortable.  I kept an eye on a local website that tracks the thunderstorms, and provides a link to the radar.  Shortly after 9 p.m. the storms arrived and the light show began and didn't end until after 11 p.m.  I did take a brief video of it, but it's too big and I've no idea how to edit it so you'll just have to imagine a constant lightning in the sky.  Much of it was sheet lightning, or cloud to cloud, rather than the dramatic strikes.  We got enough of those too, and lots of rumbling thunder.  

Friday was an indoor day, it got hot early in the day and the humidity was high from the rain the night before.  I didn't do a whole lot, caught up on some television programs, played on the computer, worked on a jigsaw puzzle, talked to my daughter and brother on the phone, did up a few dishes from the night before and prepped dinner.  These are the simple joys of being retired.  As friend J once said, when retired I plan to do nothing all day and if I get half of it done I'm satisfied.  It was that kind of day.

We had a lovely cool down overnight Friday into Saturday, so I headed out early for a walk.  It's been a few days and it felt good to be moving.  I walked my usual route and was surprised to see more duck families with young chicks.  Perhaps the first brood was lost to predators?  I won't share more photos of the ducks since I've done so in the past several posts.  Here instead are a few photos of the flora.


I'm so happy to see the reeds growing along the side of the pond again.  
After my walk I was ready to relax for a bit. Perfect timing for my friend S to call!  We spent about an hour catching up.  She's back in the north after spending some time with her newest grandchild, and has just eight weeks to go before she retires.  

Later I mowed the lawn again.  With the heat and the rain the grass is growing like crazy - it was a mere four days since I mowed last.  I still have a few spots where the grass died, but these are filling in nicely.  I also removed several plants from a container, moving them to the leftover bed.  They weren't doing well in the container, in fact, I'd lost one, so I'll see how they do in the ground.

The other day, the weather man suggested that the weekend would be chilly and I though to myself, what an idiot - it may be cooler than we've had but not chilly.  This morning, he proved me wrong.  Shortly after 6 a.m., the temperature was a mere 12C (54F).  I had left the windows in the sun room open and with the breeze blowing threw, it definitely felt chilly but has warmed up nicely since then.  Definitely a day to get outdoors, spend some time on the deck, and I've a book that's calling out to me.

Have a great day, and week ahead, everyone.  Take care and stay well! 







10 comments:

  1. Hot here too. Your drapes look great...if they make the sun room cooler then they will work to make it warmer at night in the winter too...good deal! Lovely flower photos! :)

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  2. Those curtains look like they will help keep you cool. Although 54 seems cool enough. I am envious.

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  3. Oh...wish I could have been there to enjoy that cool weather.
    The cats can get behind the curtains, can't they? That will help their wanting the curtains open.

    We are having heavy rain and thunderstorms every late afternoon into the night. Who knows when I can have the grass cut again.

    Was that Queen Anne's lace...the first flower picture?

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    1. The white flower is a yarrow, very common around here in yellow as well.

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  4. I really do like the curtains! And love the photos! I need to start taking some but I know I won't. I need have my phone or camera when I see something picture worthy. Such is life!
    Hope your week is filled with more distanced visits. I am seriously missing time with friends.

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  5. I'd take 12C right now. It's desperately hot and humid here and being a female of a certain age, I need the central air running all day (it's on auto, of course).

    Good buy on the curtains! Earlier in the winter, or perhaps last fall (who remembers anymore?) I found lined blackout curtains in an embossed beige colour for my bedroom. I got them for light blocking, even though I also have a blind, but I do find they keep the bedroom 1 or 2 degrees cooler than it would be otherwise. Not much, but every bit helps. I found them via Walmart.ca and a terrific deal, the last thing I purchased from that site.

    It's so great you got to visit in person, even at a proper social distance. Like Anne in the kitchen, I miss visiting with friends, even though we do Skype weekly. It's not quite the same, though.

    Have a terrific week!

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  6. I do love the thunderstorms, especially when they come up in the late afternoon, the clouds dark, the sky threatening, and then give us rain through the evening. It sounds like it’s been very humid there. Is it my imagination, or are the prairies much more humid than they used to be?

    Mowing the lawn twice in four days certainly shows how fast the grass is growing. It’s too bad you can’t start a mulch business. Mowing lawns is something I do not miss from when I owned a house…

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  7. Such lovely flower photos and I love the robin!

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  8. It has cooled off here, but the temperature is starting to go back up again.

    Love the curtains, in fact I have some very similar in our living room. Since it faces south, having lined curtains to either keep out the heat in the summer, or keep the cold out in the winter is just wonderful. Enjoy them, you got a great deal.

    God bless.

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  9. I have been behind on reading but glad I didn't miss this one.
    The curtains are very nice and will serve the purpose of cooling the room nicely.
    I love your friend, J's saying about retirement. Before I started my 2nd part time jobs, I did that a lot!I remember very well the excitement of my last 8 weeks, 4 weeks and 2 weeks to retirement. S must be on a cloud, as I was. Not knowing really what to expect but hearing how wonderful it is. It is like a planned trip to somewhere new and yet the trip doesn't have to end. :D Congratulate her for me.
    Too funny about the weather man being correct. I'm like you, unbelieving of 'chilly' until it happens, especially when we're sweating (glowing) just sitting still!! :)

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