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Post by Phalon on Jun 29, 2020 18:14:25 GMT -6
Eeeew. Steamy. It was very humid even first thing this morning, and reached 90 today - it's supposed to be the same for at least the next seven days. Work is going to be hell, I'm sure. At least we don't have the dust storm to contend with...yet(?) The winds are supposed to come up from the south, so there's a chance even up here in the north we'll get some of it. For you guys in the south, regardless of the virus, now would be a good time to be wearing masks outside.
I hope moving his garden to the front so your dog can keep the critters away works for your bro-in-law. Quetta chases the squirrels (except Little Red and Puffball, which amazingly she's learned are off limits) and the bunnies...but mostly doesn't go out of her way to do so. These days she's pretty content just to sun herself or lay in the shade, weather dictating her choice of lounging areas, while Hubs has her out during the day. She is getting so old, she just doesn't have the get-up-and-go that she used to. Today though, we had to limit her time outside because of the heat - wish I could explain it to her, because even though she's old, she still gives me those sad puppy dog eyes; she'd stay outside all day if she had her choice. Me, not so much...already filled two Thermoses of water for work tomorrow, and hoping that's enough.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jun 29, 2020 18:17:55 GMT -6
Well, it was nice while it lasted. We had fireworks Saturday night because my sister and her family won't be here on the 4th. I'll have to get the mail and feed the dogs for my sister and my niece for a week.
As we were sitting out on the car port watching the fireworks, we could feel the humidity. Thankfully there was a nice breeze that helped out, but the humidity is still here, and getting worse. I ain't too happy about it, but other than moving, there isn't anything I can do to live humidity-free.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jun 30, 2020 14:06:58 GMT -6
The nights will start to grow longer next Monday. September/October is when it is most noticeable. The sooner this pandemic ends the better, so I’m gonna think positive.
We’ve had rain off and on today. I tried to get the dog to go outside to tinkle, but she’s afraid of the thunder. I had the back door open for a bit trying to get her to come out. So then I tried the front door, and as I’m trying to get her to come out the front door, I hear a fire detector going off. It’s the one at the back door. I haven’t been cooking, so I knew it wasn’t that. When I got to the back door and started fanning the detector, I can smell a dry dusty odor, and it dawns on me that it has to be the Sahara dust. And when I go back to trying to get the dog to go out the front door to tinkle, I look out at the yard and see a soft haze. I can feel my nostril and throat start to feel dry. I realized I should be wearing a mask. I wonder how long that dust is going to blow around before it drops to the ground? How many days should I be careful when outside? Hopefully the a/c can handle it.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 1, 2020 4:26:55 GMT -6
We had some rain too yesterday morning - it sounded like it was going to storm, but the thunder was off in the distance (although from the dog's reaction, you'd think it was right over top of us), and the storm missed us. We got only about a 1/4 inch of rain. Not so at the nursery; when I got there, the storm had just ended - 1 1/2 inches of rain fell.
Steamy, steamy, steamy afterward. It must have really wiped me out by the end of the day. I fell asleep almost immediately after dinner. When I woke up, I thought it was about 10pm. I looked at the clock - it was 2:30am!!! Could not fall back asleep, though I tried like hell, and have been awake since.
Weird to think that dust can set off a smoke detector, but when we were having all that work done on the house a few years ago, the construction workers said even drywall dust sets off the alarms all the time.
Regarding the air conditioner, I read a few days ago, that the dust storm can definitely have an adverse effect on it - you have to check the filters often to make sure they don't get clogged with dust.
And definitely wear a mask when you go outside!
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 1, 2020 21:43:34 GMT -6
It rained most of the day and night, so I'm guessing that has cleaned the dust from the air. I didn't get a dry nose/throat when I got out to go to the mailbox, or to take the dog for a quick stroll to do her thing. I really wish thunder didn't bother her. It's a pain in the behind when she sticks to me like glue and I have a hard time getting her to do her thing. However, there is another batch of dust on its way in the next few days or week. Hopefully rain takes care of that as well.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 4, 2020 4:59:00 GMT -6
The weather is still hot and oh-so-steamy. The gardens are still oh-so-weedy. And the bunnies are still oh-so-hungry!
Hubs has been sweet, having a cold foot bath ready for me in the shade on the back porch when I get home from work - I like to sit out there, drink a beer, and relax for a bit before showering off the day's sweat and dirt. Sticking my feet in cold water is an instant cool-down.
All day yesterday, even though I knew it was Friday, I kept thinking it was Saturday. Had to remind myself multiple times, that cr@p, it's only Friday - you've got to work tomorrow. My co-worker also had to remind me, when I asked him to do something for me 'tomorrow because it's my day off'. It just felt like Saturday.
That feeling carried over to this morning also when my alarm went off, and I turned it off, briefly wondering why I had even set it on my day off. Then reality set in, and I dragged myself out of bed.
Later Taters. Off to the masses.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 5, 2020 23:07:25 GMT -6
I am missing the low/no humidity. Tomorrow, the days will start to get shorter. The year is half over, and I'm dreading with the last half of the year is going to bring.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 7, 2020 5:24:49 GMT -6
Same!!! Missing the lower temperatures too! Mornings have always been my favorite time to spend in my gardens, whether I'm just sitting on the porch drinking coffee, or strolling through the yard (coffee cup in hand!). The last couple of mornings though since I've had off work, I've gotten out as soon as it was light enough to see and not sweltering hot and humid to begin Operation Garden Take Back. Still a lot to do, but I've weeded and cut things back enough that it at least looks presentable to my eyes.
Hhmmm...positivity manifests positive things. That's what BP would say, or possibly something like that (she's always using the word "manifest" in conjunction with "positive").
The moon has been gorgeous lately. I sat outside a couple of nights over the weekend between 1am and 2am, just to look at it, and the yard bathed in moonlight. It's just so pretty - and so different than during the day. It's got a magical quality almost. Even this morning while I drank my coffee outside as the sun started to come up in the east, the moon was still high, almost full and bright to the west. A pleasant way to start the day.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 7, 2020 20:49:59 GMT -6
I've been noticing the moon as well. I took video of it on the fourth. Mom's dog kept distracting me because she wanted to go back inside. I did warn her not to go out with me, but she wasn't about to let me outside without her.
http://instagram.com/p/CCQlXbFgey5
My part of the world hasn't gotten much of the rain predicted on my phone app. The last couple of weeks had rain every day, and then the week would mostly be dry. The nights are still on the cool side, but the mosquitoes don't let you get much enjoyment from it.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 10, 2020 5:00:42 GMT -6
The dog's panting in an otherwise silent except for the crickets video of the full moon made me chuckle. It kind of like a dog's version of one of those handheld camera filmed by the 'participants' "found footage" horror movies - "The Blair Woof Project" maybe.
I cannot describe how bad it's been this week working outside in the heat and humidity - except to say it's been miserable and draining. Literally didn't feel like I even had the energy to stand up in the shower when I got home from work yesterday.
But we had some rain-glorious-rain last night - 3/4 of an inch. It's supposed to bring down the temperature some for the next couple of days; I don't know if it'll bring down the humidity also, but no harm in hoping. It doesn't feel so bad out there now.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 13, 2020 10:56:30 GMT -6
What a change yesterday and today has been!!! Friday and Saturday were much better than it has been - the temperature came down, but it was still on the humid side. Beers with coworkers Saturday evening social distancing on a hill in the shade, with a breeze even, was a great way to end a really hard week working in gross weather.
The last couple of days though - heavenly! It's 76F now, without humidity, and a nice breeze is blowing off the lake. Ahhhhhh! Bliss!
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 13, 2020 23:37:28 GMT -6
The temps and 'feels like' have dropped a bit, but will be going back up soon. Showers predicted, but never get any rain in my spot. Or very short, quick showers.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 15, 2020 14:43:30 GMT -6
It is 92F, but feels like 105F. Always glad to be inside on days like these.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 16, 2020 5:17:29 GMT -6
A snide? Inside? Or does mocking the heat and humidity somehow make it more bearable? If so, lemme know, cuz I'll certainly give it a try!
I was surprised Tuesday when I got home from work and looked at the thermometer - it was near 90, but I wouldn't have guessed it was that hot. The humidity was low, which made all the difference. It crept back in yesterday though, and it's supposed to be back up along with the temperature to the unbearable level by the weekend.
Had a little bit of rain last night, which we needed - came home yesterday to a bunch of wilty-looking gardens. Walking around this morning with my coffee, everything perked up though, and it's quite lovely now...
...although, I might have spent a touch too much time basking in the freshness of the morning. Running a bit behind. Later Taters.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 16, 2020 12:49:20 GMT -6
I read your quote and wondered who made that comment. I hate autocorrect sometimes. I tend to read and reread what I type, but guess I didn’t that time.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 19, 2020 7:54:52 GMT -6
I hate auto-correct too - so much so that "damned auto-correct" was a suggestion on my texting app because I'd type the phrase so much; all I had to do was start typing d..a.., and the suggestion popped up. Instead of reading a text I sent, seconds after I sent it, and wondering what the hell I was trying to say with all the auto-corrections in it, I ended up just disabling auto-correct.
Hot and humid here the last couple of days....nothing new there. Breeze was nothing but hot air too, not offering much relief. We had a lot of thunder earlier this morning, the breeze picked up to a gusty wind, and the sky grew very dark. I hurried and hot my porch plants from underneath the overhang, so they'd get some rain....and we only ended up with a sprinkling.
I think there's supposed to be more coming though - radar shows it's moving from Chicago across the Lake. Whether we get it or not is very hit or miss. I hope it's not a miss - we sure could use some rain!
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 19, 2020 17:19:31 GMT -6
I've thought about turning it off, but haven't gotten around to it yet. It never helps when I'm guessing how to spell a word, nor does the Dictionary app I have. If I want to know how to spell a word I'm screwing up, I Google it, and Google will ask me if I meant to write 'this word' ... which is the word I was going for. So, I guess I should probably just turn it off. I'd have to figure out how to do that though.
We got a lot of dark clouds and noise here, but very little rain. July is half over, and August is only going to get worse heat-wise, no doubt. It won't be until September/October that we'll get some relief every now and again until Autumn kicks in full swing. I'm hoping to realize the dark spiral, and nip it in the bud asap. With all that's going on this year, I really don't want to see how dark I can go.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 20, 2020 1:41:11 GMT -6
I miss the nights being in the 70s, without high humidity. A year ago I had to go without air for a few days over the 4th holiday, because the fan on my a/c broke a blade. And there's talk of losing electricity ... and my lights have been flickering here and there over the last few days/weeks. Not going to enjoy that if it happens.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 20, 2020 16:07:39 GMT -6
It feels nice outside today. It’s in the low 70s, with no humidity. There are puddles in my driveway, so we got some rain. Still making noise out there, but no rain. Temps will be climbing higher tonight. No doubt the humidity will as well. It was nice while it lasted.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 21, 2020 10:29:34 GMT -6
It hasn’t been storming, and my lights have been off for awhile now. Called it in. My thermostat is a couple of degrees higher, and the dog is panting like she’s in an oven. I hear a vehicle going up and down the road, so wondering if that’s them looking for the problem. Hope they find it before the house gets up into the 80s & 90s. Laters.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 21, 2020 10:38:25 GMT -6
And I haz LIGHTS!
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Post by Phalon on Jul 23, 2020 5:16:48 GMT -6
Glad that you weren't without lights for too long....or without air-conditioning!
We had a day like that this week - Monday was beautiful. The humidity was back on Tuesday though, and has stuck like a sweaty shirt clings to sweaty skin. Blah.
The little bit of rain we had took the "crunch" out of the lawn, and turned it dull green instead of dull green mixed with tan, and an intermittent breeze lessens the feel of the humidity and keeps the mosquitoes at bay.
Later Taters...as always I'm running behind schedule.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 24, 2020 0:24:22 GMT -6
Yeah. I'm glad the house hadn't gotten too hot yet before they got the lights back on. My hot flashes seem to be back. Not like they were in the beginning, but still not fun.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 27, 2020 6:58:09 GMT -6
Sorry your hot flashes returned - hopefully they're short-lived. I can't remember the last time I've had a hot flash - six months? a year? It's been a very long time, (and I've probably just jinxed myself!).
That doesn't mean I haven't been miserably hot though! There's a big difference - it's from working all day in the hot and humid weather, and not those waves of internal heat that hit you like a freight train. Yesterday we reached into the mid-90s here - went down to visit LX and the Boyfriend, and it always seemed a lot hotter down there on the Indiana border and away from the lake; there was a nice breeze though, and it wasn't too hot sitting in the shade as we social distanced. It was really good to visit - it's been more than a month since.
Had another very good visit this past week - and this one was more than 6 years! I got a call one night at around 10pm from a phone number I didn't recognize - the only time I answer my phone when I don't recognize the number is at night; I figure at night, someone is trying to reach someone, and it might be some kind of emergency - even if I don't know the person, they'd want to know they're calling the wrong number. Turns out that it was one of LX's very best friends from high-school who was in town with her boyfriend visiting the boyfriend's mother, and she wondered if she could stop by the house. I set up chairs outside more than six feet apart....and had to add another one, because coincidentally another of LX's good high-school friends was in town visiting his dad! They both spent so much time at the house during their school days, they called me Mom and our house was "home". I haven't seen either of them since Christmas break LX's freshman year of college. The young man stayed about an hour, but Steph and I talked and talked - until her boyfriend drove up to the house, worried about her - it was almost 2:30am! It was so good to see them again!
Better get moving - there's stuff I want to get done outside. The high today is supposed to be 10 degrees cooler than yesterday, but it's still sticky as hell out - hoping the stickiness is that humidity that always seems to rise before a storm. Scattered thunderstorms are possible, and as the storms move through, it's supposed to get cooler. The whole week is supposed to be comfortably cooler than it has been. Hoping the forecast is right!!! Cooler temperatures and less humidity would be most welcomed.
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 28, 2020 1:38:52 GMT -6
I'm hoping the hot flashes are temporary, and that they disappear again soon. It could also be because the house isn't as cold as I have it set in the Winter. No way am I setting the a/c to 65F. I have it on 72F, but wondering if I can set it to 70F. The sun cooks my house, so the a/c can get overworked on occasion. (It's doing better since I got rid of the skylights.) I have several fans going to try and keep the air circulated, so that the hot air isn't above my head. (The up side to being short.)
Lots of scattered showers here and there ... mostly there. They blow over very quickly. My brother-in-laws corn is crooked from one of the scattered showers blowing through quickly. He brought me a bunch of red and green tomatoes. Not sure what to do with all of them. I plan on frying up a couple of green tomatoes, but not sure what to do with the rest of them. I'm thinking I'll cook the red tomatoes and run them through a strainer to keep out the skin and seeds, and freeze the concoction for soups and chili later on. Not sure what to have with the green tomatoes ... will probably just make a meal of them.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 29, 2020 5:06:09 GMT -6
The fact that heat rises is very apparent in our house - the second story is always warmer than the first floor. We keep the central air set on 72F, and while it's comfortable on the main level, the upstairs where the bedrooms are is warmer; we sleep with ceiling fans going. If Hubs turns the air-conditioning down to 70F to cool off the upstairs, it feels freezing downstairs.
When we renovated the house, I wanted to have an attic fan installed to suck out the hot air, but was talked out of it, for a reason I don't remember, but which seemed like a valid reason at the time.
I don't even go to that much trouble to freeze tomatoes for soup and chili. I just core the seeds, cut the tomatoes into chunks, and pulse them in the blender, then put them in freezer bags. I have found though, that laying the freezer bags flat on a cookie sheet until they're frozen makes them easier to stack in the freezer.
I've never cared for fried green tomatoes...or those that are just turning pink, which is how Mom used to make them. There is someone here who does like green tomatoes - Puffball, the squirrel with the powder-puff tail. He's been pilfering them right off the plants! I watched him lumber across the yard the other day with a big green tomato almost as big as he is, and take it up the maple, to sit on a branch eating it. Another one he didn't even bother to take out - he just dined in the garden. He's such a weird little creature - his behaviors are odd, even for a squirrel.
We've only gotten one ripe tomato so far this year, and a handful of cherry tomatoes. The plants are loaded though and hopefully they'll be ripening soon...if Puffball doesn't get to them first. I've been craving BLTs with fresh homegrown tomatoes, and there'll be hell to pay if Puffball denies me them!
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 30, 2020 0:30:53 GMT -6
The hot air is right over my head. Before my hot flashes, I'd be freezing, and my sister or Mom would come into the house and start sweating and go kick on the a/c. So, the fans are mostly for company ... or for when I have to get something that's up over my head. But taking out the skylights is so much less work on my a/c. It doesn't stay on all day until the wee hours of the night, and then backfire like a truck when it kicks off. And then it kicks back on just a few short hours later. When I had to replace my last a/c, the guy put in a bigger one than is needed for a house my size. (I really loved those skylights, but my a/c is grateful they're gone now.)
I fried up some tomatoes today. I cut up some that had a touch of pink/red. They got really soggy as they were cooking, so I don't think I'll do that again. I filled up on the green ones, so I threw those out. The green ones are turning fast, so I should probably do something with the red ones tomorrow. --- We've had some rain off and on. Mostly all around me, and all I get is the rumbling, which then gets the dog to pester me. And sometimes, just when I think she's about to settle down, a really loud thunder will make me jump, and she's in my lap again. My b-i-l's corn is standing up again. And he'll be happy to know that Mom's dog chased a deer out of my front yard today. I yelled at her to leave it alone, and then I remembered that that was the sole purpose for him putting his garden in my front yard.
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Post by Phalon on Jul 31, 2020 4:57:20 GMT -6
Nothing here. No rumblings, not even a drop. But FINALLY....the cool down!!! It started yesterday, though it was hot by mid-afternoon, but with low humidity; right now it's a heavenly 62F with a high predicted today of 80F.
I was actually able to work in the gardens yesterday evening without getting grossly hot and sweaty - I stayed out until just after 9pm, and got more done than I have in weeks!
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Post by Mini Mia on Jul 31, 2020 5:16:45 GMT -6
It has been raining here ... soft, rain. And it feels cooler here too. In a couple of months it will be Autumn. Wow, how time flies.
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Post by Mini Mia on Aug 1, 2020 14:42:29 GMT -6
And I FINALLY have a puddle in my driveway. All those storms passing through, and not enough precipitation to leave its mark, until now. Today was a bit on the chilly side. Nice compared to how hot & humid it has been.
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