Saturday: Hot and Smoky

Saturday was hot and smoky.  The heat is relentless and it was another triple digit day.  The brush fire has spread; it is far enough away not to be a threat to me, but close enough to smell the smoke and have ash drop in my yard.

After I woke up and had a cup of tea, I did more laundry (my bed quilt, bathmats, the towels Dancer sleeps on), wiped down all the horizontal surfaces in the living room and dining room with a damp paper towel to, hopefully, pick up any flea eggs and droppings that might have been deposited on them,  sprayed the sofas, the area rug, and his cat tree with flea spray, and vacuumed most of the house (living room, dining area, family room, kitchen, and bathrooms).  I didn't vacuum my bedroom because I had vacuumed it the night before and I didn't vacuum daughter's room or the 3rd bedroom because it was so hot by then and I was tired!

Poor Dancer is banned from my bedroom for the time being.  He sits outside the bedroom doors (there are two - one to the hallway and one to the bathroom) and cries and I feel very bad about it, but, I need to minimize the need to vacuum and launder, simply because I don't have the energy for it, especially in this heat.  The smoke doesn't help, either, although I haven't had any asthma problems, yet.   I am combing him daily and still finding one or two fleas on him, but they are dead ones for the most part.  I am also checking him daily to see if there are any signs of tape worms, because then, I'd have to take him to the vet.  So far, however, no sign of them.   

I still need to launder daughter's bedding, as he jumped on the new bed sheets as soon as I put them on the bed, and her quilts.  And, of course, the sofa dust covers again!  I am washing everything in hot water with bleach to try and kill as many eggs and larvae as I can.

After the morning of cleaning, I showered and got dressed to go to my friend's house to lunch.  I had intended to buy a potted plant to take to her as a housewarming gift, but the cleaning took longer than I expected it to, and I still had to put gas to the car and buy the watermelon she had suggested I bring.  So, instead of the plant, I decided to give her a set of four dessert bowls that I had  (new, still in the box).  Then, put gas to the car ($2.99/gallon; I put $30 worth) and went to the grocery store to pick up a watermelon ($.20/lb).  I also picked up a pecan pie and a container of whipped cream to take along, in addition to the watermelon.

It took about 25 minutes to go to my friend's new home, a lovely condo, with the living room, dining area, kitchen and a half-bath downstairs and three bedrooms, two baths, a little home office/study area (although it could be set up as a sitting area or crafts room), and laundry area, upstairs.  There is a tiny strip of garden at the back and the side, as well, as she has the corner unit.  It is a very nice set up and I really liked it - except for the stairs!  LOL.  My friend hasn't decorated her condo, yet, except for a few potted plants.  The uncluttered look is in such contrast to my own house!

She had prepared a feast!  Sri Lankan yellow rice (which is cooked with coconut milk and spices) and curries:

The Lunch Table

 
We didn't lack for a choice of desserts, either:

The Desserts

I persuaded her not to cut the watermelon and keep it for later, as there were so many other desserts.  We lingered over lunch and chatted until mid-afternoon.  She wanted us to stay to tea, as well, but I was getting tired and wanted a nap!  She sent me home with a plate of food and some of the pound cake.

I wore one of my new blouses to the lunch:

New Blouse

After we came home, I took a nap!

In the evening, daughter went out to lunch with our neighbor S's two daughters.  They've been friends since childhood when they played together.  They went to a Thai restaurant and she brought home the leftovers for my dinner!  I couldn't eat it all, so there are plenty of leftovers in the fridge!  It was too hot for me to do any additional cleaning or laundry, last night, and I was too tired, even after my nap, to even try.

On Saturday, I was grateful for:
- Being able to do as much cleaning as I did.
- The washing machine!  It's old (25 years), it's wash cycle knob is broken (but I am able to turn it, still), it's temperamental (occasionally needs to be prodded, with a chopstick I keep on hand for the purpose, for the rinse cycle to start) and sometimes, the spin cycle doesn't remove all the water and the items need to be wrung by hand, BUT, it worked beautifully and handled the quilt without any problems!
- A lovely visit with my friend
- Air conditioning in the bedroom
- Afternoon naps

September 2nd decluttering: a set of 4 dessert bowls, a gift bag from the stash!

How was your Saturday?  Hope it wasn't as hot as mine was!