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| Monday's Harvest |
It was cooler on Monday, a high of only 93F as opposed to Sunday's 102F. But it was more humid with 45% humidity (Sunday's had been 20%).
I started the day by stripping my bed and doing a load of laundry, which I hung up to dry inside the house. I put the same sheets back on the bed afterwards (less folding and putting away!)
Brunch was a bowl of my yogurt with peach sauce. After brunch, I called neighbor S to ask her if she'd like some of the homemade yogurt, but, she declined my offer saying she had two kinds of yogurt in the fridge, one being what she preferred and the other being what her daughters preferred. Later, when neighbor T called for a chat, I asked her if she liked yogurt and she said she didn't. So, I am unable to share my yogurt with my neighbors, but, that's OK. I had another bowl of it for dessert! LOL.
Then, I made my meal plan for the week and made some egg salad. I had a slice of bread with some of the egg salad sandwich with my evening cup of tea and dinner was another egg salad sandwich because I didn't feel like cooking!
Later, I called friend A to check on her (left a message as she didn't answer the phone), cleaned the fridge, cleaned the litter box, took the trash cans to the curb for pick up on Tuesday morning, watered the front garden, watered the back garden, too (hadn't planned to do that, but, everything was wilting) and picked what is shown in the photo above - one tiny ripe tomato, one passionfruit (which is scorched on the other side), two zucchini (the yellowing one felt very soft, it might have got pre-baked), and two very ripe lemons that just fell from the tree. I did not dust the living room and the dining area, however, so that gets carried over to Tuesday!
- Working appliances
- Electricity to run the applianaces
- Today's harvest, such as it is
- Phones calls, etc., with family and friends
- Dusting and tidying
- Sewing
It is very hot. I have drawn curtains and pulled down the blinds (shades) in an attempt to keep the place dim and cool.
ReplyDeleteDo what you need to do to keep cool, Angela. I keep the drapes drawn closed on the west facing windows to keep the afternoon sun out.
DeleteIt was the same temperature here - 34°c/93°f - I don't know how you cope with it or with anything hotter! We're just not used to it in this country and our infrastructure isn't designed to deal with extreme temperatures. I've seen reports of rail lines closing for today and others being severely disrupted because of how the heat is affecting the signals and tracks, and the runway melted and buckled at Luton Airport! Thankfully it's supposed to cool down tomorrow and we are forecast to get some much needed rain.
ReplyDeleteMask wearing seems to have stopped completely over here. It's very rare to see anyone wearing a mask in town or in the shops. It still compulsory to wear a mask when visiting the doctor or hospital ... makes you wonder what they know that we don't!
I guess I like it hot? This is why I always feel so cold in the winter! I read on the BBC News website about the runway melting at one of the UK airports! And today, there were reports of fires! Hope you are able to keep cool and stay safe!
DeleteI think Los Angeles county will bring back the indoor mask mandate at the end of this month. We had nearly 19,000 new cases, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday combined!
Apparently you can freeze yoghurt so that may be an idea if you have too much for one. I wish it was cooler here but it's hotter so we're staying at home with two fans going in the living room, I'll worry about the electricity bill later
ReplyDeleteI've read that you can freeze yogurt, but, I haven't tried doing that, myself. I can always use the extra yogurt to make baked goods like muffins and cake, once it cools down enough to bake something! I usually don't switch on the oven during the summer!
DeleteWell, fans are supposed to use less electricity than air conditioners to run, so the electricity bill might not be too bad. What is important is to be cool enough to feel comfortable and not feel ill due to the heat!
I'm waiting for the mask requirement to be reinstated here. Most of the people I work with wear a mask, but most of the public doesn't. However, since it's election time, I'm wondering if the county will do a mask mandate again since its so unpopular. Our COVID numbers are up, but not quite to the threshold for a mask mandate. Using the previous guidelines, anyway.
ReplyDeleteWith the way this virus keeps mutating, I think wearing a mask is the wise thing to do. We had 14,906 cases over the weekend and another 3,943 on Monday. These are just the officially reported cases; I know for a fact that not everyone who tests positive on a home test reports it, although they are supposed to do so. :( I hope you and your colleagues manage to stay safe, June.
DeleteSharing food is wonderful, but so if offering it, having the offer declined and having it for yourself to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI have to do some catch-up laundry today, swim laps, and do a little more Keto prep for a few weeks. I am very thankful for a freezer !
Thank you, Anne; it's the thought that counts, right? :)
DeleteSounds like you are having a busy day! A freezer is a wonderful thing to have, isn't it?
That photo looks like it might one day be suitable for the contest under a title like "variety"! I'm glad the masks are required at your daughter's office. I'm sure they are going to come back here soon. I find there are always other people still wearing masks when I am out.
ReplyDeleteI had a "mouse event" this morning. I make a point of checking the traps every day. This time, one was actually missing!! I hunted round the basement and eventually found it not far away near the wall. I took it outside to release what I thought was a little dead mouse, gripped by the side of its head. (I probably should have preceded this comment with a warning!). When I dropped it out on the yard on some grass, it stirred and began to move. It wasn't in great shape but its mobility improved. I have no idea if it will survive but I certainly wasn't capable of killing it.
Meanwhile DH had found a large one when he opened a drawer in the garage and it jumped out. It had chewed a notebook he kept in there.
Oh, my! That mouse must have had a thick skull! That's one mouse with a big headache for at least the rest of the day! Your DH must have got surprised when the other mouse jumped out! Many years ago, before we had cats inside and out, I had some mice in the house and I had to set traps for them. I wonder if Dancer will even know what to do if we get another mouse in here! He has a cat toy that M gave, which looks very realistic, and he mostly ignores it! :D
DeleteIf you didn't feel like cooking, you could have had the pre baked courgette! My veg plants have been cosseted through the past couple of days and I am glad to say they look ok. But the clematis is badly burned and the hydrangea doesn't look very happy either! First gladiolus has bloomed, as has the first dahlia. Day lily is a bit upset, but I've just drenched it so let's hope. Today has been more uncomfortable than yesterday. Even though there was a strong breeze all afternoon, it was as warm as a hairdryer! Sitting upstairs was no fun and the heat off the computer bothered me, but I'm glad everything continued to work (even if the smoke alarm went off a few times! ). Mustn't complain as there were something like eight fires involving over 100 engines (in total) in the London area and a few people, mainly teenagers, have died in swimming-related incidents. Some people never listen! Now I'm downstairs where it's much cooler. We've just had a lot of loud thunder and now it's spotting rain, but still 33C! I heard from Mum. AOK there (I didn't ask how many layers she had on today. Will save that for when I see them...!) Rain forecast for tomorrow, so let's see.!
ReplyDeleteArg! I totally forgot about having the prebaked courgette for dinner! I put it in the fridge and I don't even know if it is any good, but, I'll see if I can salvage it. I can already tell you that this is NOT the summer of zucchini! I'm sorry your garden is suffering from the heat, but, hopefully, the plants will recover.
DeleteI read on the BBC website that a temperature of 40C was recorded in the UK, today! I also read about the fires.
Ha, ha, I can relate to the warm as a hairdryer breeze! :D It's 95F (35C) as I type this. But, inside the house is about 10F cooler and I have a fan on. I'm quite comfortable. Did having the fan on help you sleep, last night?
Glad to hear that your parents are doing OK. Hope you get the rain that is in the forecast. :)
I didn't bother with the fan that night, and slept fine, though I woke up several times. Last night was terribly sticky and I lay there a long while thinking I should get up and fetch the fan. But I would have had to go downstairs and get an extension lead too, so I while I lay there debating whether I could be bothered, I must have dropped off. In Japan, I had a fan which I could set to turn off after an hour or so, which was really useful. I would use my fan here, if I needed to, but once I fell asleep it would probably end up staying on all night and electricity is now SOOO expensive, I am not really keen to do that. My monthly energy bill has more than doubled this year, and will go up again in the autumn, so it pays to be mindful - though there is a limit to what one can do. I am just fortunate that I am not on a coin meter and am not one of those choosing between energy and food. We have a record number of people using food banks at the moment, and some are even refusing donations of raw food because they can't afford to cook it. I'm truly glad my only association with food banks is as a donor, but the situation is getting dire.
DeletePS. Update on yesterday's stats: 240 callouts to the fire brigade in my county. One of the fires in a residential area started when a compost heap ignited. I know they get really hot, but I never thought of that. In future I will make sure I tell parents to drench theirs in advance of a forecast of sustained heat. No rain yet today, but the forecasters are still promising it!
Electricity bills are always a concern, aren't they? I tend to worry more about my water bill than my electricity bill, but, the rates continue to increase; so, even if the usage stay the same, the bill continues to increase!
DeleteYes, I've heard of compost heaps self-igniting, but, never thought it would happen there!
PS That last one was from Ella (as if you didn't know! )
ReplyDeleteHe, he, I did wonder? :D
DeleteDon't believe you!
DeleteLOL! Would I lie to you? :D
DeleteMonday was challenging; I had some workers from next door trespassing. But, I handled it and am relieved. Today I took a refreshing swim at the lake. I have been catching up on knitting my sock.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to deal with the trespassing workers, Stephenie. That would have been challenging. My neighbor is having some work done too, replacing her roof, starting tomorrow - I hope I won't have to deal with trespassing workers too!
DeleteI hope your daughter stays safe, it is so worrying!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lyssa. Yes, it is worrying, isn't it?
DeleteJust a nicely busy day. I enjoyed one of those yesterday, catching up with those jobs I'd been putting off because of the heat. X
ReplyDeleteIt was a good day (and so far, the only productive day, this week!) I'm glad you were able to catch up with the jobs you had put off due to the heat. It was very wise of you to take it easy when it was so hot. Hope it will cool off from now on.
DeleteWe have had high temperatures too here on the east coast.
ReplyDeleteOur house has air conditioning - thank goodness. We hadn't used it at all this summer as up until this hot patch it's been quite a nice summer temperature-wise.
Thats interesting about your daughter's masking rules at work.
Hardly anyone wears a mask here anymore. I had to return something from one of my pick-up orders and went inside the grocery store the other day. Other than myself, I only saw one woman and her two children with masks.
My good friend who just got back from traveling for work has covid.
She has been sick with it. Not terribly so but she's felt pretty bad with flu like symptoms.
I've been hearing about the heatwave that's affecting the midwest and the east coast! It probably feels very uncomfortable with the higher humidity; I'm glad you have a/c!
DeleteI think there have been quite a few people out with Covid in my daughter's office and they are concerned. If people are vaccinated, etc., and get Covid, then, the majority of them experience only flu like symptoms and don't need to be hospitalized. That's what the vaccines do - reduce the severity of the infection. I hope your friend recovers without any complications. My cousin who has Covid says she's having "Covid rebound" - she started to feel better, but, has relapsed (happens when there has been insufficient antiviral medication to fully eliminate the initial infection). Yesterday's new reported case count in Los Angeles county was 6,450; I'm staying home!