Friday, September 2, 2022

Starting September

September - the ninth month of our calendar which is still named the seventh month (thus October, November, and December all being misnamed!).  Yes, I know they switched from one calendar system to another, way back when, but, one would think they'd have renamed the months at the same time!

Yesterday (Thursday), it being the first of the month, I cooked kiribath (milkrice) and seeni sambol (sweet and spicy onion relish) and had that with some leftover chicken curry for brunch.  It was cooler, yesterday, with a high of only 102F (10 degrees cooler than the day before), but, it was more humid and in the afternoon, I retreated to the bedroom and turned on the window air conditioner.  Of course, I had to close the doors to the room to keep the cool air inside the room and, of course, it meant the usual dance with Dancer, wanting to come in and go out and come in, again.  We kept that up for at least one hour before he consented to being in the room with me, complaining occasionally about being kept in an air conditioned room!  I stayed in the room until around 7:30 p.m.  Afterwards, I opened the windows to air out the house although it didn't cool down until well past midnight, when it cooled down to 80F, outside.  I called neighbor T and left her a message as she didn't answer the phone; chatted with friend R, exchanged emails with a friend, and video chatted with my daughter.  I had leftover rice, chicken, and stir fry for dinner and some ice cream for dessert!

Yesterday, I was grateful for:
- It being slightly cooler
- Being able to have air conditioning in the bedroom
- Ceiling and stand fans
- Electricity
- Keeping in touch with family and friends

Yesterday's joyful activities included keeping cool in the air conditioned room and a refreshing cold shower in the night!

Today (Friday), our high is 103F with around 30% humidity.  I have the fan on.  I had leftover milkrice and seeni sambol for brunch and some of the fruit salad, afterwards.  Aunt C called and we chatted for a bit and daughter called at 3:00 p.m. saying she was off work early - they were told to have an early start to the three-day weekend, Monday being Labor Day and a holiday.  Daughter is happy!  I've decided I am going to relax and take it easy, today, partly because it is too hot to do anything and partly because, well, it's almost the weekend!  LOL.

I just went outside (it's 4:00 p.m.) to unlock the gate (gardener M will be here a bit later) and to throw out the trash.  It feel like an oven, outside!

Today, I'm grateful for:
- Fans and refrigerators and the electricity to run them (we are under a flex alert)
- M tending to the garden for me
- Water for the garden and for cold showers!
- Friendly blog readers and the kind comments they leave on my blog posts
- Keeping in touch with family and friends

Today's joyful activity has been relaxing!  

How is your Friday coming along?  What are your plans for the weekend?

16 comments:

  1. It said on the news that in LA temperatures can hit 140 over concrete outside! They were showing school playgrounds
    Please stay cool inside. Even 100 is way to hot for me. I turned the air con on last night as it was 77 inside! I hope you stay well in the heat there.

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    1. Yes, paved surfaces like parking lots, school playgrounds, etc. can get blistering hot. My daughter was recalling how she had to do PE unless the air temperature was 96F; anything lower than that, they had to run their mile runs, etc. She did not enjoy that!
      Too funny about you turning on the a/c when it was 77F inside. It is currently 90F inside my family room (at 6:50 p.m.) and I just have the fan on! :D

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  2. Hope it cools down a little soon. Glad you are able to have the air conditioner on in the bedroom. I put mine on early today. It was 90% humidity again this morning. It's supposed to cool down nicely on Sunday. Can't wait!

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    1. Thank you, Sharon. It's supposed to be 104F tomorrow! But, we are having a very light drizzle, right now, at 10:00 p.m., which is lovely! It's still 90F though!

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  3. I hope it cools down for you soon, your temperatures are unimaginable to me and I really would not cope. I do feel sorry for our pets with their fur coats on and sounds like Dancer was not happy, Tilly always finds the shade in our garden but it's cooler indoors for her.

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    1. We are supposed to cool down to the mid 80s, next weekend. There is even a shower in the forecast for then! Today's high is supposed to be 106F/41C and we are already at 103F/39C at 12:30 p.m. :) Dancer finds the coolest spots - usually the ceramic tiled bathroom floor - to plop down in and sleep.

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  4. I am glad you have the cooled bedroom to retreat to. Those are definitely dangerous temperatures.

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    1. Thank you, June; last night, I cooled the bedroom for a bit before I went to sleep. Then, turned the a/c off, opened the doors a bit because Dancer was crying outside the door, and slept with the fan on. Today's high is supposed to be 106F and it is 103F already. I have the fan on!

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  5. I love to be able to open windows and air out the house, but in the heat it isn't possible so I'm just as happy that it is cool today. It would be interesting to see just how many days in a year here are suitable for opening windows for more than a short time. Winter is out for a start, spring is interrupted by a period of high pollen activity, then summer heat means closed windows, too! But oh those lovely days like today when all I have to do is make sure the temperature doesn't go down too far in the evening before I close up.
    I'm just preparing for the family visit later today. They should be here for supper.







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    1. I'm glad it is cool enough for you to keep your windows open, today, Bushlady. I, too, like to open the windows. In the summer, it is usually in the early mornings or late in the evening; in the winter, it is during the afternoons.
      Enjoy the family visit! Hope they have a safe drive. :)

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  6. It may be cooler but it is still ridiculously hot.

    I love the history of the names of the months - that they had a month named after Julius Caesar and a month named after Cesaer Augustus, and that they decided that they had to have the most days in the month and took the extra days from the 'unlucky' month of February.

    The Roman priests used to decide the calendar, depending on who could influence what - to affect things like terms of office, time in the army and all sorts Julius Cesaer, when he took a turn at being in charge of the calendar, had a year with over four hundred days. It must have been hard on calendar sellers in Ancient Rome - you would never know what to make! I'm glad that it's set these days.

    I love history!

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    1. History is fascinating, isn't it? I, too, love history. I remember that my father, too, liked history. Apparently, he wanted to study history, but, his father insisted that he studied medicine and he became a doctor instead of a historian! LOL.
      I wouldn't mind a year with over 400 days - it'll give me more time to get things done! :D

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  7. I hope your extreme temperatures drop soon. Thank goodness you have air-conditioning. It is nicely warm here, but there are signs of autumn all around. Xx

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    1. Thank you, Jules. It's 110F today! I have the fans on, but, I might turn the a/c on, later.

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  8. So off I went in the early morning hours to learn about the naming of the months. Although I sort of knew a bit about it, I'd forgotten all the back and forth and renaming and realigning, etc etc.
    So thanks for starting your blog post with this interesting item.

    I'm glad you have your air conditioner all set up and working so you have an area to retreat to.
    What is the flex power or flex time structure you've mentioned?

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    1. You are welcome! LOL. It is quite fascinating, isn't it?
      Oh, I am so glad I had M set up the a/c for me and that it still works! It was bought back in 1993 (to keep my daughter cool and comfortable during the summer).
      The flex alert, intended to keep the demand on electricity manageable and within the amount of power available during the peak demand periods, generally goes into effect at 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. (it used to be until 7:00 p.m., earlier). Today, Monday, it was extended till 10:00 p.m. One is not supposed to use major appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines, etc., during this period and one is supposed to keep the a/c settings at 78F or higher and one is asked not to charge any electric vehicles during the day and charge them only at night. If the demand on the power grid exceeds what is available, then, there will be rolling "brownouts" and/or "blackouts." I'm trying to do my part to prevent that from happening!

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