Yippee! The hollyhocks have started to bloom. It’s very rainy here today and it looks like it will be rainy for the next few days. Actually, I love taking pictures of the flowers with water droplets on them.

The guy from the alarm company is here right now upgrading the system and he’s a bit chatty…I’m trying to write this post and he keeps asking us questions about what we do for a living, how long have we lived here, etc. – all very nice and friendly, but I can’t concentrate!

I was completely out of it yesterday, still suffering the after effects from the crazy weather. It really does a number on my sinuses and allergies. I’m feeling a bit more with it today, as I got a lot of sleep last night. The technician, by the way, is wearing a mask, as are we. This is the first time we’ve had any service person in the house since before the pandemic. I’m going to go around and spray everything he’s touched when he leaves…just out of an overabundance of caution!

I’m going to paint today. I wasn’t in the mood to tackle it yesterday but, thankfully, I am today.

I heard a Carolina wren singing this morning, very close to where I was sitting in the den. I knew he had to be on the porch. Sure enough, he was hopping from plants to the porch floor to the picnic table, singing his heart out. How I’ve missed that beautiful song! Is he planning on trying to build a nest on the porch? No can do, buddy. I didn’t see him near the trailer, though I kept hoping he’d fly up to his perch on the tree. I’ll keep an eye on things, but what a lovely way to start the day!

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

I’ve already watered – around 6:30 am – and I’m sweating. Yesterday, our heat index was 103°. Today, it will reach 105°. It’s unbearable out there. And in here, because when you have several days of this stuff, it builds up in the house. Our big window a/c unit could barely keep up with it yesterday. Same with the bedroom unit. And both are usually more than up to the task.

By early yesterday afternoon, I had painted and Don had worked up in the studio and we were resting with the a/c on. It was as if we were both drugged. We could barely keep our eyes open.

I had a strong memory flash this morning as I was filling up the watering can. When I lived in Philadelphia in grad school, I shared an apartment one year with my friend Carolyn. We didn’t have and couldn’t afford a window a/c unit. During the summers, I would do temp work in Philadelphia. Carolyn would go home to California. Philadelphia is not unlike Washington DC when it comes to crushing humidity. I would get up in the morning to get ready for work and after 5 minutes, I was already sweating. Work, of course, offered a bit of a refuge as it was air conditioned, but lord, by the time I reached home at the end of the day, I was drenched. I would take a shower and then, using the three fans that I owned, I’d sit on the bed in my underwear with one fan on my right, another on my left, and one facing me – all of them turned on full blast. And that was my station for the rest of the evening.

That’s what this feels like. It should break on Thursday, but in the meantime, my brain is mush.

This painting I’m currently working on is taking a bit of time – partly because I can only work for a short time every day, but mostly because it’s difficult. At the end of a session, I’m greatly encouraged; then after a break I look at it more critically and realize there are several elements I didn’t get right. And so it goes. It’s all a learning experience and I have much to learn!

Other than the above, there’s nothing new. We’re hanging in there. The birthday celebration has come and gone. The apple pie has been eaten. Prodigious amounts of water are being consumed.

I know it’s very hot in many places. If you are in one of them, hang in there. Stay hydrated.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.