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You are here: Home / life / Relief

Relief

July 18, 2025 at 8:17 am by Claudia

Friday morning. The heat and humidity are gone – at least, for a while. There is a cool breeze coming through the windows.

Thank heavens. This kind of weather makes me feel ill (allergies to mold and mildew.) I haven’t felt well for about two weeks. I can’t wait to do some work outside later this morning. It’s a truly lovely day.

From the garden bed outside the living room windows. These guys are gorgeous this year!

I want you to know I went outside in a heat index of 95° to get these photos – yes, I know, I’m a saint.

The brown-eyed susans are opening up; always a sign that we’re headed into the second half of summer. It all passes so quickly, doesn’t it?

Bees LOVE coneflowers. And I love seeing them everywhere.

You know how I feel about every vile thing going on right now. I am quite vocal about all of it on my main IG account and on Threads. I know some of you follow me there. That doesn’t mean I won’t address it here at some point, but I do get sick of having to block ignorant cult members, so I’m keeping this little place on the Web a relatively happy place.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: life 18 Comments

Comments

  1. kathy in iowa says

    July 18, 2025 at 8:36 am

    glad you are getting a break from the heat and humidity. hope it lasts more than a day or two so you can enjoy being outside, do some gardening and bee-watching, and the allergens leave you be.

    taking a long drive into nebraska to visit my oldest cousin’s wife (he passed on a couple months ago at age 80). she asked us over for dinner so will get home quite late, but worth it for sure.

    hope everyone has a good day. stay safe in every way.

    kathy

    Reply
    • Claudia says

      July 19, 2025 at 8:12 am

      Thank you, Kathy.

      Stay safe.

      Reply
  2. Lynda says

    July 18, 2025 at 9:10 am

    Your blooms are exquisite, such wonderful photos! A cooler day here in MI, a godsend to be able to go out for a nice walk later.

    On top of the stress and total disruption of leaving the Northeast, “every vile thing going on right now” is almost too much to bear. When every dang day is a new assault on something. I guess we each have to do whatever we can, however small, to make where we are a good place to be. Have a nice weekend!

    Reply
    • Claudia says

      July 19, 2025 at 8:13 am

      Thanks so much, Lynda.

      Stay safe.

      Reply
  3. Ellen D. says

    July 18, 2025 at 9:11 am

    We have a bit of cooling off here, too, and it feels so much better. I joined a protest last evening and the crowd was great and the weather perfect.
    Have a nice weekend, Claudia.

    Reply
    • Claudia says

      July 19, 2025 at 8:13 am

      Good for you, Ellen!

      Stay safe.

      Reply
  4. Donnamae says

    July 18, 2025 at 9:50 am

    I’m happy you have today to enjoy…we had that yesterday. All windows were open, and it got so cold I had to put a sweatshirt on for a bit. It was glorious. More of the same today, but warmer…no humidity tho.

    You’re right…the flowers are fleeting, especially when it’s hot out. They don’t last as long. But…the tomatoes love the heat.

    There is a lot of ugly going on out there…so I retreat to the ‘following’ section of Instagram to immerse myself in those who post garden and decorating inspiration. It’s much better for my state of mind. Enjoy your day! ;)

    Reply
    • Claudia says

      July 19, 2025 at 8:13 am

      I do the same thing.

      Stay safe, Donnamae.

      Reply
  5. jeanie says

    July 18, 2025 at 10:03 am

    The cone flowers are fabulous. We cooled off here too with a big storm the other night. Temps going up but not to where they were and the air is fresher.

    Colbert salary: 15 million. Settlement: 16 million. You do the math, as they say. And pray for the smallest and most rural of PBS/NPR stations. They are in big trouble with the federal rescissions.

    Reply
    • Claudia says

      July 19, 2025 at 8:14 am

      Thank you, Jeanie.

      Stay safe.

      Reply
  6. ceci says

    July 18, 2025 at 10:59 am

    Down here we still have the heat and humidity! Maybe your nice weather will expand south a bit (or a bunch). One positive of the heat is that the zinnias are just going crazy – helped along by the fact that the first 2 envelopes of seed I planted didn’t come up for ages so I planted 2 more, so now what was going to be a lot of zinnias is twice that many. Of course it’s hard to have too many, right?

    cheers,
    Ceci

    Reply
    • Claudia says

      July 19, 2025 at 8:14 am

      You can’t have too many, Ceci.

      Stay safe.

      Reply
  7. Wendy T says

    July 18, 2025 at 11:57 am

    Pleased the weather has become better for both your outdoor activities and your allergies. The flower photos make me feel happy. They are “plain” flowers but evoke cheer and joy, so maybe not plain at all!

    I empathize with you. I am an ostrich who is in the know and the know is very disappointing, disturbing, distressing and disgusting.

    Reply
    • Claudia says

      July 19, 2025 at 8:15 am

      Thank you, Wendy.

      Stay safe.

      Reply
  8. Wendy N says

    July 18, 2025 at 12:28 pm

    It is OK not to mention what is going on in our country right now. We know how you feel and I am sure most of us agree with you!

    Reply
    • Claudia says

      July 19, 2025 at 8:15 am

      Thank you, Wendy.

      Stay safe.

      Reply
  9. Irene dykstra says

    July 18, 2025 at 2:56 pm

    I’m having some heck of a time with this old phone!
    So short version, my dog keeps getting sick. It rained, 🙌 , Mike and I finally had a Real trip, only 2 days long, with 2 part days driving. Disappointing for sure. It’s because Mike’s dad was dying and of course, you never know when that will happen. He did die, sadly.
    I always love your pics of the pretty coneflowers the most.
    I’m still told to go to the hospital. I don’t want to, that will be last resort. Today I am quite free of pain, so I’m happy. And I have an apt to see a nurse (through my drs office, cool) next week. The specialist is on a holiday. I’ll take the nurses advice. Lots of sick people end up in a calgary hospital – 3 hrs away. I don’t want to be or get sick, it would break my dear old dad’s heart.
    I’m late, yet again!

    Reply
    • Claudia says

      July 19, 2025 at 8:16 am

      Thanks so much, Irene.

      Stay safe.

      Reply
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I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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