Not to harp on the weather, but this heat and humidity is relentless. Both Don and I are in bad moods. With the heat index routinely around 104 degrees, it’s hard to think, let alone come up with a sunny mood.
But we try. We try. We may have some storms today, but I’ve learned not to trust those forecasts this summer. In the meantime, I spent hours yesterday adding up figures in my quest to gather together our deductions. We need to submit them to our Tax person by next Monday. I got a lot done, but I find that I can only work in the morning in this weather. By afternoon, I’m fried. So, I have to divvy up my time between dialect prep and tax prep this week. I’m supposed to work with Jim later in the week, so I have to get all my ducks in a row.
The coneflowers are drying up early this year, which breaks my heart. Even those steady little dependable flowers can’t withstand the relentless heat. Oh, and the bunnies ate all the blooms off my zinnias. I had to break it to Don that he won’t see his favorite flower this year.
Spring and summer lover that I am, I am ready for Autumn. I can’t imagine how farmers feel when faced with a drought. I feel powerless, even when it involves only my little garden. But when it’s your crop and your livelihood, my goodness! How awful it must be.
As soon as I finish this post, I’ll go out and hand water things. I briefly considered letting it go because we might have rain later. Nope. I have to do it, because what if it doesn’t rain?
But Don made an apple pie, so there’s that! And we had sugar-free vanilla ice cream!
One additional thing about Blythes – there are some customizers who routinely command high prices. Prices I could never afford. You’ll start to notice who they are. They all do beautiful work and have a distinctive style and to a collector, those dolls are worth the price. Remember, we’re talking about Art Dolls, highly collectible creations with resale value. Anyway, there are plenty of beautiful dolls out there that are reasonably priced. One other note: you might see a price of several thousand dollars on an Etsy listing and that’s usually because the doll has been sold and the seller wants to keep it in the listing so that potential buyers can see their style. That confused me at first. They price it high so that you know it’s gone and/or would never even think of paying that much.
Okay, my friends.
So sad that Mar-a-Lago was raided. Well, technically, not raided. A search warrant was executed.
I’m crying big old crocodile tears.
Stay safe.
Happy Tuesday.
what a gorgeous, glowing photo to open this post! thank you for sharing it (and everything else).
these weather extremes are horrible for everyone. some of my relatives are farmers and it’s such a hardship and worry. that there are people who think climate change/ global warming is a hoax just boggles my mind. take it easy out there.
and good luck with the tax paperwork and job prep.
i need more sleep, but do not like oversleeping like i did this morning … i am a person who functions better with a pretty set schedule and i dislike feeling behind on things. thought maybe retirement would ease that a bit, but so far no. guess i am what i am. anyway, need to get going.
hope you all have a nice day and get enough sleep and enough rain! stay safe.
kathy
ps … this photo makes me think of that print you want, “the lantern bearers” by maxfield parrish (hope you find it somewhere) … both beautiful and with such glowing colors. love it!
kathy
Yes! Same vivid gold colors.
Thanks, Kathy.
xo
I don’t like it when I oversleep either. I feel ‘off’ all day long.
But I do like the sleep!
Stay safe, Kathy.
Hahahah! For a second, I thought the heat had really fried your brain! :-) :-) :-)
Ha! Fooled you!
Stay safe, Betsy.
Not feeling very cheerful either. I could have stayed in Alabama and saved the moving expenses if I wanted to live in this weather. Full on outdoor water ban here, everything is drying up. But at least it looks like it will cool down in the next couple days. There’s always fall in New England to look forward to. Your photo is lovely!
I think we’ll have cooler weather by Friday. A bit cooler tomorrow but not a big enough change to make a difference. We did get 10 minutes of a downpour and I’m grateful for that.
Hang in there, Lynda.
Stay safe.
I am sorry to hear about your coneflowers..,and Don’s zinnia’s. We have been lucky this year, as far as rainfall and not too many stifling days. But last year was unbearable for us. Perhaps that means that next year will be better for you…as our weather patterns usually head East to you. My fingers are crossed for you all out there.
Yesterday’s news was indeed stunning. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Hopefully calmer heads will prevail.
Dialect work and tax deductions demand a clear head I would imagine it’s very difficult during this time. Good luck. Thank goodness autumn is coming! ;)
This year is simply terrible. The lawn has large patches of brown grass, the gardens are suffering, the animals are thirsty and hungry. It’s just terrible. We got about 10 minutes of a downpour today. Not enough to make a big difference, but I’ll take any amount of water I can get.
That’s why I have to work in the morning. By the afternoon – in this heat – my brain is foggy.
Stay safe, Donnamae.
Woke up to thunder and rain. Yay, our monsoon season continues along with cooler temps. So different from what you are having back there. Hopefully you will cool down and get some rain. Fall is already making its way into our house. Put a few items out so it feels like my favorite season is not far off.
And Trump! Was that good news or what! Hopefully this is the beginning of making him pay for all his criminal activity. Get some rest!
I love reading the comments of all the Trump cult members on Twitter. They talk big, but they’re scared. Good!
Glad you got some rain, Deb.
Stay safe.
dear Claudia/Don — sorry re your flowers — it is heartbreaking when you see them struggling b/c more water is needed — farmers really have it bad these days and it affects ALL of us. cooler temps can not come soon enough for me. there was some celebration in our house today re tRump raid — neither of us are fans and hoping some kind of reckoning will befall him soon ! hope you all stay safe/healthy
I definitely celebrated, Linda. I still am! It seems like the walls are closing in on him. I hope so.
If this little drought has done anything positive it has been to remind me of our farmers and the risks they face when the weather turns hot or when there’s an unexpected freeze. It’s a hard job.
Stay safe, Linda.
I so hope this brings some reckoning! I’m terribly afraid it won’t.
I think it will. But we really don’t know what ‘it’ is yet. There’s a lot of supposition, but the DOJ is silent, as they should be.
Stay safe, Lisa.
Hubs is working the Polls all day today. He says they have had a good turnout. Hopefully a step towards getting Ron Johnson out in Nov. Yay on the news from yesterday.
This weather is a good reminder about what farmers go through every year with their crops. Also a good time to contemplate what the settlers in our country did when they cleared the lands and farmed the first crops. I am pretty sure I would not have been a good settler in the heat and the dust and facing the unknown.
I would have failed at that, sadly!
Stay safe, Chris.
We enjoyed eleven straight days of monsoons as we went from Nevada through Arizona to New Mexico and back! Seeing standing water in usually dry arroyos and playas was wonderful and welcome. We missed the gullywasher that hit Death Valley by a day as we went through Beatty on the east side.
Inspired by (and jealous of) your lovely coneflowers, I will be splurging and buying plants from our local urban gardeners. I hope to have a healthy bit of color next year!
I’m enjoying the alternate meaning of “execute” and Mar-a-Lago in the same sentence. I hope that there are consequences to TFG and his “rules don’t apply to me” arrogance.
Hang in there and know that autumn nights can’t be too far in your future!
Every GOP member is ‘outraged!’ but they know he’s guilty. It’s amusing to read their tweets, which remarkably consistent within the party. They’re just spouting the party line, which is to block any meaningful legislation, be outraged, and do nothing for their constituents.
Thanks, Roxie.
Stay safe.