"The dog days or dog days of summer are the hot, sultry days of summer. They were historically the period following the heliacal rising of the star Sirius, which Greek and Roman astrology connected with heat, drought, sudden thunderstorms, lethargy, fever, mad dogs, and bad luck. They are now taken to be the hottest, most uncomfortable part of summer in the Northern Hemisphere." - Wikipedia
That seems to describe the mood here in my little Home Sweet Apartment. Except that our weather hasn't been all that hot, with temps in the 80's during daylight hours and the humidity at mid-range. Of all the descriptive words used above, I think that 'lethargy' best describes it. My 'get-up-and-go' seems to have 'got-up-and-went.'
I have been doing just enough of the housekeeping chores to keep my apartment from reaching pig-sty status. Otherwise it has been naps and reading and naps and entering data into my genealogy program and naps. I think this might just continue over the weekend and with any kind of luck I may acquire some energy by Monday. I have several projects waiting for me to wake up enough to do them. Until that happens, those folks listed in the sidebar are leading lives much more exciting than mine at the moment. Go visit them and enjoy.
Opus 2024-395: Built, Not Chosen
13 hours ago
Genealogy can be sort of exciting!
ReplyDeleteIt is exciting to me, Gorges...My family is full of preachers and scoundrels. I have to admit the scoundrels are much more fun than the preachers. :)
DeleteThe dog days of summer can be down right miserable BUT they have also been known to bring on the garden produce. We are eating the results...sweet corn, green beans, leeks, cucumbers, broccoli, potatoes, peppers, eggplant, and summer squash! We have been terribly dry and yet the garden is still providing a feast of summer goodness. We are thankful for that and for a quarter of an inch of rain...the first precipitation in weeks. How is your mini-indoor garden doing these days, Vicki? Enjoy your weekend and genealogy! You can dive into those other projects next week...CW from Iowa
ReplyDeleteWow, CW...Sounds like you are enjoying a bumper crop this year. Good for you. There is little any better than vegetables fresh from the garden. I wish I could send some of our rain your direction. We have been getting daily showers and sometimes an overnight rain. Looks like more is headed our way tomorrow.
DeleteI have lost a couple of pots of plants from my window sill garden, but the rest are doing fine. I will likely do a post about it in a week or so.
I can't really blame the heat as it hasn't been all that hot. The rain seems to be keeping temperatures fairly comfortable. Truth be told, I think I just hit a lazy streak this week. Hopefully it will be out of my system by the coming week and I can get back to accomplishing a few things. :)
Right now, I am as miserable in the heat as you are and not accomplishing very much at all! Trips to Walmart seem exciting since they have good ac. Just hanging out in the dairy and freezer sections are treats. that is how exciting I am.
ReplyDeleteLinda...The heat hasn't been all that bad. I think I might just be a little bit lazy right now and don't feel like doing very much. Last week was hot and I threatened to clean out my fridge and just sit inside. But it has cooled off enough to be tolerable. Can't fault you for hanging out in the freezer sections of the store. Guess we have to take our excitement where we find it. :)
DeleteI have to admit that my housekeeping is at the same level. Good enough is ok with me.
ReplyDeleteIt started raining last night and continued through today. Sprinkles really, not a true down pour rain. It's been lovely.
This morning I joined the other two ladies to harvest for the food bank. We picked about 20# of veggies. That plot is a 'double'. It was quite cool and enjoyable. From my plot, I harvested a few beets and cilantro. I also staked up the tomatillos which are in flower.
And now I am done for the day. Pulled out the pizza menu for delivery. Haven't done that in months think I might treat myself.
Sorry to hear about some of your plants. Was the sun in the windowsill too much?
Take good care. SJ
SJ...I am going with the 'lived in' look as far as housekeeping goes this week. I have to admit that I am unable to maintain that spotless, squeaky clean look any more, so 'lived in' will just have to do. :)
DeleteThe kind of rain you have been getting is the kind I like. Here there has been just enough to keep the temperatures a bit lower than predicted. Works for me!
How nice that you can donate veggies to the food bank. It is good to be able to help others in need that way. Sounds like your gardens are doing really well. I think I like a mess of beet greens almost as well as I like the beets.
I don't think it was too much sun that caused a couple of the pots of veggies in my windowsills to die off. One was tomatoes that grew about 4 inches and then stopped growing and the other was the cantaloupe that just dropped its leaves. Probably was my tendency to murder indoor plants. The beans are little more than stems with a couple of leaves now, so I will pull them maybe tomorrow. The rest still are doing well. I really didn't have any expectations of any produce from them and I have already enjoyed just having something growing on my sills, so it is OK. Next time I will plant things that don't need blossoms to produce food, like lettuce, spinach, etc.
I do the pizza delivery thing maybe once a month or so, especially if I am really busy and don't want to take time to cook. It is one little indulgence that is affordable.
The pizza last night was awesome. I had not had delivery for a few months trying to save money.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yes, I like the greens as much as I like the beet part. You could try planting one beet from the store and see if you could grow some greens. Supposed to work for turnips as well.
Hahaha about the 'lived in look'. That's been me for the last couple of years, too.
Cheers, SJ
SJ...I looked it up and found that fresh beets are listed in the grocery catalog I order from, so I will order half a dozen next time - 4 to eat and 2 to plant. If that doesn't work I can always get seeds.
DeleteI fear the 'lived in' look has become a way of life. Since the problems with my legs developed I find it difficult to maintain spotless. I also find I am having to cut back on the canning, etc. Duane and Lori did a Sam's Club run today and I got cases of cream soups and chicken noodle soup. Duane and I were talking about this after he hauled in my purchases and we have come to the conclusion that I may have to buy more canned food from Sam's like fruit, soups, etc. and home can less. It irritates me that I have to concede defeat, but there it is. I can still do some, like tomorrow when I will can up the 24 lbs. of butter he brought for me, but to can up cases of peaches or tomatoes just is not possible.
Sorry to whine so much. I guess I just know that you understand. :)
Oh...and I got a Tub O' Tootsie Rolls. No matter how bad things get, chocolate will cure it. :)
Chocolate is it's own food group, imo.
DeleteIt is hard when you can't do what you want to do or used to do. It gets to me some days and I understand the 'whine'. I can do a great imitation of a toddler tantrum.
I've found I have to approach things differently now. So, for instance, last year I only put up 6 pints of pickled beets. It was literally one canner's worth. Same for peaches - six pints. It was no where near what I used to do but it was what I could do and live within my new limitations.
I read your most recent post but will comment here --- enjoy your time off and vacation. Cheers, SJ
SJ...I totally agree about the chocolate. Coffee and chocolate make life worth living. :)
DeleteMost of the time I can handle my newest limitations pretty well. But just once in awhile the frustrations get the better of me. Thanks for understanding. My son and I were talking last evening about my limitations as it pertains to canning. Time was he would bring me 5 cases of peaches or maybe 75 lbs. of tomatoes and I could get them all canned without a problem. Not any more. So we have had to rethink how to keep the pantry well stocked. As much as I would rather have mostly home canned food that comes from the Farmer's Market, I believe we will be relying mostly on Sam's Club case lots from here on out. I guess if the time comes when we have to live off the pantry completely, nobody is going to care whether food is organic or home canned as long as there is food. Simple as that.
Sometimes a person needs to just shut off the computer and do other things and that is where I am at the moment. I have been struggling to write lately and just need time to rest this weary old brain. I dearly love this silly old blog and I especially love all the comments and those who care enough to leave them here. I hope that some time off will bring me back with some new and improved posts. I will be checking every now and then, so if you want to get in touch to let me know how you are doing, feel free to comment on my latest post. Until then, it is off the the beach in my imagination. :)