Sunday 31 July 2016

Momentary Relief

For two nights I've had a great sleep,  and woke to a cool breeze blowing in the window that had me reaching for the cover. It felt great, but was short lived.

Hours later, I can feel the heat and humidity building, so another day spent indoors, with the constant whir of the fan.

I know a great deal of the fan stuff is mind over matter. The fan is blowing the same hot air that I'm trying to escape, but the fact it's moving makes it seem cooler. At this point I'll take whatever I can get.

As I'm inside, I'm taking the time to watch the ball game. Go Jays! Somehow, I've become a baseball fan. I also watched the tennis matches from Toronto, the Rogers Cup. I'm sitting here, doing nothing, and these guys manage to run and be in constant motion in this heat. That is true dedication.

I keep telling myself it can't last forever, and fall will come with all its colors and cooler weather. I look forward to that and no further, not to the ice and snow that will inevitably follow.

We're never happy, are we? It's too hot, it's too dry, it's too wet, it's too cold. But then, if we didn't have the weather to bitch about, what is there? Oh yeah, politics, but I'm not going there.




Wednesday 27 July 2016

Humidex Blues

Hot and humid, hot and humid, hot and humid. I am so sick of hot and humid weather.

I run my dehumidifier most days, a necessity as my place is built on a poured cement foundation, and can be damp. A neighbor said she was told to close all her windows, or she was just taking the moisture out of the hot air outside.

I tried closing everything up, and it took a complete day to get the humidity from 60% down to 48%. And it was like a sauna in here, inside temperature was 84 F. When I was outside, it felt cooler out than in, so the hell with it, I opened the windows and let the air blow, with a nice cross breeze.

I finally ventured out today, but it really took its toll, I was exhausted when I got home, positioned the fan and laid back in my recliner to watch the Blue Jay game (fell asleep and missed the end).

Now it's raining, but just a light drizzle, not enough to bring back the green of the grass.

I may have to give in and get a window air conditioner if we continue to have summers like this. I can't see how it can last much longer, and hope August will be an easier month.

Meanwhile, all this ladylike glowing I've been doing seems to make my skin nice and soft. Always look for the positive.

Saturday 9 July 2016

A Trip to the Beach

I ventured out the other day with my daughter and two of her kids, a trip to the beach to collect driftwood for a craft project.

I normally avoid the sun and the heat,but my new positive thinking had me wanting to give it a try. I actually managed to get through the sand to the shore, and could put my toes in the water. Someone had moved a picnic table near the water, so I sat and watched the kids. (Walkers don't move well in the sand).

I discovered that walking in sand is not good for my knee. Either was the bending down to pick up wood. You think you have a firm step, but it shifts on the sand, and adds another little twist to the knee. My one knee is bad, the cartilage completely worn away, so all these little extra shifts cause the bones to rub, and me more pain.

Here it is two days later and I am still hobbling around. Yesterday was a lost day due to pain, and a headache from being out in the sun. The hot weather and humidity continue, in spite of the rain, so I shall stay home and inside.

It's like living in a cave, curtains closed against the sun, trying to keep out the heat, my energy drained, so no ambition to go anywhere, do anything.

We're not even mid July, this can't last too much longer, can it? We need rain so badly. Our usual nice green landscape is nonexistent, with lawns burnt to a crispy brown,

I'll give the knee another day of rest, and maybe we'll have some rain to give the humidity a rest. I have a pile of books to read and some yarn, so I'm happy.

Saturday 2 July 2016

Finding Balance

I've been particularly active, for me, but it comes at a cost. I need today to rest, and do nothing. I see a nap in my future, maybe while watching the ball game later.

I picked up my grandkids from the bus on their last two days of school. The first day we came back to town and had dinner out, did some shopping (we all love the dollar store) and waited here for their parents to pick them up. The next day we stayed at their place and ate out, again, to celebrate the end of another school year.

A day of rest followed, sort of, as I made a quick trip to the store and then walked over to the main building to do a couple of loads of laundry. I will admit I crashed when I came home, left the folded laundry in the basket, on my walker, too tired to put things away.

Yesterday, I spent the day with another granddaughter, some one-on-one time we haven't had for awhile. She wanted to bake, something we always used to do together, and we settled for a no bake dessert (her favorite) and making coated pretzels. Both of these are treats I usually make at the holidays, but there's nothing wrong with a Christmas sweet in July.

Today is crash day. I'm not leaving the house. I took my diuretic, having missed a few days this week, and I'm getting rid of copious amounts of retained fluid.

The thing with being busy, socially, is that I need these down days, and I have no energy for anything else. And the anything else is something creative. I have itchy fingers, want to paint, have had this idea swirling around in my head all week.

I need to find some balance, so I don't have to give up any of these important things. The grandchildren are growing up so fast, one going to university in the fall, another in her second year of  high school. All of them are involved with friends and activities, so I grab some time when I can.

I know these years with them are precious, and I should give them all of my attention. The sad thing is, my time, or at least my time to create, is limited, and being creative is like breathing to me.

So, we need to find some balance: family, rest and creativity. Isn't it nice that some of these kids are into crafts. I have so much I'd love to teach them, share with them. And then I'll nap.