Too Hot
3:52 p.m. - 2013-07-05


We just had a heat wave which is thankfully over now. There is not much you can do to keep cool when it is 111 degrees for several days in a row. The most annoying part was the inaccuracy of the weather reports. First they told us the last hot day would be Monday, so I was looking forward to relief on Tuesday which did not materialize. Telling people that it would be in the low 90's only to have it be 108 on our patio is really awful. The heat did not ease up until today when the fog came in and we woke up to 59 degrees. I was outside later planting onions in my planters and I felt chilly - hooray!

We have harvested the plums, apricots, and now the apples. I froze up enough prepared plums for 4 batches of jam then took the rest of the plums to the Food Bank along with some cucumbers. So far we have donated over 100 pounds of food which makes me proud of using my garden to feed people. We also give produce to family and friends. I made the sweet pickle relish for next year from the first flush of cucumbers, so that is out of the way. The spouse picked the apples today so there is applesauce making coming up tomorrow or the next day.

But my biggest pride is the basil crop this year. Some years the basil just languishes, looking stunted and sickly, but this year it is healthy and humongous. I have already cut it to harvest it, and it has already grown back. I make pesto and put it up in little plastic cups called 'souffle' cups with snap on lids that I get at the restaurant supply store for not much money. I freeze up the pesto for use during the year. Each cup full is just the right amount to dress enough pasta for about 4 people. I made about 24 of the cups for myself, then about the same amount for each of the girls. This is more than my usual output and it is only July. And the basil still looks full and fabulous.

We recently had M's birthday celebration. It was too hot to cook much so she said we should go have the dinner over at her place with its wonderful air conditioning. I made macaroni salad in advance and some marinated cucumbers, A made the cake, and we cooked some hot dogs. It was a very nice party, but the thrill of sitting in the air conditioning with a little fan blowing cool air on me made it a wonderful occasion for me.

It was still too hot last night for me to go to the fireworks, so the spouse and A went to Benicia. They said that by the time they had crossed the bridge and gotten to the location, the temperature was about 15 degrees cooler. Meanwhile, I was listening to a very good book-on-tape, sipping ice water, sitting in front of a fan, and watching fireworks on TV (which I have never done before). It's not the same, but at least I celebrated the 4th somewhat.

I have only managed to sew a few things lately since I work in the garden a lot and that uses up my time. I made a red and white plaid tablecloth, and I finished up a top for M. Today I am going through some patterns again and setting aside some to go to the thrift store. The only big project that the spouse and I have done this week is to put up the huge mirror. When his mother downsized into her present apartment, she gave away some family pieces. The one that came to us was a large Victorian mirror that weighs a ton. The spouse figured out a way to hang it up after it has been sitting in the living room leaning up against the bookshelves for about 9 months now. I am still startled every time I go into the living room because I am not used to the large hulking presence of the tall, narrow, elaborately-framed mirror. I would hate to have it fall on me so I am careful when I clean it. I do like to think of my children's great great grandparents looking at themselves in the mirror, though.