End of summer wrap up

As hard as it is to believe, summer (at least for me) is winding down. The teachers in our district returned to work last week, and tomorrow is the first day back for students. I know that by most standards this is very early, but since we're on a modified year-round schedule, everyone returns sooner than they used to. Summer feels done when school starts back, no matter what the calendar says. Or the thermometer, for that matter. *

I was thinking this morning about what the last few months have been like and the things I've neglected to make note of on the blog. Here's a snapshot of summer 2024 for me:

The Garden

If it hadn't been for the massive harvest of cucumbers and the rattlesnake beans Mary Moon sent me, it would have been a total failure. I got no tomatoes, very few peppers, and the melons I had such high hopes for only produced a handful of small, hard fruits that turned yellow and started to go bad before they ever started to ripen. I blame the sweltering heat and humidity that went on for weeks with no break. And not a drop of rain between mid-June and mid-July. Even the garden pests like hornworms and aphids didn't bother to show up--that's what shit my garden was this year. So disappointing! 

At least the zinnias never let me down! 

The Van:

Saturday before last we bought my friend Karen's Dodge van for Gregg to use when he services aquariums. His old Ford Ranger truck isn't safe to drive anywhere beyond a 3- or 4-mile radius of home these days. We bought it way back in 2007, and it was already high mileage then. All these years later, almost nothing on it works properly. ** We've been sharing my Scion for the most part. Karen got a new car recently and mentioned that she'd probably be selling the van cheap, and we jumped at the opportunity to buy it. Like the truck, it's old and has a lot of miles, but everything works and it's in decent shape. Some of Gregg's aquariums are in neighboring towns, and now he has something he can comfortably drive without having to wait until my car is available. Plus, the van holds all the gear he needs so he doesn't have to constantly pack and unpack my car. It's reassuring to know he's got access to a more reliable vehicle while I'm at work. 

Best of all, we only paid $1200 for it! 

Another advantage is that the dogs can get into and out of the van much more easily than either the truck or my Scion. It's lower to the ground and that's important now that George is getting older and has a bit of arthritis in his back knees. Then there's the fact that there's ample room to drive both dogs around at the same time! We took them for their first ever ride together in it last weekend. They loved it.

The Specs:

I finally broke down and bought some much-needed new glasses this week. I nearly choked when I saw the bill: over $450! I guess it's been a long time since I've had new glasses, and the price of pretty much everything has gone up, but damn. I keep reminding myself I paid for several pricey extras: thinner lenses that don't look like Coke bottles, bifocals that seamlessly progress (no lines), and a glare reduction feature that's supposed to be good for people who stare at screens all day. Plus, they're scratch resistant. It still seems like a lot though.

 

Taken last night in my office at my school's Open House. I'd picked up the new glasses that afternoon while on a break. After an 11-hour day, I was exhausted, and looked it. But I like the glasses!

Health:

This will be a separate blogpost that I've been thinking about for awhile, so I won't talk about it too much here. (This post is long enough already). But I will mention two things: I've gotten better control of the eczema that's plagued me for years, and in the last eight weeks I've lost 24 pounds. Those two things alone feel major.

*As Spo (the dear!) just pointed out, in the Celtic calendar tomorrow (August 1st) is Lammas, the first day of autumn. 

** I want to cry at the thought of getting rid of the truck. We've had it so long, since the year after we got married, that it seems like a member of the family. I know it's silly, but I felt guilty when I watched Gregg remove the tag and put it on the new van! Our tentative plan is to donate it our local PBS station, SCETV. They have an old car donation program that we've used before, and it's a very worthwhile charity. 

Breaking news...

Joe Biden is a good and decent man and will be right up there with Jimmy Carter when I think of the best presidents of my lifetime. This is another example of him attempting to put the good of the country ahead of his own personal ambitions. We owe him our gratitude and respect. I hope with all my heart that this was the right decision.

Now it's time to go to work. 

Dress code

I got a summons for jury duty this week. For those of you outside the US, that means that I'll have to show up in court on the appointed day and I may or may not get selected to sit on a jury. I really hope I'm not chosen; the school year will just be getting started and I don't want to have to miss several days (at least) of work. We'll see.

So anyway, when I opened the summons, this sheet of paper fell out. Apparently the fine citizens of Florence county have to be told explicitly what is not appropriate attire for court. 

Which begs the question:

If I roll into court August 12th wearing pajamas and a shower cap.......do you think the judge will cut me loose?

And now, this

 I just read a breaking news alert that President Biden has just tested positive for Covid.

It's terrible news. I hope he's okay. And I'm really interested in the reaction of the Trump fans on hearing this news. Let's see how long their "how dare you wish harm on a POTUS" lasts...

Thoughts on this past weekend (edited)

What a weekend we just had, huh?

Let me just state, for the record, and in no uncertain terms....political violence has no place in America. None. And nothing about what happened on Saturday is funny. 

As much as I detest Trump and everything he stands for, I refuse to make jokes about a former president of the United States being shot at. The man who was killed at the rally, and the two people who were shot and injured, are fellow Americans first and foremost regardless of our political differences. It's horrifying and unacceptable. 

And it doesn't matter how the other side might have reacted if the shooting had happened at a Biden rally. I've seen that as an excuse to say all kinds of horrible things, but it doesn't make it right. We must remember our common humanity. We MUST be better than this.

Will I attack the things Trump stands for? His criminality, his threats to our very democracy, his record as president? His inflammatory rhetoric, his lack of morals?  ABSOLUTELY. But his basic humanity and the right to be safe while running a campaign? No. I don't take any pleasure in an assassination attempt against him, and I grieve for the family of the man who died. Speaking of which...

That's MY president. A caring, decent, and good man who can put politics aside for the good of our country. That's who we should look to for an example of how to behave in trying times. A president for ALL Americans, whether they vote(d) for him or not. 

Back tomorrow for more thoughts on the upcoming election.

*Added later....

In the spirit of not being a total hypocrite,  and lest anyone think I'm better and kinder than I really am....I'd just like to admit that I've often had the thought that if Trump suddenly succumbed to a heart attack or stroke that it would be a blessing for our country (and the world). He's a dangerous man who has indirectly caused death and suffering to a whole lot of people, and I fear that it's going to get worse if he wins a second term. I also fear that he's never going to face consequences for all the harm he's done and the crimes he's committed. I'm only human. So I understand the impulse to make light of what happened to him on Saturday. Still, I want to be better than that.

When the World Goes Mad

 when the world

goes mad

become wildly kind

to everyone

everyone

everyone

everyone 

my love,

~ you can’t control

much

but you control how

you treat others

in these breaking news

heartbreaking times 

when nothing feels

certain

let your raw kindness

be a certainty

allow your compassion

to become a North Star

stamped up in

the sky for

others to follow

back home

~ john roedel

(art by Jungsuk Lee)

It always comes in threes

It's been quite the week in this house. Let me tell you how my time off has gone so far:

We decided to repaint the bathroom, since we both had grown to dislike the coral color we painted it last year. The weekend was spent matching color swatches to the tile, picking out the paint, gathering (and purchasing) supplies, and finally, a lot of careful prep work. We sanded walls, taped corners/edges/windowpanes, and covered everything in plastic drape cloths. Last time we didn't prepare carefully enough, and it showed. We were determined to do a better job this time! On Monday morning, all the preparation was finally done, so we started applying the first coat (primer) to the walls. An hour or so into said application, I started to drip sweat. I had an uneasy feeling....and went to check the thermostat. 

The air conditioning had quit working. Horror (mostly on my part) ensued. 

All work on the bathroom came to a screeching halt. I called around until I found an HVAC repair service that could come out in two days, on Wednesday. The office person I spoke to assured me that if a technician had an opening sooner than that, they'd call. Of course I told her we'd take what we could get, especially with the holiday coming up. 

So.....we had no air conditioning. In South Carolina. In July. Add to the fun the fact that the entire main bathroom (our only source of a bath or shower!) was draped in sheets of plastic and tape. It looked like one of Dexter's kill rooms. 

Y'all. I nearly cried.

But the fun didn't end there, oh no! After setting up fans around the house and opening windows, we sat down to watch some tv for the distraction. As soon as we turned it on, there was a weird flash, and the screen went dark. 

For no apparent reason, the tv had just up and died! We couldn't believe it. There's something else we'll end up replacing sooner or later. *

That was Monday. We were fortunate in that Monday night the low temperature was lower than it had been in weeks...67 degrees. It could have been so much worse. Then we got lucky again and early yesterday morning the HVAC place called and said they had a technician who was free to come by before lunch. Hooray! It ended up being a relatively simple repair, and our unit is still under warranty for defective parts, so for less than $200 we had a/c again. And had only been without for 24 hours. What a relief!

Well, back to business, right? We finished the coat of primer in the bathroom and were waiting for it to dry...when we noticed water seeping out around the toilet. A lot of water. It was immediately obvious that we were going to have to find a plumber. F*ck! 

At least this time I wasn't too worried. We have another half bathroom we can use, so there's that. But it was sure aggravating after everything else that had happened. 

A plumber came out this morning. It was a really, really simple fix and ended up taking the guy maybe 10 minutes. It was also very cheap, something I've never had the privilege of saying about a plumbing repair before. Again, it could have been so much worse. 

Moving on.......

Last night we stayed up until after midnight, painting. It's all done now save for a few minor touch ups, and today after the plumber left it was dry enough that I could finally take a long, hot shower. We're really pleased with how the paint job turned out, too.

Tonight I'm grateful for a working air conditioner, a non-leaking toilet, and a finished home improvement project. 

This paint color is called "River's Edge".

*We're not in any hurry to replace the tv. There's a smaller one in the spare bedroom that will do just fine for now.