Just another hot August afternoon

It's really hot out today. Dangerously hot, to be precise. The heat index has been up around 107 degrees every day for a week. Monday night we got a massive thunderstorm complete with high winds and torrential rains, but did it cool things down any? No, it did not. Going outside, at any time of day, is pretty miserable. It's like putting a hot, wet towel over your face when you step out the door. Not my favorite time of year by any means!

Work is still going well. It's been a real adjustment going from such a busy, stressful environment as my last school to such a different place, though. I think I must have a little PTSD from last year, because I keep finding myself waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. Things are so placid and well-run and just...easy...that it makes me nervous sometimes.

 I know that sounds weird. It's hard to explain. It's like my nervous system is all keyed up and ready for stress to explode around me, and when it never does that anxiety/energy has nowhere to go. There are long stretches of time with nothing pressing for me to do. It's disconcerting. For six years I did the jobs of at least two people and the pace never, ever let up. Now I have a normal (one person) job. No one dumps extra tasks on me or takes advantage. (Quite the opposite, in fact. The other office people/teachers/staff go out of their way to be kind and to not impose on me or my time).  I have a great deal of freedom and a quiet, private office. There's only so much to do, even when I help answer phones and such, and it seems strange not to have to operate under a sense of urgency all the time. As to the bookkeeping part of my training (the only challenging thing) that's coming along just fine. I'm learning a lot as situations come up that require my input, and it's not nearly as complicated as I initially imagined it to be.

So, a bit weird, but all good. Since I'm off early (as usual these days) and Gregg works late tonight, I'm considering a short nap. My bedroom is cool and dark, I have a book to read*, and a quick snooze sounds like just the thing for a hot afternoon. 

*My book club decided to read a classic this month: East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I'm enjoying it so far.

Morning brew

Nothing like a good hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning...and a friend to share it with. 

Happy Sunday, Friends!

Last of the summer garden

 

This picture is about half of the tomatoes I picked week before last. Although it looks like a lot, I've been seriously underwhelmed at their performance this year. The garden is way past its prime, now, and I doubt many more tomatoes will be forthcoming this season. The awful heat of late July/early August really does a number on everything. Well, except for the cherry tomatoes. Those keep powering on no matter what! Everything else is almost done.

My cucumbers have been a real disappointment. I got a few, but they were mostly misshapen and several of them turned yellowish on the vine. I have no idea what the problem was. So much for the pickle making I'd planned to do!

 I do have lots of jalapenos ready to be picked. I've been waiting for most of them to turn red, and this weekend I plan to harvest them. Jalapenos never let me down! The sheepnose pimentos that I so looked forward to trying have been mediocre at best. We've had a few, and they're kind of bland, like bell peppers. There's still a few of them left to harvest but that's not very exciting. And the hot datil peppers I planted? They haven't produced a single pepper yet even though the plants still look healthy. Unless a miracle happens and they suddenly surprise me, I won't bother growing them again next year. Space in my raised bed is too limited for all that.

 All in all, it hasn't been the banner year for the garden I was hoping for. We have eaten plenty of fresh tomatoes, which was the top priority, but there weren't nearly enough for making sauce or salsa for canning. 

That's just the way it goes sometimes, I guess. At least there's still a fall garden and winter veggies to look forward to. And next year, of course.

Wednesday meme roundup: indictment edition!

Wasn't yesterday a great day in America?! These indictments are just SO MUCH FUN! I've picked some of the best memes I saw about it all to share with you. Most of them made me laugh right out loud.

 Enjoy!

Back to school week

I love my new work schedule! My official hours are 7am-2:30pm, but on days when I have to make a bank deposit (which is most days) I'm allowed to leave at 2:00. The bank is less than a quarter mile down the road from the school, and my house is a ten-minute drive from there. Today I made it home by 2:20 in the afternoon! How nice is that? I don't mind getting up early, either. It's totally worth it to me to have most of the afternoon free. 

My actual job is still going really well, too. I couldn't ask for a better environment or coworkers, and I seem to be catching on quickly. What a relief!

Yesterday was the first day back for students. When I mentioned that on my last blog post, several people expressed surprise that our summer break is so short. The reason why is because our district is on a "modified year-round" schedule. Basically, it means that summer break is two weeks shorter than it used to be (eight weeks as opposed to ten) but we get those two weeks back as an extra week off in October and again in February. Summer break is still a full two months, and now we have breaks spread out more evenly through the year. It's kind of nice, actually.

Speaking of the first day back:

Marla's little girl, Carsen, started kindergarten yesterday!

I can't believe she's already starting school. You know what this sassy little woman said to her mother the night before starting kindergarten? "I don't want you and Daddy to walk me in tomorrow. I can go in by myself!" Haha! She's going to do great. :) I wish she was attending the elementary school where I work (we have kindergarten, too) but she was already registered elsewhere at the beginning of the summer. Too bad! I'd dearly love to get to see her every day at work for the next five years.

Thursday afternoon

Holy cow, it's been almost two weeks since I posted here! How are you all? How's your summer going?

It's hot here. Really, really hot. And humid.

My new job is still going well. I was off campus today for a meeting/training session with all the district bookkeepers and people from the finance department. We finished earlier than expected, so I got to come home and take a break for a couple of hours. Tonight is our school's open house/orientation event for parents and students, and I'll be going up there for a while to help out. The kiddos come back to school on Monday. 

What have you been up to lately?

Just a quick update

My first week at the new job is done! It's going fine, but boy, the principal wasn't kidding when she said there was going to be a "steep learning curve"! The bookkeeping aspect of it is far more complicated than I expected, but I'm learning a lot and taking it a day at a time. And unlike last year, I get to learn in a pleasant, supportive environment where I don't have to fear making a mistake because a volatile, mentally disturbed bully is in charge. My new principal and assistant principal are both great--friendly and calm and professional--and I can tell I'm really going to love working with both of them. What a difference! 

In the absence of anything else of general interest to talk about at the moment (because bookkeeping is a lot of things, but entertaining isn't one of them) I'll share a couple of pictures from my garden this past week. It's a happy place at the moment. :)

The wedding gift

Our nephew, Tyler, got married this week. I'd been trying to come up with an idea for a wedding gift to send for several weeks now and not having much luck. They registered for a few household basics at Target, but the last time I checked, everything they had selected had been purchased. Plus, I wanted to give them something a bit more meaningful than towels or Tupperware. I finally hit on an idea last week after seeing a Facebook post Jessica made in which she asked friends and family to share recipes with her.

My dear late mother-in-law and Tyler's grandmother, Edythe, used to make the most wonderful little fried cornbread fritters for family meals. She used a simple recipe passed down from her mother and grandmother, and she always fried them in a cast iron skillet. (She had two or three cast iron pans and loved cooking with them, and her cornbread wouldn't have been the same without them!) 

So today I ordered a good quality, 12-inch cast iron skillet with a lid (along with some accessories) to be shipped directly to the newlyweds' home. Separately, I'm sending a nice card with a letter tucked inside, and in the letter is the recipe for Tyler's family cornbread. 

The skillet will be wonderful for all kinds of cooking and baking beyond just cornbread, and as long as it's cared for properly it should last forever.  And even better, the recipe will remind Tyler of his "Grami" and will (hopefully) make Jessica feel welcomed into the family!