Weekly Update 8/26/12

Wow. It's nearly the end of August. Maybe one of these years, the summer will end. Ya know, I don't mind blocking out the months of January and February from doing much of anything outside because it's too cold. Normally Max and I block out the last week of July, all of August and the first week of September because it's just too danged hot. Actually, until these last two years, I was pretty much shot for most of the summer, but that's changing.

This year? Whoooee, we've just blocked out the whole dang summer. There was no working up to getting acclimated to hot temps this year. It hit 80 in May, and before we turned around, 90 came down on us, and on 90s tail was 100. The best I can say about this last week is that it hasn't broken 100, although it's come close. For August, though, 90s are the norm. Even as I write at 9:28 p.m. it's 81 F outside. Sheesh.

The garden has been a most spectacular flop. I alternately am angry, sad or laughing about it. I do hope it cools off some in a week or two because I want to till this flop of a garden under and plant garlic, turnips and greens.

Max was in for the weekend. Mostly we didn't do much, but he did manage to get a new light fixture up in the garage so we can see on the other side now. It was almost too hot for him for that. Remember now, he works in IT, and they have to keep the temps really cool to keep their equipment running. So he's not acclimated to the heat this year at all.

On Friday, Ms. Mary Helen called to ask if we thought we'd like chicken pot pie for supper. Well, duh. Of course!  She also said she had a watermelon if she could get some help carrying it. Ms. Mary Helen is 91 and still as sharp as a tack. She came over about 6 p.m with a huge pan of chicken pot pie. It was delicious. She used seasoning sold at Patti's Restaurant up by Kentucky Lake. I'm still trying to suss out the rest of the ingredients because it was fantastic. Thank you, Ms. Mary Helen.

For the evenings, Max and I spent the time watching football and BBC shows. He finally took the time to explain some football rules to me. Who knew that actually knowing the rules would make the game more fun to watch. I mean, really, all I ever knew was that the point was to get a touchdown and that you had 4 downs to make 10 yards. I hated watching football. Understanding the game a bit better makes a big difference in how much you enjoy watching the game. It's rather like most Americans watching a cricket game. What the hell are the rules of cricket?

I got Max to watch an episode of "Downton Abbey." Eh, so so to him. Then I got him hooked on "Wire in the Blood," which is a psychological crime show. After that we went light and watched a few episodes of Kingdom," which stars Stephen Fry (the psychologist who worked with Booth after he shot the clown on "Bones.)" "Kingdom" is a show featuring Solicitor Peter Kingdom, his sister, his office manager, and a young assistant getting ready to do the British equivalent of passing the bar.

Lola is doing the same as last time. She's sleeping more hours per day, and I think that's making her lose a little weight. She's simply not up long enough to eat three square meals a day. Other than needing both of us to get our days and nights back on track, everything's the samo samo. 

Oh, I think I'm going to have get a check up on a blocked salivary gland. Which is a pain because I'll have to get a referral and then a sitter for mother while I go the doc's. If they have to stick stuff down my throat, I'll be gagging and vomiting all over everyone. They may have to knock me out if they really need to do anything. 

Dat's all folks.