Morning Glory Studio

ten on tuesday | hot days in the summertime...

   

(this AM's weather alert on my phone)

        5 months 'til Christmas t'was yesterday... and the first triple digit temperature day we've had since July 2012! Yesterday's high was just a "cool" 101 degrees Fahrenheit...yes! It was h-o-t and more of the same, forecast for today and days to come.

This morning, I stepped out on the deck to water the plants and flowers and encountered my neighbor, sipping his last cuppa coffee before mowing his lawn in order to "do it before it gets hot." It's just a cool 77 degrees as I start this, circa 7 am ...last night, just about sunset, the young man who cuts our lawn was at it after 8 pm, trying to beat the heat, albeit with minimal success...it was just plain H-O-T!

Today is Tuesday and you know what that means: Time for Ten on Tuesday! Today's question: "just what does one do to beat the heat? "

1. Stay inside in an air-conditioned place: home, library, "cooling center," ...
2. Drink lots of water... and more water...
3. Wear light weight, loose fitting clothing ...
4. Use ceiling fans - make sure the blades are turned the right direction so the air is forced down - we set ours and leave it at the same setting...
5. Set the AC to 78 degrees (according to the power company, saves on electricity and your ducats! )...
6. Avoid heavy meals and  alcoholic drinks... not even a tropical favorite? ;-(( ...
7. Go grocery shopping...my experience is the grocery store is considerably colder than most places ... and you can get in a good 2K+ steps, at least, meandering up & down aisles. Nowadays, many stores also have lunch rooms - hey! You could make it an all-day affair...
8.  Apply an  ice cube to your body's cooling spots: according to Lifehacker,  t'is the #1 way to beat  the heat!! Who knew?
9. Move to Reykjavik, Iceland...at this writing, it's a cool 64 degrees... and if none of these tips catch your fancy ...
10. Read what others have to offer for today's Ten on Tuesday prompt, here... 

 

Thanks Carole for another very timely prompt, tho, I'd prefer it to be at least 25 degrees cooler.

If it's hot in your parts , What are you doing to stay cool ?

 

Cheers~

 

 

 

 

 

simply a moment | july 2016

 

simply a moment ~ 15 july 2016

circa 7:15 am -  Waiting for tea to steep. Air conditioner just turned off. Showered and "dressed" for another leisurely day inside!  Temperature's headed to the 90s again - our 13th day already this summer. Microwave just beeped, signaling my tea is ready...

Today is Journal Club/JC - which reminds me that I need to touch base with a friend whose initials are JC too, to arrange lunch with her and EJ, soon. Lots of news since JC's boss has just been confirmed Librarian of the Library of Congress - the first actual librarian in LC's history! At last!... And I remind myself to find matches so I can light the candle for the session...

The sky is a mixture of buttermilk greyish-bluish clouds with a bit of sunlight, here-n-there. Birds swoop, flit, fly and occasionally land on a rooftop, tree limb, telephone/electric wire. When  atmospheric conditions are just right, I can hear the roar of a plane taking off from National Airport...

There is a tentative breeze - I see it in the fronds of the hanging ferns  - tho' not enough to cause the wind chime to tinkle. I step out on the deck to snap a photo of the buttermilk sky.  The roar of of a plane in the distance signals a plane taking off from National Airport; I see one overhead, heading there but I can't capture it with my iPhone ...

What else will I do today ?: 

• Update calendar and planner
• Sttich on Flower Garden (Note to Self: share booboo I made with a couple blocks) ...
• Wash additional Baltimore Album quilt fabrics... and the binding for the Double Wedding Ring Quilt...
• Order a new applique´ book from Amazon? Do I need a new book?...
• Clear off the counter...it stares at me everyday and I tell my self to do this...and I don't...
• Repot the geranium; yes, do please ...
• Make note to watch HBO series, "Night Of," Sun @ 9 pm. Done!
• DayOne app on iMac no longer syncs with my iPad/iPhone ever since I upgraded to El Capitan; figure out why?!

circa 7:42 am  - I read daily entry from a book; this year, I'm re-reading Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach. Today's entry encourages "setting the table" for our daily bread as well as "company's coming"  meals. The entry reminds me of my neighbor's and a southern tradition, stemming from Colonial times,   of "dressing the table." I remember my grandmother did that; my mother  didn't but always said one should eat meals from dishes she liked. We don't always...or even often enough. (Another Note to Self: Use my dishes more frequently and dress the table with fresh flowers every week...  Something to do and very easily so! ). 

circa 8:31 am  - I subscribe to Ali Edwards' monthly story/stamp subscription. I like this mid-monthly break, taking place on the same day as Simply A Moment (S*A*M - my shorthand). It's fun and stirs my creative juices plus generates lots of story ideas...as if I need more to chronicle... time to fix my second cuppa tea and breakfast ...

Wishing you a weekend filled with many magical moments.

Cheers~

my "day at the beach" ...

 

 

        It's definitely beach weather: hot, humid, hazy. A trip to the beach is on my summer bucket list ... Yesterday, when I awoke, I was feeling quite sluggish; my get up and go had gotten up and went! I suspect because I'd not slept well overnight Monday. 

As the morning progressed, and by the time Norman was up - 10 am, I had pretty much decided that I wasn't going anywhere - especially the beach (not that it was in the plan) - nor was I going to do very much of anything...perhaps read, stitch - maybe knit - and watch the memorial service for the Dallas police officers...which is what I did. In between, I napped and napped and napped. 

I finished Anne Tyler's newest: Vinegar Girl,  Shorter than most of Tyler's novels, VG is a fun read and a modern-day take on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. Perhaps not Tyler's best but all things considered, a good yarn for beach reading.

And then, for about 20 minutes I napped. Feeling refreshed, I started watching the memorial service and stitched my fifth Baltimore Album Quilt heart block, actually finishing it. Time for another nap!

Feeling a tad more refreshed, I picked up my knitting: the infamous poncho I began two years ago and did not touch at all during 2015. My goal is to knit at least five rows a day and I'm  pretty much on target. It is rewarding to see the poncho grow!!! I have about 20 inches to go and then, onto the next step.

After  the evening news, Norman switched to the All-Star baseball game. I daresay I dozed a bit more during the course of the evening, especially after such a tough day.  Circa  9 pm, I called it a night... and went to bed. The next thing I knew it was today, 13 July! Still hot, humid, hazy. Perfect weather for another day at the beach! I do have a lot more energy today, tho'.

Now, to actually get to that beach! Is a trip to the beach on your bucket list?

 

Cheers~

 

this day...

Friday 8 July 2016 ~ 10:15 am

    Norman is fixing his routine breakfast.  The TV is on CNBC. We're half listening to the chatter about the jobs report and the color-green market. Sitting here at my daily perch: My iPad is to my right, pens and  journal in front of me and my iPhone, probably hidden behind the pens.  In between sentences, both written in my journal and said aloud during conversation, I eat a spoonful or two of my oatmeal. 

Occasionally, I look out the window; I can see snippets of the world go by: buses, cars, trucks - of all sorts and descriptions - on a mission, towards a destination. On this already hot and muggy day, save for the occasional tinkle of the wind chimes, it is and we are, quiet. Periodically, the silence is interrupted  by a notification on my phone: an update or news conference about man's inhumanity to man. Shelter in place, the alert on Capitol Hill, now lifted. I sigh deeply; the message is of great import, especially closer to home, for my grand niece works there. 

As a child, hearing and not understanding the war (WWII) I wondered how people managed to get on with their daily lives; as an adult, I've concluded: you just do! Because, individually, singly, one doesn't have the power to stop the violence - BUT one does have the power to respect human life.

And I sigh again.

 

Peace.

ten on tuesday | july 4 weekend ...

        Our holiday weekend was relatively quiet; certainly uneventful; definitely enjoyable :

1. We watched and watched more than one baseball game  (Norman's absolutely favorite pastime) ... 
2. Shopped for groceries on Friday (Honore´'s least favorite must-do activity) ...
3. I knit and read and journaled and plotted and planned the month of July ... 
4. Stitched on another Baltimore Album quilt block...
5. Talked to a friend; we'd not chatted for way too long ~ t'was good to connect and catch up ...
6. Washed several small loads of laundry ...
7. Saturday,  an absolutely perfect day: no humidity, bright blue skies and a nice gentle breeze. I met three friends at the George Washington University's  Textile Museum and we toured the current exhibit: Stories of Migration: Contemporary Artists Interpret Diaspora... which features the artwork of textile artists .If you are, by any chance in the Nation's Capital before September 4, I encourage you to go see this exhibit...and certainly, look at the website. The exhibit is the most powerful one I've seen since "Circa 1492, " at the East Wing of the National Gallery in 1992,  marking the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the new world...
8. After we toured the gift shop, we went to lunch at a restaurant a block away and sat outside. Our food was delish and Mother Nature was at her very best...
9. Sunday was a day of rest... more knitting and stitching and reading and watching baseball...and napping...
10. 10.Monday,  Il pleut, off and on, most of the day ... more knitting and stitching and reading and watching baseball...and napping. We wound up the weekend watching PBS' A Capitol Fourth twice*...and then, off to bed. 

T'was such an exhausting weekend that I slept in til 9 AM today! I never sleep that late! I trust you had a grand holiday weekend too. And be sure to read others' recap here at Carole's blog. 

Cheers~ 

 

* Apparently, some of the shots of fireworks were from previous years...neither Norman or I detected that. Read more here!

Independence Day 2016 ...

4 July 2014 Fireworks over Washington Monument

 

12 Noon

around here...the sky's a dusty grey with rain, torrential at times, on its way...

around here...quiet, save for an occasional helicopter flying overhead ...

around here...half the day is over; I hear the strains of the televison as Norman naps ...

around here...enjoying the last of cooler temps for awhile...90s plus forecast for the next 6+ days (yuk)...

around here...hearing an occasional firecracker...(trying to beat the rain?)

 

Around here...contemplating what this day means: "One Nation...Indivisible...with Liberty and Justice for ALL!"

 

Have a memorable and safe holiday.

 

Cheers~