Tag: sun

HEATWAVE!

Photo by Toni Cuenca on Pexels.com

“Dear weather, stop showing off….we know you’re HOT!!!”

The news reads, “Europe swelters under severe heatwave as temperatures soar above 40 degrees Celsius” No kidding! It is HOT and there is no reprieve.

According to a 2024 report by the EU’s Corpernicus Climate Change Service, “Europe is the continent with the fastest-rising temperatures on Earth, having warmed twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s.” This is alarming folks.

Some love it hot and some don’t. My friend, the diver and diving instructor, loves it. I complained that it was too hot yesterday and he said, “At least, it’s not humid.” Hmm…..”humidity” was wearing bells and singing Hallelujah in my bedroom! Just goes to show that some like it HOT and some don’t.

I have a beautiful garden but not because I put a lot of work into it. I had a Polish gardener who did a fantastic job of keeping the weeds at bay and the flowers in bloom. Last year, he had a back problem and went back to Poland. Now, I have a Chilean guy who helps out now and then. I had him scheduled for today but decided it was too hot to be sweltering it out in the garden so called to cancel. His response, “No problem, I LOVE HOT WEATHER!” Like I said, some like it HOT and some don’t.

Chachi, the cat, is like his mom. He hates hot weather. The fur coat doesn’t make it any better either. He walked up to me looking absolutely miserable.

“Mom, we need to talk about this fur coat. Can I go skimpier?”

ME: “Sorry love, you’re stuck with it. Mommy will make it better.”

So, I’ve been wetting a towel in cold water and running it over his fur and that seems to help for now.

Today, the temps will be reaching new highs.

“My skin is sticking, my brain is frying, and I haven’t stopped sweating since I got out of bed.” Unknown

AND

“The heat index is between OMG and WTF!” Unknown

You get the picture.

Have an amazing day.

Flip-Flop Days

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

My feet are shod in flip-flops today. The sun is already shining and it is supposed to be a glorious day. I stare down at my feet and my toenails in a darker shade of pink are staring back at me. They are happy I presume. The black flip-flops are comfortable, perhaps deceptively so, and a soft sigh of contentment escapes from my lips. It’s been months since my feet felt this kind of freedom having been encased in boots and when at home socks or fur-lined house shoes kept them warm during winter.

Now, it’s time to let freedom reign! It’s not quite summer yet but the warm days and lots of sunshine brings me back to another time and place. I was an island girl once a long time ago. I loved those carefree days of walking on the beach barefoot or feet in flip-flops as I looked for whatever treasures the ocean had dimmed fit to throw at my feet. Some days, I would sit on the sandy beach as close as I could get to the water and let it wash my feet as I leaned back on my elbows and dreamed of faraway places. Places I wanted to visit someday. Little did I know that that dream would come true one day.

The island girl mentality still shows up when the weather takes a turn for the better and my hands reach for those flip-flops! The days of carefree wonder still runs deep and is waiting just beneath the surface waiting to be rekindled again. Today is such a day.

I am dressed for comfort in a white t-shirt and dark blue linen pants. It is still cool in the garden so a grey sweat jacket completes the ensemble of understated and laid-back dressing. The flip-flops on my feet bring a smile to my face. I can picture myself on that beach again but only then I was running around in shorts and whatever t-shirt I could find. Clothes didn’t matter way back when my life was simpler and the ocean was my best friend.

I notice the quiet in the garden but I know that nature is hard at work. I see its handiwork in the clematis drapping over the green fence, their pink blossoms simply gorgeous. The scented rose bush is awash with blooms and the lovely scent, a cross between vanilla and something sweet is mesmerizing. I make a mental note to get the glass bowls out and get some potpourri going. The rose petals make the best potpourri and instead of letting them fall to the ground and wither away, I’ll put them to good use as I did last year.

I can feel the dew drops brush against my feet as I make my walk through the garden. It feels good. The apple tree has lost its sweet-scented flowers and little apples are starting to form and there are plenty of them. A bumper crop this year? Who knows? I’ll let it surprise me. The cherry tree has more than two cherries this year so everything speaks of abundance! The bees are moving from one flower to the next and a lone blackbird is singing from the roof-top. Its song is high-pitched but sweet nonetheless. Everything is touched with sunshine, not the sticky variety that shows up when summer is in full-swing but the kind that feels good on your skin and for now sitting outside with a hot cup of coffee is heaven in itself.

I snuggle back in the chaise lounge just as a huge bumble bee goes whizzing by oblivious to my presence. It too has work to do but my mind is on relaxing today. The sky is a bright blue, the birds are singing and I am at peace. Oh, and my feet are loving their freedom shod in flip-flops! It’s going to be a gorgeous day.

Have an amazing day.