Malar Monday

malar ~ of, like or pertaining to the cheek

It’s hard to believe summer is almost over, isn’t? It seems like it just barely started and now it’s all but gone.

Now we’re headed into that narrow window of time where it’s still bright and sunny and green, but it’s cool enough for long pants and maybe a sweater. The time of year that never lasts long enough and makes me wish we had a fireplace.

It’s Sunday as I’m typing this, and I’m sitting out on the deck in leggings and a tee-shirt. And I’m actually feeling a little chilly, which is a nice break from hot and sweaty. I think the temperature is supposed to climb again this week, but not as high as the extreme temperatures we were experiencing. Kind of makes you wonder what’s in store for us this winter – mild or extreme?

We had a lot of rain last week, but that didn’t stop the youth bowlers (and their parents) from collecting in our back yard for the end of season bowling banquet. Bowling season came to a rather abrupt end with the Covid lock down so the kids never got their banquet or awards. They (those who run the kids bowling) had planned on having it at the park down at the waterfront, but someone made the mistake of asking the parks department first. Apparently, if they’d just gone ahead and done it there wouldn’t have been a problem. But because they asked first, there was all kinds of paperwork to fill out, plus insurance to buy, etc., etc.

Since the hubby has always been involved in the kids bowling, and we have that big, beautiful back yard, he volunteered (or maybe he was volun-told) to have it here. They took as many precautions as possible – cans of pop instead of cups, individual bags of chips instead of bowls, and the pizza was served by one person wearing gloves. All very socially acceptable.

The weather also didn’t keep my poetry group from meeting in the covered picnic area down by the beach Thursday night. There was a nice breeze coming off the lake to keep things cool, and one of the poets had the foresight to bring a battery operated lantern. Another sign summer’s over – the sun is starting to set earlier.

We’ll probably get to meet there again next month, but I think October will be problematic. I like poetry as much as the next guy, but somehow I don’t see myself wrapped in a blanket, huddled around a lantern for the sake of poetry.

I wonder how long it’ll be before we make the switch from complaining about the heat to complaining about the cold?

Milleflori Monday

milleflori ~ glassware made of coloured rods embedded in clear glass

I’m late! I’m late! At least I’m late with this post. Still, at least I’m here now, unlike my update post on my Other Blog. I missed that post altogether because there just wasn’t enough to report. But that’s my writing blog and this is my regular blog, so I’ll save that rant for another time. ;-)

As expected, the bathroom renovation has slowed somewhat. It’s a little hard for the hubby to work in the bathroom when he has to work all week. And bowling season’s started as well. Still, there wasn’t much he could do in there until the plumbing for the tub was put in, and the plumber wasn’t able to come until Friday morning.

Friday mornings, for those of you who are new to the whinings of my life, are my busiest mornings because that’s when I grocery shop. And along with the plumber we had a guy coming to do a house inspection for our mortgage renewal. And I had to go in to babysit early. So you can imagine the amount of fun I had that day.

However, the plumber and his handy assistant did their thing, and now the rest is up to hubby. Unless he decides to replace the window with glass blocks, in which case we’ll get a contractor in to do that. But he made good progress putting the dry wall back up, and it’s even starting to look a little bit like a real bathroom again.

You can see from the picture just how tiny that bathroom is, made even tinier with the bigger tub. Now imagine being closed in there to work, without so much as a fan to give you some relief. That’s a south facing window and it’s painted shut, so that small space heats up pretty quickly. Kudos to the hubby for working with the door shut (both to reduce the mess spilling into the rest of the house and to keep the cats from getting into stuff they shouldn’t. I suspect the sun coming in that window would make it hot even in the winter.

I seem to talk an inordinate amount about the weather, but I can’t seem to help myself. Last week the weather was fabulous. Clear and cool and sunny and did I mention cool? We didn’t need the air conditioner at all, and only used the fans some of the time. And I spent one whole night without the fan at all. Sheer bliss!

And then ... the weekend. The humidity rose faster than the temperature, so even when it wasn’t exactly hot, it was really, really damp. I hate the damp worse than I hate the heat. And I hate feeling damp even more than that.

Today is starting off a little cooler than predicted, but it’s supposed to warm up again this week, then back to something a little more seasonable for the weekend. Ha! Just in time for the changing of the seasons, so it’ll be official.

Speaking of seasons ... I’m sure by now everyone has noticed this is the time of year when we have pretty much pumpkin spice everything available. While I enjoy a pumpkin latte every once in awhile, along with a piece of pumpkin bread or pumpkin pie, even I have to admit things have gotten a little out of hand this year.

We have Frosted Pumpkin Pie Poptarts, Pumpkin Spice Oreos, Pumpkin Spice Peeps, Jif Whipped Peanut Butter and Pumpkin Pie Spread (that even sounds gross!), Philadelphia Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese (actually a good idea), and Thomas’ Pumpkin Spice Bagels or English Muffins. And let’s not forget the Lindt Lindor Pumpkin Spice Milk Chocolate Truffles, Pumpkin Spice Cheerios, Pumpkin Spice Malted Milk Balls, Dreyer’s Slow Churned Pumpkin Patch ice cream, Planters Pumpkin Spice Almonds, Nestle Toll House Pumpkin Spice Refrigerated Cookie Dough, Barbara’s Pumpkin Puffs, and Kellogg’s Pumpkin Spice Frosted Mini Wheats,

But for those of you who just aren’t into pumpkin, don’t worry. Peppermint season is just around the corner. ;-)