for the record

We've had 6 days of record setting with tempretures around 35C and the humidex reaching into the mid 40s. The pool was up to 89.5 which crushes the previous record of 83. Today is a break with the temp staying in the low 20s. I've got the windows all open to flush the stuffy air in the house.

The sky is mostly cloudy and the wind is roaring... it is cold enough to make me consider changing into long pants. On our afternoon walk around the field I told the dogs that my knees were cold! What a change from the steam oven that persisted for almost a week.

Today we had people come over to clean the chimney (there was nothing to clean), and to certify the fireplace & wood stove for the new house insurance company. I figured there'd be a bunch of cleanup, but they didn't leave a speck of ash anywhere! So instead, I whipped up a batch of strawberry shortcake biscuits like the kind Cynthia and I used to make all those years ago. In fact, the Gourmet magazine with the recipe is from 1989!

I savoured every moment of those sultry days of summer. There is no guarantee that we'll have more heat before the winter falls, so we made sure to revel in each day. We have air conditioning, so it isn't a hardship to have 45C humidex - my heart goes out to those who had to suffer through the cauldron, goodness knows, I've been there myself. I remember nights of wearing a wet t-shirt to bed as the only way to keep cool. I'd fill up my bathtub with cold water and immerse myself. I never did have a fan.

These days though, the a/c keeps the house cool. This week I spent every spare moment floating in the cool (ish) waters of the pool. Yesterday I was in there for at least 2 hours through the day. The water was barely cool, in fact the house was cooler, but it felt wonderful to float around, arms draped over a pool noodle. It took no effort at all to stay afloat.

"Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood."
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow