Musings on a Small Life

We've been very low-key for the past couple of weeks, as temps have been crazy-hot for late June/early July in this part of the country, with humidex values hovering around 40 C (104 F) or more. Worse in areas inland, away from the lake. I heard on the news that there have been 17 heat-related deaths in Montreal, QC, so yeah, temps are pretty extreme for this region. I realize that many parts of the U.S. deal with this as the norm for most of the year, but we're more accustomed to cold, with sustained intense heat only in the latter part of summer. I took last Friday and this past Tuesday off, extra days around our Canada Day (July 1) holiday. I did very little, though, and any outdoor time was limited to waiting at bus stops. Anyway, we (the boys and I) might be "melting", but we're also very glad for the central air I had installed in spring 2017. This is pretty much what it's like at home at the moment: Of course, that's what it lo...

Actually, it's been a pretty easy week. Several of our staff are away, either on vacation or out for medical reasons, so it's been nice and quiet, a great time to plug away at a couple of projects that are due soon. Mom called last night to tell me that there's a bed for Harry in a publicly-funded nursing home in the city, at her preferred choice, in fact. (Really good care of the patients, great staff.) So I think she'll go early next week to sign all the papers, then Harry will move on whatever day they indicate, presumably next week also. He'll have an adjustment, especially since it's a shared room (one other person), but once he's settled he can go on the wait list for a private room. Each floor has its own doctor, who comes in every week to check on the residents, there are social activities, etc. Far, far better than Harry's current circumstances. The huge bonus is that this will save Mom $22,000 in annual costs, compared to what she's...

Let's see... Friday evening we lost power (and for me, cable, phone and internet as well) around 7:30 PM or so. On the hottest day of the summer, with a humidex of 41C (106 F). So I scrambled around trying to find batteries for one my radios; nada. Then I dug out my cell phone and called out-of-town friends, asked if they could go to our city's utilities web site for info. Turned out that there had been a fire at a west end sub-station, and it caused a wide-spread outage (or at least disruption). The plus: My power was out for less than 90 minutes, it came on just a few minutes before 9 PM.  Saturday and Sunday I did as little as possible, and took a variety of over-the-counter pain meds for the massive heat-induced headache. Mmm, fun. The plus was that I didn't have much running around to do! The other plus: I wasn't one of the poor souls working at Walmart first thing Saturday morning.  When I got there around 8 AM, almost every cooler/shelf was e...

That Lovin Spoonful song sums it up, as we swelter through our second heat wave of the summer, with the humidex set to hit 41 - 42 C today (about 107 F). No need to tell you that my house feels like a sauna right now, and the day is only starting. Poor boys, with all that fur! Derry yesterday evening. Well, every evening this week. The work week has been uneventful, at least for me.  I did have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday morning, first thing, just for several minor issues. I go to a teaching clinic, and the resident (female this time, yay!) was just starting her residency. Oh, she was slow! I was in there for over an hour, she was in and out, the nurse was in twice to show her how to do a couple of things (vaccinations being one of them), the overseeing doctor was in, etc., etc.. Oy! With regard to the vaccinations: I needed my 10-year tetanus booster, and now it's piggy-backed with whooping cough and diphtheria. Well! I really don't remember any sid...

Yesterday our humidex made it feel like it was 98.6 F out there. Today, at lunch time, it feels like 96.8 F. It will be hotter by the time I leave at the end of the day. Need I say that my townhouse is an oven? I really dislike these extremes, from extreme cold for so many months to extreme heat. Or what I consider extreme heat. We might live in a pretty good country, all in all, but gees, we got the short end of the stick when it comes to climate.  *** Mom and Harry's house will go on the market tomorrow. She sent me a preliminary link with all the pictures the realtor's photographer had taken. The house is stuck between the 1960s and 1980s and needs a lot of cosmetic work, but the bones are good, it's been well cared for, the yard is nice, there's lots of space to work with...so I hope, for Mom's sake, it not only sells relatively quickly but that she gets what she needs for the price too.  Harry remains in hospital, as he can't retu...

I went for a lunch time walk today, mostly because I need to burn enough calories to eat supper.  :-p It's heat-stroke hot out there and of course my hat is at home. I admit to feeling woozy now, with a slight headache, even though I was gone for only 40 minutes. However, I got some snapshots, so that made up for it. Heading across campus to the waterfront.   The perfect day to be out on the water, if sailing is your thing.     There were two more on the water doing this...a version of punting?   Ms. Duck was keeping cool.   This goose was busy grooming and ignored me as I crouched down and took several pics.   This dog did not want to get out of the water! Smart!   Love the colour of the lilies. These are all growing in front of a classroom building and I couldn't resist a few snapshots.     On a sad note, Ivy from Cats of Wildcat Woods , has crossed to the "Rainbow Bridge." Image...

Dear Mother Nature, I'd like to inform you that 43C with the humidex (109F) is too hot to bear. Really. True, I don't want -30C (-22F) either, but isn't there a happy medium in that 70+ degree range? Because you know I don't have ac in the house, right? And you know it was 30.5C (87F) downstairs yesterday evening. And 33C (91F) upstairs in my bedroom. Remember the bedroom? That spot I like to sleep in?  And you also know my bedroom has a crank window, right? So I couldn't put an ac unit in there even if I had the means, right? Therefore, I'd like to petition you for more moderate temps. Oh, and while you're at it, if we could get at least a few days of gentle rain to help alleviate the drought, it would be much appreciated. Thank you for your consideration. Signed, Sweltering in southeastern Ontario

If I weren't melting in the heat, I might be able to come up with a creative post. As it is, the humidex is 100F+ and the house 85F on the main level, so my remaining brain cells are fried. I know it's not that hot to many who live in more southerly climates, but it's hot for us. Typical of our summer weather, but uncomfortably hot nonetheless. White echinacea, I believe. However, I was happy for my big "strawberry": The next door neighbours headed to Toronto on Friday sometime, and they weren't home in the afternoon or evening, and weren't around at all yesterday. Yay! They got back around 10PM last night, apparently. (So said the mom when we spoke briefly today.) It's the son's turn to spend the week with his grandmother; the daughter is home now. I reveled in the peace and quiet, I assure you.  Anyone know what this is?   Looks rather strange, coming into bloom. Oh, and I had popped in to Value Village yesterday for someth...