Well, I’ll give Nature credit for consistency — so far, every day of this heat wave follows the same pattern. An overnight low of 73°F or 74°F progressively rises until it tops out around 94°F by mid-afternoon. Breezy to start, blazing sun all day long.
Though mornings are cool compared to the rest of the day, the humidity early is outrageous (99% yesterday). It’s a shame that the days’ most tolerable, chore-friendly temps are accompanied by intolerable mugginess.
The cabin stays between 50% and 65%. Good for sitting and blogging, mostly.
I’m aware of my physical limits. To steer clear of heatstroke (or worse), I’ll observe those limits. Work that I’d very much like to be doing now will have to wait for more favorable conditions.
Like Jimmy V used to say, “Survive and advance.” I’m in survival mode.
Something I do for Smudge during the hottest part of the day is feed her about a dozen small ice cubes, one at a time. (Ice was one of my girl Scout’s favorite things, by the way.) On Sunday I noticed that my supply, which I made over six weeks ago, was running low, so yesterday morning I broke out the countertop Igloo and cranked out more.
When I make a batch of cubes, I put them into gallon Ziplocs and store them in the freezer. Only occasionally do I use them myself — they’re designated dog treats.
I have my own semi-frozen pleasure.
I noticed that limescale was starting to build up on the walls of the Igloo’s water reservoir. I couldn’t see it, but I sure could feel the chalky residue, and it was reasonable to assume that there’d be buildup in the lines as well. After I finished using the appliance yesterday, I ran a cleaning cycle with a 1:1 solution of white vinegar and water, followed by a rinse cycle with plain water. Simply routine maintenance, now clean as a whistle.
Otherwise, Monday began unremarkably.
I look forward to receiving my “Skill of the Week” e-mail every Monday from The Art of Manliness. Yesterday’s installment was, “How to turn your pants into a flotation device” (pictured below).
That took me back to Boy Scouts, when I was required to learn this and demonstrate it in the water. (Swimming merit badge, maybe?) It’s not as easy as it looks.
Missing from this infographic is another way I learned to inflate (or add air to) the wet pants. The “wind sock” technique shown is difficult to get perfect, and when it doesn’t catch enough air, I was taught to churn the surface of the water (with one hand) next to the open (waistband) end of the pants and allow the resulting bubbles to rise into the improvised Mae West.
We did go out yesterday, briefly. It was a “peopley” experience for Smudge. Her reaction:
She is who she is. Like me, she belongs on The Mountain.
My vintage Revere Ware saucepan arrived at the Yellville post office a day early. Not only is it perfect, but a handwritten thank-you note was enclosed.
Old-school. Love it.
While we were out, I dropped three bucks on a couple of cheap Corelle dinner plates. Plain white. I mean for those to be my everydays.
Tomorrow’s forecast looks familiar, but for one thing — “partly to mostly cloudy.”
A boy can dream…..
Miss Smudge has gotten over her rocks fetish, thank goodness, but she’s still obsessed with sticks.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath #Ungovernable