The Heatwave Continues

To the best of my knowledge, I've never had a door slammed in my face before, that is until two days ago. Wow, it was really something, especially because it was a 96 year old woman slamming a heavy front door. Say what?

Our landscape committee, filled with volunteers, works very hard to keep our "village" looking good. In fact, should you drive in here, off crazy busy Michigan Street, you would be tempted to not believe how quiet and peaceful it is, under the giant oak canopy. That said, every now and again, the landscape beds are due for a refresh and now is the time for ours. One of the things that Ann has complained to me about, time and time again, is that the committee once removed a tree she had planted without telling her. Well, little Missy here thought it wise to let her know that the work was to begin in the next couple of days. My plan backfired big time with her shouting at me...."why did you tell me if I can't do anything about it?" I guess she's got a good point, but my motives were pure. I'll let her simmer down for a bit before I go back over because, having the door slammed in your face once is one thing, twice, well, I'm not ready for that!

It is still blazing hot, in fact, I saw the temperature reached 100 degrees yesterday. With the absence of clouds, we've not had much of a sunset for weeks, until, my goodness, what a surprise last night!

Bruce has been keeping very busy with his various volunteer projects, but he set Friday aside for me;  we went to New Smyrna Beach with an umbrella and high hopes. My first disappointment was the cost to drive on the beach. Twenty dollars my friends. We were totally shocked, thinking perhaps we could park the car and walk onto the beach. That would be fifteen dollars. We drove. After the beaches in Vancouver, while pretty, the sand is coarse and those logs on the beach. Remember them? Our second disappointment was that the beach had tons of seaweed.

Is there anyone who wants to put their chair into big globs of seaweed? Not me, but what are you going to do?

Apparently there were some strong winds overnight, pushing more than typical amounts of seaweed onto the beach. The water, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise, warm enough to swim if you weren't afraid of rip currents!

While I did go all of the way in, mostly I sat in the warm shallow water along the shore. I asked Bruce to take my picture, and while I am was mostly pleased with the results, had I known that my old lady arms would show so prominently, I might have sat with my hands in my lap!

On the other hand, I am glad to be alive, so arms be damned!

Can you just feel the impending heat in this sunrise photograph?

When it gets so hot, folks take to the water, especially on a holiday weekend. We spent hours at the pool along with many of the other residents. I don't mind sharing the pool one bit, especially since I am not having to take care of it!

We finally had a cookout at the pool, with Bruce fixing hamburgers and hot dogs. I'd made some potato salad, corn on the cob, and an orzo salad. Dave and Michelle joined the fun. Another resident helped Bruce with the grill, of which there are two.

The orzo salad is made with fresh spinach and grape tomatoes which looks like Christmas in the summer.

Then you zest two lemons, followed by the hot orzo which essentially softens the spinach. Finish  with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper and you have a fine salad that is cool and refreshing.

Following church, we went to Houston's, or make that Hillstone these days, although they have not totally gotten rid of their former name.

I've probably told you this before, but if not, the reason they changed the name is because if you have a certain number of restaurants you have to put the calorie count on the menu. Rather than doing that, they changed the name of a batch of their restaurants. We still call it Houston's. Our gift card is now depleted, so it may be a while before we return but it IS so good.

Sunday night we watched the Memorial Day concert on PBS. Anyone else see it? I'm pretty sure it is being re-run all week long, and I highly recommend seeing it if you have not. My nose continues to run and all the crying I did during the show did not help one bit. I thought of our brother Pat serving in Viet Nam, Bruce's Uncle dying in WW11, and others who have bravely served our country. Really, really good.

So, I have found my "Dale and Jackie" here at Lake Pineloch Village. Not formally a guerrilla gardener, Bill has transformed a plot of land, near the front of the property, into something of a showplace with all manner of terrific plants. One plant we've been watching closely is this Voodoo Lily.

If you can imagine, this is the flower portion of the plant. Checking on it this morning, I discovered the big head in the middle has turned black with the next expected phase a big stalk coming out of the middle! Stay tuned for more.

Finally we've had some visitors.

Can you see Mama down below? That topiary stubbornly refuses to improve, so I've got another one for a replacement. Hopefully, with some better sunlight, it will improve. Time to beg some soil from the landscapers!!

your friend,

Gail

p.s. While the heat is intense, it is no comparison to the agony folks are feeling in the Midwest, what with tornadoes and floods. 😢