“Heat, ma am! It was so dreadful here that I found there was nothing left for it but to take off my flesh and sit in my bones.”

The morning is so humid I sweat when I walk. It is not a pretty picture. The day is overcast, and it is still a bit foggy. Currently it is only 74˚but as we say around here it isn’t the heat but the humidity. I have to go out later. The dump is calling.

Yesterday I finished my laundry hauling three loads up two floors. I cleaned the cats’ room, my daily chore. I cleaned up the glass of tea I hit which spread all over the table and the newspapers. I also cleaned in and around the animal treats when I knocked one of the containers off the shelf. I picked up what broke and the treats on the floor. Going down one step at a time, I brought the storm door to the cellar. It was so heavy I had to keep stopping, but at least the screen is in the front door giving the house some fresh air. The backdoor screen needs to be repaired. I whacked my hand on the door knocker, and it hurt. I sat on the stairs, covered my eyes and moaned. Nala came over and gave me a hug. That was the best part of the day.

When I was a kid, I don’t think I ever really noticed the heat or the humidity. Nothing stopped me from enjoying summer days. Sweat was just one of those things. I didn’t ever give it much thought. I’d even used my blouse to dry my hair. I got grimy. Yesterday, I relived my childhood and got grimy. It wasn’t anywhere near as pleasant.

Africa was hot. The first blast of heat hit me when I exited the plane upon my arrival. I lived in the hottest part of the country. 100˚ was a dry season average, but I was still young enough to abide the heat without a fan. I even took a nap sometimes in the afternoon when many things, including the post office, closed for a couple of hours during the hottest part of the day. My students had a rest period in the dorms which all had to abide. During the hottest nights, I slept outside on the concrete in my yard on the mattress from my bed. A cold shower was a welcome end to every day.

When I first moved into my house, I often slept downstairs during the summer. A southern breeze came through the back door. I slept well. Now, I’m far older, and the heat and I do not abide each other. I started with a bedroom window air conditioner and a while back I air conditioned my whole house. I hate getting sweaty and grimy, but here I am getting ready to load my car for the dump. The heat has made me crazed.

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8 Comments on ““Heat, ma am! It was so dreadful here that I found there was nothing left for it but to take off my flesh and sit in my bones.””

  1. hedley Says:

    JONI MITCHELL ARCHIVES VOL.2: THE REPRISE YEARS (1968-1971), coming on October 29.

    With the 50th anniversary of Blue coming tomorrow, the Joni has released a 5 track digital ep of out takes from the album BUT they will all be included in the second Archives release which they announced on Facebook and is copied above.

    Archives 2 sounds like a ‘banger” and for sure I will add it, in anticipation that court and Spark and Hissing is just around the corner.

    The last time I saw im6 was…

    • katry Says:

      My Dear Hedley,
      This release is exciting. Blue and Clouds are then part of this release. I think I need to put it on my birthday list, my wish list.

      While I balk at buying several rereleased albums, I will never balk at Joni. I just checked Amazon, and it will be available starting on July 2.

      The vinyl is almost $100.00 while CD’s are only $44.00. In that I can get it so early, though I’d love the vinyl, I’ll get the cd’s. Happy Birthday to me!!

  2. hedley Says:

    Dang, dash darn – here is the whole thing and it looks like very limited outtakes and demos, especially for Blue

    https://jonimitchell.com/music/album.cfm?id=42

    General growling at the product BUT it is your favorite time of the Joni

    • katry Says:

      No Dang, Dash, Darn!!

      Here is the Amazon information:

      THE REPRISE YEARS (1968-1971) features newly remastered versions of Joni Mitchell’s first four studio albums – Song To A Seagull (1968), Clouds (1969), Ladies Of The Canyon (1970), and Blue (1971). In the case of Song To A Seagull, the original mix has been recently updated by Mitchell and mixer Matt Lee. The cover art for THE REPRISE YEARS (1968-1971) features a previously unseen self-portrait Mitchell drew during the time period and includes an essay by Grammy winning singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile.


      Includes the Definitive Albums
      SONG TO A SEAGULL (1968)
      CLOUDS (1969)
      LADIES OF THE CANYON (1970)
      BLUE (1971)

  3. Bob Says:

    Hi Kat,

    I need a break from creating death by PowerPoint. 🙂 The temperature now is a nice 91° but the “cooler” front is going to give us a 50% chance of thunderstorms this afternoon. I probably won’t get any rain at my place. Whenever you think it’s hot where you are located, yesterday, it was 111° in Phoenix with 11% humidity. That’s still hot as blazes. 🙂

    Unlike you, I noticed the heat when I was a kid. If I went outside during the summer, If I went outside at all it was in the morning before it got really hot. Afternoons were for inside activities in the air conditioning or at the swimming pool. In those days summer vacation lasted from Memorial Day until Labor Day. The public schools weren’t airconditioned.

    American Airlines cancelled hundreds of flights yesterday because of a shortage of employees to both crew and maintain the airplanes. The pent up demand for travel during the pandemic caught them by surprise. They don’t have enough retraining slots available to get their employees the FAA required recurrent training. Now, they have thousands of disgruntled passengers in addition to too few employees ready to and legal to work.

    • katry Says:

      Hi Bob,
      I lived in a country where the heat, other than as we got close to the rainy season, was dry. It was bearable even over 100˚. Today was disgusting. I spent the entire day sweaty. Every little movement was tiring. I put the air on to cool the house. It is bearable now so I shut off the air and opened the windows.

      You lived in the south. I lived in New England. 90˚ was a massive heat wave. I don’t remember it ever reaching 100˚. No one had air conditioning. Even now, no schools around here have air conditioning.

      I read about American Airline. That is too bad as airlines are now flying with almost full planes. One of my friends has had two flights cancelled out of New Hampshire. The first was postponed then cancelled. The reschedule was then cancelled. He is among the disgruntled!

      • Bob Says:

        Right after my previous post the rain came heavily with thunder and lightning. Now we are reaping the benefit of the north wind it’s a nice 75°.

      • katry Says:

        Meanwhile, I’m still sweating even though it is only 73˚.


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