“What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps one in a continual state of inelegance.”

Today is another hot day, in the low 80’s, with no breeze, just ugly still air. It will be partly cloudy. Thunderstorms are predicted for tomorrow, and we desperately need the rain. I just hope it won’t rain on my parade, my Monday uke concert in the park.

We have a Liz update. She had another MRI which showed less brain activity than the first one but is still hopeful. She has been moved to a level 1 trauma hospital. Liz is  breathing on her own and is occasionally opening her eyes. She reacts to pain in her fingers and toes, but she is still sedated. They are hoping to bring her out of sedation slowly.

Yesterday I cleaned the deck, put white lights on the fence, sanded and painted the small table, watered all the plants in the pots, switched out the storm on the back door and did yard clean-up. By the time I had finished, I was sweaty and exhausted. I swear I am too old for all that. I should have been sitting in the shade of the umbrella with a cold drink in my hand. Today is dump day.

When I was a kid, I was forced to visit my aunt the nun who lived in Connecticut. We had to wear dressy clothes. I remember we always stopped just before seeing her so my mother could make sure we were spruced and ready for the visit. Luckily, we only went once a year, more than enough. Even though she taught, she seemed to have trouble conversing with us. She had stock questions. How was school? What were our favorite subjects? She always seemed a bit bored. Every visit, my aunt took us on a tour of her school and classroom. I always thought the best part of the visit was when another nun brought us cookies and a drink. After that we’d sit for a bit more then it was time to leave. Sometime later, she transferred to Baltimore, and our once a year visits stopped. None of us really missed her.

When I lived in Ghana, I always wore sandals. Everybody did. In Bolga, during my first dry season, the heels of my feet split. They were so painful I had to walk on tip-toes until callouses formed and hardened, and the skin on the heels of my feet became thick and ugly. I was glad. I could finally walk without tip-toes.

I’m thinking after the dump, I’ll camp on the deck. All that’s left to do is wash the table and bring out the other two chairs stored in the cellar. It is time for dinner and a movie on the deck, actually passed time. What movie, I wonder, is perfect for the red carpet premier?

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6 Comments on ““What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps one in a continual state of inelegance.””

  1. Bob Says:

    Hi Kat,

    When there’s a huge high pressure dome sitting right over the middle of the state, there’s no wind. Just dry heat.

    My maternal grandmother came from a large family and we only saw them on very rare occasions. I had a second cousin named Alex, whom I met once in my life. He lived in Greenville North Carolina. When he was young he told my uncle Hyme, his first cousin, not to marry the woman to whom Hyme was engaged because she was a slob. Hyme married her anyway. During my one of my Cousin’s Bar Mitzvah, Alex arrived late to the service in the Temple. Before sitting down he announced in a loud voice, “Hey Hyme, hows your pig doing?” My aunt, Bessie, Hyme’s wife, was not within earshot, because woman sat in the balcony separated from the men in an Orthodox Synagogue. I was glad to have only been subjected to Alex once in my life. Unfortunately, there were others who were cut from the same cloth that we saw regularly. 🙂

    • katry Says:

      Hi Bob,
      I was hot the whole time I was out doing errands. The dump was the worst. The heat was a bit humid, a preview of August. I was glad to come home to a cool house.

      Alex was obnoxious and rude.

      I am also from a large family on my mother’s side. Her youngest sister, my aunt, was younger than I was. She hated when the families went to visit my grandparents. She was rude to my cousins. She didn’t dare to go after me. She knew she’d lose.

      • Bob Says:

        One of my favorite sayings is, “You can pick your nose, you can pick your friends, but you can’t pick your relatives”. 🙂

      • katry Says:

        My father used to say the same thing!!

  2. Birgit Says:

    Greetings from sunny Bavaria, nice but hot and dry here. Too hot for long walks.
    Good luck for your concert and thanks for Liz updates.

    • katry Says:

      Birgit,
      You do get around. It has been ugly hot here, not as high as the rest of the state but high for here in July. Thanks on the concert. I just hope the rain stays away. I’ll keep you up date on Liz. We are all still hoping and praying.


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