We are just a couple of weeks into summer and the heat is oppressive. When they say it’s not the heat, it’s the humidity…they’re wrong. It’s both. I remember all those summers I flew home to West Virginia with a child in tow, arriving to the welcoming arms of my loving family. It was usually late July, early August and I would disembark the plane and step into what felt remarkably like a full fledged sauna. When you can SEE the air and you know it’s not pollution, you know your skin is going to be “dewy” and your clothes are going to stick to you before you can drag your suitcases to the rental car.
When we visited West Virginia, we usually stayed out at the farm. Sometimes it was up in the top of the cellar house…sometimes upstairs in the main house. Either way, when we went to bed, it was SO hot and there was no air conditioning. We did have fans, and that helped some, but my younger daughter’s favorite memory is the “moon baths” we took out back just after dark. We stripped down, lathered up with warm water from a bucket, and then took turns pouring panfuls of cool water from the rain barrel over our heads. It was so refreshing, and the best way to end the day.
These days, Mr. FixIt and I head to the pool out back and swim for an hour or so at the end of the day. We float and watch the lightning bugs as the stars come out overhead. The air feels like velvet at this time of year. Even though the water temperature was 90℉, it still felt good…especially when you get out and the breeze cools you off. It’s a lovely way to slow down and catch your breath.
We did the usual watering in the gardens yesterday. We had a really hard rain in the late afternoon, but it didn’t last nearly long enough to soak the ground. I wore shoes this time…that bee sting is still swollen and itchy. The tomato plants grew six inches in a day…and we are getting lots of little tomatoes and some peppers and squash. We watched a movie in the afternoon when it was too hot to do anything else. I walked around the corner of the house and got dive-bombed by wasps so I had to get the spray after them. They were really aggressive.
The internet guy came and checked a few more things and said he’s done all he can do for us…it must be the service. It worked great for a couple of hours after he left and then it was down again for four hours. I called and they said they changed some sort of setting in the modem and to try again. It came back on so we’ll see if it stays on. If not, we’re going to have to come up with something else.
Today I am heading to the farm so I can do the taxes with some assurance the internet will stay on. Hopefully I can get the air conditioner to work out there. It’s always something, isn’t it?
❤️
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
James 1:12 NIV