Another perfect day in paradise – odds and ends

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Two babies from last year.

Two babies from last year.

That’s the opening I use when emailing working friends. They don’t like it much. The truth is that any day you wake up is a good day no matter what the weather is.

Remember all spring when I talked about it being unseasonably cold? (If you don’t remember, it was a cold spring!) Now it’s unseasonably hot. We’re over 90 degrees which is unusual this early.

Most of our meals are simple and healthy. I don’t make fancy sauces and concoctions. This past weekend I made hamburger barbecue for a crowd. Unlike my baking where I usually forget an ingredient (always an important one!), everything went well. I remembered the trick to make it tasty. You have to brown the meat. Everyone was happy!

The heat has been sucking the energy out of me. The last two days required a mid-afternoon nap. I don’t understand 20 minute power naps. My naps are at least an hour and can go longer. At the 20 minute mark I am incredibly cranky and groggy.

Amazingly I slept my full 8 hours at night. Perhaps I hibernate during the summer instead of the winter.

I buy birdseed in bulk because it’s cheaper. I bought 400 pounds last December and I have about 80 pounds left. The consumption peaks and wanes. There is a period during the late spring when I can hardly keep the feeders full. Now there is a lot of natural food available and the babies are out of the nest. Consumption is down. I can go two days without refilling.

Birds aren’t the only thing that peaks and wanes. My social life does too. We go from having too much stuff planned to nothing. This week is closer to nothing and I like that. Later in the summer we will have house guests and a lot of activities. I’m storing my energy for later.

One of my tadpoles morphed over the weekend. He is a tiny frog no bigger than a quarter. He’s shy so there is no picture. I hope no one eats him.

Enjoy your day in paradise no matter where you are!

beach

30 thoughts on “Another perfect day in paradise – odds and ends”

  2. I realize this is now too late (I am working backwards through time here in my Reader Catch-up and discovering that it is not a good idea) – but have to say that NO ONE does 90 degrees well. Hope you have had some relief since writing this. I, myself, am pondering the weather forecast that tells me we will hit 100 degrees on Sunday. Not sure what to do with that information . . .
    As for Power Naps, I am – or used to be – one of those people. 20 minutes of sleep and I am refreshed. Anything more and I can pretty much forget the rest of the afternoon.

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  6. At my old job there apparently was a guy who came into his office every morning and announced to no one in particular, “Welcome to another day in paradise.” I didn’t believe it, so a friend from that office made me come in super early one day just so I could witness it. Sure enough, he did it as if on cue. I trust your work friends are more tolerant, happy for you, and even envious of you.

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    • About half of my friends are already retired. It’s those few who work during a glorious (but hot) summer that want to smack me. My brother used to say “hello gorgeous” every morning to the mirror. The funniest work comment I got was the day a young barista at Starbucks responded to my “how are you” with “I’m living the dream!” Gotta love quirky people.

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  7. There is a word for summer hibernation. It is aestivation, which is animal dormancy during the summer months. I looked it up last year since I seem to hibernate my way through July and August in Texas. Was surprised to find that it is a real thing!

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  8. I’m glad you are having a breather. Our tourist season is in full swing, meaning we have had relatives and friends full time since the beginning of June. Things will wind down in late August. I’m trying not to repeat a dinner entree. Planning is already a challenge!

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    • You are a good person. I get cranky when I have house guests for too long. I miss my privacy! I enjoy them for short stints. I wouldn’t even consider trying to not repeat an entrée. That would take writing everything down for weeks.

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      • I’m fine as long as I get enough sleep. The two long-term guests are beloved grandsons, aged 16 and 21. I’d rent them out if I didn’t enjoy them so much. If I repeat an entree, I’ll blame it on faulty memory of old age. Keep cool!!

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  10. We are looking forward to our own bit of paradise now that the boat’s fixed! The plan is to go out for just a couple of days/nights before attempting anything too far afield. Tiny froglets are so cute aren;t they. I remember our garden in Lincolnshire would be teeming with these tiny little hoppers on their way to a pond no longer there. Had to be so careful mowing the lawn!

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  11. We’ve been in the high 90’s with oppressive humidity, all week. Tomorrow and Saturday we’ll be in the 100’s. I enjoy the heat since I freeze all day at the office. Our American goldfinch and hummingbirds are eating like piglets. 🙂

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  12. We’re finally having normal weather at the SoCal beach. Meaning it is overcast in the morning and then clears up to a lovely, breezy 70 degrees.

    This is of course because the husband finally caved and bought a window AC unit.

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    • We have central air and a two story house. The second floor is never cool enough unless the downstairs is cold. Last year we bought a room ac for our bedroom. We use it for an hour or two before we go to bed and it’s perfect. We don’t crank up our ac and some years rarely use it. This is not one of those years. Breezy 70. I would love that weather!

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