Hot, hot, hot...

The WeatherBug(c) indicates that it is hot and it is gonna get hotter... I have NEVER seen a cactus in the forecast, ever! Daily thunderstorms? For sure. But hot with no hope for rain? Never. Our best chance for rain is Friday - and it is only a 30% chance. I think it'll dry up before it ever hits the ground.

So, unlike the 116 degree dry heat of the actual desert - we'll have 98 degree temperatures with a heat index of 116 - which means muggy, humid, yucky, unhealty, horrible air. I have a feeling I'll have sticker shock with my next electric bill.

The high predicted for today is 92 degrees. It is already 93 degrees at 11:30 AM - not even the 'hottest' part of the day. So, it can only get worse.

The boys were in the pool most of the day yesterday - the water temp was 90 degrees!!!!!!!! ACK!

This kind of weather is sluggish. It is too hot to do anything but sit and wilt. I have knitted a bit, in the comfort of my air conditioned home. Today, I am working from home (hence the easy Blog Break!), but I'll have to venture out the rest of the week and I am NOT looking forward to it.

If you see a puddle of humanity on the sidewalk near one of the L'Enfant Plaze metro stops, that'll be me, having melted while waiting for the bus!

Projects

Burgundy: 6x9 Rectangles for the Handmade Afghan Project; Green: My first Dulaan Cloud Hat (but certainly not my last!) in Cascade 220 and Katia Ingenua; and Purple (though it is hard to tell!): the beginning of my Fir Cone Scarf from Wendy Knits! Here is a close up of the scarf - you can see the color better (at least, I can! :))

~~ Saturday Skies ~~

The Saturday Sky from my deck looking North and North West. Looks like another HOT and DRY (though VERY, VERY humid) day.

North

North West

Notice the blue sky and the blue sky? What is missing? CLOUDS!!




o/~ There was rain all around, but I never felt it falling. No, I never felt it all, in my home town o/~ (to the tune of 'Til There Was You from The Music Man (1950) by Meredith Wilson)

What do you do for fun?

I knit. I crochet. I ... what do I do for fun, well, to pass the time anyway? Well, I crochet for others. I knit for others. I do a lot of things for others... I have a few friends and family that think I do too much for others. But there you go.

This past weekend, I went to a Knitting/Crochet Circle for HAP ("The Handmade Afghans to Thank Our Armed Forces Project"). I met some lovely ladies (I had only ever talked to the founder on the phone and via e-mail - so I went in sight unseen!). I saw some beautiful handmade afghans. These afghans are given to Walter Reed Hospital to be distributed to service members. The afghans are made of rectangles that are either knit or crocheted. Each rectangle is 6" x 9". Each afghan uses 49 rectangles.

At the Circle, some of us crocheted rectangles. Some of us counted rectangles. We all ate a delicious pot luck lunch! We talked, laughed and had fun!

The group will be getting together in September to lay out at least 50 afghans. A goal was set and looks to be met, for the group to finish enough 6x9's to create 50 afghans at Septembers event. Since is it only July, they will surpass that number for sure! 'Put together' volunteers will then crochet the donated rectangles ~ that have been put together in wonderful designs ~ into approximately twin size afghans to give to service members at Walter Reed.

An infinitely worthy cause (and the Circle was fun, too!).

Check it out at the Yahoo! Group (Rectangle6x9) if you care to see what it's all about... And you can check out pictures of some of the donations at the Yahoo! Photos site. (Note: You may have to have a Yahoo! account to access the photos, I'm not sure. I do know that you need a Yahoo! account if you want to join the Group!)

Saturday Skies July 23 22

Northwest

Southwest

East

There were supposed to be grey, thunderstorm-y skies, but this is what we got -- with mid to high 80s all day and humidity like crazy. Another indoor day with, unfortunately, intermittent connection to the 'net!!!!

Traveling Saturday Skies

I am visiting my sister in Chicago. Well, I'm visiting her now. I was attending the 2006 Pampered Chef National Conference for a few days. (EXCELLENT Event! Drop me a line if you want to know more!!!) Now, I'll spend a few days with my sister at her home.

I took the following picture of the Chicago sky on Saturday morning. I was leaving the McCormick Place - Lakeside Center building - and going to McCormick Place - South building. The moon was visible. I only had my camera phone with me, so you can barely see it a little to the right of the tall building structure. (and the picture is not as clear and bright as my real digital camera would take!)

Enjoy!

Blue Skies smiling at me...

Saturday Sunday Skies!

They look remarkably like our Saturday Sky. The weather and sky conditions were similar on both days. I was out of town on Saturday and unable to take a picture. Had I been able to take the picture, I would not have been able to post until now anyway... so Sunday Skies instead this week! Next week - Illinois skies! That is, if I can figure out how to transfer the picture from my camera to my sister's computer. If not, I'll have Saturday Skies on Tuesday next week.

Now, from the sky to the ground... Some pretties from our yard.

Blog Toy - Hidden Talent

Your Hidden Talent

You're super sensitive and easily able to understand situations. You tend to solve complex problems in a flash, without needing a lot of facts. Decision making is easy for you. You have killer intuition. The right path is always clear, and you're a bit of a visionary.

What's Your Hidden Talent?