Joys for the week

My oh my, this past week was a scorcher! It was too hot to do almost anything outdoors. Even the pool is too warm to be enjoyable.

Even so there were good things that happened, along with some not so good. I do try my best to see the upside, but with my black heart it does not always happen. Still I try!

I honestly and truly listen to this version of this song every morning

Sunday: We woke and went to church, then met friends at a sandwich shop for lunch. After that is was home to watch the last day of the 2nd round of the FedEx tournament, followed by some reading.

Monday: Uneventful day that was gorgeous until the a/c stopped working. Then it became less than stellar and my mood changed considerably. Sleeping with the fan going and no top sheet was bearable, so that was a pleasant surprise

Tuesday: The a/c guy came at 7 a.m. and it was blowing cool air for a bit, then stopped. The house was getting really hot after we ate, so we decided to go to a place I have never been before, Yogurt Mountain. It was an interesting concept and the end results of building my yogurt concoction was very good, but I don't have to go back again. Sometimes just the experience is enough. 

On the drive home we were rewarded with the most gorgeous evening. The sky had a remnant of blue color with what looked like pink cotton candy clouds covering the western sky.

And for the final joy, when we got home we turned the a/c back on just to check and in about ten minutes it was blowing cold air. 

Wednesday: I woke to blissfully cool air, did a few things around the house, then got ready to go to my happy place. I love volunteering at Independence Place. Just being there and interacting with the participants is such a joy for me. This was the 4th time to do my part with the living skills section they have implemented. Since I am a pretty good cook that is what they asked me to do and because we are doing it as a group I had asked them what they wanted to learn to make. I was very surprised to hear "cucumber salad" but thought that would be a great summertime learning experience.

Before I started, I bought several pieces of equipment for them to use that are a safer alternative to what I use in my personal kitchen. One of them was a small mandolin, but then I decided they needed additional protection so I bought a chain mail glove. This was one of my best decisions ever. A couple of the participants have some dexterity issues and wearing the glove prevented potential injuries. I don't necessarily do the smartest things all the time, but this was a really wise choice, and now it lives in my IP cooking tote.

I came home all happy from being with them and walked into a house that was HOT___AGAIN.

Nothing like having the a/c die again on the hottest day of the year.

Thursday: Dave, the a/c guy was here at 7:00 and worked off and on in the extreme heat until about 2. He at least had times going to get parts or waiting for things to be delivered, so he was not in the sun the entire time. By 2 pm I had a new compre$$or, and the house started cooling. Though I am not looking forward to the bill, price is only an issue in the absence of value, and we do value sleeping in comfort and having cooler air for the house. So the joys are that it is fixed and that we do keep a nest egg for unexpected expenses. (The nest egg lesson was learned decades ago after seeing how disruptive to everyday living not having one is.) 

Friday: I woke to a blissfully cool, non humid house and could drink coffee in comfort rather than drinking it while extremely hot! (And yes, I will drink coffee in a house with no a/c, but I won't be happy about it)

Son3 and DIL3 drove down to have a pool day then to spend the night. In addition to having them here we kept Reesey for Son2 and DIL2 who went to a concert in Huntsville but did not want to have her crated all night. In addition to being a former pack dog, she is still a puppy and has not yet learned to leave things (like glasses/remotes, shoes, towels. etc.) alone. 

If I am being completely honest, I would steal her from them in an eye blink. She is the sweetest dog I have ever seen, but you do have to keep eyes on her all the time. She does not yet recognize her name and is selectively learning commands, but she has learned "sit" and "leave it". Sit she associates with food and she hears leave it all the time since she is continually on the lookout for any object to play with (destroy) enhance her day.

Saturday: DIL3 mentioned she had never been to a breakfast restaurant in town and we have one fairly near to our home. We all went to The Ranch House for breakfast (my least favorite meal).  They are all breakfast eaters and loved it. I ate some of mine than gladly shared the remainder with the table.

Because of their visit, I missed the family reunion, but honestly I was not planning on going because it was so blooming hot.

After they left to head back to Nashville, I did a little (very little) household chores then read.

TheHub and I ended the night watching the documentary "Muscle Shoals". It is about extremely successful recording studios in the most unlikely place in the U.S. If you are interested it is streaming on Peacock.

Have a great week looking for your small joys. They are alway out there!

May all your weeds be wildflowers,

Anne