Friday, July 22, 2011

116 .........

That was our heat index awhile ago. The actual temperature was 102. The humidity has been very oppressive the last few days. The air is so laden with moisture, it's like living inside a cloud - a 102 degree cloud. We were in the pool earlier, but the water is too warm to be really refreshing, so we came back inside with the AC. I brought all three cats inside this afternoon and put them in separate rooms so they wouldn't fight. The heat is dangerous for animals as well as people.

Hope everyone is managing to stay cool.

Monday, July 18, 2011

The monster plant ............

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Several months ago I bought this Sago Palm to put on my coffee table. It gets plenty of light where it sits and once a week I spray it off in the sink. Not long ago, shoots began to grow from the top. They grew and they grew and they are still growing. Does anyone know what they are? They seem awful long to become new leaves. I looked up Sago Palm flowers and these are not flowers. I told Hubby he should not turn his back to this plant when he takes a nap on the sofa. It may reach over and grab him. It is rather sinister looking - like something out of a horror movie.

Friday, July 15, 2011

I've been a bad blogger ......

I've been terribly neglectful of my blog. I have no excuse other than laziness and procrastination. I also want to apologize for my lack of comments on your blogs. I do read your blog posts every day, however.

I've been enjoying summer. Since we got the pool in operation, I've spent almost every afternoon in the water. We had several days near 100 degrees with high humidity. One afternoon the heat index was 112 - that is almost unbearable. The last few days have been simply gorgeous with lower temperatures and lower humidity. Temperatures will be up near 100 by the end of next week, however.

We've been getting tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden. I love fresh summer vegetables. I wish we had planted a larger garden so I had extra to can and freeze. We used to have a larger garden at the back of the yard but the deer would invade it every night and munch on everything, so we gave up and went with the garden squares closer to the house.

Mazie Grace brought a mouse into the house the other morning and let it go. It ran under the china cabinet in the diningroom She sat for awhile, waiting for it to come out, then got bored and went in the other room for a nap. Mollie Ann sat on the scratching box in front of the china cabinet and watched for awhile, then she fell asleep. I have lazy cats. Hubby went to the hardware store and get a mousetrap and we caught the mouse. Why do we have cats?

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Mollie Ann waiting for the mouse to run to her.



Thursday, July 7, 2011

At last ......

We finally got our pool in full operation today after six weeks of trying to get it fixed. When we removed the cover this spring, the water was green with algae. Last fall we purchased a new cover which was suppose to allow water through so we wouldn't have to add so much water in the spring. We didn't need to add water, but the cover let dirt and algae into the pool along with the water. It was a mess. Needless to say, we threw away the cover and ordered the type we had been using. Before, when we took the cover off, the water would be crystal clear.



We tried filtering the water for a few days with little results. We decided the best thing to do was to drain the green water out of the pool and replace it with fresh clean water. We have a well and it would be impossible to fill the pool from our well. We had to purchase water. When we checked with our pool supply store, we found out that water for the pool would cost us an outrageous amount. After discussing it, we decided to have the liner replaced while the pool was empty and before paying so much to fill it. With our luck the liner would have gotten a hole as soon as we paid all that money for water and we would end up paying twice.



We finally got them out here the first of June. They put the new liner in and used two big milk trucks of water to fill the pool. The next morning the water level had dropped about six inches. We called the pool company back. They discovered a hole in the new liner. They put a patch on the liner and said they would order a new one. By then the water level was down at least a foot and was below the skimmer. They rigged up a hose that allowed us to run the filter but not skim the water surface.



For a month we got promises that they were coming back with the replacement liner. They had more excuses for why they couldn't come. The pool was no longer leaking and we could get in the water. Of course it was over a foot low and since we couldn't skim it, the surface was always covered with bugs, etc. Not the best situation.

Finally this morning they came. We now have a new liner, new hoses, and a pool full of clean water. Time for a pool party.