Post by Honeylioness on Nov 21, 2008 14:35:46 GMT -5
22 July 2008
To my great surprise I am still tracking everything spent this month - some of which is making me wince and some make me queasy. And speaking of queasy....................let me tell you about my weekend.
Picture this, a clear bright Saturday morning. The temperature at 08:00 am is a refreshing 88 degrees Fahrenheit with a comfortable humidity index of 80-85. Now, when most NORMAL people would be looking for a cool shady spot to hide in what do I do? I decide to keep a previous commitment to help clean the canals downtown.
Now, the city I live in is crossed with canals that were used to provide not only power to the multitude of textile mills that made the city, but also for barges to get the products to the river for shipment. Needless to say, during the period of 1870-1920 there was not that much concern about what chemicals were being dumped into such waterways. Nowadays they seem to attract any sort of refuse anyone is too lazy to deal with properly - barrels, dead fire extinguishers, cups, cans, bottles, syringes - you name it we have hauled it out of the water at one time or another.
Back I digress, on this day there is no breeze and only the oh-so-fragrant aroma wafting from the canals where various items are either trying to decompose, or are already well on their way (did I mention yet the dead fish, squirrels, birds etc that seem to wind up entangled in the other stuff?). Under this brutal sun and oppressive humidity I am starting to work alongside other volunteers in scooping this "stuff" out of the water in preparation for this weekend's big music festival. Not being a fan of the heat to begin with - I did not last long I must confess - and after a particularly fragrant offering was recovered I begged off and crawled the six blocks back home.
So now it is about 3:00 pm - and I am feeling a bit better, though still with a throbbing headache. So I made another spectacularly bad decision...."I think I will go to the pick-your-own place for berries. After all, it is past mid day and should be cooler now - right?"...........Ummm.....NO !!!!
But off I went anyways - baskets in hand, hat on head, bottle of water at the ready. The owner of the farm looked at me as if I had lost my mind and just shook her head at me. Yes, it was rather hot in the berry field, and yes, there were rivers of moisture pouring down my face, neck, spine, and even the backs of my legs. But I was sipping my water - that would be enough I was sure. Hmmm....that headache is back again....and I don't feel so great....perhaps time to call it a day.
So I staggered back to the farm stand, bought some gatorade-type drink, and got into the traveling kiln that is my old black pickup after sitting in the sun for 40 minutes. (Have I mentioned yet that it has no A/C? And by now the temperature reading 97?). I started down the small country-like road back to the main road that would take me home. Gee I feel worse, perhaps I should pull over......maybe......ARRGGGHHHHHHHHH.....PULL OVER NOW !!!!!!
The good news is I was able to get the truck door open BEFORE the water, gatorade, three raspberries and half cup of coffee made their encore appearance.
Ahhhhh, what a sight of grace and poise I must have presented to the two cars who came the other way - hanging half out my truck and exercising those deep abdominal muscles.
I eventually was able to pull it together and drive home where I then literally crawled upstairs and into the tub and turned on the cool water - letting it pour over me to cool me down. After about 20 minutes I felt strong enough to stand up and get undressed so I could take a proper shower
The next morning was overcast and damp, storms the night before had almost completely cleared any humidity from the air - so back to the farm I went at 8:00 am. This time it was much cooler - but not so much drier. Seems a storm had stopped only about
The next morning was overcast and damp, storms the night before had almost completely cleared any humidity from the air - so back to the farm I went at 8:00 am. This time it was much cooler - but not so much drier. Seems a storm had stopped only about 10 minutes before I got there. With the weight of the fruit and rain, the limbs of the bushes were hanging really low and even the smallest movement released an impressive quantity of water upon your hand, arm, tummy, etc.
Fast forward three hours and here I come – trundling back towards the farm stand. Shirt, hair, skirt and underwear are all soaking wet, and each step is accompanied with the musical “squish-squish” of wet tennis shoes. Four pounds of raspberries in one basket and about 10 pounds of blueberries in the other. And I wonder why the staff there sometimes look at me oddly……
Anyway – I am still not quite awake at after 3:00 pm in the afternoon. I got a call last night from a former roommate whom I have not seen in four years. She took me to dinner and we were out way past this kitty’s bedtime – I am sure that is the only reason it was hard getting up today, the Mudslides had nothing to do with it….
To my great surprise I am still tracking everything spent this month - some of which is making me wince and some make me queasy. And speaking of queasy....................let me tell you about my weekend.
Picture this, a clear bright Saturday morning. The temperature at 08:00 am is a refreshing 88 degrees Fahrenheit with a comfortable humidity index of 80-85. Now, when most NORMAL people would be looking for a cool shady spot to hide in what do I do? I decide to keep a previous commitment to help clean the canals downtown.
Now, the city I live in is crossed with canals that were used to provide not only power to the multitude of textile mills that made the city, but also for barges to get the products to the river for shipment. Needless to say, during the period of 1870-1920 there was not that much concern about what chemicals were being dumped into such waterways. Nowadays they seem to attract any sort of refuse anyone is too lazy to deal with properly - barrels, dead fire extinguishers, cups, cans, bottles, syringes - you name it we have hauled it out of the water at one time or another.
Back I digress, on this day there is no breeze and only the oh-so-fragrant aroma wafting from the canals where various items are either trying to decompose, or are already well on their way (did I mention yet the dead fish, squirrels, birds etc that seem to wind up entangled in the other stuff?). Under this brutal sun and oppressive humidity I am starting to work alongside other volunteers in scooping this "stuff" out of the water in preparation for this weekend's big music festival. Not being a fan of the heat to begin with - I did not last long I must confess - and after a particularly fragrant offering was recovered I begged off and crawled the six blocks back home.
So now it is about 3:00 pm - and I am feeling a bit better, though still with a throbbing headache. So I made another spectacularly bad decision...."I think I will go to the pick-your-own place for berries. After all, it is past mid day and should be cooler now - right?"...........Ummm.....NO !!!!
But off I went anyways - baskets in hand, hat on head, bottle of water at the ready. The owner of the farm looked at me as if I had lost my mind and just shook her head at me. Yes, it was rather hot in the berry field, and yes, there were rivers of moisture pouring down my face, neck, spine, and even the backs of my legs. But I was sipping my water - that would be enough I was sure. Hmmm....that headache is back again....and I don't feel so great....perhaps time to call it a day.
So I staggered back to the farm stand, bought some gatorade-type drink, and got into the traveling kiln that is my old black pickup after sitting in the sun for 40 minutes. (Have I mentioned yet that it has no A/C? And by now the temperature reading 97?). I started down the small country-like road back to the main road that would take me home. Gee I feel worse, perhaps I should pull over......maybe......ARRGGGHHHHHHHHH.....PULL OVER NOW !!!!!!
The good news is I was able to get the truck door open BEFORE the water, gatorade, three raspberries and half cup of coffee made their encore appearance.
Ahhhhh, what a sight of grace and poise I must have presented to the two cars who came the other way - hanging half out my truck and exercising those deep abdominal muscles.
I eventually was able to pull it together and drive home where I then literally crawled upstairs and into the tub and turned on the cool water - letting it pour over me to cool me down. After about 20 minutes I felt strong enough to stand up and get undressed so I could take a proper shower
The next morning was overcast and damp, storms the night before had almost completely cleared any humidity from the air - so back to the farm I went at 8:00 am. This time it was much cooler - but not so much drier. Seems a storm had stopped only about
The next morning was overcast and damp, storms the night before had almost completely cleared any humidity from the air - so back to the farm I went at 8:00 am. This time it was much cooler - but not so much drier. Seems a storm had stopped only about 10 minutes before I got there. With the weight of the fruit and rain, the limbs of the bushes were hanging really low and even the smallest movement released an impressive quantity of water upon your hand, arm, tummy, etc.
Fast forward three hours and here I come – trundling back towards the farm stand. Shirt, hair, skirt and underwear are all soaking wet, and each step is accompanied with the musical “squish-squish” of wet tennis shoes. Four pounds of raspberries in one basket and about 10 pounds of blueberries in the other. And I wonder why the staff there sometimes look at me oddly……
Anyway – I am still not quite awake at after 3:00 pm in the afternoon. I got a call last night from a former roommate whom I have not seen in four years. She took me to dinner and we were out way past this kitty’s bedtime – I am sure that is the only reason it was hard getting up today, the Mudslides had nothing to do with it….
