Where are you, PeachPod?

I'm down on the Mississippi coast visiting Mom and Dad PeachPod. Between the fact that they have a [gasp!] dial-up connection and that I'm trying to take it easy to recover from an exhausting summer, I'm haven't been on the computer much. Look for my return later this weekend and definitely next week when I start the new job!

Dog Days of Summer

I like being outside. Outside is my happy place. If you visit my home, you'll be greeted by a courtyard garden. I have all kinds of my favorite plants out there: ferns, hydrangeas, roses, jasmine, palms and so on. I have several seating areas, two eating areas, a hammock chair and a covered porch swing out there, plus candles and other little happy things. I also have my beloved porch off of my master. This is the spot to be on a cool night.

But these places are to be avoided right now during the dog days of summer. Here in the Coastal South, temps are averaging 95 degrees F. The 70% to 100% humidity makes it feel more like 110 degrees. Breezes have become a rarity. The afternoon shower we seem to get every day lately doesn't cool off the area, it just provides steam. Add in mosquitoes, fleas and gnats and you have one of Dante's Rings of Hell.

This makes for a very cranky Me. I can't enjoy a meal outside without suffering bug bites and ending up with flies in my food. Sipping hot coffee on my front steps when it's 97 degrees is not soothing. I feel like a rat in a controlled environment, moving from one air conditioned area to another. This affects my attitude and my creativity.

This heat and humidity will last into August. We don't really have Autumn here. The temps will cool down to the manageable 80s through December, when it will go down the 70s and 60s. I am ready for any temperature below 90.

Marco de Coconut says, "I don't know why they call them the 'dog days of summer.' Dogs don't like this heat, either!"

Memories of the Ice Cream Truck

I was reading Crazy Aunt Purl's blog entry about her arch nemesis - the ice cream truck. This brought to mind summer memories of going insane as a child when you heard that horrible tinkling music coming down the street. "Please, Mom, can we have some money for the ice cream truck!?" (Sometimes my mom would beat us to the truck!)

We grew up without air conditioning in the hot and humid South and the ice cream truck was like a shining beacon of all things cold. My childhood's summer nights were filled with being restless while trying to find a way to be cool. I remember having a box fan at the foot of my bed and sleeping upside down to be as close to it as I could. I would flip the pillow over and over again until I fell asleep so that I could have a few moments of coolness on my face. I know it's hard to believe in this age of air conditioning, but there were things that I loved about those summer nights. Outside my open window was a beautiful crepe myrtle tree that I could, and would, spend hours looking at, loving how it swayed in the soft breeze. I loved the smell of the night air and the sounds that filled it -- crickets, cicadas and frogs.

But I digress, let's get back to the ice cream truck. My favorite treat was the Cannonball. It was served in a plastic cone and filled with orange sherbet. At the bottom of the plastic cone was a gumball, hence the name Cannonball (which I have come to find out is now called a Screwball). And, if I wanted to break out of my Cannonball rut, I would either get a Neapolitan ice cream sandwich or Firecracker Popsicle. Firecracker Popsicles had stripes of red, white and blue and made a total mess! I also liked Push-ups, another orange sherbet treat. Remember how hard it was to get those things started? We would push the stick on the bottom against the kitchen counter or on the front steps to force the ice cream out. Occasionally I would get a Drumstick. This was a concoction made up of vanilla ice cream in a sugar cone topped with chocolate and nuts. This would melt so fast in the summer heat would end up licking ice cream off of your hand. Such good times!

We don't have an ice cream truck that comes through out neighborhood, but don't feel too sorry for us. We can walk to 3 different place to get ice cream or walk to the jiffy mart to get something yummy out of the freezer case. Of course, after writing this, I've decided that I have to take Monkey Boy out for ice cream today!

What was your favorite frozen treat?

File under "What was I thinking?"

This morning a friend of mine who is landscaping his yard asked me to show him where a local nursery was that I like to go to. His wife had to go to a client's house (she's a decorator) and evil soon-to-be ex didn't show up for visitation this week so between us we had 3 male children to deal with. The morning started out fine until the topic of breakfast came up. I'm used to going out with girlfriends who if they haven't eaten by 9:30 skip breakfast and have an early lunch. Apparently males cannot do this. All 4 men folks started whining that they were hungry. Fine. I'm thinking McDonald's drive-thru for biscuits. Quick, cheap, minimal hassle. Wrong! The men folk decided they had to go to a buffet (which they find amusing to mispronounce in the way you would Jimmy Buffett's last name.). Not just any buffet, but the Golden Corral. If you haven't been 'blessed' to go to one of these places, I can only described it as what a buffet would be if Walmart managed it. Arrgh!

After the kids were through filling up on bananas, bacon, eggs and ice cream, we finally got to the nursery. This place is amazing. It's about 4 acres of wall to wall vegetation. Their quality and prices are awesome. So I told the kids to run around and count how many kitties they could find (this place is crawling with kitties) thinking this would entertain them for at least half an hour. 5 minutes later the whining began: "It's hot.", "I have to go the bathroom.", "I'm sweaty.", "Is it time to leave yet?" So my friend drives the kids to the jiffy mart to let them use the bathroom (there were ants in the port-o-potties and the young males freaked out) and they come back with candy, slushes, toys and more whining. I stayed at the nursery so I had my clump of plants picked out. My friend gets the 2 trees he had been looking for. Have I mentioned that at this point it's high noon and 96 degrees with a heat index of 105 degrees? Joy. We load the truck with the help of the whiny tribe and finally get out of there.

Seriously, what was I thinking?

Summer Boy

Loving the Tan

My tan has hit my favorite stage - the almost no makeup stage! This is to say that foundation, powder and blush is gone until Fall. Wahoo! Now my complete makeup routine is to put on some moisturizer with SPF, add a little eye shadow, draw a quick line with the eye pencil and finish off with mascara. This takes all of 3 minutes. Life is good!