I’M IN A FOG

No. Really. I am.

This is the view from my deck. I am glad I don’t have to go anywhere today. I live up a hillside with a spectacular view of the valley. Apparently the valley has disappeared and left a thick fog in its place.

HAIRS THE THING

What is it about our hair that is so important? It is even referred to as our crowning glory. That is a pretty big position to live up to. No wonder we are often disappointed. We wash it, color it, cut it, treat it, condition it and use many, many products on it. Or if you are like me you mostly do nothing with it but keep it clean and comb it.

I have really thick hair. I can wash it in the morning and hours later it is still damp underneath.

(a long time ago but shows the curls)
It is naturally curly but because of the weight of it often straightens out. That is until I go into the rain. For some reason when the rain wets my hair it curls up beautifully. It is NOT the humidity because here in the Vancouver area we have rain a lot and my hair doesn’t curl more on rainy days than sunny ones.
It is only when the actual precipitation gets on my hair that it does its thing. Soft curls shortening up my hair length by a considerable amount.

Is it the lack of chlorine? Nope. There isn’t any chlorine at our cabin and the water there doesn’t curl my hair more. Is it the temperature? The ions? The pollution….I hope not.
Well whatever it is I love it. Now time to go stand in the rain for a while to make sure I look my best today.

SATURDAY SNICKER

70 above: Texans turn on the heat and unpack the thermal underwear.
People in Canada go swimming in the Lakes.

60 above: North Carolinians try to turn on the heat.
People in Canada plant gardens.

50 above: Californians shiver uncontrollably.
People in Canada sunbathe.

40 above: Italian & English cars won't start
People in Canada drive with the windows down.

32 above: Distilled water freezes
In Canada Lake Superior's water gets thicker.

20 above: Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, and wooly hats
People in Canada throw on a flannel shirt.

15 above: Philadelphia landlords finally turn up the heat.
People in Canada have the last cookout before it gets cold.

0 degrees: People in Miami all die...
Canadians lick the flagpole.

20 below: Californians fly away to Mexico.
People in Canada get out their winter coats.

40 below: Hollywood disintegrates.
The Girl Scouts in Canada are selling cookies door to door.

60 below: Polar bears begin to evacuate the Arctic.
Canadian Boy Scouts postpone "Winter Survival" classes until it gets cold enough.

80 below: Mt. St. Helens freezes.
Canadians feel a chill.

100 below: Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.
Canadians get frustrated because they can't thaw the keg.

297 below: Microbial life no longer survives on dairy products.
Cows in Canada complain about farmers with cold hands.

460 below: ALL atomic motion stops (absolute zero in the Kelvin scale).
People in Canada start saying, "Cold 'nuff for ya, eh?"

500 below: Hell freezes over.
The Vancouver Canucks win the Stanley Cup.

THAR SHE BLOWS

Oh my gosh we had a wind storm last night. The wind kicked up yesterday and it really went crazy.

I live in an area with a lot of very tall cedar trees around and they are not known for hanging on to their branches in a storm. Not only the branches were down but all the dried bits too. They turned the streets brown.

I sent my son out the front door to take down the Welcome Autumn sign on my front door because it was banging and crashing against the door.

The inevitable happened and the power shut down around 2:00 am with a big bang. The streets became very quiet and dark. The wind kept right on blowing and 83,000 homes in the lower mainland and up the coast were without power.

There is a lot to be concerned about when the power goes out. How long before you have a furnace again. The fridge and freezer need to be kept closed. And the most important issue of all…..HOW IS LORI GOING TO HAVE HER MORNING CUP OF COFFEE. SERIOUSLY!!!!HOW?????

Lucky for me we have a gas stove. We had to ignite it with a lighter but we were cooking. I put on a kettle of water and put the coffee filter holder in place on the pot. In no time at all we had our hot morning coffee and all was right in my world.

I live close to where I work and there was no power there either. Although our phones were working we had no access to our computers. Can you believe that people who called into our company were actually angry with us because we couldn’t help them due to a power outage? I know!!!!

LUCKY FOR THEM I HAD ALREADY HAD MY MORNING CUP OF COFFEE.

I GOT SUNSHINE ON A CLOUDY DAY

I wish. Raining here again but I need to post something sunny to keep my spirits up so I am going with these pictures from nicer days.

I am joining in with Mosaic Monday over at Little Red House.

IT CAN'T BE NOVEMBER

I live in British Columbia, Canada. We don't usually have the best weather in the month of November. Well with that in mind I went through my yard today and took picture of what is still blooming out there.

There was lavender, hydrangea, bellflowers, sedum, the same yellow roses that are posted on my sidebar, fuchsias.

There were impatiens, asters, begonias, snapdragons, millet, more fuchsias and potato vine.

This is really quite surprising for us. I don't ever remember having this much still flowering this time of year. I guess this is what it is like in California right? Okay maybe it is a little warmer there.

I am joining in with Mosaic Monday. Head on over to Little Red House to see what is going on over there.

I am also joining Tootsie for Fertilizer Friday (no fertilizer required) Boy can this woman grow flowers. Go by for a peek.

I'M MELTING

Image via Wikipedia

Oh I know we are just wimps here, I know. But dang it is hot. Those of us on the southern west coast of British Columbia are not used to the temperature being in the 90's.UPDATE: WE ARE NOW AT 102 DEGREES WITH THE HUMIDEX RATING SAYING IT WILL FEEL THE EQUIVALENT OF 112 DEGREES. Most of us don't even have air conditioning in our homes. We have never needed it before. Oh maybe we would have a day or so of really hot weather but not for days on end. A more comfortable temperature of about 75-80 degrees is what we like.

When you are not used to it the heat can be almost unbearable. Even my basement isn't cool anymore. It is bad enough during the day but the nights are not cooling down either. That is a whole new set of issues here. We have a ceiling fan in the bedroom. I am 5 feet tall and can't reach the chains. I have to climb into the middle of the bed and reach up to turn the light part on or off. It is even hotter the higher up you go so my head at that point feels like I have stuck it into the oven. The wall switch controls the power to it but you still have to choose what parts are running. The fan, the lights, the fan and the lights, reverse the fan direction.

Once I have the light off but the fan spinning it is time for phase two... the window fan. Just a small one but really powerful. Trouble is my windows were all retro fitted some time ago with double paned windows so I really have very little window sill left. Out comes two cans of smoked oysters which when stacked together are the perfect height to hold up the front of the fan keeping it on the sill. Note to my guests...don't eat the smoked oysters at my house, they have been sitting in the sun for days.

Now I don't sleep with a closed door. I am kinda claustrophobic not to mention I am trying to get an air flow happening here. We still have a son at home. Do you think he will need a retina transplant after walking down the hall to his room pass my open door with me sprawled across the middle of the bed pretty much starkers? Will that sight be permanently etched into his brain and psyche? Is this the push needed to have him move out?

Now I have been sticking my head under the shower spray to cool down. Eating watermelon icy cold from the fridge. None of it works for more that 5 minutes. How do you southerners do it? Besides the A.C. how do you stay cool? Help me here. My husband is at the cabin and they go into the river and lower their body temperatures in the cool, cool water. What about me? What should I do?

I have a full bucket of margaritas in the freezer but I think the alcohol will just make me warmer won't it? I may have to test that theory out tonight. My son is too old to call CPS.

Image via Wikipedia