Day 167: Heat Index 113

It was over 90 degrees today with 90% humidity, bumping the heat index to 113, according to local news. I didn't find this out until the end of the day but it helped explained why it felt so thick and swampy. 

Jeremy had "clean the porch" on his to-do list today. He started that project but then decided that the best way to clean the porch was to add an electrical outlet so that we could plug things in without the tangle of extension cords that are always underfoot. He wasn't wrong that this was an issue, but I did laugh at how "clean the porch" morphed into "add electrical outlet." The things he'll do to avoid cleaning! Ha. 

This new, expanded version of the project was a multi-step process involving bending metal conduit, screwing that into place, fishing the wire through, installing the outlet box, wiring the plugins, etc. He showed me how to do the wires - green means ground, white means neutral (doesn't it always... white blindness, much?) and red means hot. So, after about two hours, during which he mashed his thumb with a saws-all (don't worry, no trips to the ER necessary this time) the six square feet that had been taken up by extension cords was clean! Progress! 

I tease, I tease. And I can get away with it because he doesn't read these blog posts (muahaha). But I actually am glad he got that done. Slowly but surely, the little pieces are being put together that lead to a finished house. It's been a ten year process, but hey, we've been busy with other things. And he can finish cleaning the porch on Sunday. 

Jeremy also got the metal put up on the roof of the playhouse. We still need to prime and paint it the walls inside and out, but we are hoping the kids will want to help with that. 

While Jeremy was "cleaning" and roofing, I was cleaning the laundry room and my little office corner. These areas have been chronically neglected for years, places to deposit stuff we didn't want to deal with at that moment. I got rid of a big garbage bag full of junk, swept, and now we can walk without tripping. 

Another thing I accomplished today was making a big pot of curried carrot soup. Jeremy's aunt has been going to a free food drop off that they have been having in Cedarville ever couple of weeks. She gets boxes of produce and dairy that she shares between herself, us, and her son's household. Through this we have ended up with a lot of extra carrots. I made the giant pot of soup with the idea of freezing at least half for easy meals later. I also made chocolate chip scones for breakfast this morning. Neither of these were great projects for a day with a heat index of 113, but then, neither is roofing and outdoor electrical wiring, so I guess Jeremy and I both get awards for making poor choices. 

The best choice we made for the day was going to the pool. The cool water was a welcome reprieve to the weighty heat. I'm apparently getting old, though, because while I was throwing William around playing "circus" I tweaked my neck and shoulder and it's the kind of tweak I know is going to take several days to work itself out. Merely an annoyance, but still. 

While the kids and I were at the pool, Jeremy went to the grocery to get milk and to see if there was something easy for dinner he could pick up. He grabbed some frozen pre-made things so we'd have options, and then forgot all about the milk. So after the pool, while he was heating up tamales for us and chicken nuggets and fries for the kids (they were thrilled about this treat) I ran to the store and grabbed two gallons of milk. Thank goodness they put the mask ordinance in place so these trips out aren't quite so harrowing. 

All in all, it was one of those "if it's not one thing it's another" kind of days that so often end by falling asleep to the strong smell of Tiger Balm. 

This is the only picture I took today. I had a hot tea break on a hot day 
(I never stop drinking hot tea, it's an all-year love affair for me) 
and I wanted to capture my current favorite mug, of course made by Kathy Clarke.