65 days, but who's counting?

Apparently all of central Texas is counting...days over 100 degrees F that is. Since the beginning of Summer on June 21, we have experienced 65 days over 100F, and we are still counting! And the days that haven't hit 100F have come pretty close (95F or above). If it makes it to 70 days of over 100F it will become the new record, breaking the record set in 1925! I have no doubt this will happen since summer doesn't end until the middle of September and I am pretty sure that it is going to stay hot forever. (People tell me it cools down in October, but I think they are all lying). My Canadian blood, thinned out by 5 years in New England, is not thin enough for this place. I've told Husband if it is still hitting 100F in September, I'm moving! He can stay if he wants, but I am thinking Alaska sounds nice right about now...

How you know there's a drought

When this...

looks like this...

you know there's a drought in your area!

(First picture from http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/parkguide/rgn_hc_013.phtml)

I've lost my husband to another woman...

...J.K Rowling to be exact. Earlier this week we saw the newest Harry Potter movie, and Husband decided he couldn't wait for the next movies to come out to find out how things turn out. So, off to the library we went to get the seventh book(He hasn't read any of the previous books. Usually he is content just to wait for the next movie). Now, he can't stop reading it! I go to bed, and he stays up reading. I get home from work and he is reading. He rushes through dinner so he can go back to reading. If I want to talk to him, I have to wait until he finishes his sentence, paragraph, page and/or chapter. It's hard enough to get him to do things around the house in normal circumstances, so it has been impossible to get him to anything now. And as for actually acknowledging my existence...well, I think I am going to have to invest in a wand and some robes, either that or hide the book, but then he would just spend all his time looking for it, and I would be back to square one. I guess I'll just hope he reads fast because there are some things on his honey-do list waiting for him when he's finished.

True Love

So as you know, Husband is going back to school full-time. Much to my frustration, he completely takes over our living room, spreading his books, notes and papers everywhere. He has lectures on DVDs to watch, so that means that he also takes over the TV and DVD player. When he is watching his lectures, he needs complete silence. If I interrupt him it better be because I am bleeding to death. I can't even be in the living room because I distract him. Sounds a bit neurotic you say? Well, I agree! For the sake of our marriage, and my sanity, we decided to designate our spare bedroom as his office. That way, when he is in his "school" mode, all he has to do is close the door, and I can still live in our apartment. We bought a cheap TV off of craigslist and then went in search of a DVD player. Standing in the DVD aisle of Target, Husband asked me which DVD player would be a good buy. Using all of my knowledge about DVD players, I said "Get the pink one. It looks cute!" Husband gave me that look that I've seen before: the "you obviously have no idea what you are talking about, so just stand there and look pretty" look. Needless to say, he did not choose the pink one. I was a bit disappointed, but whatever. It's not my DVD player, and I won't be the one using it. A couple days later, while setting up the DVD player, Husband realized that it did not have all the functions he needed and wanted. He went to Target to get another DVD player and returned with the pink one because he knew it would make me happy. Now he has a pink DVD player perched on top of his TV in his office. That, my dear readers, is true love.

I'm a Canadian, get me out of here!

It is way too hot in Central Texas! It hit 100 degrees F (38 degrees C) on June 13, and since then we have had 3 days that were below 98 degrees F (36 degrees C). Have you ever seen birds pant? No? Well, let me tell you all about it: They stick their itty-bitty tongues out of their mouths and pant like a dog; their tiny bodies heaving, trying to cool down. Just to give you an idea of what it is like here, when I leave at 6:20AM to go to work, it is already at least 80 degrees F (26 degrees C). By noon it is almost always 100 degrees, then the temperature stays steady for a couple of hours before it climbs a few degrees at the hottest part of the day: 5:00pm-7:00PM. This place has got it all wrong. In "normal land" the temperature drops as evening approaches. But no, not here in Central Texas. That's when the real heat settles over the region, like an electric blanket on high heat without a shut-off switch! Even at 11:00PM the temperature hovers around 90 degrees F (32 degrees C). And there is no end in sight. The 7 day forecast has highs between 106 degrees F (41 degrees C) and 103 degrees F (39 degrees C). Oh and the weather description after everyday says "Mostly sunny and very hot"!

Now before you go leaving comments about how we should be grateful that it isn't cold, let me share this with you: When it is cold, you can always put on more clothing, but when it's hot, there is only so much you can take off! So considered yourselves warned: don't come over anytime soon. We are in the middle of a heatwave and that means we aren't wearing pants!

Success!

The first edible tomato from my tomato plant!

Farmer's Market find

One of things I love about a farmer's market is that I often find things that I don't see in the grocery store. Today, I came across a purple pepper! I have never seen one before, and I just HAD to buy it. I asked the farmer what it would taste like and he told me it is sweeter than a green pepper but not as sweet as a red pepper. I cannot wait to eat it.