Health and Temperature

               I don’t know how often I had to go to the orthodontist during the (almost) three years that I wore braces.  I was just recently reminded about how painful it felt having my braces tightened. My teeth have been bothering me since Sunday – maybe before. At first I thought it was dental related but have come to realize that it is part of my newest sinus infection.  Bah, humbug!

          It seems to be the most painful once the sun goes down.  I looked up what I might do to ease the pain.  Steam was a suggestion.  I thought it would make the room more hot but knew that it would work as I have felt better during a shower.  Many of my body parts have bad reactions to the cold lately.  NOOOOO!!!! 

I think about friends I’ve made here in Oregon that have moved to warmer climate (I think all of them ended up in Arizona) as the cold had bothered them physically.  I don’t want to move to Arizona.  I already know that it’s too dry. I hate the heat. I suppose I could get used to it.  But not the dry.  Dryness makes it hard to breathe.  I need moisture. 

So that’s my choice?  I can be miserable in the heat and dried out or I can be sore because of the cold?  That sounds very negative.  I need there to be a happy medium.  I need the consistency I thought Oregon temperatures would be.  I am a grouch when I am too hot or sore.  I don’t wish to be a grouch. 

I need to say another prayer.

Lost in the Sauce

 When we lived in West Valley

I rarely used covers at night

Maybe 10 times a year

Maybe

Even after we moved here

And I would fall asleep on

The recliner,

Richard would cover me

But the covers would come off

Long before morning

And then we moved into a

Different house

And suddenly my toes were always

Cold

And so I would keep them

Covered

But lately it seems like I

Am covering all of me.

I think the earth is spinning

Nearer to the sun and then

To the other extreme

So far away from the sun that

Its always cold

Hard to imagine that just over

six weeks ago I was complaining

about the heat.

Ten weeks ago it was in the

Three digits in California

We had moved to Oregon for

The constancy – which

We have never had.

I don’t want three digits and

Then near freezing (or

Below freezing) 

At this point I don’t

Think it even matters

In what state or nation

Autumn is still producing

Gorgeous colors

That’s nice.

There’s a perk.

That Was an Incredible Surprise

 Each of us in the household have been sick - though Biff hasn't experienced what the rest of us have - and hopefully it may pass him completely.  Claire looks awful - which is how I imagined I must have looked.  I never felt as horrible as Richard sounds.  He did sound better last night than the night before.  Still not sleeping great - but at least it was not his cough that was keeping him up.

I always open the windows to let in the fresh air - also because I'm always hot.  When Richard comes to bed he always complains that it is cold.  Thus yesterday I made certain that the windows were shut, the fan was off and the vent wasn't covered.  I was still awake when he came to in the room.  We watched TV and I fell asleep.  

       It wasn't overly hot in our room this last night but I had tossed and turned for much of the night trying to adjust to the temperature as I could not decide weather I was hot or cold. It had rained all night. I was quite surprised to see the window was open this morning.  He said he opened it to let the moisture in.  It must have helped him.  It totally pleased me.

Disneyland

         Disneyland did not offer the cooling stations that Universal had.  But I think Disneyland park was less crowded than Universal had been. We took the tram from downtown Disneyland to the park.  

        It seems like the very first ride we went on was Jungle Cruise.  Jai had pulled up phrazel so that we could play while we were in line.  There was no line.  Jaime and Sam rode ten rides in less than two hours.  How awesome is that? 

       Richard and I took it easy and rode tame rides such as the Mark Twain and the train.  I didn’t want to be in Fantasy Land or Tomorrow Land.  I think Toon Town was closed as it wasn’t highlighted on the map.  Toon Town is cute, but I have already seen it.  Thankfully it wasn’t a destination. 

       I hadn’t cared about New Orleans either.  I can no longer do the Pirates of Carrabin as squatting down just to sit in the boat is uncomfortable.  Nor did I have the desire for the haunted mansion – which is the only outside line that I had seen.  But we must have ended up there as Richard and I had ordered food.  He got jambalaya – which I was totally NOT in the mood for.  I ended up with a corn chowder in a bread bowl.  It was delicious.  Unfortunately my choice of lunch and the 107 degree heat (still cooler than Universal by eight degrees – but somehow felt warmer) was not a good combination.  We rode the train around three times I believe before I decided I could stand without being queasy about it.

       We did not have the option of taking the Monorail back to downtown as the heat was too drastic for it to run.  Go figure.  It’s a different monorail than the one offered several decades ago – a different monorail that ran the length of the park. There were tracks running through the hotel – I remember seeing that when I was a kid.  How cool would that be? 

for monorail history see this post 

       The hotel is not even the same as what I had seen as a kid – not that we ever stayed there.  It is now a resort made up of at least three different buildings for lodging and a plaza (where we had done laundry) and restaurants maybe?  I think there were six buildings in all – though I know I did not take the time to go inside of all of them.    Even downtown is not the same.  Not a disappointment exactly, but definitely not what I had imagined.

       The pool is awesomely large – the largest I have ever seen.  We never took advantage of it though as there were always more people than water.  Guests trying to cool off.  Too many people in my opinion. 

       Once again I was so grateful that Sam had come with us.  This may be the last year of Disneyland for me.  What a whimp I have turned out to be.      

Coming to an End

 What Myrtle Creek summer fest would be complete without the blazing heat?

If Corona Didn’t Kill You Perhaps the Elements Will

             Our nation has issued a warning for extreme heat

in the western states.  The sun had not fully risen

this morning when I took Bonnie out for

the shortest walk ever. 

Alexa informed me that the temperature

was 75 degrees fahrenheit –

Google said 73. 

It felt lke 80

– at least. 

 

I wonder if those people who were so skeptical

to believe the seriousness of the cornonavirus

believe that the weather is a hoax. 

I wonder if they will allow themselves

to dehydrate because

“nobody can tell me to drink water. 

I should be able to choose”

 

I wonder if they think the elements are

a conspiracy started by another country. 

I wonder if they believe how much nicer

the weather would be if

Trump was still in office. 

75 degrees and climbing! 

It’s not even 7:00 a.m. yet!

I'm COLD

 

I had resided in three

different houses when I lived

in Utah.

Each of them provided

gas furnaces as a source

of heat. 

The heat source in Oregon

has been electric – which

tends to dry me out more than the gas

ever did. 

I don’t particularly care for electric heat

and have felt overly hot each year

except for this one. 

But it is 2020 – why

should anything about

this year decade feel normal? 

I have worn my long sleeve

pajama tops and used the

covers for the last two weeks. 

Highly unusual

– for me.

That is SO WRONG

           This last Saturday was the hottest yet since our move to Oregon.  Hotter than the last week in July has always been even thought Summer Fest was not held this year. Apparently it had bee 104 on August 28 last year.  I had forgotten. We had moved to Oregon for the moisture and weather consistency.  We have seen one of the two since our move here – but neither all year round.  Three digit temperature – part of 2020’s taunting. 

     106 Saturday and was suppose to be over 100 yesterday but only got to 90.  It was overcast most of the day.  We even felt a few drops in the morning.  Roland doesn't like to work outdoors when it's raining.  Jenna and I prefer it.  If we're going to get wet anyway, why not with moisture from the sky than sweat through our bodies?

      I had taken an allergy pill that knocks me into a coma – not that I wanted to be in a coma, but the heat does that by itself so why not take an allergy pill.  I notice that I have been light sensitive.  My eyes were bothering me yesterday and a bit right now.

    I wonder what the forecast will bring us today.

It's Almost October . . . What is Up With the Haze?

                The air quality has gone down again.  

                You would think I would have figured

.that out on Tuesday when I couldn't stop sneezing.  

 

                Yesterday morning I'd gotten behind

                some school buses and watched their red tail lights

flicker off and on.  When I neared the school,

I looked over the hill and appeared puzzle at the sight of

                what looked like the tail lights - but way too high in the sky. 

                       

                My view was through the trees until   

   

I stopped the car.  Blood red sun. 

                I knew that met the smoke came back.  

                Air quality has been going down again.

Noooooooooooooo.  The air is supposed to be producing

 a misty fog.  Why isn't fire season over?!?

                  Why are the river beds so dried up they

don't look like rivers anymore?  

                 And what is up with the temperature?

It shouldn't be this hot at the end of September.

I should never be this hot at all.

I Love Our Communities

from last year

             Friends of Myrtle Creek Library did not have a booth this year.  Jenna was bummed as she desired to lure others to the booth as she had last year.

            While at my swim class, one of the women stated that she would be manning the booth for the Riddle Library.  How awesome.  When I returned home, I let Jenna know about it.

            Turns out that it wasn't a booth for the library after all, but rather the sawdust jubilee which is held the Saturday before July 4.  They had actually held it on the 4th every year until this year. It just wasn't conducive for many volunteers to put in the hours and try to work the next day.  There is a disappointment among many, but I for one understand the dilemma.

            Yesterday was the first year they created a booth for Myrtle Creek Days.  The idea was to raise fireworks for the sawdust jubilee that will take place next year.  Jenna asked if she could assist and blew up some inflatable toys for them.   

When the inflatables were all blown and hanging, Shelly and Tony left and left Susan in charge.  So Jenna and I stayed so that Susan would not be alone.  We stayed after Annie had come to release Susan.  But still, it didn't seem right to leave Annie alone - and I'm so happy we didn't as it turned out the heat was more than she could bear.  I think it should be mandatory that there be at least two people in every booth - especially if more than one activity is offered - which in this case was two games - one throw two footballs through one hole, or get a ring around a hook (that one was the hardest of the two) 

            Jenna had asked if she could hang around with one of her friends, and I ran to the car for a bit.  When I returned, Annie appeared as though she'd pass out.  She had come prepared with water to drink and water to squirt on herself, but it wasn't enough.  She contacted the next shift and asked if they could be there early.  Jenna and I left shortly after they arrived - though Jenna would have been happy staying until closing - I knew Roland would have a problem with it.  I don't know why.  Leaving her with the community for a community activity feels a lot safer than having her just walk down the street in our prior Utah neighborhood.  But Roland doesn't know the community as well as Jenna does.

            I got in touch with Annie on facebook so that she'll be able to get a hold of us next year as she would like Jenna's assistance for the Sawdust Jubilee. 

It's Going To Be A Scorcher Today

            I noticed when Jenna left for school on overly foggy mornings, she would return with the sun blazing in the sky.  The foggier it is in the morning, the hotter it seems to be with the afternoon sun. 

     The above picture was taken last year - I can't even see the mountains or trees right now.

          

            I think the sun will be blazing down by 2:00 this afternoon and may not cool off until after 10:00.  But you never know.

            We had wind, rain, sunshine, A/C, open doors, blankets, and shivers alternating all within the same hour.  Jenna took these amazing pictures with her tablet