Hottest Day; Record Broken

We had our hottest day for this summer yesterday. The sun shone and the temperature rose to 38.5C or 101.3F. The smoke moved in again and it held the temperature up longer than normal. It is 15C or 59F this morning and the smoke lingers. We broke the high temperature by 2.9C (1967).

Lifestyle

I saw the doctor and have to pick up a new prescription for my lovely underactive thyroid. I also have to go on high blood pressure medication and eat better. I am sure it will all come together when I am on the meds for a few days.
The Spousal Unit has half of the shed painted and it is looking good. Better than the yellowish-tan primer that was on it.

Sewing

I spent time doing mundane things that didn't require a lot of heavy lifting or hard work. I sorted all our patterns into a box and tossed 25% of them into the thrift shop box. Once done, I went through all the books and binders in fabric tubs and sorted out 25% of the books. The rest don't quite fill a box. The binders came upstairs and I put all the information not on the tetra drive on and put what was missing in the binders onto an external drive to give to a friend who does machine embroidery. Then I checked the craft pamphlets to make sure they were on the tetra drive and will put them into the staff room for staff to have. The empty binders will go to the thrift shop as they are in excellent shape.
I did look at the fabric but need to put the boxes back into a closet before I touch the fabric. I also need to take the two large bags of garbage out to the garbage can. Once that is done, I can start on putting away fabric and tidy up the notions. I am moving ahead that I hope to dust, sweep, and wash the family room end of the suite.
I am putting together a game plan for the sewing room as it needs to be looked at carefully if we pack. I want it all into boxes in a very short period of time. I know it can be done.

Today

We need to grocery shop, find a painter, and get my prescriptions filled this morning. This afternoon I hope to clean up more in the sewing area of the basement. I know I will be busy but at least I will be in the cool of the basement if the temperatures are high.
Until the next time.............................

A Few Sewing Ideas For The Future

The hot weather has returned with the past two days being about 35C or 95F. As we head into fall, we can have these lovely hot days but we also have cooler nights. I do love it when we wake up to cooler temperatures.

Lifestyle

I see the doctor today to see about my thyroid. I am thinking I may get a prescription change as I am tired even though I am sleeping better.
The outside of our house is getting its make over. The front steps are painted and the shed is about 30% done. The Spousal Unit is feeling stronger though he does not paint outside when it is hot.
I have the upstairs cleaned and am keeping it clean on a daily basis. I am pleased that it is easy to keep looking great.
I have had no time to work in the basement so I am behind on finishing up that space. It is frustrating to say the least.

Sewing

I will be spending some quality time in the sewing area these next couple of days. I think I have a purge coming on. And it will happen.
I have been thinking about my Christmas sewing. One of the ideas I had was to make table toppers and napkins. Now it is place mats and napkins. I also want to make microwave soup bowl holders to go with them. The fabric is:

• Placemats out of a directional print with cardinals on it (black, red, grey)
• Napkins out of a grey/white snowflake print
  
• Soup bowl holders out of a black with a white snow flake print lined with white with a red snowflake print.

These may or may not get done this year but I will have the fabric and ideas to do later on. I will be doing a lot of sewing one way or the other.
The doll dress will be done when I finish cleaning the sewing room. I will be rethinking what I will be doing with the dolls -- selling clothes vs pattern making vs both. I do want to take Pixie Faire's course on pattern making before I make a decision. I really am thinking of signing up for the October course even if it could be a busy month.

Today

I am going to the doctor's, the cat hospital (to board Elliott while we are away) and work in the basement. A busy day.
Until the next time.................

Fire Becoming Contained

The wildfire that has plagued our area and caused a lot of destruction is finally being contained. It started July 6 and people are finally breathing easily after 7 weeks of terror. We who live in the city had the big fire 45 km (less than 30 miles) away. The water bombers are still active and we watched 3 or 4 come in last night at dusk.
The air quality is much better. Our visibility is 40 miles. With it comes hotter weather and we hit 37.1C or 99F yesterday. We are having summer and people are happily going on their holidays. They can be fined if they start a fire even in campgrounds. But they can go to some areas now the orders have been lifted. And the evacuees are heading home after weeks away.
We are still working on the house and it is slow going. I have to clean it up on Saturday before the real estate agent arrives to talk to us. I am tired at night until last night. The store has been so hot that I left fully dehydrated and exhausted. We got the a/c units working properly again and I left work feeling better. Tired but not dehydrated or exhausted to the point of falling asleep in my chair or wanting to cry over nothing.
The sewing room is coming along and I have some items to put away in the upstairs' closet. I need to get on with it and quit looking at items one at a time. I feel like I am not making progress. The Spousal Unit is able to work in the mornings and is painting the front porch. It is looking amazing. The white railing pops out against the freshly painted posts that are the same colour as the house.
Today, I work the early shift and tomorrow I need to have blood work done prior to going to work. Friday I work early and I have Saturday off.
Until the next time.........................

An Overful Plate

With less smoke, we are seeing more sunshine and warmer temperatures. We are having a bit of summer in our area, something we thought would never happen with all the smoke from the wildfires.

Lifestyle

Life has been stressful these last few months. I am coping but only by a thread. Trying to beat last year's goal was difficult and it took its toll on several of us. Add to it inventory and wildfires and I was not sleeping well. Then time crept on and we started wondering about the Spousal Unit's check up on Sept. 7. How well will he be is a constant concern as we get closer to the date. Should we or shouldn't we sell this house was thrown onto the table for us to mull over. Less sleep was result of that as my plate was overflowing and my mind was overactive. I was becoming a wreck.
We talked and got no where so I headed to the basement to clean it up. Best thing I did. I was really in hiding and I was okay with that. I also realized my SAD was back and started on light therapy. Life improved and so did our discussions.
As we hauled out boxes to the thrift shop and paint to recycle, we talked. The talking spilled over to the dinner table. We have a plan that covers the following.

1. We will be selling this house as the real estate market is hot in our community. We should make a tidy profit.
   
2. We will wait until after Sept. 7 to make a decision on where we will live. It all hinges on the Spousal Unit's check up.
   
3. I will probably stop working.  
   
4. We will enjoy our trip to Nova Scotia. We want to look around the area Son lives in, go to their fall fair, see some areas where my family lived and have fun.

Sewing

I ironed some of the fabric I had laundered yesterday afternoon. I actually got 8 or 9 pieces done and ready to be put into a box.
My plan for sewing is to finish up the black gown for the dolls and then sew Grandson a pair of pillow cases for his bed. Lime green, grey, white and black soccer ball themed fabric. My wish to sew bags has gone on the back burner as I need to declutter the basement living room prior to going back to Nova Scotia. Truth be known, it really needs to be done by the end of the month.

Knitting

I have been knitting on the toque but only two to four rows at a time. I seem to fall asleep in the evenings. The toque will get done even if I have to knit in the mornings before work.

Today

 I work a middle shift and get home off at 7 p.m. I work the late shift tomorrow and early on Saturday. I am hoping to get a bit of work done tomorrow before work. That remains to be seen. Sunday is a rough day for me as I will be tired but I will push on to get things done.
Until the next time.............................

House Cleaning Continues

After a couple of days of sunshine and clear skies, the wind blew and the smoke came back. Not as thick as before but still enough to affect people. Cooler mornings are allowing us to go out and do a few things.

Lifestyle

We were outside this morning cleaning up the front of the house. The house has been swept off, porch hosed down, and the basement stairwell cleaned up. We ended up our outside time pulling some weeds. A great time outside for both of us.
Inside the house, I cleaned the second bedroom and a small hall in the basement. That included putting our pictures in a box until we decide what to do. While I was doing that, the Spousal Unit did a bit of work in the laundry room and I can now finish cleaning it up. It was a job well done for both of us.
I washed some cottons and while they were drying, I ironed some cotton I had washed a while ago. It is all folded up and ready to be put away.
At this point, we had a headboard, four boxes and a tub full of comic books. We put them in the Explorer and took them to a thrift shop. I am happy it is all gone as it was stressing me out being in the area I had to clean up next.
In all it was a good day. Tomorrow, it is grocery shopping, laundry and cleaning the upstairs. It will be nice to have the house clean when I go back to work. While working, I will put together a game plan for the sewing room.
Until the next time...........................

A Few Clear Sky Hours

Yesterday we saw the sun, the hills, and the planes landing at 9 p.m. The smoke left at 4 p.m. and, with the sun, came a hot day. It got to 36.4C or 97.5F. This morning, there is some smoke once again in our valley due to fires both to the east and north west of us. Not like before but it could thicken up during the day.

Lifestyle

With days and days (about 5 weeks) of smoke, we lived in a 1 km or 5/8 mile bubble of visibility. It was gloomy and we had to have lights on all day. People not only complained about respiratory issues, they complained about their SAD. It hit me Wednesday like a ton of bricks. Out came my lamp and I took more Vitamin C and D.
We have been busy cleaning up the house. We are working in the basement apartment and have done quite a bit. The rooms that are done are empty except for some items I have stored in the closets. Those items will be examined and dealt with.
As we clean up, we are replacing all the light bulbs with LED bulbs. It was a goal of ours and it will be done soon. With cleaning came light repairs which causes the air to turn blue. We aren't good at changing out light fixtures.
Outside, we are sweeping down cobwebs, sanding to paint and cleaning up the yard. We want to get some work done as it is keeping us active and feeling better mentally. Less smoke in the air means we can work outside and get some jobs we wanted to do done. We are behind in that department.

Sewing

I have done no sewing and no tidying up in the sewing area. I am getting closer to tackling it. Another space that needs to be looked at and thought out. It works but it certainly gets messy in a hurry.
The store has a new thread in and I am planning on getting some. It is designed for active wear. I'll report on it when I do an outfit for the dolls using the thread. The dolls want a t-shirt and capris out of active wear fabric in a bright and cheerful color.

Today

I am off work today and will tackle the second bedroom in the basement. It probably won't get finished but I'd like to get some of it done. If I have time, I need to get items into boxes to go to the thrift store.
Until the next time.............................

Life Goes On Admist the Smoke

Another smoky day in our neck of the woods. The air quality hasn't been as bad as it was last week. We are sitting at a 9/10 at 5 a.m. this morning.
The Elephant Hill fire is now at 110 000 hectares. The wind we had on Friday made it take off and it has started coming east towards Kamloops. We are still safe though many others are evacuated. Daughter had to move her horses once again due to the fire's direction. We do not need any more wind to stir up the fire and set it off again.   
Our temperatures have been in the low 30C (88-92F) and everything is growing well.

Our little peach tree is doing well and we will be eating fruit soon. The watermelons are almost ripe. With the temperatures where they are, everything is growing fast.
The upstairs of the house is now clean and I am ready to work in the basement. It isn't dirty but more dusty. I am hoping to have it done in two weeks. One early morning will be outside cleaning up the front entrance of the basement suite. Then it will be inside.
The yard still needs some tidying up. I am thinking early mornings to do a bit and then indoors. We did the big weeds at the edge of the lawn one morning and got it done before it got too warm and smoky. It all comes down to planning.
Elliott has a new toy and is thoroughly enjoying it. He goes inside it once in a while but he spends most of his time beating up the outside.

He still loves to help me knit.

And his favourite past time activity is to sleep in our chairs.

Sewing is on the back burner until the house is clean. It will happen again as I have the urge to sew.
Until the next time..........................

Missing In The Smoke

Am I missing?
I could be.
It wouldn't be hard.
The smoke from the wildfires is so thick, we have had visibility as low as 1 km. That is 5/8 mile.
Can't see the hills around us most of the day.
No planes in or out and the bombers weren't allowed to fly for parts of the day.
The air quality has been as high as 49/10.
That's right 49/10.
No outdoor activities.
Unless you go to Sun Peaks where the air quality is great.
If you have to work outdoors, you wear a face mask and you are inside after x minutes outdoors.
No mail service as the post people can't be outside.
Many people (me included) have had reactions to the smoke; eyes and nose running, throat sore and dry, and some shortness of breath when outside.
So thanks to lightening strikes, badly done back fires, arsonists, and carelessness, BC has

123

Wildfires currently burning

868

Wildfires since April 1, 2017

498,098

Hectares burned since April 1, 2017

I've had my bottle of water so back to bed. It will be a day off when I get up.

One full of smoke so more housework will be done.

Looking forward to the day there is no more smoke.

Until the next time...........................