reading list

To keep my mind off the damn tea-partiers and the sad state of our country at this time, I have been reading two good books. One is A Covert Affair by Jennet Conant. I adored the movie Julie and Julia, or is it Julia and Julie, anyway this is about Julia Child and her husband Paul Child in the OSS. The book flows. 
And because of my love of penguins, I am reading Noah Strycker's book, Among Penguins, A Bird Man in Antarctica.
It is still crazy hot here in Missouri but if they finally come to an agreement in Washington and the Republicans start acting like they care about our country, I promise I won't complain about the weather anymore. Well, maybe not anymore this summer!

trees

A lot of the trees have brown/dead leaves on their outside branches. My neighbor said the damage was caused by the cicadas. This is a pic from my backyard. Fortunately they have less damage than others that I have seen.  

old ladies disease

My doctor sent me a letter last week telling me that I had osteoporosis. She sent along a little booklet explaining the different medications that were available to me.
 Read it, especially the pages that explain the medications (she had them flagged with a post-it) and then we'll talk.
 I put it in a drawer for a couple of days. And then I decided I was being silly. After all, I know I'm small-boned and I did go through menopause at 45 which is another risk factor.
It's just that I think of this as an old ladies disease and if I have it then that means I must be...an old lady.
 I'll suck it up and take the once-a-week medication but I'm not telling anybody about it. I'm really surprised I'm telling you! 

taking a break

I'm not walking my usual five miles every day. I'm not walking at all. I've decided that walking outside in this heat and humidity is just too hard on my body and for some reason I can't get excited or motivated to get on the downstairs treadmill. I have been doing lots of stretching/joga poses and lifting weights. I'm going to try for Michelle Obama arms before school starts next month. I have also been restricting my calories somewhat. I know that this can be dangerous if I overdo it but I don't feel as hungry in the summer months so I just don't eat as much. Fruit, vegetables and lots of water; what's not healthy about that? 

beating the heat

I'm listening the the audio version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, all 17 CDs.  And sipping iced coffee!!

flowers

I just came in from watering. This pot which gets fun sun most of the day, till late afternoon, still looks great. The deer got into my roses and they look miserable. It's partly my fault as I did not spray them with deer repellent lately. I always get so lazy when hot weather hits!

oppressive heat

Jesus, ten people have died in Kansas City. Thousands of cattle have died in South Dakota. All over the country people and animals are suffering because of this very dangerous heatwave. Please help those without air-conditioned homes to find their way to a cooling station in a public mall or library. And please lead the cattle and outside pets to find a shady spot, a creek or a pond to help them through this oppressive days. We could all use the gift of a cooling rain shower.