cucumber sandwiches

 
That's something my mind wants to associate with the very rich: Martha's Vineyard, polo ponies, manicured nails & tailored clothes... but this time of year, with the garden coming on strong, there's nothing better than a fresh cucumber, peeled & sliced onto buttered toast, with a sprinkle of salt on top.

Running barefoot yesterday I seem to have barked a bit of skin off the pad of a toe, but no matter - I'd decided I'd alternate days shod and un-shod.

Yesterday the front porch thermometer read no higher than 84F, and the weather channel gave our humidity as only 64, but here it was miserably hot and muggy all day. One of those days you really don't want to do more than sit under a fan and drink something with lots of ice in it. Nevertheless I did get the litter boxes cleaned, the house swept, dishes washed, hummingbird feeders filled and tomatoes picked.

My list of things I want to accomplish today (crossed off as they get done):

• clean kitchen
  
• take out compost again
  
• fill hummingbird feeders
  
• cook: Wendy's ravioli recipe
  
• bake a loaf or two of bread
  
• pick beans
  
• clean & snap beans
  
• pick broccoli & okra
  
• make bed
  
• dry and put away laundry
  
• weed vegetables
  
• run
  
• weed flowers along fence
  

So... ten pm and that's not so bad, considering the heat - didn't refill the hummer feeders, but there is plenty still out there for them to drink. I do need to take the compost out again, and I meant to get to that, but I forgot... or did I? I weeded half of the worst row - between the beans & onions, and if it doesn't rain early I'll finish that tomorrow. Didn't get to the flowers, though I did pull another sheep sorrel out of the spot the yellow jacket nest is, on my way back from my run.

It sure was hot and muggy today. Supper was good - ravioli casserole, fresh bread, steamed broccoli fresh out of the garden, but we hardly put a dent in it; it's just too hot to eat. Drinking lots of ice water now before bed, and after taking a shower (badly needed after a couple hours in the garden!) I put on a long skirt - much cooler than shorts!

Tomorrow I need to get my unemployment extension application in the mail, and hopefully set in motion the process of enrolling in school. School! Whoa. That's almost as insane as starting to run at my age.