By golly, we made it into another weekend. This one has the makings of being a real pip, though, as there’s a massive heat wave right on our doorstep. As the weekend begins, we do have some clouds and a little fog here and there, but we should be in the 80s before this day is over and the temperatures just might cross 90 tomorrow. The weather gal on TV this morning indicated that a sea breeze along the coast could keep temperatures in the 70s in coastal areas today. And, naturally, that ever present threat of showers, possibly some thunder ones, will remain.
As I mentioned yesterday, my wife was asked to work this Saturday morning at her part time job. When she went to work yesterday, she was asked to do her normal task, which is to maintain the salad bar where she works. But there was a change. She gets Saturday calls frequently to go in long enough to make platters and that was the change for today. Someone apparently forgot this is graduation time which results in parties which require food. Platters. When she went to bed last night, she had 30 of them to make this morning. So she was shifted from the salad bar to platters. Her store only makes platters when they are pre-ordered.
She’ll get home sometime around mid morning. Once she gets home and gets a nap in, we’ll start planning our weekend. Normally by Saturday morning, we have it pretty much figured out, but a combination of her having to work and the potential hot weather will have a major impact on our plans. First, we’ll have to see how tired she ends up being. Because of the shift to an unusual amount of platters, she had to go to work at 4 A.M. instead of the normal 6 A.M.
She’s not the type who can jump out of bed and do the morning routine and head off for work. She wants some “think” time before she leaves, so that means she’s up no later than 2:45. Now that’s early. I stayed in bed. As a result, I would think she’ll be rather tired and naps are in order. At least it’s in a weekend that we probably wouldn’t do much anyway because of the weather and the gas prices.
As we mention just about every weekend, our daughter (DG-Daughter Gator) brings her dog over to our place so she can help her mother in the various gardens and her dog and ours can spend some time romping and playing with each other outside. Both animals are oblivious to the weather out there so the gals take care in making sure they don’t overdo and are safe. There’s always plenty of water around.
This weekend, though, is a little different. Our sensible daughter always puts her mother’s health at the forefront and when there are work days like this one unexpectedly turned out to be, DG frequently makes some excuse to simply stay home. For the last couple of years it was an easy excuse; she simply needed to study. That is now behind her. We’ll have to see what happens today.
Tomorrow is almost already decided. If that forecast for possible 90 degree temperatures comes about, DG will stay home. The dogs are used to summer heat and normally don’t let it get them down, but 90+ degrees for the first time in the season is a little much. Remember, our dogs are Golden Retriever sisters, not exactly short haired dogs. So, unless the weather forecast for tomorrow changes dramatically, we won’t see them.
What we know we won’t be doing this weekend is travelling. The cost of gas will keep our cars parked most of this weekend and we will venture out only if a trip to the grocery store is necessary. And with the price climbing dramatically this weekend, that’s about the way it’s going to be for the summer and beyond. We both have cut way down. In May, she spent less than $30 for her gas and I kept my monthly supply under $25. My wife’s driving was only to and from work and mine was my twice a week trip to my senior fitness class. Neither of these trips will stop, at least for now. And since she works in a grocery store, she can combine the work trip with food shopping. A couple of other trips were necessary, like to the hardware store or other small errands. We did splurge a couple of times with a short trip to a nearby Dairy Queen, which neither of us needed.
A very short switch to a political note: We’ll probably be seeing a plethora of candidate ads this weekend as the Maine Primaries are next Tuesday. I hope you will take just a few moments to look over the records of the various candidates, ask yourselves if you’ve been affected by their votes, and choose candidates for the November general election that will truly reflect the needs of Mainers. And if you see a People’s Veto petition to get the tax increase repeal question on the November ballot, please consider signing it.
The weekend is here and I hope you have a good, safe, happy one. Stay cool and drink plenty of liquids (non-alcoholic) and check on your elderly neighbors. We look forward to returning Monday.
GiM
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