Hotter than Blue Blazes

When I was a kid my Grandma Frankie used to say it was, "Hotter than Blue Blazes!"  I remember not knowing what it meant exactly, but that it sure was hot!  Well it sure is hot here!  Since the mid-west is locked in the middle of a week-long heat wave I thought I would let you know how you might know it's hot.

You Know It's Hot When:

The dogs are laying in the shade having done nothing but are panting like they just ran a mile!

The chocolate chips in your pantry, (which is supposed to be one of the cooler parts of the house), look normal but when you touch them they are a melted mess!

The littles children strip and run to the kiddie pool, and just lay there and don't move.

The Amish buggies don't zip by at their normal jaunty pace, but slowly clip-clop with the horses bathed in sweat.

The children complain that the pond is no longer refreshing, it feels like bath water!

You look for any reason to get in the van, to go anywhere, as long as the AC is on!


Things around here are pretty humid too, if you can't tell if you live in a humid area, some of these might help you.

You Know It's Humid When:

Your corn chips don't crisply crunch, they bend.

Your pasta can be eaten right out of the bag, as it is chewy, no cooking necessary!

Your toilet paper comes "pre-moistened".

You get out of the shower and dry off, but you still feel wet, so you dry off again, but you still feel wet, so you dry off again, but you still feel wet, so........................

You can't remember the last time you used lip balm or lotion, besides if you did it would mix with the liters of sweat pouring off of you and it would just slide away.

Your clothes, despite being on the line at 95 degrees for 3 days are still damp.

You swatted some flies forgot to sweep them up, they molded!
Ok, well I won't get started on the mold, this desert raised girl simply doesn't know what to do with it, where does it all come from?  UGGHH!!


So keep cool no matter where you are, sit in shade, or in the house if you have AC, drink some sweet tea and remember,
This is the Day that the Lord has made, I WILL rejoice and be glad in it!!!!

Weather Or Not?

 Storm clouds gathering over the farm at sunset.

Since we have transplanted ourselves from the high dessert of New Mexico to the lush green valleys of Northeast Missouri, we have had several weather experiences.  From nights spent in the basement for fear of tornado's, to days so hot (110 heat index) that all you want to do is lay rather unlady-like in the kiddie pool.

Just this Tuesday all 8 children and myself were in Wal-Mart, my least favorite place to be, when the employees began rounding us up shouting, "Get to the Back Wall, Quickly---Tornado Warning!!"  If that doesn't put a damper on your shopping trip I don't know what would!  I just kept thinking, I hate Wal-mart what am I doing here?  The last thing I want to do is pick my way out of a bunch of imported from China junk!  But it was just a warning and after about 20 minutes they said it was "all clear" and we could continue our shopping.   We promptly went home.

We have no electricity so of course no AC, my but does it get hot here!  Last summer we turned off our AC and lived au natural, it wasn't too bad.  The thing is in NM it may be 95 during the day but it cools down to a nice 55 or so at night.  It doesn't do that here.......um no!  It heats up to 95, then there is the humidity which makes it "feel like" 110, no breeze and you sit and roast, until about 2am when it s l o w l y cools down to 78!  Yup hot here!  If there is a breeze it really isn't too bad, but if it's like it was this last weekend, no breeze and ungodly hot, your just miserable!  I keep telling myself it's the price you pay for green.  Everything grows here and fast, it really is lovely.

My favorite weather here is the thunderstorms!  They are great, the lightening goes on and on and the wind blows hard and the rain falls like it's being shot out of the sky!  I love it!  We have lost 2 trees and half the woodshed wall and the outhouse blew over, (not a fun clean up job!), but the storms are still very exciting!
I know call me crazy but I have always loved inclement weather!

Our garden has become a victim of the Amazing Missouri Grass, I have never seen anything grow like the grass here.  The tomatoes are buried somewhere in about 3ft of grass, the kind people pay to have put in and then pay to water back in NM!  We have tried weeding and pulling, but when the ground is wet, which it almost always is, you pull up tomato plants when you try to pull grass, all the soil sticks together and up end up up-rooting your vegies!!  So we are at a loss right now as to what to do about it.


Still saving our pennies for an antenna booster, but we have found a milk cow to purchase from our neighbor, so cow first, then booster!!  I can't wait to get that cow, to me it is the epitome of farm life, I have waited years for a milk cow of my very own!  I am beside myself with anticipation!

I just read through my post, I don't want you thinking I don't like it here, quite the opposite I am very, very happy on my farm, such a feeling of contentment here, even in the heat.
We will try to upload some pictures tomorrow when we go into town to do our laundry, Have a blessed day!
Misty


"When I bought my farm, I did not know what a bargain I had in the bluebirds, daffodils and thrushes;as little did I know what sublime mornings and sunsets I was buying."
                                                                                              -Ralph Waldo Emerson