TURN IT DOWN!

The heat continued to rise.  Although it said it would only, only get to 102, it reached 105.  I was very much alone by the pool for most of the day, although as I was about to leave, my new neighbour arrived with his in laws, and a handful of kids.  I looked up from my book and did not recognise him at first, but then I heard the rather broad (of which they say they have lost most) Scottish brogue, and knew from whom it came!  I went over and introduced myself and a conversation ensued.  It was lovely to hear the accent and rather amusing that my next door neighbour, despite being born and bred in Texas is, in fact, one hundred percent British!  Of course, I may be struck down for using the term 'British', as the proud nation of Scots refer to themselves as Scottish, whereas the English are usually deemed callous if they do not consider themselves British!  However, one way or another, we hail from the same land mass, and that is good enough for me!

After bidding farewell to my neighbours, (now neighbours in more ways than one,) I returned home.  I very nearly collided with Fiona on the stairs and told her that I had just met her parents, and not for the first time did I detect a very slight Caledonian brogue in her rather broad Texas accent.  I was a happy camper, albeit a very hot happy camper!

Monday was a holiday.  Of course, Monday was not just a holiday.  It was the longest day of the year, (or shortest, depending on your local hempisphere,) and on Tuesday, the annual joke was being thrown around with abandonment!  "Nights are drawing in, now", my daughter and I repeated.  "Days are shorter", said Grant, to an audience who were not privy to our rather bizarre sense of humour.  My father repeated this every year, and I smiled at the fact that a legacy had been started! My daughter has not let any slip, and perhaps this will be carried down to another generation!

Back to Monday.  Monday saw no relief to the heat, although it did drop a couple of degrees.  The day itself was a Bank holiday. At this point, I would ask you not to shoot the messenger, as my information was gleaned from others regarding whether it was a 'day off'.  Many were not sure whether the day itself, (19th June) was to be 'rolled over' and a day in lieu be taken as the holiday.  Obviously, as the banks were closed on Monday, and there was no mail, one would be inclined to consider it to be taken as a day in lieu, but we were informed that many places, State and private, were open and accepting service of process.  Although I had heard of 'Juneteenth" for many years, since living here, I was unsure as to its real meaning, but was told that it is actually the date (19th June) when a couple of thousand Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas and made the announcement that more that a quarter of a million enslaved people were free by order of executive decree.  The decree had actually been announced some two years earlier, by Abraham Lincoln, but the news took a long time to get to everyone!  The name 'Juneteenth' is the joining of June and nineteenth.  It would appear that the holiday itself was recognised by less than half the states in the Union, but last year it was officially made into a holiday.  However, like Columbus Day, where there is no mail and the banks are closed, many places were open.  We were unsure as to whether it would be worth us going to work, but work was coming in so we went to work.

Around lunchtime, everything stopped.  Dana sent us all home, with himself staying in case of emergencies.  He thought that we should benefit from at least half a day's holiday, as next year the date will actually fall on a Monday, and it will not be an 'is it, isn't it' a day off in lieu.  However, he did not take into consideration the 'usual' Monday pattern, which has emerged recently, and that is the slow down of work between the hours of eleven and two, and then the trickle before three just in front of the assault afterwards!  He was very busy!

I came home and got to work on the wardrobe.  This time, I really did need two people!  I found it virtually impossible to fit the side panel on to the rest of the structure as it was too long and too wide.  However, where there is a will there is a way, and eventually, with a lot of pushing and shoving, I managed to get it fixed!  I huffed, and puffed, and puffed and huffed, and although I could have probably blown the rest of the house down, I did get the wardrobe up and into place.  It was not the last piece of additional furniture I had to fix, but I am nearly there!

Dana arrived home sometime after I had gone for my swim.  I finally gave up hauling, around five and took a break.  I had intended to read, but another neighbour came down and we chatted about 'this and that'. She had been to work.  She knew all about the holiday, but said her offices were open.  Next year she will have a day off! I was just relieved that I had accomplished the task I had set out to complete! I would have liked to have read some more of my book, but I thought one out of two aint bad!

Despite the promise of rain, not a drop arrived.  Apparently, one or two places received a drop, but it was just drops.  They probably evaporated before hitting the ground! The hundreds just kept on rolling! The crepe myrtles kept on crying!  I gathered in a pot full of tomatoes, and noticed the abundance of green fruit on the trees, wondering how long, in this heat, they would take to turn red.  Not long I thought.  

There were no impromptu visits to Ikea this week, and it was probably just as well.  Everyone was moving rather slowly, and the neighbouring office staff were asking other occupants whether they knew if the post had arrived, save them wasting a trip to the box!  "Has it arrived, today", asked the lady in the attorneys office.  I replied in the negative, and said I would let her know when it did.  My office faces the car park so I sometimes see, or hear the electric cart go by.  

By the end of the week, we were ready to aestivate!  My neighbour had been telling me that she was exhausted, and could not think why. She had been working from home and just felt drained.  Not being a lady of science, but willing to put my reputation as an educated woman on the line, I asked if she had been outside at all.  "Of course, I had to walk the dog", she responded.  I smiled, and looked as brilliant as I could muster.  "You know when you come from the cold to the warm, in the winter, and you just want to sleep?  Well the summer is the opposite.  You come from the heat to the cool, and it 'knocks you out', so to speak".  She thought about it and perceived that I had a point.  I did not crow!  I merely sat there thinking, "I can use this again!" To Hibernate or to Aestivate!  As the nights are now drawing in, one should look to the former!  Am I the only one having fun here?  Probably!

Saturday rolled around, and the promise of rain was once again announced, albeit for next week.  Samantha and I shopped and dropped!  Once again, a century exact would have been quite acceptable.  I took my book and my Dollar Tree frog, and floated for sometime.  I was aiming to finish the book, once again, but I got interrupted, and once alone again, I fell asleep for a few minutes.  

My garden is growing, but looks a little forlorn.  I made a few adjustments and moved some things around, in the hope that shadows around some would be moved and they would get the sun.  I am not sure how much sun onions need!  I have to remember that an onion in Texas is not the same as an onion in Hertfordshire!  Apart from everything being bigger in Texas, there is the temperature to consider. Where as shade is permissible for one region, it does not equate to another!

Satisfied with my reorganisation, I returned inside before I fainted.  Getting up too quickly is not always a good thing!  Doing it in the heat almost had me on the floor!  "Wear a hat" I heard myself saying! I did not think I would be outside for so long!  

After a lovely dinner, Dana and I sat and watched a movie.  The day's events took their toll and I passed out before the end!  However, I must have seen a good portion as my dreams were full of things that related to the film!  

Once again, the weekend is almost over.  Once again, I hear my father's voice on a Sunday morning, telling my mother that his weekend was over, and her saying that they had a full day before it was so.  He would do it every week, and every week she would react in the same way.  I know he was joking, and I think she was too! Once again, the weekend is almost over, and I am wondering whether to stay inside or brave the heat.  I think I know the answer as I want to finish my book!  I have a new one lined up and ready to go, but whether I finish today or not, could prove to be ........... another story!