Well; isn't this what we look forward to all winter?

Sixty-eight degrees with 98% humidity! There is a reason people in the south do things more slowly; Minnesota take a hint. What's so important that you must race about like the world is ending tomorrow?

Hearing that these high temps will continue, and very probably be just like this next summer, Bob and I decided that we should replace the small window AC unit servicing the living/dining/kitchen. The ultimate on-line shopper, he'd already researched what was available where and for how much, so early in the morning yesterday Bob ordered a unit twice the size as what came with the house, with a delivery date 8-10 days hence. Deciding to look at the tracking an hour ago, much to our amazement we found that the AC is enroute to our house today. Coming from Horsham PA, just north of Philly, to our house in just over 24 hours. Can you believe it? He ordered a new phone system a few weeks ago, a little box with four handsets in it and it took 6 days and three different carriers to come from Dallas. Go figure.

The whole end wall of our livingroom, which faces W/NW, is windows extending to the 23 ft. vaulted ceiling. The lower section is comprised of 5 windows 32"x72", plus a door with glass in it. Above these five are three windows of the same size, topped by a shorter window at the very top. Although there are blinds across the bottom, the heat gets very intense during the summer and we'd been trying to determine how to deal with this problem with a solution that 1)we could afford, and 2) would allow us to retain the view across the mountain ranges without opening and closing draperies and more blinds. After much discussion, earlier this week we had the three windows covered with a film that blocks the evil rays and keeps the view. Already we can tell the difference in how much heat is kept out, and now we are really looking forward to having the lower windows done in another week.

So, speaking to cooling and heating, earlier this week our propane gas tank was filled, and much to our surprise and delight, it took much, much less than we expected. Two years ago we had a chimney insert installed and put a wood burning stove in the large fireplace in the livingroom. The non-insulated vaulted ceiling is such a heat loss that after our first winter we knew something must be done or we'd go broke paying for propane. (The man we bought from was the manager of one of the propane companies, so he apparently got huge discounts and didn't care about the cost). Now we have a new energy efficient furnace, an efficient woodburning fireplace (both of which gave us tax breaks) and appliances, including a whole house attic fan that works thanks to brother Dean, to keep us cool and comfortable.

The ortho said what I've been doing with my shoulder appears to be working; i.e. gauging my activities by level of discomfort, and that the X-rays yesterday show it to be in place with no damage to my rotator cuff.

We went to the Verona Farmers' Market yesterday and found some wonderful produce. Last night we had our first real tomato of the season, and with his first bite Bob said "whatever we paid for this, it wasn't enough." You know a tomato is really good when you drink the juice off your salad plate. Early this morning he made ratatouille with findings from the market and our own herb garden. Since it always tastes better the next day, we'll enjoy some with a whole roasted chicken done on the grill rotisserie tomorrow night. We stocked up with lots of good things to eat when it is so hot and you don't want to cook. Life is good.