When it rains, it pours

Where's summer? While the rest of the country sizzles, the cooler than normal trend drags on here.  Of course, that's fine and dandy with most Pacific Northwest natives, but some of us like a bit of summer that feels like-- well, summer.  There's no indication this persistently chilly, grey weather will end soon.  We have the big, cold Pacific ocean to thank for the natural air conditioning.

I was thinking about this the other day: incredible as it seems, not a single person has been inside our house (except us) since the Christmas holidays.  That's about to change.  Today we're having a new washer and dryer delivered, bought online from Home Depot, sight unseen.  What a world.

Unfortunately, hot water won't be at our fingertips again until next Monday, the earliest delivery date for the special gas water heater to fit in the special space in our special old house. (Special=expensive.)

So the dishes get washed the old-fashioned way, and I use the biggest pots in the house to heat water on the kitchen stove for "personal hygiene," meaning one shallow, coolish bath a day. But we're managing fine. Just makes you appreciate the taken-for-granted conveniences all the more when you finally get them back. 

Closer to heaven

Amanda sent these lovely pictures from their 13-mile backpack trip in the North Cascades this weekend.  Gives new meaning to the phrase "above it all."

Back down here on earth, no good news. It's a cold water morning in Seattle-- our water heater went out last night and leaked all over the laundry room floor.

Mater Magic

When I bought my tomato starts at Home Depot, this container of fertilizer somehow fell in the cart. The cute name and package responsible for the $6.99 impulse purchase. 


Expensive, but the stuff sure worked. The Roma and cherry are already covered in flowers and little tomatoes. It hasn't even been that warm a summer, but they thrive along the sunny south side of the house in big pots. 

What a strange holiday weekend.  It felt like half the country was out doing what they darn well pleased, while the other half stayed home. We were in the latter group, of course.

There's a kindergarten-like feeling of resentment that comes from following the "rules" while others ignore them.  Just human nature, I suppose. It's happening in other places, but America is certainly leading the charge on how NOT to manage a pandemic. The rising numbers are truly frightening. Have all the sacrifices of the past four months been for nothing?

We had great food this weekend, the best consolation for being stuck at home. Sirloin steak with corn on the cob, grilled hot peppers on the 4th.

And enough meat leftover for even more delicious taco dinner last night, with homemade black beans.

I could eat this again right now for breakfast.

Don't worry, be happy

Nova, showing off one of her crafting creations.

Maya and "Basil"

Maya and "Hey Hey"

Happy hens...

And a resigned-looking "Nica," playing party with her little girl masters. And then taking five with "Millie" the cat.

What to say

Looking back on my humble magnum opus (11 years of almost daily blogging) I've rarely been at a loss on what to write, especially since no subject is too trivial for Feathers and Flowers. Ha!

But the sameness of these pandemic days, as the months drag on, challenges even the most disciplined bloggers.

So I'll spare you another gloomy weather report, and try to find something useful to do with myself,  other than stare at a computer screen. 

July

A new summer month. The medieval Book of Hours July calendar painting shows harvesting and sheep shearing near the massive Château du Clain in Poitiers, France. You can lose yourself in the details. What's going on? And why is that "peasant" wearing a rich, blue robe for such hot, dirty work?

Here's an old English proverb:

If the first of July be rainy weather, 
it will rain, more or less,
for four weeks together.

Oh, goody. Yet another grey morning in Seattle, with a chance of rain and the furnace running. 

On a happier note, July is:

National Blueberry Month

National Anti-Boredom Month

Unlucky Month for weddings

National Cell Phone Courtesy Month

National Hot Dog Month

National Ice Cream Month

National Picnic Month