(Not) Blazing

Today it's supposed to be 89 degrees in my lovely gray area, which sounds hot to me; so the rest of you must be baking? Seriously, the climate is starting to terrify me these days. (along with politics, premature babies, other people's dysfunctional relationships, etc.) I'm in control of none of that; what a not-so wonderful feeling! In baby news though, he's off the IV (cheering!), and is eating through a Binky. When Younger Daughter first told me the latter, I thought that my new grandson was some kind of toothless shark. He chewed through a Binky? It was then explained to me (with a laugh emoji) that no, they were now putting his feeding tube through the Binky so he could get used to the idea of a nipple. I'm cautiously optimistic about Tiny One's progress forward although also pragmatic about the challenges he faces. At times, I absolutely hate my realistic attitude and would prefer mindless positivity. 

Can you tell it's been dry? Many of my neighbors don't believe in lawn watering, but the "flowers" still grow. I'm doing occasional sprinkling to keep the grass semi-alive and am dreading my water bill this month. However, I won't complain about the lack of rain because otherwise our summer weather has been ideal. 

Photo courtesy of JBLM

John and I were driving down the freeway last week during the Thunderbirds air show at our local AFB; being at the right place at the right time, we got to see many of their tricks! Luckily, I wasn't behind the wheel because several maneuvers nearly gave me a heart attack. One time they screamed by low over the freeway and I actually ducked! This morning John is going camping with his Texas granddaughter as well as his younger daughter and her family. I know it would mean a lot to him if I came down for a day/night although being John, he's putting no pressure on me. I'm the one feeling guilty for balking at an hour and 45 minutes on the road. John does SO much for me; am I a selfish person to react this way? To be fair, I've also been spending quite a lot of not quality time on I-5 going to and from Swedish Hospital in Seattle. That's been exhausting and I already haven't been sleeping well. 

Asimov perfectly describes my attitude toward politics these days. What a messed-up country (world) we live in! Sigh. 

Comments

[DougM]

What an awesome photo of those jets--Margaret, in regards to the climate and politics... I feel your pain, truly. We are living in shaky, unsteady times. Enjoyed the update on Tiny Guy, he is sounding like a real trooper. :^)

[Maureen]

Great progress being made by TO! Yes, the weather is ... different. We are nearing a record for rainfall interspersed with hot and humid weather. Luckily it hasn't been too hot, just summer hot. My lawn is quite green and I'm heading out to mow before tomorrow's rain. Your mountain views astound me.

[DrumMajor Linda in Kansas]

Yep, I thought TO was a Baby Shark too, wondering how he got teeth so quickly or if binkys are made thinner these days. Hopefully he'll like some reward now with his binky maneuvering. Cool photo with the planes! Maybe you can hang out with John's clan before they go or after they return. Linda in Kansas

[kayak woman]

Michigan's upper peninsula was not terribly cold today, maybe upper 60s, low 70s, but rained ALL DAY. It was beautiful and we needed it but as various visitors' vacations draw toward an end, I hope we have a decent beach day tomorrow. When I was a kid, Kincheloe AFB (long gone) was 10-15 miles south of our beach and sometimes a B52 would come roaring along low over the trees, out over Lake Superior up to northern Ontario or wherever. I had mixed feelings about this. It was TERRIFYING except that my dad and his brother-in-law, both WWII pilots, got excited and ran outside to watch. Which made me feel a little safer? :-)

[Matt]

Awesome to hear more positive news about the newest littlest guy.
Hopefully, he will be home soon.
Enjoy being in the only part of the country not melting.
We are roasting.
I had to play a softball doubleheader last night at 630 when it was 104.
Not fun and a little too hot.
Love the photo of the Thunderbirds.
Being an Air Force brat, we were fortunate to see them many times.
Take care and that quote is pretty spot on.

[Joanne Noragon]

Good to know TO is a strong fellow with a will to get on with life. He'll have nipple mastered quickly.

[Anne@HeadFullofBooks]

I love your Asimov quote. I was just wondering if law makers have ever read Science Fiction It sure seems like none or few of them have looked into the future and cringed at our prospects.

[sillygirl]

Messed up world is right. I'm just reading Empress of the Nile by Lynne Olson - about Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt - Egyptologist and there is some history of Egypt. People have always been messing up the world. I think their early calmer times were because they were all one people. Now it seems we can't see how we are all the same, only different.

[Susan]

TO is making good progress. The Binky story made me laugh. I can understand your not wanting to go camping while TO is still in the hospital. The Thunderbirds are amazing but their precision flying combined with breaking the sound barrier is quite scary. It is definitely the unknowns of the future that can be unnerving. Living one day at a time seems helpful...sometimes.

[Tonya]

It seems to me (possibly ignorantly) that the Tiny Guy's small placenta still managed to make him robust for a preemie, so perhaps all will be OK? Have there been tests or signs that might indicate otherwise? I hate to see you worrying, but I realize there are a lot of unknowns and you can only wait and see. Which yes, is worrying.

The Asimov quote makes me think of John's grandparents, who were educated/professional Germans in the late 1920s. They saw the writing on the wall with Hitler's rise (which was longer than many people realize) and escaped to the U.S. as they were deemed "politically unreliable" and did not align with Nazi ideals. The educated faced dismissal from their positions, censorship, and persecution. It all sounds so familiar and people aren't paying close enough attention to the warnings. Just TODAY in Florida, republicans are working to "change" the U.S. History curriculum for middle schoolers that slaves learned skills that benefited them. 🤬

[AC]

That encounter with the Thunderbirds must have been such a highlight. Serendipitous surprises can be that way. Along time ago, when I was a boy, Canada’s flying team was called Thunderbirds. I don’t know what name is used at present.

We are among the non-waterers. We didn’t used to be but figure that the green always returns eventually. We do water gardens, but lately we could be ding better. However, we are having quite a rain last night and this Friday morning.

[Robin]

Hi Margaret, 89° is hot to me too! We have an awful lot of humidity where we are. The base temps might not be bad but when you factor in the humidity….blah! For once lawns are not brown here. Our lawn is the best it has been in years and we haven’t watered once. For ten of Chuck’s thirty one years in the military we lived in a house on the Base. We had air shows every day!😆Judging by what you have said about John I think he would understand that you might not be eager to drive that distance. Yay to Tiny One! Glad to hear he is doing better. The state of the world now….our Prime Minister was in a town not far from us yesterday. He was to have a walk around and visit with people but was shouted (and cursed) down by protesters. Same thing happened to him a couple days previously in Ottawa. Times have changed.😔
Have a good weekend.❤️

[Ally Bean]

I agree with Asimov. Sad to say that though. Our temps have come down into the 80s this week after last week's heat and humidity. What I don't like is the wildfire smoke from Canada, that unnerves me more than the heat.

[Zazzy]

I'm in favor of mindless positivity, though I don't think I've ever achieved it. Cautiously optimistic is pretty good and I'm very glad to hear the newest grandbaby is making progress. Next thing you know, he'll be home.

We had a break in our weather with some lovely rain, finally. We had 66 in the early afternoon and a high of only 75. The excessive heat returns tomorrow.

Take care of you.