Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Living Underwater, Sort Of

Look, I don't even know what happened to Monday.  There was a good nap in there, though.  And a bunch of driving.  And now? Now we brace ourselves for 90 degrees, a bucketload of humidity, and STILL NO AIR CONDITIONING. We've been lucky in that the temps and humidity have been dropping each night, so we start out in the morning at, oh, 76 degrees in the house, with breathable air.  But it goes downhill from there, as the humidity rises and it becomes ever harder to move or think at a reasonable pace

You know, there is a reason Southerners speak more slowly than people in the northern half of the US.  They just can't make the words travel any more quickly through that moisture-laden Southern air. In fact, there is no real Southern accent - it's just sound distortion due to atmospheric interference.

And...that's our science lesson for today.  I'm sure y'all are feeling vastly reassured about my teaching abilities, vis-a-vis my 6 homeschooled children.

Let us conclude with a picture of my gorgeous rhododendron.


There's an azalea trying to sneak into the picture there, bottom right. Pay it no mind.


Whenever I am having a bad day and feel as though I am getting nothing done, I go outside and give myself credit for not inadvertently slaughtering this beauty. Even before we bought this house, I had admired this rhododendron from afar; and, since we moved here, I have been careful never to even attempt to care for it, lest my black thumb jinx the poor plant. This photo makes it evident that it has thrived under my benign neglect.

Time to go manage climate control here. Also, apparently, some children want to be fed.  Enjoy your day, all you lucky AC-owning people, you!


8 comments:

  1. We bought 2 more 12000 BTU ac last night at costco, installed them and 2 older ones last evening in the 3 bedrooms and family room. I bleached out 2 other old ones this morning and will get the last 2 cleaned out tonight. That is why it is going to be cooler for the next few days after Wednesday, because I, the procrastinator, am finally doing what I swore I would do when we took them out last fall: Clean them all out?

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  2. I am thankful for your benign neglect of that rhodie, and for this brilliant observation: "there is no real Southern accent - it's just sound distortion due to atmospheric interference."

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  3. Actually, as a Southerner, I can attest to the truth of your statement regarding the Southern accent. The more humid it is, the slower we talk and move. Well, some of us anyway. ;-)

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  4. Favorite part: "There's an azalea trying to sneak into the picture there, bottom right. Pay it no mind."

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  5. You live in a townhouse? Are you allowed to have window air conditioners? I think I have an extra one, but won't know until I finish cleaning and installing them all. I'm hoping the one we use in the kitchen still works. It is 13 years old and was not blowing as cold air as I thought it should last summer. Cousins Hubby told me years ago, window ac have a life expectancy of 5 years, so we got our money's worth from that one.

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  6. AnonymousMay 15, 2015

    Yes, that southern humidity has me appreciating a LOT of what y'all do down there.
    And the sneaky azalea. Too cute! That is some impressive rhododendron action, too.

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  7. Hope you got your AC fixed. That is one spectacular rhododendron! I grew up with Blue Peters all along the front of our house in Maryland. You just don't see them like that here in California. And thank you so much for the laugh re Southern accents!

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  8. "sound distortion due to atmospheric interference" - Is that because of Raleigh's diffusion?

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