You said it! I was escorting a post-doc around earlier. He said, "You're a native! So what's good/bad about here?" I said, "You're about to experience the bad!" as the doors readied to woosh open. Ever try opening the oven doors and it takes your breath? Keep your face in it for a bit and you might just get the picture. Heavy and hot.

Some say there aint no cure for the summertime blues, but fresh fruit sure can make me feel loads better. Did you git to deciding yet?

If you had no mirror, and no interaction with a different generation, how old would you be? You're not in denial Michael, you are listening to your body telling you it still craves the push and the work. Take care of it, but keep demanding it stand and deliver! People rust if they don't, but mentally and physically.

I went to a reunion last weekend. I was prolly the youngest member of that generational group, having entered into it by marriage. I made mention to one of them I was considering getting some dairy goats. Her response was "not at your age!" rofl. I'm sure she was older than me, and she lives a pretty parallel lifestyle with her gardening, chickens, canning....only I work too and she is retired. She just got rid of her goats. That's how firm age prejudices are stuck in people's heads.

You and I differ in some respects, but both of us pretty much believe in living life to the max. You'll be crawling around the soccer field thirty years from now, just like I'll be crutching my way up and down the isles of the g'house, because we wanna. rofl.

Michael, you retire every night, never give up or things quit working. I remember the humidity and miss the fire flies, only fake ones at Diznoid land here. You know you love the soccer and we would miss your reports.

Boy I hear you. We had 100+-degree temperatures Thursday through Monday & then yesterday it "cooled down" to 99-degrees. The only saving grace is that we haven't had any rain since June 29th (if that could be called a saving grace) so the humidity has only been around 19% instead of it's usual 50 - 60%, so the steam bath effect if not in evidence.

Michael listen to your body. This kind of heat is dangerous.

Don't have to make a decision about the jobs until next week. I will wait to the last minute to decide.

It's not an easy thing to do, best of luck.

Hmmm. Some runnin', a bit of bike ridin', a lap or two of the swimmin' - sounds to me like the makings of a triathlete. :)

Glad to see you're doing well and haven't completely wilted yet.

I have done a few tin man triathlons in the past but that was about 20 years or so ago. Swimming was my strong suit, most times first or second out of the water; biking second and could often maintain position; and the run I usually lost more than a position or two.

Tin Man tri's usually consisted of a half mile swim, a ten mile bike ride and a 10k run.

Yes, I do take precaution in the dog days heat.

Cool! You'd probably totally kick patootie in your age group now!

The Tin Man is sortof a mix of the distance I'm doing this Saturday. 800M swim, 10 mile bike ride, and a 5K run (3.1 miles). On August 30th is an Olympic distance: 1500M swim, 20 mile ride, and a 10K run (6.2 miles). That one I'm a bit worried about. It's a longer one than I've ever done, and I'm more used to flats. This route is hilly. I'll be riding and running hills all of August for sure.

Fortunately for me I'm enjoying a round of cool weather. Mid 70s here now. (A good break from the mid 80s we were having...) And it cools down when it rains.

I don't envy you (all) the heat/humidity combo. I'd melt into a puddle for sure.

I have lived in this heat/humidity my entire life.

Don't know if it's age, 'global warming,' or combination but the last two or three years have been horrible.

I slowly learned to 'adjust.'

Go out early in the morning and late in the evening to garden...a little bit on overcast/rainy days.

Knowing how I love to be outside, Mr. Man bought me this mister-thingie that helps.
It's a water cooler with a fan that sits on top and a mist of water blows out.
I have a LOONNNG extension cord. LOL

Enjoy inside activities in the heat of the day...sewing, scrapbooking, movies, etc.

Wanda, you can get a mister thing that fits on the end of a hose at Lowe's or HD for about $5.98. I have one hooked up on one of my hoses when I'm out working in the garden in the summer. It's a great cool-down & the birds really love it too.

andie,

You'd think as much time as I spend in Lowe's I'd have noticed that.
Thanks for letting me know.
I'll certainly look next time I'm in there.

Here's the mister I now use.

{{gwi:171971}}

Wanda:

That mister is doing wonders for your skin! I wouldn't change a thing! You look a mere fraction of your age!

;o)

P.S. I like that fancy red shovel you're holding... Did you get that at Lowe's too?

My skin nothin'!!

Look at the amount of weight loss!!!!

not to mention the height loss.

Michelle, you are mistaken, if it were Wanda, there would be
glitzy shoes somewhere in the picture.
The girl in the picture is clearly an imposter.

I almost bought it, thinking she had exchanged her big bag
for a big bucket, then I noticed the absence of shoes.

I have a mister but if I used it, the water police would
haul me off to jail. Lord I miss the lake this time of year
with it's abundance of water.
Last year I put the mister in the middle of the garden
pulled up a chair and watched the many hummingbirds shower
and play in the water.

We just got a nice thunderboomer and it brought us a much appreciated shower.

Just joined this site and came upon this forum. My first venture into this, hence the user name. Wish I could share the cool breezes and green rolling hills of the Berkshires in wstern MA with you all.

OMGosh you are all on a roll. I don't mess around with misters. I just turn the garden hose on myself and let it rip. When my g'kids were little, I had one of the largest inflatable pools you could buy and set it up in my perennial shade house. As I worked in the g'houses (can get so hot it won't even register on a standard thermometer) I'd occasionally just run over and throw myself in it. Clothes and all. Also been known to run down to the pond, to put my feet in the cold water and then just sort of let the rest of my body slide in. When I was babysitting with same g'kids, we all did that. What their mother never knew!

Hi latebloomer, I lived in eastern Mass for several years, near Fort Devans and Ayer. Loved it there. You must be in those beautiful mountains we went to alot.

Michael,Hope so much those blues have evaporated. Go out at night and look up at one of our old friends like Antares and know that all is well with our world.
vickie

Latebloomer, welcome & please blow those cooling breezes south!! We're dying down here.

Welcome, Latebloomer. Green rolling hills we've got in this part of WV, but we sure would love some of your cool breezes!

Welcome, latebloomer!

So glad you joined us.

Feel free to jump in any time.

Thanks to all for the welcome. Calliope- you reminded me of summers when I was young and my family would stay at a family homestead my greatgrandfather built when he arrived from Ireland in the 1800s. Closeby was a stream and a small rocked in pool of water. My mom and I would spend hours at the stream when it got hot. Now we have to rush to
the pool club to cool off. I'd rather be at the stream with my Mom. Thanks for the unexpected trip dpwn memory lane. Hope the day has been peaceful for you all. Working in psych for a gazillion years has made me appreciate each day that I survive intact,

Hello latebloomer, a half a century ago I was an exchange student in western MA and later lived for a while in eastern MA. Nice to meet you.
Oakleif, where you stationed in Ft. Devens? My husband is from Leominster and our family is still there. I usually moved there when my DH was stationed in unacompanied places.

Welcome latebloomer! Nice to meet ya! After your description of where you live I wanted to jump on a plane, just to get away from the humidity!

Now don't be shy, jump in on any conversation you want, this is a great group of people!

You all know how to make a girl feel welcome. I am in the process of packing up individual boxes full of cool breezes to send out to all of you. Anneliese, where were you in western MA? We are back in the Berkshires where we started out 40 years ago after living in Taiwan, NJ, and Colorado.It seems we have come full circle.

anneliese, yes we were stationed there. DH was an instructer. Such a beautiful place. We'd go into Nashua NH for shopping and sometimes Boston.I still read the Boston Globe on line. My youngest DD was born there. This a good trip down memory lane.

Lord luv a duck, LB, pack up a cool breeze and send it off
to Georgia and if you have any rain to spare send it on down.
Love your area, it has been awhile since we've been there.

oh! and welcome to the party.

Trust me, we have had enough rain in the last month to share with all. We lived in CO for ten years before we moved back to MA and it has taken 5 years to get used to how green everything is here in the summer.

Latebloomer, I'm curious about something,Have you ever lived in Tenn? Have a great day and talk to you later.
vickie

Latebloomer, I stayed in a little town called Bernardston, Greenfield was the next town.
Oakleif, when were you stationed there? My oldest lives just outside of Nashua.
I'll take a package of cold air too and send you some warm one in return next winter. Thanks a lot.

anne,We were there from 1963 through 1965. We'd only been there a couple of days when JFK was killed, one of the saddest days of my life.
I remember a bridge in Nashua that i thought was beautiful. Can't remember the name of the river.

Hope your oldest loves the area as much as
we did. My DD and i started on a trip up there about 5 years ago, just driving back roads and enjoying America. We got as far as DC where we also had lived a few years and ran out of time and had to come back via interstate.

Forgive us michael, it's always a pleasure to find someone linked to old fondly rememberable times.

Well if anyone has a cool breeze, or a drop of rain, we'd really appreciate it down here. 103 yesterday & predicted to be 105 today. Even my dog doesn't want to go outside. This is just miserable!

oakleif-no- never lived in Tenn.Have visited there and thought it was b beautiful state.Anneliese-Greenfield is about an hour from here and is in such a pretty part of the state. Michael- I have a friend in Al who shared her misery with me over the heat and humidity recently,she spends her day in the pool as often as she can just to get through it. Thankyou all for making me feel welcome.

Sending a big welcome to Latebloomer and thanks for the cooler air brought in with a good thundery deluge of much needed rain. I've been able to turn off AC for the first time in weeks and open doors...still warm but bearable.

So glad you joined us...I'd say you're definitely "a breath of fresh air"...lol josh

Oakleif, the river is the Merrimack. I don't remeber the bridge though, but I was just a couple of times in Nashua.My son realy likes it there, I did too.

you can get a mister thing that fits on the end of a hose at Lowe's........
I have a mister but if I used it, the....police would
haul me off to jail..........
Last year I put the mister in the middle of the garden......
I don't mess around with misters.....

Neither do I. sorry; absolutely couldn't resist.

We have been in the mid-hi 90's for weeks and no rain until at least October. All the garden is cooked, except for the rosemary, lavender, and lemon verbena. We are in a water crisis, as the Sea of Galilee is drying up alarmingly and the whole country is on alert, but most folks can't seem to change their habits willingly. We save the water from the AC and water what's still alive with it. Summer fruits are at their peak, but food prices here have skyrocketed due to agricultural water prices, and we are buying differently. The beach and sea have been full of stinging jellyfish lately, and the humidity is way up. At least it's not bad here on the mountain, much worse in Tel Aviv. We don't go out much, which means I've been reading and napping and just being a slug, which I can get used to very easily. Summeritme blues, you betcha...........Batya