almost august.

i get up early whether i intend to or not. it's a good thing i'm a morning person. i prepared myself some oatmeal and opened the back door to enjoy my breakfast on the stoop. the air was very cool, i had to grab a sweater.. i live for this weather. the smell of the air took me back to the east coast, the misty cool morning freshness. i could smell the garden from the step, especially the dill. even the oatmeal with the blueberries in it reminded me of the coast..

i love our back yard. we're pretty central in the city but out there, it feels like i'm anywhere i can imagine. it's like an escape from the urban grind. i don't know what i'd do without it, certainly not enjoy my life to the degree that i do. anyways, i'm glad it's finally cooling off. august is my favourite month of the summer because the sun is still warm, the lakes are perfect swimming temperature [if you can find one clean enough] and the mornings are cool enough for a hoodie. almost makes me miss working afternoons so that i could soak up the morning light. now is good enough, lest i forget to enjoy it...

so much to do..

hiding from the heat can sometimes be inconvenient, especially when it comes to enjoying the summer. well planned mini vacations are absolutely key for my survival of the summer. i work days luckily, so during the week it's still 'cool' in the morning when i leave for work, and in the heat of the day i get to retreat to my underground nest. every other weekend i catch up on chores, but the odd weekends i like to escape.

my mini vacations mostly consist of traveling to the KW region to visit my best friend at Jenny's Cove. it's like a little cottage and garden nook in the sky, uber relaxing and a nice foliage filtered view of the sunset. we love to go to the nearby quarry to float around in the lake, we smartened up this time and didn't even leave for the place until after four to make sure we had already missed the most intense hours of sun.we do our best to pack as many mini adventures into our weekend as we can, mixed with relaxation and a few productive tasks.

back at home there's always lots to do even if i can't get out in the heat. there's so much going on to write about, and another addiction to contribute to; reading. chillin' in the basement encourages me to hang out in our common room/library and pull out a good [educational] book. i've been on a self-education kick for a while now, i currently have books on the go about permaculture, and nutrition science.

early in the morning on my weekends and in the evenings during the week, i get to sneak out to the garden to enjoy it's freshness, and check on the up and coming bounty. i can't help but feel calm and at home when i'm out in the yard, and it's a big reason why i love this place so much. as cozy as our hobbit hole is, i don't think it would have the same appeal without the benefit of a huge yard.

besides reading and writing, i've taken some time to go through our storage room and sort through a few boxes and totes. i rediscovered a small pile of art supplies, paint and canvasses and unfinished projects. if this heat wave lasts any longer i may have to break into the crafting stash that i usually save for the winter and create something!

midsummer heat-struck

yea, it's hot out there.. but i suppose we have had hotter summers. i'm super prone to heat stroke.. when i was younger i was on some medication that made me sensitive to the sun to the point of hives, and one day of course i had to push it, had a horrible reaction and heat stroke to boot. it's been years since i've been on the medication but i still get a little itchy if i'm in the sun too long, and the heat stroke [my own silly fault] likes to creep up on me too. so it's imperative that i'm very careful in the summer months.

the past few years i had fallen into a great depression from the month of june through till mid september. i couldn't handle going out in the heat which made me frustrated, angry even.. no hikes or  camping trips for me. and i love to be outside! how upsetting. now that i'm getting older i have had to come to terms with this sensitivity and do all that i can to work around it so that i can still enjoy my life through the heat.

i think one of the things that really helped me to get through so far this year was getting over my fear of being below ground level and moving into a basement apartment. we have had to battle dampness with dehumidifiers, and a lot of cleaning and organizing to make it liveable, but it's ours, and it's nice [now]. i can't believe i was so unwilling to leave the old place at first, with a huge bedroom and giant windows, but being second story with no tree cover made for an unsleepably hot room.

 it's a lot easier here, though it does get warmish, it's easy to beat with a fan and a handful of freezies. we beat the heat by staying inside for the afternoon sun and enjoying movies, books, video games [..matt] and sorting through our many collectibles and crafting materials.. someday we will get though it all. the mornings are nice out back as we have the shade of the tree for most of the morning. i work days so unfortunately i only get to enjoy the mornings a couple days a week, but the evenings are nice as well. once it's an hour before sunset, we can go tend the garden, and prepare to have a fire.

hikes and camping will just have to wait for the fall. autumn is the best time to be out anyways, cooler nights, a lot less bugs if any, and beautiful colours to enjoy on the hike out. that and if you go earlier enough, lakes and oceans are still plenty warm enough to swim all september. speaking of which, we have a road trip coming up the first week of september to the east coast, and i'm horribly excited...