Still Hot, But Not Humid

The magenta spreen lambsquart is back! It returned all on its own, two of them, growing in one of our planters. Not really a surprise since it's an amaranth, which is known as a tenacious weed. But I like it.

We were back up to 92º F (about 33º C) yesterday, similar to the day before. Somehow it didn't feel quite as oppressive, though. Maybe I just got used to the heat. Still, it was the UK's highest-ever May temperature for the second day in a row, and I'm relieved that today we're only getting up to 79º F (or 26º C).

Yesterday's comments about air conditioning were interesting. I think one's comfort with a/c all depends on what you're used to, don't you? In my home state of Florida, where it's not only hot but incredibly humid, a/c is a blessed relief. Walking into an air-conditioned space on a hot summer day is like a religious experience. I don't know how my ancestors ever lived there without it. (And yet they did!) At least here in England the humidity is nothing like that. I checked yesterday and it was somewhere around 32 percent, which is half what it was yesterday in Tampa -- and it can go much higher there.

Anyway, I couldn't get motivated to get on the tube and deal with the urban crush in that kind of heat, so I just stayed home. I sat out on the garden bench in the afternoon and had more watermelon, and read "The Hunting Party," which I've almost finished. It's an entertaining book but I don't think I've ever met a more distasteful cast of characters in my life. I'm kind of hoping they all get murdered.

At one point I looked up at Totoro, hanging in the tree overhead, and admired the green bead that now functions as his bell clapper. I found that bead in the cemetery more than six years ago and wired it to Totoro to replace one that was lost. It has worked out pretty well. Poor Totoro has had quite a dramatic life in our garden.

I also spent part of yesterday arranging for someone to repair Dave's recliner. The other day he pulled the lever on the side of the chair to get it to recline, and the handle broke. This is a crisis. Dave is now unable to recline the chair, which is possibly his favorite place in the entire world. So I communicated with a repair guy and sent him pictures and he said he could do it, but he has yet to schedule his visit. Hopefully it can happen soon.

In the late afternoon, I took a walk. I felt the need for some exercise so I walked up to and around the cemetery and back down through the neighborhood on the other side of the high street. I was proud of myself for getting out and about.

Dave had a concert last night so I was on my own for dinner. I had some leftover chicken, made a martini and watched an "Absolutely Fabulous" movie, "The Last Shout," which I have already seen approximately 600 times. It was a good conclusion to an extremely warm day.