it's been in the 90s more often than not over the last week or so. not that i was too aware of it last week. an infection from my remaining tooth that lost a filling pretty much put me down for most of the week. the doctor gave me amoxicillin and a shot that eased the pain for the one day, and there were no admonishments to go find a dentist. while there were no additional pain killers involved (just a lot of tylenol and/or motrin), the body decided it just didn't want to deal, and i slept through most of last week. i didn't start feeling "normal" until friday or saturday, even though the swelling was going down by wednesday. as a result, i heard about the high temps, but i didn't really experience them. i slept. A LOT.
however, those high temps have heralded in the summer (what? what the heck happened to spring? it like...disappeared....) and the battle cries have been sounded.
for example, there's a delicate balance between "oh my gawd, i'm so hot, turn on the damn cooler!" and "oh my god! how the hell am i going to pay this bill!". without a spring, and the temps already hitting the 90s, we're already heading into the latter territory. while i'm still trying to figure out how to finish paying off the winter nightmare, btw. it's only going to get hotter from here. i am so not looking forward to the summer bills.
really, this could have waited until next year when saxy could work full time and the payments would be just a little easier. :P
then there's the other battle: the battle against the fleas. for the last couple of years. fleas have been a nightmare. i mean, we've seriously been overrun with them. the cold winter was nice because anything still hanging out was killed by the cold. unfortunately, there were still eggs, and with five cats and a dog, the population explosion was inevitable. we've been unable to fight them at all in recent years because of the cost of effective medications. at $40 a pop for one box, and with us needing three different boxes (one for the dog, one for 9 pound plus cats, and one for the less than 9 pound cats), the cost has been prohibitive for awhile now. the cats in particular were looking like scruffy ragamuffins who were also losing their hair on their butts and bellies.
then saxy's dad sold saxy's old car and gave us all the money. now, granted, this money could have gone to a lot of other things—a school payment, food, a bill (heck, we could have restored the cable with it)—but the cats were miserable. since it was a windfall, we went ahead and put it into cats meds and car repairs.
and today we sounded the opening volley in the flea battle: they all got baths. one at a time. each in fresh water. to say none of them were impressed would be an understatement (in fact, the talkative ones have stopped talking to us). but they all are minus a load of fleas. thursday or friday, they get the first dose of the advantage medication that we've found to be the most effective. between now and then and a few days after, whole house vacuuming. and we've begun the laundry: all the blankets, sheets, towels, anything a cat has had contact with, is being washed. this is increasing the pool in my living room, but it has to be done. hopefully we can keep the flea population down for the next few months. i was only able to buy enough of the advantage for the next 2 months, but we have plenty of shampoo left. the downside to it (other than some very pissed off felines) is that it has to be used every week to be effective. i'd like to say that the next month, with saxy's increased availability for the job, will give us an opportunity to get more, but i still have to come up with that $200 arts institute payment, so it's unlikely.
the last battle will be personal for me. with the heat versus cooler battle going on, and the cooler generally not effective in the afternoons and early evenings (you know, no insulation to keep that cool air actually in the house), it's going to be harder to convince myself to be more active. and i've hit a plateau weight wise, so i definitely need more activity. and there will be ice cream calling, also demanding more activity. this year has been such a bear weight loss wise that i'd be happy to lose any weight and actually keep it off this summer. and to be honest, between the weather being pushed at us from the northwest and the hurricane fall off we're certain to get, the headaches are going to make it even more difficult, so any loss will be pretty close to a miracle.
summer really isn't our favorite time of year. it's too hot, too humid, too buggy (i won't even go into the explosion in the roach, mosquito, and ant population recently), and too full of stuff we'd much rather avoid than have to fight. just like everything else, we just have to make it through, battles and all.
~*~
word of the moment: shedrow
a row or double row of horse barns at a racetrack, having a separate stall for each horse and fronting a walkway.
