Soledad's Journal

We went through the monthly cleaning frenzy. It took all morning and a bit of early afternoon. But at least it's done for another month. And now I'm half-dead. We had 33 degrees today - again! - which didn't help. Fortunately, Mum was willing to eat leftover apple soup with sandwiches, so I could postpone actual cooking.

We watched some telly in the afternoon and rested a bit. No sleeping, though; I was watching inane YouTube videos. I really have to go cold turkey on them - they are not good for my eyes (I watch them on the iPad) and are a waste of time. Alas, they are also addictive, especially when one is too brain dead for anything else. At least they help keeping my English alive.

I actually planned to take a nap around 6pm - that was when my friend Evie called. When we finished out chat 40 minutes later, I wasn't sleepy anymore. So, more YouTube videos got watched. I really, really need to break the habit!

... and I have overslept, too! Only by twenty minutes, mind you, but enough to make my morning schedule uncomfortably tight.

In any case, I did the grocery shopping (in two different shops), cooked for two days in advance, did a tiny bit of writing (I was too tired to think) and talked to my friend Evie on the phone.

I decided to skip the first choir practice because I'm currently a bit cross with our choir leader (for personal reasons). I watched some telly instead and was generally lazy in the afternoon.

Mum had her weekly PT practice and did the washing up - twice. She says it's easier in small units, and since she insists on doing it, I won't argue.

So... a pretty average day. But that's okay. I've had enough excitement in the recent years to last for the rest of my live.

Doesn't it look lovely?
https://hu.pinterest.com/pin/341640321756043470/

It is made with one grated apple, some fresh, grated ginger, lemon zest and lemon juice. And it tastes great.

Other than labeling and decorating my jars, I spent a couple of hours with transferring saved fanfic stories from my main PC to Methuselah, the geriatric (and no longer internet-capable) laptop with the help of a data stick. That way I can read more comfortably, lying down on my bed, instead of sitting at my desk.

No cooking happened today. I added some chopped Frankfurters to the potato cream soup, which we ate with buttered bread, and had coffee and ice cream for afters. A perfect lunch, now that the weather is heating up again. I'm so fed up with this summer!

Later on, I had a lengthy nap again, then we watched some telly, my friend Evie called, and by the time we ended the call, it was dark outside again. My crafting plans had to be postponed (again) due to the lack of natural light, which is necessary to select the right colours. It's so annoying that by the time it cools down a bit, so that we can open the windows, it's also nearly dark. And we can't switch on the light because of the damned insects; My forearms are covered in insect bites, even so. *sigh*

... because we don't have lives. We have one,symbiotic life that we share.

In any case, there were lots of phone calls today. I finally reached my friend Elise, which isn't an easy thing, as she's a busy, busy person. We exchanged our experiences in eldercare (she has two "patients", plus five grandchildren, so I'm way better off) and our mild frustration about never having a day off. But we both agreed that it could still be much worse, so we won't complain (much).

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As for me. I did a bit of work on my production line. The snowmen now all have the little holly twigs and red berries on their huts, and two of them got their eyes, mouths and buttons stitched on, too. Three more to go, and then I can glue them on to their respective tins.

I also managed to write a bit, which is always a blessing. Perhaps my brain cells have started recovering from the almost-heat-stroke of the recent weeks? Not that it would be particularly cool during daytime. But slightly better than it used to be.

... in the crafting area. Because I'm easily bored, I set the production line aside again and started a brand new pencil holder; one with a Weihnachtswichtel on it. I don't even have an empty tin can for the base - yet. Tomorrow we'll have Erbsengemüse, which means I can empty a can of green peas. Yay!

Other than that, not much happened. I did the grocery shopping in the morning because tomorrow is a national holiday - one of the extremely rare ones when even the grocery shops are closed. We had leftover soup from yesterday and I bought two doughnuts at Lidl, so I didn't have to cook. Temperatures have climbed up to 31 degrees again, and tomorrow will be even worse, so we are doing as little as possible.

My friend Evie called in the early evening. She had her grandsons for two days and is accordingly drained, but she says she enjoyed having them nonetheless, since she simply doesn't have the strength to do any sensible work in the garden. So the boys played in the sandbox instead, turning it into a veritable mud box with the garden hose and loved it. They, too, got hosed down in the end, Evie says; their mother would have gotten a heart attack, had she seen it, but Evie subscribes to the "my house, my rules" principle as well. *g*

I thought we had hit rock bottom last week - well, I was wrong. We had 37 degrees again (28 inside the flat), and we suffer from it more and more with each passing day. Tomorrow we're going to have our monthly cleaning frenzy; I'm filled with dread already. I think I'll need another trip in the air-conditioned tram on the day after.

We were mostly rearranging things for the cleaning today. I did a bit of crafting, but that was basically it. Called my friend Erna in the early evening and we commiserated for a while about the weather, even though she is considerably younger than I am. No-one is made for this weather.

The physiotherapist lady came earlier today. Mum was in the middle of rearranging things and got so confused by the change of her usual schedule that absent-mindedly put everything back to their places after her PT appointment. She was accordingly upset after realizing this, of course.

Oh, and we have a new president now. We listened to his speech; it was intelligent and moderate. He's an internationally acknowledged jurist, after all. It was high time we got someone respectable after the questionable figures we had in recent decades.

She did indeed show up today and brought us two six-packs of mineral water and two six-packs of ginger ale, with the argument that I'm not supposed to lift heavy things. Which is true, but I don't haul entire six-packs home, either. Still, it was lovely from her, and we even had a nice round of conversation afterwards.

It was a busy day, as Saturdays usually are. I went to Lidl early in the morning, to buy yogurt, Butterkekse and some fruit. Oh, and ice-cream! We should never forget the ice-cream! I then filled up Louise the Elder (the washing machine), so that she could work while we were having social life. (Mum gets along with Evie very nicely, too.)

After Evie left, Mum attacked the household books and I did a bit of crafting. Really just a little bit because I felt ridiculously tired. My aging joints can't take this weather, either, although we 'only' had 31 degrees today. Then I made lunch, after which we both rested a bit. And now I'm about to tinker a bit with some twenty-year-old Voyager fanfic that really needs to be revised, finished and posted. Wish me luck.

Last night I woke up three times that I was (almost) literally lying in a puddle. No, I'm still housebroken, don't worry - it was the sweat. I got up, got a quick cat wash, turned over pillows and blanket (both the small, light summer version) so that I wouldn't lie on the wet parts... two hours later, rise and repeat. It is a good thing that our balcony is so very hot at daytime, at least the bedding can be properly dried for the evening - when it will get soaking wet again.

Have I mentioned already how much I hate this summer?

The third time I got up I was so disgusted that I didn't even want to go back to bed. So I got dressed and hopped down to Lidl for some more much-needed soda drinks, milk for the fruit soup (a cold instant one) for lunch and more ice-cream. Our diet is fairly monotonous at the moment.

Not much else got done. It was simply too hot. So I powered up Methuselah the geriatric laptop and read tons of Torchwood fanfic, in the hope that I might get some inspiration for the still unfinished chapter of Sleeping Dragons 5. Alas, it didn't happen, but at least I realized that I still enjoy reading Iantofic. Will do so more in the future. Methuselah is only good for reading in these days, but it is very good for that. Much better than an iPad.

The only bright spot of the day was a nice, long phone call from my young friend and colleague Alex. She's such a funny one; we decided to have a big, shared birthday celebration in autumn, as she'll turn 40 in September and I'll turn 70 in October. No details worked out yet, just an agreement that it will be done.

I did work a bit on my pencil holders-to-be, but run out of thread about five stitches before finishing sewing on the last pine tree appliqué. I simply didn't have the energy to thread the needle again, so it will have to wait until tomorrow. Although if the heat wave really peaks tomorrow, as foretold, I might not even have the strength to make those last few stitches.

... because it is too hot for anything else. Things requiring physical activity - like Mum duty, taking down the dried washing or cooking - had to be done before 10am. After that, we just vegetated.

My friend Elise called around noon and we commiserated a bit about the abysmal weather and the health problems caused by old age. I then took an extended nap (over two hours, actually), and after lunch (around 3pm) we watched some Dr. Pimple Popper and The Repair Shop, and then I worked a bit on my pencil holders-to-be. Activities requiring higher brain functions are on holiday right now. Someone has to, as we haven't been able to do so for the last, oh, seven years or so.

In the evening H. called and there was more commiserating about the weather and our health. At least we can do it while laughing at the whole thing, which is still better than moaning, right?

... despite the fact that I almost finished the prototype of my pencil holders and am fairly content with the design. There'll be photos later.

But yeah... neither Mum nor I had a very good day. We both dreaded the visit at the neighbour's (it wasn't that bad in the end), it was hot, and I hate it when I have to change my pre-meditated schedule on the top of a hat. Yes, I'm getting old and grouchy, how have you guessed? I originally planned to do the grocery shopping today because I have to cook tomorrow, and doing both is just too much when it's 35 degrees and rising. But with two different visits on the same day I just wasn't up to the challenge; and that annoyed me to no end.

At least Evie's visit was lovely. She brought us zucchini and tomatoes from her own garden as well as half a water melon and some plums from the market. I reminded him that no entrance fee is required when she visits us, but she never comes with empty hands, which is unnecessary but very nice of her. So, tomorrow I'll make Mary Berry's panang chicken stir-fry (I hope I remember the name correctly), which requires grated zucchini, red paprika (I replace those with tomatoes since neither of us can eat paprika, although we both like it), ginger and rice. That will feed us for two days; three if I'm lucky. I really won the lottery with Mum; she doesn't mind to eat the same thing for days in a row. Not many old ladies are so accommodating.

Nothing else happened. We've switched to survival mode as temperatures will be steadily rising in the following days and hope for the best.