OH, THE HUMIDITY!

I stayed inside today because outside is 47% humidity. I don't care that it's 101 degrees. I could work outside in that, but the humidity sucks the life force out of me. Actually, I like working outside in the heat and getting all sweaty and stuff. But, I like to be able to take a good breath while doing it.

I planted golden-yellow Lantana in the front flowerbed on Wednesday. It will look really good when they grow bigger and you can see the flowers better. We needed something that will keep coming back each year and also take the summer heat. You can't beat Lantana for that.

I WATCHED IT

I watched MJ's funeral coverage today. I figured since I'd watched the funerals of Princess Diana, Dale Earnhardt, Ronald Reagan and Harold Taft (weatherman) and probably Elvis, I may as well add MJ to the list. Oh, and watching it was a diversion from Obama taking over the world.

It was a dignified memorial and worth the time spent watching, in my book anyway. The first time I heard the "new era" of Michael Jackson was when "Billie Jean" came out. Julie and I were just pulling into a fast food restaurant on Walnut and we had to sit in the car and listen until the song was over. I've been a fan of MJ's music since then.

He may have been weird and messed up in the head, but he was a music/music video genius.
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This morning I went for a 2 mile walk instead of skating. I don't want to burn myself out on rollerblading. It's too much fun! I'm getting good at it, too.

PAMPERED PEONY

This is my Peony from Mammaw's yard. The weather has been so hot it was about to wilt. When I remembered I had this umbrella, I knew it was the perfect solution to protecting the young plant from heat stroke.


Dixie likes laying in the shade of the flowerbed to survey her domain.


Scooter is too much of a Princess to lay in the grass.

GOTTA LOVE A SMALL CITY PARADE...AND OTHER STUFF

At the graves of my Mammaw and Pappaw Brown.



On CERT duty.


Scooter and I walked down to Miles Road to watch the Sachse 4th of July Parade. It's not much, but it's ours and we enjoy it. Jim was still sleeping hard so I didn't wake him up to go. The parade didn't last 30 minutes, but was fun anyway.

SCOOTER'S SUMMER CUT

"Scooter, you're so pretty. Let me take your picture. Hold still...stay...sit...oh, Scooter, come back here."


Finally, I got a good picture...after 4 tries. She has bows on her ears, but you can't see them. At least she's smiling.

THE HOUSE IS FINISHED!

The house is finished and looks fantastic. Mark complemented me on my color choices. They cleaned up everything, packed their trailer and went on their way to enjoy the rest of their weekend. I'm already enjoying having my back yard free of ladders and stuff.

I read a couple of articles that said between 85% - 100% of the money spent on vinyl siding can be recouped when you sell the home. That's an amazing investment. Anyone who buys this house in the future won't have to worry about painting! Just wash the dirt off.



This is our new back patio light. The light on the front porch is like this one, only hanging.



And the pets like having their yard back, but not the heat.

OK, THAT'S BETTER (UPDATE)

The workers took off the siding and put up the Tyvek, then put the siding back up. Today they hoped to get finished but it's just too hot, especially for the guys who had to be on the roof. They left at 2:00 and will be back in the morning to finish.

I'm so happy with the way the house looks now. I chose some fabulous colors, if I do say so myself. It would have been kind of dull if I hadn't chosen to put the linen color for the eaves, trim and around the windows. I'm glad the trim on the chimney is cobblestone, though.

Something I noticed while doing an inspection after the guys left, and it's not the fault of the contractors, is that we're losing a lot of cold air through the fireplace vent. I made sure the damper was closed. I don't know what we can do about that.
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This is what I meant by 'construction zone'. They try to keep things as neat as possible when they leave and I appreciate that. They'll cart away all the trash when they leave. I got the front yard mowed this morning, but the back will have to wait until all this stuff is gone.




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In other news: I have a lovely bruise from when my rollerblades flew out from under me the other day. No cracked bones, luckily. I think it would be painful if I'd fractured anything. I'm still gung-ho about learning to skate!