Toronto heatwave

Congrats to Lissa and Phil on the birth of their baby daughter, Amy! Hopefully it's cooler in Gravesend than it is in Toronto right now.

I am not a hot weather person.

I don't like lying on the beach, baking and sweating. I like sunshine, but not when it's beating down on my head and shoulders like a hundred smothering steaming pounds of boiled cotton. The heatwave-hating part of me feels like lying down in the middle of the sidewalk with my arms outstretched, gasping for air like a hooked fish, blinking sweat out of my eyes.

There's a heat wave in Toronto right now. Another reason I don't like heat waves in the city is because they inevitably come with a smog alert. The horizon is hazy and sometimes tinged with yellow, and I imagine my lungs recoiling in horror.

Postcard from Reb for my collection. She took this photo herself.

I still go for my walks outside, but they are longer and a slower pace. I don't run in this heat; I'd end up in hooked fish mode (see above) for sure.

A SURVEY:
Are you a hot weather person?
Also: do you have air conditioning?

Our new place has air conditioning, but the contractors have advised us not to turn it on yet because it will get filled with drywall dust.

Postcard from Lyanne for my collection.

My new home office is now laid with DriCore subflooring over the concrete, and new carpet. I bought some acrylic paints from Curry's Art Store on Queen to add a bit of colour to the off-white paint (christened "Invisible Rose In Winter", though Judith H. has pointed out: "Your office paint is exactly the colour of the Cranesbill that's just losing it's blossoms. White with the tiniest hint of pink. So, you could also call it 'wild geranium blossom.'")

I've discovered I have to repaint my office door; the paint is already peeling off! Turns out the old paint is oil-based, which means I should have sanded and primed it first before painting an acrylic base over it. Ah well.

I've decided that when renovations are complete, I want to paint a tree in one corner of my office, beside or behind my reading chair (yes, I want a reading corner). Should be interesting considering I've never painted a tree before and never painted with acrylics before. But I figure HEY, if I hate it, I can always paint over it! I also figure I can work on it gradually, and maybe put interesting things in its branches. Suggestions about what kinds of interesting things welcome. :-)

Speaking of renovations...Because of renovation stuff, cottage time, packing (again! must move out of my mom-in-law's condo), moving, and unpacking PLUS trying to get some writing in as well, my Blatherings posts are likely to be sporadic over the next month. I'll likely keep posting some pics to my Flickr page fairly regularly, though, including more Wacom pad doodles.

Thanks to Lyanne and Reb for sending me postcards for my collection, by the way! If you're inclined to send me one, I'd love to add it to the set. Please send to: Debbie Ridpath Ohi, 34 Eglinton Ave. W., P.O. Box 189, Toronto, ON Canada M4R 2H6. Thanks.

And finally, some more garden pics...

Our daylilies are blooming:


Identified by my pals on YouGrowGirl.com as Spiraea, maybe S. japonica:


One of three Saskatoon berry bushes:


Found out from the YouGrowGirl.com community that our new garden has another rose plant! This one is apparently "Cecile Brunner" aka the Sweetheart Rose:

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