Sunny summer days

We're setting heat records here in Saskatchewan.  My house has no air conditioning, however I haven't found it too uncomfortable.  I open windows at night and get a fan going to get some cooler air in and close everything up tight during the day.  Last night it didn't cool off very much overnight.  My thermostat, which is set in Fahrenheit, said it only cooled down to 74 (23 C); and it's supposed to get up to 34 C (91 F) today.  It does mean that I'm thankful for high ceilings and fans, and that I've adjusted to the sunny south here.  When I first moved south from the NWT, I would have died in these temperatures; now I'm just a little uncomfortable.

My garden is thriving.  I've moved everything from my back deck (which is always in full shade, thanks to the 18 full-grown elms in the back yard) to my front yard, which is generally sunny, but does have some shade.  I've got everything in planters.  I think that long term, I'd like to put a raised garden in the front yard, but for now, the planters work.  My mom pointed out that they're killing the grass, but you can't see the grass there, because they're under the planters, so I don't think that's a real problem.

They're working on the street in front of my house.  They've been working on the back alley behind my house all month.  Yesterday they tore out all of the asphalt in front.  The back alley used to be paved but is now sand.  What this means is that I can't park at my house if I want to be able to use the car.  I've been parking at the school parking lot across the street.  Good thing the school is out for the summer.  It also means that I have to drive my garbage to the dumpsters, a block and a half away.  Whenever anyone comes to visit, I send my garbage home with them.

I haven't used my back yard hardly at all this year.  It's becoming overgrown with volunteer chokecherry bushes and grass, etc.  I think I'm going to have to pay someone to clean it up for me, because my nephew borrowed my weed whacker and broke it.  I've moved my barbecue to my front driveway and cook there when I want to cook outside.  In many ways, that works better because it's easier see and hear what's happening there and we tend to use the living room (by the front door) more often than the family room (by the back door).