The Balcony

It's been a quiet couple of days, which I've rather enjoyed. Saturdays are especially my favorite. Aside from the milk delivery, trash pick-up and lady who comes to do my floors, I don't have much going on. It feels good to be able to focus on things around the house. Today that meant a couple loads of clothes, washed by hand. [Note: A different washing machine, in a gray color, and a little larger, will be arriving on Wednesday. Be assured, I am not holding my breath, but am hopeful that it will actually happen.] One of the items I washed in a new dupata (like a shawl or scarf that must be worn with my outfit). The rest of the suit is with the tailor and he'll bring them to me all pressed and ready to go, so I wanted this ready as well. It bled a lot more than I expected - by now I should just anticipate it. In a small way, I did, I washed it separately. But after I'd hung it up to dry and sat down, I noticed my hands were slightly blue! Ha! So glad I didn't wash it with anything else. :)

Friends of mine are moving into their new house. I'm so excited for them. I decided to make them some peanut butter cookies - yep, the same recipe I tried out the other day. Nothing says welcome to your new home like a batch of homemade cookies. And hopefully it'll feel like a taste of "back home" to them and be a perfect match for old meets new. :)

I've really enjoyed my balcony lately (though not so much today - it's hot and muggy outside, proof is in the fact that the laundry is taking forever to dry). But most of the week I've enjoyed my bowl of cereal out there, watching things happen. The guys that get the silt out of the river are one of my favorites. I will hear them joking with each other, sometimes they stop to chat or share a joke (who knows what they are saying - maybe even laughing at the lady on the balcony). Then when the kids came over they were so mesmerized by a guy dumping stuff in the empty lot next door. Here are a couple shots for you to enjoy.












I have been going to sleep at night with several of my windows open, hoping to get a cool breeze running through to allow my day to start nice and cool (by night it's usually only worked itself up to 70 inside, which, by comparison to some other homes is really nice. I'm not sure how long I can keep that going on, but I'll going to give it an honest try until it's not making a difference. When I woke up this morning it was almost foggy in my house. As I looked outside, I couldn't even see Dan and Darla's house, it was so thick. This was about 7 and the colors caught in it as the sun was rising were really pretty. If I'd been more awake, I might have even taken some pictures of it. I really do have the best view, what a blessing and a nice escape.