Anatomy Of A Hot Summer Day

I don't expect a lot of sympathy when I lament about scorching summer temperatures that reached all the way up into the...80s. But here in the Pacific Northwest, yesterday's high of 86 degrees F (that's 30C) was quite out of the ordinary and definitely the hottest day of the year so far.

Yes, that does sound ridiculous, given what most people endure every single day. Go ahead and roll your eyes at me. But just remember - not only are our bodies quite unaccustomed to hot weather, but we have no air conditioning in our homes. Pity us.

In any case, I felt hot and lazy and definitely in need of some low-key activities. So I decided to cross all the labor-intensive projects off my To Do list for the day, and keep it cool.

I've been meaning to take a back-alley tour of Mukilteo's quaint little downtown area, looking for interesting walls. Yes, that does sound weird, but photographs always look more interesting with a well-chosen backdrop. So why not scout around for interesting textures that might be useful in the future? My third-born accompanied me as my subject, and here is what we found:

After a few errands, we were back home again, parched as can be, and fresh out of iced tea. So I brewed up a few more pitchers, all of which were quickly consumed.

While I was in the kitchen, I decided to jump start dinner, based on our traditional summer treat of fruit shortcake. I was not exactly looking forward to baking biscuits in a hot kitchen, but I set up the box fan and dove in to the project.

You can go here and here to read more about our family biscuit-baking and shortcake-eating traditions.

Ready for a cool-down, I next did something that I almost NEVER do. I lounged around in my shady backyard, reading a book. 

Ranger helped me. 

Several chapters later, it was time to put the finishing touches on dinner, and serve it up.

Yes, it did taste just as delicious as it looks. By the time I ate all this loveliness, the sun was low in the sky and the temperature was graciously dropping to more comfortable levels. My evening ended with a lovely sunset, which this picture does not even begin to do justice.

All in all, not a bad way to spend a hot summer day.

P.S. Today is mostly cloudy and 66 degree F/19 C. Back to our version of normal August weather!

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More Anatomy Of posts for your dissection pleasure:

Anatomy Of A Visit To The Vet

Anatomy Of The Perfect Graduation Party

Anatomy Of A Mountain Hike
Anatomy Of My Annual Party