Hot when it should be cool

I went over to my house to spend the night last night. I feel like I'm living in one of those ghost stories where you have to spend the night in a house for it to belong to you. In this case, I try to spend at least one or two nights a week there, just so I can sort-of leave a psychic imprint on the house. Give it a history with me, to add to the history of all the other people who have lived - and died - there.

I also went over there to make a phone call. I can rarely use the phone to make uninterrupted calls here, since someone is always calling my mom, or she is always making calls out. Naturally, my phone call was interrupted over there - once before I even got to make it - but I mostly got to have an uninterrupted, pleasant conversation with my friend.

I slept late, got up, and went back to sleep. It's nice to do that sometimes, and it's something I can do in that house. I didn't pack much when I went over there, just some sweats to wear during today's yard work. (I also brought over some tropical plants that look like little palm trees to scatter about the bathroom, adding to the Polynesian decor there.) I planned to mow the lawn, mulch the blueberries, and get the last few Hostas and other assorted unwanted plants from my cousin's house into the ground. But the first thing I wanted to do when I got up was go outside and enjoy some nice, cold grapes, fresh off the vine.

I got up. The day looked beautiful, brisk, maybe a little chilly. I went downstairs, exchanged my slippers for an old pair of New Balance 657's, and stepped outside into the midsummer heat.

OK, it wasn't that hot. But I was expecting seasonal temperatures in the low 60's or high 50's, No. Instead the temperature was something like 72 degrees with high humidity. Cool for the Summer, but hot for the Autumn.

More bad news: most of the grapes were now shriveled. Not the Black Rot, I think, since grapes are supposed to be immune after a certain stage in their development. More likely just the natural progression of the fruit. I don't know; it's been years since I've had a chance to follow a crop of grapes through every stage. Some of the purple grapes in back were still unshrivelled, but not many. I did find some white grapes still in good condition near the house, but these were jealously guarded by an alliance of Bumblebees (or possibly Carpenter Bees, based on their size), Yellowjackets, and Hornets, all probably eager to suck the sweet juice from the grapes.

Despite the uncomfortable weather, I was able to get all the yard work done. I also did my weekly furnace dump (draining the rusty water out of the steam circulation system) and topping-off, and was able to get most of my new curtains hung. They're not perfect, but they keep the light from shining through the house and will keep heat from bleeding directly out the windows in the Winter.

Tomorrow is work. I am not looking forward to it. I need to find something else, something that is local and pays well and makes good use of my education and experience. Yeah, good luck with that.