Posts from the ‘Weather’ category

The turkey is in the oven…

Yep, Turkey in July!

A kind of perfect storm of circumstances:

  • the chuck roast on sale that I intended to get for my Sunday dinner was sold out.
  • my favorite brand of turkey was on sale at a near Thanksgiving day price.
  • the weather was forecast to be very cool.

And homemade rolls!

It took a day to thaw the bird and then my Monday work schedule got hectic, but this morning, after a Monday that didn’t break 60F…that bird went in the oven at 6:00 a.m. It should be done by 9-9:30 and then into the frig. I’ll deal with carving, etc. at lunch time and my turkey dinner will be a “heat up” when the time is right and I can enjoy. AND, I will have lots of leftovers in the freezer!

Proof of the cool morning: long pants and Auggie on my lap.

Nearly normal

Via the cat thermometer (curled up cat vs long, long cat), it is still cool :) !!

Actually, it is nearly normal temperature with low 70’s daytime and upper 40/low 50’s overnight. Pure bliss in my book and I could take this for the rest of the Summer.

Bear agrees!

Plus, we got a nice bit of rain yesterday (Tuesday) morning: .26 inches per a headline article in the paper.

I have been enjoying Asian-spiced turkey meatballs during the heat wave and even now that it is cooler. The recipe is Mel’s Kitchen Cafe Baked Orange-Glazed Meatballs.

I made the orange glaze with the first batch and it is very good. I didn’t have an orange on the second round, but did have some of the cranberry jalapeno salsa – also a Mel’s Kitchen Café recipe. (Mel’s Kitchen Café Cranberry Jalapeno Salsa)

The spiced up flavor of the turkey meatballs with the cranberry salsa on a bed of lightly dressed cole slaw … all wrapped up in a flour tortilla has been making for one light, refreshing and tasty lunch!

This recipe is the first time I’ve used ground turkey and I am sorry I waited so long to try it. Mel’s method is to bake the meatballs in a mini-muffin pan. I was baking mine on a half sheet pan so I added an egg and some shredded zucchini to add a bit of fat and moisture since mine were not contained in a little pocket of their minimal fat. These meatballs are full of flavor, tender and versatile: good warmed up with the glaze, good cold and they freeze wonderfully. Another winner from Mel!

I doubt we’ve seen the last of Summer heat, but hopefully we’ll stay cooler than the upper 90’s of the last weeks.

We are all enjoying being nearly normal.

A break in the weather: cool respite

I was afraid to believe in the forecast of a 72F high on Sunday. It has been in the mid to upper 90’s for over a week.

Sunday morning started at 68F and overcast … at 5:00 a.m. Shortly after, the wind came up and the temperature dropped to 58F in 20 minutes. And it rained. Well, it drizzled. But, it was moisture.

And it stayed cool all day. I was able to leave the windows open, the fan and A/C off: blessed quiet and cool.

Overnight, it dropped into the 40’s making for a wonderful sleeping night.

The fuschia survived the heat and I enjoyed the blooms I cut inside as well. We are to warm back up, although not quite as hot and possibly more rain this coming weekend.

So far, there are 2 fires: 1 which has been contained and is burning out in the middle. BUT, high winds on Saturday night sent a spark from that hot center that ignited a 2nd fire. The fires are near the Canada border about 50-55 miles north of where I live. So far, no smoke or ash has come this way. Hopefully the forecast thunderstorms will have plenty of moisture, but it is very, very early in fire season.

Still, will enjoy this break in the weather and cool respite.

Staying home

I work from a home office. Except for groceries, I do most of my shopping online. I do not belong to any organizations.

I am home a LOT! And I love it. My little house is not perfect and there are things I’d like to do inside and out, but it is comfortable and the few things I have, I love.

And I love being here with Bear and Auggie. Bear loves Jeep rides and I am so happy to take him along with me. We have our spots for walks. But, we are both happy to return to the house and to Auggie, who is often waiting and watching from a window spot.

Anyone who has read this blog for any time, knows that I really do NOT like hot weather and hot for me is 80F. Still, I hate “wishing away” days and I don’t like to waste energy being too grumpy … especially about the weather! I’ve tried various tricks through the years to reduce the amount of whining and complaining.

Last week, when the weather folks started talking about the record breaking heat this weekend, I decided to approach this like I’d approach a Winter storm. I made sure the pantry was full and the frig and freezer were stocked with good things to eat. I’m used to being home so the idea of staying inside, which I enjoy during a Winter storm … not a problem.

The main difference is instead of sitting in front of the woodstove, I’m sitting in front of the fan!

Mornings are still beautiful, even if not quite as cool as usual.

We take a long morning walk while the sun is low and there is a lot of shade.

Then some time in the yard together while I run sprinklers, check the motorhome and water the fuschia.

And while fushia might not be typical “cut flowers”, I trimmed the plants to hopefully make it easier on them through the heat and brought the cuttings inside to enjoy during our heat wave hibernation.

As usual, it is often about attitude and perspective: making the best of a situation, looking at the bright side, counting my many blessings – all of that!

I don’t know that I can honestly say I’m enjoying the heat wave. I worry about the animals, both wild and especially livestock like the angus (black) cattle. BUT – I can only take care of me and mine and so I do that. And I enjoy being in my cool and comfortable house … relaxing, reading, doing a bit of work and being excused by weather from even thinking about outside chores :) !!

AND … having homemade peach ice cream for breakfast!

Staying home.

Wake me up when it’s over

It is VERY rare to see the NOAA “HOT” icons in my (Northwest Montana) forecast…

Holy cannoli!!

So, I am a bit hopeful that since NOAA has made such a BIG deal about this forecast…that like Winter Storm forecasts…the bigger the deal, the greater they are likely to fizzle … this is one forecast, I seriously hope is WRONG.

To help that along, I have gone overboard on preparation. My thinking is that if I have prepared to the max, then via Murphy’s Law, the max will not happen…

So yesterday (Wednesday), I went to the grocery store and bought like a Winter storm was forecast. I bought fruit and veg and meat and all manner of supplies so that I could hunker down and wait out the heat wave.

I have roast, shredded chicken in the freezer.

I have turkey meatballs in the freezer. And bread and rolls and hot dogs and cooked sausage and cooked bacon. And salmon and halibut. I have canned salmon and canned tuna.

I pickled a mix of onion/cucumber/radish, I made a veggie-chicken broth, cold brew coffee, cranberry salsa and pickled jalapeno.

You might think the broth is a bit of a head scratcher, but a brothy soup with a bit of whatever else…it can be a light meal on a hot day…especially with a bit of that chicken or a couple of turkey meatballs!.

Foodwise, I am ready for good meals that do not require the stove or the oven.

Example: cold, roasted garlic broccolini with hard boiled egg for breakfast.

Bear and Auggie practice staying in the shade…

Last night, it clouded over which meant that it stayed warm overnight. Fortunately, it stayed cloudy this morning so took longer to heat up.

But, it did heat up … to 92F.

The chairs said they were glad to be in the shade.

The A/C is on in Wild Thing. She is our backup if I can’t keep the house cool enough.

The first day of HOT and Auggie headed for the cool of the porcelain.

WHAT??? I keep it clean :)

Wake us all up when it’s over…we do NOT LIKE the HEAT!