Monday, October 19, 2009

I Am Solar Powered

Although I was not born Texan, and I actually make fun of the Texas obsession with weather, I have to admit that I am surprised that I have not mentioned the weather yet this month. I think that's because it was depressing the hell out of me. October has always been my very favorite month since I've lived in Texas. It means the end of the heat from hell that bakes you slowly inside your own skin. October means beautiful mild bright sunny robin's eggs blue sky days. But this October has been hideously different. It has rained and/or been thickly overcast Every Single Day. Until this past Friday.
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And I'm not joking about being solar powered. My whole personality changed when I first moved to Texas and I realized years later that it was the sunshine. When My Sweetie was laid off in 2002 and was considering a job in Seattle he said, "We couldn't live there, there's not enough sun for you." And maybe that's why my Vancouver trip was so depressing. I really need sunshine.
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I woke up on Friday to a very bright day. It actually hurt my eyes after weeks of drab. I spent the entire day outside except to eat lunch and post my little poem. I cleaned the deck, the spa, the patio. I put away the pots that no longer had flowers and rearranged some of the random pots (pictured above) in a new little grouping. And just sat. Sat and absorbed the sun. On Saturday, I took my little radio outside and sat in the sun. All afternoon. Just sat and soaked up the sun. Today (Sunday) I moved the table from the patio onto the deck and sat there and did sudoku puzzles, listened to the radio and drank beer. All afternoon. Monday is supposed to be 74° and fully sunny all day, so guess what? I'm going to do it again. You should see my tan.

12 comments:

VioletSky said...

We are heading into a week of unseasonably warm weather after a week of unseasonalby cool weather. I have put the deck chairs back onto the balcony in anticipation!
I agree, I could never live happily in Seattle or Vancouver. I tried Scotland and Holland and the worst part was the lack of sunshine.

Anonymous said...

Ya, that's it -- it was the "weather" that was depressing about Vancouver. Actually, I found the lack of sunshine in Nova Scotia really depressing, too. One of the main reasons I moved back inland. When Violetsky says "warm weather" here, she's talking 55 degrees. Which is still better than the zero it's been the last week or so, I guess. But not nearly as great as 74.

Anonymous said...

Now, if you'd visited Vancouver (or Seattle) this summer you would have been pleasantly surprised. It was fabulous -- warm, clear skies, an absolute bonus. And you know, despite the fact I live here, we find if we can split for Palm Springs or somesuch in winter we do so. Half my neighbors are in Arizona in the nasty months.

Meanwhile, thank you for the suggestion for blog-block. You can see the results at my blog.

Big Brother said...

Yeah I know Ian, we got the Vancouver rain. We also had a rainy October, but thank goodness it's been sunny for the last 5 or 6 days, cold but sunny. I don't think I could live in Texas, I really don't do hot very well. Give me cold and sunny over hot and sunny any day. My ideal weather would be Ireland, when it's nice. Fluffy white clouds, beautiful blue skies and 20 degree (68 F) temperature.

geewits said...

VioletSky,
~~Yay! Keep those deck chairs out. Or maybe bringing them in makes the weather better?

Xup,
~~ I like 55°. That's the funny weather when I wear jeans and a short sleeve shirt and all the old MOW ladies would say, "Dear, where's your jacket?"

Ian,
~~The nasty months? But I was there in June. I look forward to your blog. I'll go check that out.

BB,
~~68° is not cold, it's delicious! I would love 68° and sunny. I always knew I'd like Ireland.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

How wonderful that you finally got the beautiful sunny weather! It has been crazy here and I think pretty crazy everywhere, weatherwise....It's HOT then it got COLD then it got HOT and then COLD and it is once again on the way to HOT---ALL in a two week period! It's Nuts!

Pearl said...

Send a little sunshine this way! Minnesota is on the slide into full-on winter and I fear for our mental health!

Pearl

Carole said...

What a rainy start to Autumn. We had that beautiful couple of days of October sunshine, and now the rain is back. Can't complain though because we need it SO much!

Jocelyn said...

If Texas ever fails you, try Colorado. I think it gets something like 330 sunny days a year.

We've had a drizzly October, too. I'm stomping my feet about it.

geewits said...

Naomi,
~~Well I'm glad it got better. My Sweetie was in L.A. on Wednesday and he said the weather was great!

Pearl,
~~Thanks for visiting. We never have full-on winter here. We have only full-on summer. I hope you have a fireplace. That always makes cold weather nicer.

Carole,
~~I know we were in a drought, but enough already. I want my sun back!

Jocelyn,
~~Oh no! So all that great sidewalk chalk art is gone? Do you have colored grass now? Colorado is a nice place to visit, but the mountains make me dizzy.

Jazz said...

Oh, I so get that. It was hot and sunny all the time in Palm Springs - damn I felt good. I hate the cold and I hate clouds and I think it's really unfair that the best we can do in canada for warm weather is go live in Vancouver where it rains 300 days a year. You guys are so lucky in the states to be able to move south if you want to...

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Cheers