The Heat Is On

  "I was smiling yesterday, I am smiling today, and I will smile tomorrow. Simply because life is too short to cry for anything." (Santosh Kalwar)

 

Hello, my lovely friends!  

 

     What a week it’s been on this end. Honestly, it felt like a total whirlwind between spending a couple of days running around to doctor appointments with my mom and dealing with this absolute wall of heat. It got so incredibly hot here that just stepping outside felt like a chore, so I've mostly been hiding out indoors trying to keep cool and catch my breath.

    Let’s get the news about my mom and her MRI out of the way first. Monday was the day and she was really worried about it—so much that her doctor requested a sedative for her. Even though she’s had them before, facing two MRIs in a row meant being in that machine for a couple of hours, which completely set off her anxiety. Thankfully, she was done in under two hours and they said she did really well, though the pill definitely knocked her out and left her a little loopy for a few hours.

The next day, she saw a new doctor to talk about her pain. He doesn't think she has an infection and actually changed one of her medications, noting that she had the right meds but the wrong dose. She goes back in a month to see how that goes, and she also has a phone appointment on Thursday, which I’m assuming is to discuss the MRI results and next steps. For now, she’s still in limbo.

    It feels like the heat has been teasing us for a week, just begging to cross into the triple digits, and it looks like this coming week might finally do it. Between that and how dry our winter was, the mountains are really paying the price with these wildfires. There are about eight of them burning right now, and almost none of them are contained yet. The worst part of it all is that we lost three firefighters who were out there trying to protect everything.

The air quality down here has been so brutal because of it. At one point last week, the mountains completely disappeared behind a thick, heavy haze. We did get a really good rain in Denver that managed to clear things up a bit, but you can still smell the smoke sitting in the air. Just stay safe, stay inside where it's cool, and keep those crews in your thoughts.

    Mike and I dragged ourselves out of bed early yesterday to hit the farmer’s market before the heat got brutal, mostly because I wanted to be back in time for the World Cup. My mom always complains it's too far away, but it's literally a twenty-four-minute drive. I used to go years ago when the massive fill-a-bag deal was only ten bucks. It is up to seventeen dollars now, but it is still an incredible steal for what you can shove in there.

I went all out and managed to stuff three entire bags to the brim with potatoes, corn, cucumbers, broccoli, jalapeños, and bell peppers. Then I hit up another stand for a bag of fresh lettuce and herbs. We grabbed some lunch on the way back and made a whole day of it. It was honestly the perfect morning, and now my kitchen is overflowing with fresh produce.

I completely forgot to snap a picture of the veggie stash before I put it all away, but I'll definitely get a photo of the massive salad I'm throwing together for dinner tonight. I have an idea for a brand-new recipe with some fresh fruit mixed in, so I'll make sure to share how that turns out on Tuesday's blog post.

    Did anyone see the post on FB about a new Sparkpeople? I’m sure it won’t be like the one we all loved, but the idea of a new one sounds good. Wonder if it’s free or a paid one? Any of you know anything about it? 

 Thank you for being here. It’s always a treat to share this space with you. May your day be sweet, calm, and wrapped in comfort. See you in the next post!