a watermelon tale ...

I do not like watermelons as they are a bit too watery and doesn't have the density as their sisters, the musk melons. But having 36 food allergies, I no longer avoid this melon but I do not seek it out. My parents had a watermelon and received another one. For fear of not getting them eaten, I got the half of the old watermelon.

I finally got around to peeking under the tinfoil and used my lonely ice cream scope to take out some for a dessert. The watermelon is sweet but I could tell by the outer part that it wasn't liking the frig too much and I had better find ways to devour. I made watermelon jello last week and found it a bit bitter. I don't think it liked being pair with frozen berries or maybe it was the pineapple. Then I noticed something. I made jelly bean ice cubes to put in my two water bottles for my day with a friend on Monday because the heat index was very high like the typical days this summer. To my horror my water tasted like watermelon perfume. I wasn't happy. Here this huge half watermelon wasn't taking up a lot of space on the bottom of my frig but it was taking up air space in the freezer as well.

Last night I decided that I must get rid of this watermelon once and for all. I took out all the seeds and took it for a spin in the blender. Then I made a second batch of watermelon using grape juice and applesauce. The results were better and not bitter. I like the soft pink red hue it has. I hope this is the last of the watermelon for the year!

weeping for the Ents...

A running nose after a Saturday sun walk in April 09 was the first clue that I just might have another allergy to add to my ever growing list of them. I have been ever on edge this year especially after a headache at Easter. I must have tree allergies so Zyrtex has been a constant companion. How long do trees pollenate? There has been high predictions for tree pollen ever since April. There was a slight down turn this week so I stopped taking the medication.

This has been a really wacky summer. Summer started right after winter, I swear honesty here! I never had a chance to wear my cool spring clothes! And RAIN! It has rained so often here that the grass is emerald green and the river banks are a constant high where we have flash flood warnings every time there is rain forecasted. Then comes the storms. Last Friday night we had a major one! The rain came in pounding the earth so hard that the rain turned into a white haze and my view was just 6 feet out. It was this sick army brown green. The winds wickedly whip around at speeds of 80 mph. It lasted what seemed forever. One good thing about rain is that it does cleanse the air.....

There where trees down where the winds grappled with the weak parts of the tallest and oldest and thickest trees. Mostly it was the little branches everywhere. I guess it was just a prelude to what was to come the following Wednesday...

Rains where predicted to stop by 3PM and they did. The sun came out and I thought I would be spending a night of creating....

8 o'clock comes with darken skies and darken reports of nasty weather coming our way. It was like not again and really? The sky was grey. Yes, grey stormy... maybe though .... The the grey flashed. Here we go. It was not like Friday. It was less and was quick too. But the damage was more. Four tornadoes hit the county and two hit south of my town. It was at F1 levels so the damage was basically huge trees toppled over baring roots. Wild circles in the corn. A barn lifted up and flattened. Nothing like the tornado damage to a neighboring town several years ago in October. It was still hard to go to work seeing such massive trees uprooted. What power! It makes me remember how strong my God is. My eyes welled up with tears....

Came home Thursday night and my nose started to run. The tree pollen count is there but down. So why was my nose just running? I remember someone recently tell me about a woman who was allergic to pine. She didn't know why she was always sickly every December until she released that their live Christmas tree was the causing her physical gloom and doom. So with this 'dot' and connecting it to the buzz of chain saws cutting down trees all over leads me to believe the cause of my runaway nose is the trees again!

{heavy sigh} I hate the smell of hay and fall is my least favorite seasons except the brilliant cornflower blue skies and the golden corn fields because of the hay fever. I don't want to hate spring and summer. Pollen is like dirt but hidden dirt. This causes crazy behavior on my part besides the massive headaches. I become obsessed of the clothes I will wear outside and what clothes I will wear inside and not ever outside. Then there is the problem of my favorite clothes that I just don't wear at all because I don't want the pollen in my house. It is an invisible enemy and ridiculous behavior on my part, I know. Don't roll your eyes ant me and keep your mitts off the phone. Don't call the crazy house or the the straight jacket ... just yet!

I guess what I am saying the long way is that I don't want to hate trees or spring or summer. (Winter has been my favorite season with Spring coming in as a tie position.) Trees are ancient centurions. Always tall, watchful, faithful, lasting, and dependable. There is something serene and thoughtful about trees... Tolkien seemed to feel for trees and I reflect.... I have to romanticize my little issue. I weep for the Ancient Ents.....

cold hands - hot heart ...

Oh boy! I need to redo my body so that my hands are where my arm pits are and the arm pits are where my hands should be. Why you ask? I have severely cold hands and the hottest heart around and it seems to be getting worse or that I am getting more frustrated with it. My hands are in severe pain by the time I reach work even with my hand double decked in mittens. Here is the kicker... get me all frustrated or nervous and instantly the heart over heats and the cheeks burn but all the hot blood has left my hands a frigid cold. I find that the clothes are more concentrated around the heart area and less clothing for lower arms and lower legs and feet. I guess I could go walking around with my hands in my pits but then very little work would be done.

I make a mean Winter bed or so I thought until I changed the bed sheets this morning. I have concentrated the bedding for my feet with a short wool blanket to keep them toes toasty. However, when this ice cube gets into bed, I have fallen asleep before I notice that my heart is overheating in sweat! I once again have tweaked the bedding situation to where moved the blankets down and away from my heart. My heart is at its coldest when jumping into bed. I tend to snuggle way under so you can't see me at all. I do behave and pull back the covers so I can breath but now I am going to have to kick off the top blankets so that my heart doesn't make me sweat. The good thing about bed covers is that my feet and hands are happy and warm. {sighs}

Ok, I know! Go ahead and snicker at me! {smiles}