And The Heat Burns On

After a week with sizzling temperatures of 115F or higher there was barely a respite for the weekend. This year is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and at Manassas Battlefields a reenactment was being played out, but I wasn't there. I just couldn't bear to be outdoors any longer than was necessary so I had to amuse myself indoors. So not really sure how my logic kicked in but I thought it would be a splendid idea to see how my pastry skills were and on Friday evening I spent 1.5 hours making a ground beef and sausage pie, including making the pastry from scratch, with English butter and lard. didn't want to be outside in the sun but I was happy standing next to a hot oven. Go figure!

The pie was perfect.

On Saturday morning I met up with an old friend to see the last Harry Potter movie. We decided to catch the early show at 9:30 as we were concerned about not getting good seats with the crowds. There were 10 people including us! After that it was a bout of shopping running from one air conditioned store to the next. Then we parted as we both had other plans for the rest of the day. I went to the Restore shop in Manassas looking for a nice piece of slate on which to paint a house name for Meadow House. I started down the steps leading to the basement and on the fourth or fifth stair suddenly found my skirt up around my ears. Pushing it down quickly I looked straight into the eyes of a man standing below who had obviously enjoyed the show. I pulled a face and we both burst out laughing. I realized the outside door at the bottom of the stairs allowed gusts of air to blow through, a fact I shall remember in future. I kept bumping into the guy around the store and each time our faces split into grins.

I left the store slateless and decided to go home. A quick stop at the store to grab a few supplies and then then I planned to stay indoors.

But not before I'd taken a photo of my yummy vanilla cream soda with chocolate and vanilla icecream floating on top.Heaven!

Kota and I had a quick tour round the garden so I snapped a few shots of a Carolina Wren, a hydrangea and the dreamcatcher in the fir tree at the back of the house. A previous tenant here had been a Native American whose pet had died. The grave is still visible and the tree was planted in memory of a beloved companion.

Rob turned up later in the evening but I still had one more adventure before he arrived....

I was sitting at my computer when I looked up and saw what I thought was the ears of a German Shepherd dog trotting behind my car. I ran to the lounge as Kota was out on the patio. Imagine my surprise when I opened the French door and came face to face with a black bear, no more than 30ft away from me. I warned Kota to stay but I wasn't even scared. Nor was the bear. We all stood looking at each other for a few seconds then he continued on his way through the undergrowth. I grabbed a pair of boots and my camera then Kota and I scouted along the woodland edge hoping to see him again. No luck. Oh well, there'll be other times hopefully.

Very little was achieved Sunday due to the excessive heat again but we did manage an amble down to the pond to feed the fish.

The fish food is kept in a container that sits in the tree and those fat scaly critters know when there's people about. Barely a second passed from the granules hitting the water's surface before big mouths appeared sucking at the surface. We sat and watched for a while but the heat was too much. We staggered back to the house.

I did manage to put up my new bird box which I'd bought at Tractor Supply that morning. I love that store.

My beautiful roses that Rob bought me on Sunday morning. They're a pale pink and green with the palest green shading at the base of each petal. For some reason they remind me of an English country garden. Despite wanting to sit on the AC units all the time, the weekend passed too quickly. And we get a break with the heat next week. Upper 90's all week. Groan.