2008 will roll in with a scorch

Phew, it's hot!
We've had two days of 38 degrees and just heard on the News that tomorrow will be 41 degrees celsius. I've got a new diary with conversion charts that help me convert this temperature to fahrenheit so I'm going to give it a go. Tomorrow will be 106 degrees F. Does that sound hot?

Two days before Christmas we had some blessedly wet weather. The heavens opened in a mighty way and kept pouring all day. Andrew & I were getting some last minute Christmas shopping done and the whole Mall was full of smiling faces with not one complaint about the rain. I'd almost forgotten the sound of sheets of water beating down on a tin roof and that great smell of dry earth which is finally getting a good soaking. In the evening between showers, I took a walk to a creek around the corner which had recently turned completely dry. I was amazed to see that after just one decent day of drenching rain, it was roaring in torrents. There must be some sort of spiritual application to be made there. No matter how dry and hard our lives have turned, God can reverse the situation in a flash. And on the News, they were saying how wonderful the rainfall was for the Murray River, which is responsible for much of the South Aussie drinking water, and New South Wales and Victoria draw heavily upon it for irrigation. We were out dancing in the back yard. Even Logan and Blake, who usually hate getting wet, were having a great time being drenched to the skin.

But that's over for who knows how long. In my childhood I used to claim that summer was my favourite month. Not any more. What could I have been thinking? Perhaps the things I associated summer with have changed in my mind. It meant a birthday (December 24th), Christmas and the long school holidays, all of which I found exciting. Although those things haven't changed, my attitude has. Being another year older doesn't have the same excitement now I've just turned 38 as it did when I just turned 8. And I actually enjoy doing work with the kids and learning bits and pieces, so the prospect of several weeks without that routine doesn't thrill me either. Bring on autumn!

As that won't happen any time soon, I'd better focus on the good things about summer. There must be a few if I can think of them.
* cold salads for tea with lots of cucumber.
* leisurely walks in the cool of the evening.
* cold drinks straight from the fridge.
* excuses to buy take-away teas from Subway because it's too hot to cook.

It's early evening now. We're going to have a late tea of chicken hamburgers and then I'm going to hang a load of washing. Early darkness is the perfect time to do it in this weather. Then I'll go for a walk, either alone or with the others.