Sweating in Phoenix

The association's painters are coming sometime soon. Roberta's neighbor gave us a "helpful" update - the painters are coming sometime after August 15. That update came this morning. Anyway, they are going to paint the outside of the house, I guess. So, anything and everything that comes in contact with the outside walls has to be moved or removed or whatever. So started early this morning with some clippers which was fine for tiny twigs. Then Roberta joined me and introduced me to the Black and Decker small tree chopper. It does make for much faster work.

I've been going out for about 15-30 minute intervals and then back in for 30 or so minutes to cool off. It is HOT work. I think most of the trees and large bushes, etc. are pretty much done. I'm still working on that little tangle of vines. The tops came down with no problem at all. The lower part . . . is a whole 'nother story. It is like the difference between cutting a thread and cutting through hundreds of threads that have been knotted together and then superglued. It can be done, but it takes some work. Plus I really gotta find another hair band to put my hair up - or just take the tree whacker and whack off all the hair, too. The back of my neck is like a furnace.

Last night Roberta was working on a project that I put it on my computer because it was in Excel (a spreadsheet program that she doesn't have on her computer) and then I provided the clerical support as she worked. It was good for me to get more practice on Excel - although I think the whole project would have been much easier to manage in Word since there were no numbers anywhere on the sheets we worked on.

We did also go swimming/water walking. More people in the swimming lanes than usual - two people other than me. I accidentally kicked one of them when I had my back to them doing the sidestroke and I was trying to avoid hitting the people they were chatting with in the walking lane. On the other hand, it seems to me there are safer places to chat than standing in a swimming lane. I never did see them actually swimming, but I tend to do my laps and then get out of the pool.

We assume that Catherine and Gerry got off okay since they were dropped off three hours before their flight at the Southwest door and we didn't get any messages to come pick them up again.

Oh, and according to Forecastfox (my Internet meteorologist) at 10:00 a.m. it was 91 degrees and felt like 97 degrees.