New York Renovator

The entire summer has been a weird one, for weather. A frost in June, then bone dry, then a very soggy July. It rains so often and without any warning that it is hard to get any outdoor work done. Even right now, the sun is shining on half the property and on the other side, it’s raining.

Yesterday was a weird day for weather, especially. One of the commenters here mentioned something about a tornado watch in Upstate. I never heard one for my area, but we have had several warnings this summer, and a few tornadoes and waterspouts hitting. I am a tornado survivor- I was a baby living in Cayuga County when a tornado hit the town. It brought down a few trees, including a tree on our house that we were in at the time. Totally demolished the kitchen, from what I am told. The event made newspapers.

Threecollie at Northview Diary discussed yesterday’s wacky weather, and got some incredible photos of the cloud formations. At the same time, I was on my way to WalMart with my boys. I was driving up the highway when I noticed large groups of crows flying overhead, to the east. We always see crows flying, but these seemed unusual, and I pointed it out to my boys. I saw three larger groups of crows all flying eastward. Huh. As we continued our drive, we saw the strangest clouds! I snatched Threecollie’s photo– be sure to go to her site for more– to show you:

The clouds I saw were like that, except half of the sky was sunny and clear as a bell. And huge shafts of sulfury-yellow rays were streaming out from the clouds. It was like someone had stirred up a large, gray pot of mashed potatoes and shined a yellow flashlight through it. And then had smeared the horizon with gray-green paint. I didn’t hear any thunder, but the skies were very angry.

The boys and I went in to shop, me hoping that the power didn’t go out in the middle of our checking out. Everything seemed fine inside; and when we were ready to cart our bags out to the van, the skies had cleared again– although it had obviously rained because the parking lot, the cars, and people’s strollers were wet and dripping.

What a wild summer of weird weather!

A few years ago on this day, my mother-in-law got us an air conditioner for the house. Yay! But then I realized we couldn’t use it. The old knob-and-tube wiring we have here couldn’t handle the load, and none of the wiring is grounded. so we had to return it. I was SO CLOSE to having an air conditioner! Argh!!!!!!!!

So we are sweltering and sweating it out this week. Hear me moan, lol. When the humidity is 70% and the heat is 92 F (and my house is surrounded by asphalt parking lots), a few little box fans just ain’t gonna cut it. So I got the next best thing– a car with air conditioning. Woooohooo! We’re living in the Big Time now, baby! When it gets absolutely unbearable here, we take the van out for a drive. Whoever invented air conditioning for cars was BRILLIANT, I tell ya. So far, the thing’s been working like a breeze.

How’s your vehicle air conditioning? If you’re needing some parts, or even a new compressor, remember Discount AC Parts. They’ve got it all, whether you need a Honda ac compressor for your little sedan or one for your classy BMW or Mercedes ac compressor. I have a brother-in-law who is a marvel with repairing autos, so I can always go begging to him for help if I buy the parts, heh heh. Why buy through the nose from the dealer when you can look it up online and order at discount rates from the Internet? Check out Discount AC Parts when you’re ready for a new air conditioning compressor, and all your other auto needs. And don’t wait until the last minute! We’re only halfway through summer!

It is so hot and humid here, that when you expel your breath, flames come out. COME ON, this is Upstate New York! We’re supposed to be the Frozen Chosen!!! I just hate the heat and humidity. Pardon me while I whine, lol.

So we can just barely get the wash hung out on the clothesline until we collapse in the shade, soaked and grumpy. Someone please tell me how folks in the South do it? How do you survive down there, where it’s like this all the time?!?! I’d really like to know. Cuz I had all these plans for the week… but everything has dissolved into a steamy little pool of perspiration. I have no motivation whatsoever. i was going to fix my electric wiring in the kitchen (I have to tuck the dangling wires in a junction box) but I can’t even motivate myself to shut off the power and get out the ladder. Sighhhh.

Photo from ASHRAE.

I hate the humid weather, and Upstate New York seems to be in its clutches this week. :-p These are photos I snapped the other day, as the humidity descended. Moments later, large raindrops burst from the air, as if the atmosphere had been wrung out like a wet rag.

I love the growing season but I have a hard time tolerating the humidity. Needless to say, we’re not getting much done this week, lol.

I do not “believe” that global warming is 1) a trend, and 2) caused by man’s activities. I think it is a short-term global climate change, if it is even warming at all. History seems to prove that the earth frequently goes through temperature “seasons” of periodic change.

Anyway, today in Upstate New York it is 40 DEGREES. It is FREEZING! I had to turn the heat on today. This is 20 to 25 degrees below normal for us at this time right now. In previous years, we’d be out in our swimsuits catching some rays, man. Well, maybe not as extreme as swimsuits… but Memorial Day weekend is a week away and that is when we traditionally hit the beaches. This is crazy. We had to unpack our gloves and hats over the weekend. :-p

I CANNOT believe that people in Georgia and Texas have outright, blooming flowers and trees right now! CANNOT believe it! Less than a week until April, and this is what we have:

Nothing but brown scraggly trees and brown mud. Lots of mud.

Worse, I looked at the weather station, and…