Our little town is slowly putting things back together. Traffic was passable again by the time we returned to the city from Saratoga Springs, and businesses are…well many are “open,” though most are hocking their wares under tents outside in the parking lot.

I’m feeling moderately guilty over not helping more with all the cleanup efforts around town; I simply haven’t had the time. (A lame excuse, I know, but that doesn’t make it less true.)

Speaking of tents, we got a new canopy delivered last week. The one that we used on the 4th actually belonged to our neighbor…

…and unfortunately the canopy fabric was torn by the weight of collected water that had pooled on the roof. Then strong winds came through, pre-Beryl, wrenching the whole thing and breaking off one of its legs.

A replacement tent was delivered to our porch last week where it’s been sitting ever since because, well, I can’t lift it by myself.

And while we’re on the subject of our independence, I want to say just one quick thing about current events.
I don’t care what political party you adhere to, nor what your worldviews are, be they liberal, conservative, or anywhere in between.
Murder (or in this case, attempted murder) of a leader in this country because you have ideological differences with that person, or their message, is the last refuge of the incompetent.
Our systems of government can be flawed, to be true, but there are ways of rectifying those flaws that our founders scaffolded into its design. And killing a person instead of putting in the work to effect change is low, weak, and wholly un-American. From Booth to Crooks, it’s pathetic.

Rant over. Moving on.

So it’s been pretty warm and humid up here over the last couple weeks. I’m told that, once upon a time, there were Vermont summers where people didn’t require air conditioners humming in their windows all day. It would seem that time has passed.

That guy there has been an absolute workhorse for us.

That said, it’s been so warm this year that I just cashed in all the points that I’ve received over the last 2 years for my various company awards & kudos (they actually call the program “Work Human,” which sounds suspiciously like something inhuman named it…) to get him some help.
So we have a new A/C unit en route, with a plan to install it into the guest room window ahead of all the additional summer familial visits that are on the docket.
For a brief moment I considered putting it into Daphne’s room upstairs, because it does get brutally hot up there during the day…

But I decided against doing so for several reasons:

1. It’s a bit high off the ground, as you can see, and I’d obviously have to leave the window open. I really don’t want Daphne messing around/playing with it and ending up falling out of what is, essentially, an open window.
2. It’s a bit high off the ground, as you can see, and I’d obviously have to be the one to install/remove the thing. I really don’t want to end up falling out of what is, essentially, an open window.
3. Currently, Daphne’s bed is right next to this. So she’d be Hypothermic by Morning, which I’m pretty sure is a George Strait song about Vermont.
4. It would block that beautiful view.
5. Directly above said beautiful view is a vent that has elevated wasp activity in the summers. So inviting them inside through any cracks in the sides of the A/C would end in me flailing madly around her room with fly swatters akimbo. (See #2.)

And so I think I’ll install it into this window right here:

It’s possible that this will leave our visitors with feet as Cold as Ice after this thing cranks right next to their legs all night…but that’s certainly better than getting Hot Blooded.

Okay, I’ve officially run out of time and have to get back to work.

See you tomorrow.

j.s.