A Strange Summer in Many Ways

This has been such a strange summer.  In Canada we lived a different life...we left behind a lot of things.

We lived all summer without air conditioning. 

Unfathomable.  

We would not have enjoyed some of the hottest days if the guys from our church had not put on the deck and installed our sliding glass doors.  Another group added an attic fan that allowed us to stay comfortable on all but a couple of days.    Even on the warmest days it cooled down at night so we could sleep well.

We spent a summer free of TV.  Phil thought he would miss it, but neither of us did.  Days were busy for the most part, and in the evening there was almost always something interesting going on.  During camp we had chapel every evening.  After that we would usually spend some time each evening just watching the sunset.  We would have people come to visit, or we would go hang out with the kids.  One evening the girls put on their own version of a coffee shop complete with host and waiters.  You learn to make your own fun.

Now that we are back and watching TV including the Olympics, the TV is almost an assault on our senses.

We did watch a couple of old movies on our computer.  And we watched both seasons of Downton Abbey from PBS.  It took us all summer to find the time to watch 16 hours, but we enjoyed it tremendously.  Thanks to Sarah Jane for the recommendation.

We spent of summer without shopping for groceries, without having ice in our drinks (we got used to this, but are enjoying it since we've been back), drinking more red Koolaid than we did when we were kids.  I didn't drive for almost two whole months.  We went to Wal-Mart only two or three times.  The only sport we saw all summer was a Canadian football game on the TV at the Pizza Hut.  We timed our trips to town on Saturday so that we could listen to "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" and "Prairie Home Companion" on NPR.  

I paid attention to nature more than I ever have.  I watched off my porch as flowers would bloom, fade and be replaced by a new species, each in its own season.  We watched the loons raise their chicks.  Because the windows were always open, we heard birds call, we listened to the wind howl, and we could hear Autumn practice her cello.  The chipmunks played on our deck and kept the dog at bay.

Raiding our bird feeder

If you could get a closer look you would see the
chipmunk sitting just inside the end of this board.

What a strange summer it has been... but strange in the most marvelous ways.  We enjoyed it all so much.  We can't wait to return.