90+ records

In July we had a string of six days in a row with highs over 90°.  Last summers extreme heat in late June prompted us to buy an air conditioner over the winter.  Our house, with its many levels does not lend itself to air-conditioning and we view it as a last resort.  We got a portable air conditioner that is insufficient for the space but has the benefit of smaller size and portability.  I think it made the third floor slightly better but it was still about 87° in the kitchen in the evenings. In the case of wildfire smoke where we have to keep the windows closed overnight I think the impact will be bigger.

On the last 90° day we took a very short bike ride with friends.  It was only 4 miles on the Des Moines Creek trail, however it was good to see how easily D biked back up the hill and we get extra points for the hot weather.  It’s a nice shady trail and the breeze on the beach was lovely. It was also nice to catch up with friends.

Then Dd got to cool off with a sweet dog belonging to the kids’ cousin. 

earth day '22

I celebrated earth day with some targeted recycling!

On Thursday, we finally dropped off some old (mercury laced!!)  light bulbs at a store on Capitol Hill that is part of the LightRecycle Washington program.   https://www.ecolights.com/residential.html 

Then on Friday I rode the bus and walked to drop off 11 months of daily contact lens packaging  and 5 weeks of plastic film.  I feel pretty guilty about wearing daily contacts because of the garbage so I'm glad for this opportunity.  My eyes just got too irritated by 2 week lenses a few years back and it felt like I constantly had sand in my eyes, hence the switch.  Jack and I both wear them less than 50% of days and it is quite nice to decide on a daily basis whether it is a glasses or contacts day.   Days where I need to wear a mask for longer than a grocery store trip are definitely better with contacts than with glasses.    https://www.capitolhillseattle.com/2022/03/grocery-outlet-will-be-capitol-hill-central-district-collection-point-for-pilot-to-test-new-option-for-plastic-film-and-bag-recycling/

The plastic film collection is a King county and Seattle pilot program to see if people will participate.   Thin plastic can't go in regular recycling and actually gums things up at recycling centers.  The idea is that if it is sorted out it can be turned in to more plastic film in a closed loop.

The other "green" things for the day were returning books to the library.   I am so grateful for our local library system.    All of these things served a dual spring cleaning purpose, getting things out of our house....ahhh!

beach - smoke - beach - sickness

As noted, September has a miserable amount of wildfire smoke.  Dd brought home a cold that knocked me down as well.  Miraculously we managed two little getaways exactly in the gaps without smoke or sickness.

At Grayland Beach State park (Yurt 118) we had relaxing time wandering the beach and visiting with my sister and brother in law.  Packing was even on the simpler sides since we shared dinners, didn't pack all the normal tent camping sleeping gear or our bikes.   It was a little cool, but that suited us.

Two weeks later we took the new Argosy small ferry to Blake Island and met my parents there, who kindly carried most of our gear.  They have probably taken their boat there four or five times this season since it is one of their closest getaways from Des Moines.  We had planned to camp two nights but the smoke didn't let up until Saturday morning and Dd's cold improved a lot Friday evening, so we were pleasantly surprised to make it there for one night of camping.  Because of the recent departure of the smoke and a rainy Friday night, the very popular park was nearly empty on Saturday and Sunday morning, which was a treat.  We played on the beach, hiked a bit and spent some good time with my parents.   We had a gorgeous site (#28) and set up our tarp very successfully because there was a bit of rain.  We bought a new tent at the end of last season and this was our second time using it and our first time testing it in the rain and worked very well (unlike the tent it replaced, which would have been miserable in a serious rain).  No one could say we slept well, but compared to our camping trip last August, it was a big improvement. 

2020 smoke

 Dang, what a week it’s been. Today during dinner, the sun simply disappeared in the smoke as it set.  It’s been smokey since the 7th and we are not done yet.   With the windows closed our third flood is easily above 90 degrees so we ate takeout in the entry one evening. Seattle has not quite made it in to the hazardous level (dark purple) but has been ‘very unhealthy’ for days.  At least it’s not as hot anymore.

I’m grateful we have our house, our air filters from previous wildfire smoke years and our elliptical so we can be active.  Even with the filters we have experienced some headaches and sore throats, which is nothing relative to the lot of many others in the PNW.