Another Haircut!

 Another Haircut!

 

So, from neck length bushiness to slicked back shortness, the old woman is just a tad cooler around the neckline. Finished with the haircut, made a trip over to Whataburger to pick up lunch for myself and my neighbor. We had to sit inside to eat because the sunshine on the patio was glaring and quite hot. We would have had to keep an eye on Roxy, too. Inside just worked out much cooler and calmer.

 

Patty had taken her hair down and washed it this morning. Her hair is curly like mine used to be. She asked if mine would be curly now as it grows out a bit. Nope. Amber thinned every bit of it on top, so if it curls, it will look more like the kid who put a fork in the electric socket! Had planned to try to get Patty to let me take her to Amber to get her head scrubbed and possibly cut a bit. But she had already washed it by the time of my arrival. It just about takes it out of her to stand long enough to wash her hair in the shower since the sciatic nerve in her left leg is so painful. Let us tell you! Getting old is not for sissies!

 

Read quite a bit of the Backwoods Home magazine last night. Most of that stuff is not ever going to apply to my situation, but it was still interesting. Have not done any canning in years and don’t plan to have enough produce to do it again. The hens love things like corn and will eat just about any green thing tossed to them, but seldom have tomatoes that have gone too soft unless it is one that comes from Patty’s place. Now the information about the raised beds was good to know. The article suggested putting in seasoned poop from cows, horses, sheep, etc. That means no fresh hen poo, however. Seasoned means some that has been around long enough to decay somewhat. Wish my compost pile were already going strong, but still have not put a fence around the stuff that is intended for compost. And the hens scratch it out almost as fast as it is dumped on the “pile.” At least a bunch of branches have accumulated to put in the bottom of another raised bed. Have been saving the cardboard boxes to go on the ground, too. They will keep the grass from growing through the bed—at least that is my hope.

 

The humidity was 98% this morning since we had some rain overnight. But at least the temperature was not that bad. Looks as if we won’t be in the triple digits this coming week. Here’s hoping that it won’t fool the weather forecasters. This has already been a strange beginning, but the official date of summer is usually around the 21^st of this month.

 

A person can’t totally dig under a rock and not see what is going on around us, so today the rockets from Lebanon are not all that surprising. Nor is the demand from Hamas that Israel totally withdraw from Gaza. AS IF Israel would be stupid enough to negotiate with terrorists!

 

Another interesting situation has begun in Ireland where the government is demanding that all future construction on government buildings use less of the materials that cause heating of the atmosphere. “The new requirements call for 30% clinker substitution in concrete for all government and public works projects as well as the phase-out of more polluting "high-clinker cement" variations. Clinker is the binding agent that sets and hardens cement, which the European Cement Association describes as "the backbone of cement production" and "essentially a mix of limestone and minerals that have been heated in a kiln."

As the heating process used to create clinker contributes the most planet-overheating air pollution in the cement manufacturing process, scientists have been hard at work trying to develop alternatives.

These alternatives include olivine, a class of magnesium-rich, rock-forming mineral common in the Earth's upper mantle. 

Scientists have also developed production methods that require less heat, significantly lowering the carbon dioxide output in the process.”

 

It’s not likely that we will ever have a high-rise building made of compressed hay or the fiber from marijuana plants, but it does make sense that any process that requires a kiln to combine elements is going to heat the environment immediately and eventually. Mankind is smarter than this, so why could we not recycle something already in use—plastic and glass, for instance. Houses made from recycled glass might be better than wood. Earthquakes and tornadoes are going to happen anyway, but why use wood that burns and splinters into particles of ash and other fibers. As much as some of us despise fiberglass, surely it could be used in some manner to make compressed boards for building houses, at least. When we modified my office, my desire was NO sheetrock and NO fiberglass in the walls. So, Lewis used some kind of sheets of foam with aluminum as a barrier to the cold, and he completed the inside walls with sheets of wood that we stained. Cedar was what appealed to me at the time, but it was terribly expensive, and he thought the odor would be too much. As it was, the wood paneling really smelled strongly of something like cedar.

 

Finally, let us be reminded that we are special children in God’s eyes. Not because of anything that we have done or have found to accomplish, but because of the blood that covers us and our sins. We may have all kinds of trials and mountains that bear down on us, but not one is bigger than our Father in heaven. He will accomplish His purpose!

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.