There are a lot of reasons I love the month of May.
One is that my Mom’s birthday falls in the the month of May, and I love my Mom. Another is that Mother’s Day falls in the month of May, and I love my Mom.
Spring weather is another reason I love the month of May. The nights are cool, so even if it gets stinking hot during the day, the temperature at night is pleasant for sleeping.
The month of May looks and smells wonderful. There are flowers in bloom; Wild Violets, Lungwort, Dandelions, Trout Lilies, Lilacs, Trilliums, Blood Root, and my absolute favourite, tree blossoms, apple and cherry and peach.
Having the windows open for the first time since the previous fall is another thing I love about the month of May.
I love asparagus and rhubarb, both ready for harvest in the month of May.
I love camping, an activity that can begin during the month of May.
Yesterday I spent the day trying to organize Iris for the next camping excursion. I purchased cheap plastic containers to contain our belongings when Iris is in motion. On our first trip there was a lot of shifting going on, nothing damaged, but not desirable just the same. To further the organizing project, Attila and I visited Canadian tire where we found two smallish totes to use for setting up our kitchen on weekends; one will contain food and the other dishes and pots and pans. Iris sits quite a distance from the fire pit and the picnic table, so that transporting needed objects one by one is not practical. I also purchased a D size battery to operate a Caframo portable fan. I suffer in the heat, really suffer, and a fan makes a big difference to my comfort during a hot night.
This morning I rushed first thing to Canadian Tire, yet again. The sale that starts today featured a decent quality air mattress. I decided that because campers complain about air mattresses being cold to sleep on, they might be great for sleeping on hot nights. Holy cow, if this works while sleeping in Iris, it might work at home in my very own bed too, wouldn’t that be cool. The memory foam is hot to sleep on, it can be used in late September and October when the nights are cold, but not during the summer. I couldn’t resist picking up a pie iron, since all of our camping meals are cooked over the open fire, this should add some variety to our diet, now to find healthy recipes that include vegetables! I managed to pay for most of the cost of the air mattress and the pie iron with my credit card points, which was very satisfying.
Worldly Distractions
Weather
13°C
Date: 8:00 AM EDT Wednesday 25 May 2016
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.6 kPa
Tendency: rising
Visibility: 24 km
Temperature: 13.4°C
Dewpoint: 9.9°C
Humidity: 79%
Wind: S 21 km/hr
Today
Cloudy. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud near noon with 30 percent chance of showers this afternoon. Risk of a thunderstorm late this afternoon. Wind becoming southwest 20 km/h gusting to 40 late this morning. High 26 except 21 near Lake Ontario. UV index 7 or high.
Tonight
Partly cloudy. Low 14.
21°C
Date: 10:00 AM EDT Thursday 26 May 2016
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.8 kPa
Tendency: falling
Visibility: 24 km
Temperature: 20.6°C
Dewpoint: 13.2°C
Humidity: 62%
Wind: SE 18 km/h
Humidex: 24
Today
A mix of sun and cloud. 60 percent chance of showers late this afternoon with risk of a thunderstorm. High 24 except 19 near Lake Ontario. UV index 8 or very high.
Tonight
Mainly cloudy with 60 percent chance of showers and risk of a thunderstorm. Low 16.
Quote
“Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking.”
H. L. Mencken
1880 – 1956
I’d like to believe that this is not true of many people, but I fear that it is. However, I don’t agree that this definition is universal. I feel that a conscience is that inner voice that represents our capacity for compassion, tolerance, and kindness… and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the concept that somebody may be looking. I also feel that my definition of a conscience is active and admirable in the people I respect and love. Mr. Mencken does not speak for me.
May is a lovely month. I especially like it when it takes its time warming up and the spring flowers stay a week or two longer.
Like you, I don’t care for Mr. Mencken’s definition of conscience. Makes me think he’s either Freudian or a Pharisee. I too think/hope the majority of us with a conscience have it due to our own compassion, tolerance, and kindness – though I will admit that I’ve met a few people who only control their actions (show a conscience) based on whether or not they’re being observed. I find those folk extremely disheartening and at times somewhat dangerous and do my best to avoid them.
Teri, I too find avoidance a good way to handle those who want to appear to have a conscience, but really don’t… they seem to attract one another, which makes it easier.
Maggie, despite my aversion to camping myself, it’s delightful to read about the joy you and Attila have in it.
Since I live in a place where we’re about due for a hurricane again and have a well that doesn’t have a pump when the power goes out, I’m taking good mental notes about coping strategies! Yesterday’s toilet article was particularly useful.
Seems you really have to have your wits about you when you are preparing Iris for a trip. The totes might help. But what on earth is a pie iron?
I have a large (double bed size) piece of memory foam but the way I ended up using it was I put it UNDER the mattress but on top of the box spring. That way, I wasn’t in contact with it, but it gave that springiness I wanted, that give to the painful arthritic joints!
Pie iron! I don’t know why we had one of those when I was a kid because we never ever went camping. But after church on Sundays, sometimes Dad would make sandwiches with cheese, onions, hot dogs (I know – not healthy but what did we know?), using a pie iron. We had a gas stove with an open flame and he’d cook them on top of that. Delicious! It was a great treat! I can only imagine that whatever you cook over a camp fire would taste even better!
Thanks Wendy! I am glad my toilet odyssey is of interest, I have spent a lot of time considering what to do about the basics of life!
On the subject of wells, I have been looking into possibilities for wells, because we have a deep well already drilled at the Rideau Camp. I have been looking at Bison pumps, and Simple pumps, which you can use to manually pump water. Also, in case of water contamination, the Berkey water filtration system which we use would give you potable water during a flood situation.
Diane, a pie iron is a cooker on a stick to cook sandwiches over the open fire. The cooker end is usually made of cast iron, two pieces that you put bread on, with filling in between, to cook over a fire. Here is a link to a fancy one, non-stick, double sized, ours is a very basic single size, and it isn’t non-stick. http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/woods-non-stick-double-sandwich-toaster-0765757p.html
Bex, that is a great idea, to put the memory foam under the mattress, particularly since you have tested it. I might just try that on my bed in the house. In Iris though I am unwilling to sleep directly on the cushions because there are two them and the joint between them is extremely uncomfortable. If the air mattress on top doesn’t provide enough give for the old bones though, I might use both the memory foam under the cusions and the air mattress on top… I remind myself of the princess and the pea!
What a great memory, and those sandwiches sound delicious Sandy! I am sure Attila will give that combination a try, he is more active than I am and can afford the calories, and he burns off the fat. Also, thanks for the insight into using the pie iron on a gas stove burner! I would not have thought of it, and now we have the option of using the pie iron with the propane camp stove.
*grin* Pie irons are a favorite in this family, too. Actually. YoungerSon30 asked for a pie iron for Christmas 2 years ago because he had great memories from his childhood. He and the grandchildren have been having a great time with it ever since. 😉
One thing I found out about air mattresses, if you want them to be on the soft side you have to only partially fill them. If you fill them completely they’re extremely hard.
Thanks for the info on air mattresses Teri. The one I found has a foam core, is self-inflating, and seems quite comfortable. I don’t know if it was fully inflated though, as it does that itself, 🙂 It was more comfortable than 4 inches of memory foam though, so I am quite happy with it.