Today is the first of July, which means it is Canada Day, so Happy Canada Day to everyone north of our border! I hope for your sake it's more comfortable, temperature-wise.
And for those of us who live elsewhere, Happy July 1! We are officially starting the second half of 2026, which is - at least for me - always hard to wrap my brain around. We are supposed to have temperatures in the 100+ degree range over the next 5 or 6 days, and that's not even taking into account the infamous "feels like" temperature that includes the humidity! Gah. My reverse SAD is kicking into gear.
This morning, however, felt very very nice, so Alfie and I took advantage of time out in the garden, since the next few days will probably not be good ones to be out there.
He was very pleased to be out there, but not so much to come back inside. But I told him that after we fill the bird feeders, we have to come in so that the birds and squirrels can have a chance to eat. He usually give me a dirty look, but then once we are actually inside, he remembers that the window looks out onto the garden, so it's all good.
We were supposed to go to a baseball game tomorrow - our annual Pittsburgh Pirates vs. the Philadelphia Phillies - but since it's supposed to be at least 104 degrees, and we don't do well in extreme heat, we sold our tickets. I just hope the person who bought them is sensible about being prepared for the weather. Our seats are under an overhang, so at least they won't be out in the direct sun, baking away. It's extremely disappointing, but July is a crap shoot with a few nice days mixed in with mostly awful days, and this year we lost that bet.
Saturday is of course July 4, and the 250th birthday of America (as well as a World Cup match here in Philadelphia). I am beyond disappointed that Orange Foolius is in office and doing his asinine things during this special time, which I've looked forward to for years. I had already decided that I was going to ignore his plans, and enjoy being in Philadelphia instead. But now a lot of things are being cancelled or time-shortened, etc. because of the extreme heat. Which I am also blaming him for, BTW, because he makes life hell on earth, and now it even feels like it!
Oh well, we'll just have our own little party together here in the house. Happy 250 indeed.
Speaking of the World Cup, it has been wonderful to be in Philadelphia with so many people visiting and seeming to enjoy themselves so much! Last week, I took a walk, and stopped at a neighborhood coffee shop, and while I was waiting for my order, there were two young men in soccer jerseys sitting at a table. One of them asked me if I lived in the neighborhood, and I said yes, and we spent about 20 minutes chatting. They were visiting from Munich, Germany for some of the World Cup matches. They had been in Houston for a match a couple of days before, and told me it was too hot there, and hard to walk around, with no good public transportation. But they LOVED Philadelphia! They said in some ways, it was a lot like Munich - but "not as many lakes" - and they were enjoying themselves immensely here. After here, they were headed to NYC and then back home. They were kind of disappointed not to see more matches, but until they tried to book their trip, they didn't realize that "America is so big that it's hard to get to some places easily." And I know that, but I tend to forget - especially since here in the Northeast, things are so close together.
Anyway, they were lovely, and I was glad they were getting such a good impression not only of the city, but the country at large. One of them said, "Americans are MUCH nicer than Donald Trump." Low bar, but still. I told him to please tell people that when they got home.
I was telling this to a friend, and she told me that she read that someone said that the New York Knicks victory parade, Mayor Mamdani's speech there, the opening of the Obama Center, and the World Cup were all the 250th celebration we deserved. I completely agree, and I'm going with that.
Someone posted on Instagram that having the World Cup in the U.S. was like having your cousins visit after you haven't seen them for years, because your respective sets of parents are no longer speaking to one another. 😄
OK enough blathering from me about all of this. I hope if you are somewhere that is too hot, or too cold, or suffering too many fires, or just whatever else is being unleashed, that you can manage to keep safe and comfortable.
And I hope if you are Canadian, you'll have a Tim Hortons for me. (A donut or cruller, with a hot tea with milk. Or, Timbits are also good - you choose!)
Take care, everyone!
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