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“The cold never bothered me anyway.” Frozen - Elsa (Idina Menzel)
Cold weather is upon us in South America. Yes, June, July, and August are winter months below the equator in Uruguay.
I'm not sure I will ever get accustomed to cold weather in July. Around the 20th of June, my head starts ringing with "Jingle Bells" as my brain says, "Christmas is almost here." On July 4th, as I read on Facebook of friends and family celebrating Independence Day with picnics, sunglasses, and fried chicken, I looked outside to frost on the ground. Topsy turvy is this world south of the equator.
Cold weather is upon us in South America. Yes, June, July, and August are winter months below the equator in Uruguay.
I'm not sure I will ever get accustomed to cold weather in July. Around the 20th of June, my head starts ringing with "Jingle Bells" as my brain says, "Christmas is almost here." On July 4th, as I read on Facebook of friends and family celebrating Independence Day with picnics, sunglasses, and fried chicken, I looked outside to frost on the ground. Topsy turvy is this world south of the equator.
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“You can dance in the storm. Don't wait for the rain to be over before because it might take too long. You can do it now. Wherever you are, right now, you can start, right now; this very moment.” ― Israelmore Ayivor
The clouds in Uruguay are amazing. I had forgotten how clouds could look, until I really looked at them here.
The clouds in Uruguay are amazing. I had forgotten how clouds could look, until I really looked at them here.
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"This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather." - Groundhog Day - Phil (Bill Murray)
Wouldn't you know it? - The first summer spent in Uruguay was the hottest summer in 30 years! My quest to buy an air conditioner is now EPIC. A neighbor bought several "splits" (air/heating units that hang on the wall). He liked them, so I asked him to contact the installer for me. Well, with flurry of Christmas preparations, that got pushed to the back burner.
The day after Christmas, I met up with said neighbor at a pool party and barbecue. It was about 95 degrees and I was not glowing as a righteous Southern Belle should. I was sweating like a pig. I'm afraid I grabbed him by the shirt and not thinking before speaking, I said in a very loud voice, "I am too old to be this hot!" That got lots of laughter all around and made my temperature rise even more due to the reddest face on Earth!
He whipped out his phone right then and there; hot and sweaty Southern Belles can be very scary. Two days later, I had an air conditioner installed for the bedroom. Very few private homes have central air and heat (unless you are very wealthy and can wait weeks for replacement parts). Growing up in the South, I had lived with central cooling and heating systems since I was a child. Old habits are hard to break, but being without has been a mostly pleasant surprise. I've learned to watch the skies and certainly talk about the weather more often. Of course the day after it was installed, the weather turned cooler for a week. Ahhh….nature.
The day after Christmas, I met up with said neighbor at a pool party and barbecue. It was about 95 degrees and I was not glowing as a righteous Southern Belle should. I was sweating like a pig. I'm afraid I grabbed him by the shirt and not thinking before speaking, I said in a very loud voice, "I am too old to be this hot!" That got lots of laughter all around and made my temperature rise even more due to the reddest face on Earth!
He whipped out his phone right then and there; hot and sweaty Southern Belles can be very scary. Two days later, I had an air conditioner installed for the bedroom. Very few private homes have central air and heat (unless you are very wealthy and can wait weeks for replacement parts). Growing up in the South, I had lived with central cooling and heating systems since I was a child. Old habits are hard to break, but being without has been a mostly pleasant surprise. I've learned to watch the skies and certainly talk about the weather more often. Of course the day after it was installed, the weather turned cooler for a week. Ahhh….nature.
Our new cooling/heating unit
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"Holy Mackerel!" - Arsenic and Old Lace - Mortimer Brewster (Cary Grant)
We just came back from the Sunday Mercado (Market) in Maldonado. It's a combo farmer's market and flea market. They sell everything from old shoes and live chickens to nearly every fruit and vegetable imaginable! We bought avocados the size of grapefruits and lemons the size of oranges. The celery bunch we bought is so big, I had to struggle to find a spot in the refrigerator and the cabbage is as big as a basketball!
Our construction site is one big mud hole today after the huge rains we had Friday night and all day yesterday. Thundershirts were definitely in order for our two scaredy-cat Border Collies yesterday, and the dogs mainly slept. We had another round of thunder like I've never heard late yesterday afternoon. This sent Gracie, Thundershirt and all, up onto our bed with her head buried under the covers. Today is beautiful though; it will be 64 degrees and sunny.
We just came back from the Sunday Mercado (Market) in Maldonado. It's a combo farmer's market and flea market. They sell everything from old shoes and live chickens to nearly every fruit and vegetable imaginable! We bought avocados the size of grapefruits and lemons the size of oranges. The celery bunch we bought is so big, I had to struggle to find a spot in the refrigerator and the cabbage is as big as a basketball!
Our construction site is one big mud hole today after the huge rains we had Friday night and all day yesterday. Thundershirts were definitely in order for our two scaredy-cat Border Collies yesterday, and the dogs mainly slept. We had another round of thunder like I've never heard late yesterday afternoon. This sent Gracie, Thundershirt and all, up onto our bed with her head buried under the covers. Today is beautiful though; it will be 64 degrees and sunny.
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"I hate snakes…, I hate 'em." - Raiders of the Lost Ark - Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford)
Early on, experienced several firsts for Uruguayan life. One was my first Uruguayan SNAKE encounter. I was picking up construction debris from around the house and bent over to see a red, yellow, and black snake hissing only a few centimeters from my face and a few meters from the dogs. Two of the construction workers were here, so I began to run away and scream, "SNAKE!" After a minute of screaming, I realized my screams were in English.
Fortunately, Esteban understood some English and started yelling, "SERPIENTE!" We stood there staring at each other, yelling back and forth for awhile, then took off for the back of the house. Pepe, the other worker, ran along with us, carrying a concrete block. I barely had time to wonder why, but was too panicked to question. The serpentina was laying there, waiting for us. I can never remember little rhyme for colors of poisonous snakes.
Apparently, there is is a similar rhyme in Spanish about yellow on black etc., as well. Esteban and Pepe couldn't remember the Spanish version and I couldn't remember the English one. What a crew we were! We decided that a snake is a snake (o una serpiente es una serpiente), so Esteban threw the concrete block at it. Concrete travels slowly and snakes quickly; the result was a snake underneath the house!
Minutes later, our builder arrived and after our description of the serpiente, informed us that it was not poisonous. Hmmm... a snake is a snake.
Another first - my first tormenta (storm) in Uruguay. We awoke during the night to torrential rain, fog, and very high winds. Power was out for most of the morning, but for some reason - the Internet is worked beautifully, for the first time. Go figure... Thank goodness for our generator - hot coffee.
Winds were howling with 45 mph gusts, dogs were sleeping (thank goodness), and the wood stove was keeping our little casita toasty warm. All was dry inside, so hopefully the roof holds. At one point I looked out the window to see the neighbor's four horses running across our land like they were being chased. Guess the wind spooked them - I know it has me spooked.
Fortunately, Esteban understood some English and started yelling, "SERPIENTE!" We stood there staring at each other, yelling back and forth for awhile, then took off for the back of the house. Pepe, the other worker, ran along with us, carrying a concrete block. I barely had time to wonder why, but was too panicked to question. The serpentina was laying there, waiting for us. I can never remember little rhyme for colors of poisonous snakes.
Apparently, there is is a similar rhyme in Spanish about yellow on black etc., as well. Esteban and Pepe couldn't remember the Spanish version and I couldn't remember the English one. What a crew we were! We decided that a snake is a snake (o una serpiente es una serpiente), so Esteban threw the concrete block at it. Concrete travels slowly and snakes quickly; the result was a snake underneath the house!
Minutes later, our builder arrived and after our description of the serpiente, informed us that it was not poisonous. Hmmm... a snake is a snake.
Another first - my first tormenta (storm) in Uruguay. We awoke during the night to torrential rain, fog, and very high winds. Power was out for most of the morning, but for some reason - the Internet is worked beautifully, for the first time. Go figure... Thank goodness for our generator - hot coffee.
Winds were howling with 45 mph gusts, dogs were sleeping (thank goodness), and the wood stove was keeping our little casita toasty warm. All was dry inside, so hopefully the roof holds. At one point I looked out the window to see the neighbor's four horses running across our land like they were being chased. Guess the wind spooked them - I know it has me spooked.
