Breaking Records

So just how hot was it yesterday? Well, we broke a record here at the Three Cats Ranch. In the 19 years since the Three Cats Ranch was established, we've never broken 100°F. Yesterday's temperature can be seen in the lower right hand corner:

Not only that, Portland recorded it's highest ever on record temperature yesterday at 108°F. That isn't just the highest for the date in June. It's the highest ever on record for any day. It's as hot as Phoenix, Arizona, here in the Pacific Northwest. It will be even hotter today, so buckle up my friends, and try to stay cool.

The kitties really wanted to be outside, but it was too hot even for them. They were seen cooling themselves on the shaded concrete.

Smitty figured out that he can cool his tummy furs and his back furs by sidling up to the concrete foundation of the house.

Sadie would have done the same thing if Smitty hadn't been hogging the whole space. She just stuck her tongue out at him and called it good.

When we let them out first thing yesterday, they immediately looked toward the catio and ran that direction. I went to the laundry room window so I could see what they were seeing. There, I caught this guy trying to chew his way inside again. (Shakes fist!!)

When this first started happening, I thought they were picking at the pet bed I'd placed on that shelf to use for nesting material...or something. Who can know the mind of a squirrel? I removed the bed, hoping to discourage them. It seems as if they discover a way into something, and then just can't resist doing it again and again and again. We've managed to keep them out of the greenhouse by filling in their hole with rocks, pouring ammonia into the hole, and then covering it with a large sheet of plywood. They are destructive little buggers. Mike is going to replace this fencing with a metal mesh, but it's too hot for that just now.

While I was out, I checked again on the cherry tree. Closer and closer. We'll have to pick them this week sometime since we have a camping trip planned next weekend. I'm hoping this heat wave will get them to ripen, but I'm not above jumping the gun if necessary. There's canning to be done, and not much time left to do it.

I watered the pots and hoed the weeds in the garden. It was already getting warm. I finished up and came back inside by 10:30 a.m. and found Himself lounging on the table. This is ordinarily off limits behavior. Smitty just wonders why we put a quilt there if he's not supposed to lie on it. I'll admit it is a reasonable question.

After lunch, I made my way into the sewing room, where it's nice and cool. I added the first border to the bear quilt.

Smitty and Sadie were both helping with this.

They were enjoying the cool basement as much as I was.

I was in the middle of making a test recipe for America's Test Kitchens. I can't say anything more about it than that, but I can say that it was a five-star effort for about three stars worth of flavor. I won't be making that again. And all of that to say that I had the borders and cornerstones laid out on the floor when it was time to start cooking.

Once I had dinner simmering on the stove-top, I had plenty of time to sew everything together, and now the quilt top is finished. It looks wonky in this picture, but it isn't. I'm just never able to hold the camera level when I have my arm extended out for a picture of whatever happens to be lying on my design floor.

Okay, so I can't go any further with this until the backing fabric arrives on Monday sometime. As soon as I have that backing fabric in my hot little hands (hot...yes), I'll sandwich it for quilting. The binding strips are cut. I'm using the same dark brown from the border. It would be nice if I could get it off in the mail to the new baby sometime this week, but that might be overly optimistic.

As for today, I'll need to water the flower pots again. When it's this hot, they need watering every day. But don't look for me to be hoeing weeds today. It's too danged hot for that. It's going to be hot tomorrow too, but we'll see cooler temperatures starting then. Also, I got out of jury duty yet again on Monday. Two more call-ins left for my month-long commitment. Think I'll make it? I'll be very pleasantly surprised if I can get through the month without ever reporting even once.

Also on today's agenda, I'm going to get a start on my Sonora Desert piece. If nothing else, I'd like to get the pattern drawn out. I think I know just what to do with this. It's probably good to have had some time to mull it over. It's still sitting exactly where I left it.

Also, I want to get started sewing the embellishments to the farm quilt. It will be so, so, so good to have this one finished. As I've already mentioned, I'm going to leave the bucket handle off, but there are plenty of little apples to sew on. 

So there's plenty to keep me busy inside on this hot day. Just now, I'm heading into the kitchen to make some blueberry oatmeal pancakes. Let's not call them hotcakes today, okay? What are you doing to keep cool?