Saturday, August 01, 2009

Cooler temperatures

After Aimee threatened to take away the air conditioning unit she loaned us, Apollo finally decided to install it in one of the two windows it would fit in. (Of course, it's now only 88 degree's Fahrenheit outside.) We decided on the kitchen window, since using the dining room window also meant we wouldn't be able to open the front door and we rather like using that door.

I was hoping it would get put in earlier and for some reason I was acting all helpless female, so we missed it during the heat wave last week. I guess that's what happens when extreme laziness sets in.

Meanwhile, the cats were panting and inventing new ways to keep cool, like laying with their legs up against the walls and all legs splayed out with tummies flattened on the floor. At one point, I started petting Zoe with my soda can that I had just retrieved from the fridge. She didn't seem to mind, so I laid it next to her on the couch. She ended up leaning up against it, laying her chin on it and finally stretching near it for about 30 minutes. She is truly the princess of the house, why else would she wear a pink bow with sparkles?

Zoe cooling off with a can of cold soda

Speaking of the heat, we haven't cooked in the house for quite a while now. Apollo's been taking the opportunity to grill outside every night. He got a Coleman grill for his birthday in July and it's definitely come in handy. The cool thing about it is it comes apart from the legs so you can easily take it places. We've already taken it on a 4th of July outing to Triangle Lake and Mom's potluck. He was gifted an extra grill for it since one half of the existing unit came with a flat cast iron griddle. I just love that you can buy accessories like that. The only bad (or good) part about it is it uses those tiny Coleman propane fuel tanks and they burn out unexpectedly or sooner than one would like. (However, they aid in the portability.) Fortunately, there's an adaptor that will allow us to hook up a larger sized tank. I'm fairly certain Apollo will be buying one of those soon.

The grill isn't one of those ginormous types that take up as much room as a small sofa, which seems that's all you see in stores, but Apollo had been admiring this one because of its decent grill area and portability. I was shocked he wanted (you wouldn't believe the whining) a gas grill since he had always belittled them and said something about getting his Black Man card revoked if he used one. But it's definitely welcome in this heat when we don't want to sit around and wait for hot coals to get ready to cook on. Plus I don't think anyone will question his ethnicity, definitely not here in Oregon. (Once in San Diego while we were hanging out in Balboa park, a tourist asked him if he was Mexican. Ha!)

Apollo grilling zucchini and potatoes fresh from the garden

Last night we had fresh potatoes and zucchini from the garden along with chicken breasts marinated with Thai seasoning. Who would have thought grilled veggies could taste so good? I haven't had potatoes in ages because I grew up eating them with butter and gravy and didn't know any other way to eat them. And since I'm not eating that much fat now, potatoes just didn't have a place in our kitchen. But I decided to try growing them in the garden because it seemed sacrilegious to not include them. I surprised at how good a fresh potato tastes! Apollo coats them with a little olive oil and seasoning and that's it. I think that's what he's doing with the zucchini too, which I didn't know I'd enjoy so much. I try to have them every night now.

Well, the AC unit kicked off. Zoe is running around like a crazy monkey and Simba is biting the curtain. They're finally acting like themselves again now that it's a little cooler in the house. I wonder what August has in store for us?

1 comment:

jazz said...
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