Thursday, August 14, 2008

The Dog Days of Summer have got me down.

Actually it's the dog hair of summer that's really bugging me but I've decided to blame it all on Ancient Cultures because it's more interesting that way.


Did you know that July and August are called the dog days of summer because of Sirius the Dog Star? Way back in Roman times the hottest weeks of summer coincided with Sirius rising just before dawn. Back then they also used to sacrifice a brown dog to assuage the rage of Sirius and keep the miserable days to a minimum. I'm not quite sure how killing a dog would make the weather change but I'm beginning to think it is time for drastic action. Not that I don't love my dogs but I am seriously ready to lose my mind over the amount of hair they leave lying around the house. I've been thinking of shaving them and knitting little dog hair sweaters to keep them warm.

Sweaters don't shed, they just pill and I don't mind pulling out the sweater shaver every few days and neatening them up. It's got to be easier than dealing with the perfect storm of golden doggy clouds that rise every time I turn on a fan.... and I turned on all the fans today.

Two days of record temperatures and too many snacks from the freezer have left me lethargic and strangely sentimental for 1980. It was the summer before my Junior year of high school, it was hot, and I had strep throat. I spent day after day sitting in my darkened living room, eating frozen treats to keep cool, and watching the Olympics in Moscow on TV. Speaking of popsicles... did you know that today is National Creamsicle Day?

We didn't get Creamsicles back in 1980 because they didn't last long enough in a house without air conditioning and three kids home alone all summer. We got Otter Pops. And we were happy to have them (oh yes we were Mom) they were so much better than ice cubes on toothpicks! But every now and then the ice cream truck would come by, while my brothers were busy climbing on the roof or melting plastic army men, and I would rush out and get myself a real Creamsicle. Ahh.. the sticky orange shell covering the luscious vanilla-ish inside. It was truly a Quintessentially Frozen Treat. I haven't had one in years. I considered getting the kids a box in honor of the holiday but it was just too hot to go out. So I stayed in and made my own.


Happy Creamsicle Day!

7 comments:

Leeann said...

I like your background! I usually use my Reader so I hadn't seen it.
Really hot, humid days do suck. Sorry you guys are stuck in that weather pattern for now. But hey, your area changes pretty quickly.
We've had a very wet, not too hot summer here this year. We haven't even had too many days in the 90s.

Leeann
niccofive.blogspot.com

JCK said...

Love the blog design!

Your reminisces had me going back, too. Especially funny on the melting army men.

Hope the heat wave breaks soon and you can go out for creamsicles!

nicrogers said...

Your creamsicles are much better than the frozen kind you get in the grocery store. Plus, you have the added benifit of not being required to share with the crumbsnatchers.

Gina said...

Thanks for the nice comments about the new design everyone. I tried on about 17 before settling for this. I would really like to have something more personal like JCK's Motherscribe but I think you actually have to have some idea of who you are in order to come up with such a succinct design. Hell I can't even come up with a snazzly title. So I'll just settle for green. :-D

ms-teacher said...

I'm totally going to have to try that Creamsicle drink. Also, if you make it to Modesto, let me know! Perhaps we can figure out a way to meet halfway from where I'm at. E-mail me (e-mail address is on my blog) o.k.?

Laura/CenterDownHome said...

That creamsicle drink? Here it would totally have a dog hair or two floating on top.

What is it with the great blobs of hair floating across the wood floor and piling up in the corners, where they ... mate? And make more dog hair blobs?

I can't put Hector-the-fox-red-lab outside, though. He thinks that he is one of my kids, and has no idea that the doghouse in the backyard is his. I can see his dog grin now: "Haha! You're kidding, right?"

Gina said...

MS Teacher, I would love to get together. Hopefully I can make that work. I'll let you know.

Laura, Lab hair does that too?? I thought they didn't shed as much as goldens. I love my wood floors, and we are planning on extending the wood into the dining and living rooms, but dark cherry was not the best choice for hiding dog clouds.

Hector would get along well with George and Gracie, outside is a fun place to visit but live there? Umm, no. Gracie actually seems to have a phobia about closed doors and will come back inside if I close the patio door. She knows how to open it too.