The Joneses wrote:
> "George Shirley" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>The Joneses wrote:
>>
>>>"George Shirley" > wrote in message
. ..
>>>
>>>
>>>>With daily temperatures running up into the middle nineties Farenheit the
>>>>old garden isn't producing a lot. A few tomatoes along, the beets are
>>>>really slowing up (and I so wanted to send some to Barb), so are the
>>>>carrots. The greens are gone, most of the bush beans are shot and it
>>>>seems the eggplant are done early this year. The figs haven't started
>>>>coming in and the kumquats and the lemon tree are blooming like crazy,
>>>>citrus smell all over the backyard. The Japanese persimmon has lost most
>>>>of its fruit and we will be lucky to get any at all. the sunchokes, aka
>>>>Jerusalem artichokes, are producing but we will sieve them out of the
>>>>soil and sell them at the farmers market. Neither of us can tolerate them
>>>>without a whole bottle of Beano inside us. Pity because they are tasty
>>>>when fresh. The blueberries and blackberries are done too. I guess if we
>>>>could zinnias, torenias, and a few other flowers we would be okay but
>>>>normally we only eat the pansies, nastursiums, and violets in a salad.
>>>>
>>>>By the way, how is the weather in El Paso del Norte?
>>>>
>>>>George, who sometimes, in the wee hours, wishes he lived at least one
>>>>heat zone further north
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Daily temps in the lower 100's, and overwhelming humidity sometimes clear
>>>up to 30%. I can hardly breathe. We siesta during the noonish hours. And
>>>my garden is pretty bare, too. Afraid to plant anything for fear it'll
>>>get scorched between sunrise and sunset.
>>>Edrena
>>>
>>>
>>
>>30% humidity sounds like heaven. When we lived in Saudi Arabia we had
>>humidity about 20-30% and loved it. Humidity here on the Gulf Coast is
>>more likely to be 90 to 96% and only drops lower than that when it rains.
>>We hide in the air conditioned house when it gets that hot and wet. Nearly
>>everyone here has air conditioned cars and air conditioned houses. when I
>>was a kid we had an attic fan and you finally cooled off about 2 am only
>>to get heated up again by 9 am. My folks were one of the first families
>>where we lived to get ac and they got it after I went in the Navy in 1957,
>>along with central heat, a television, etc. Dad said it was because the
>>grocery bill dropped $80 a month after I left home. I didn't believe him
>>until my kids left home. Stay out of the hot and wet Edrena.
>>
>>George
>
>
> When I went into basic training, the service actually served dessert. With
> every meal! And whole milk! I gained 10 lbs in basic.
> Way beyond that now...
> Y'all keep yer heads covered when the wind blows, ya hear? Fixin' to mail
> the kids off some survival packages for the season. One in 'Bama and one on
> the Beach.
> Edrena
>
>
>
I went into the USN in 1957 Edrena, tender age of 17. Got so used to
eating huge southern meals at home that I thought I would starve to
death in boot camp. In eight weeks I grew two inches taller and lost 20
lbs. Got off of active duty in fall of 1960 and ballooned up to 165 and
stayed there for about 16 years. I was jumping out of airplanes as a
part-time (read NG) trooper, and marching 25 miles a day with a 9.5 lb
rifle (Garand) and a 90 lb field pack so stayed pretty fit. Lordy, quit
that stuff, got a desk job and pretty soon was hitting 200 lbs. Went to
Saudi Arabia in 1980 and got up to 275 lbs, all of this on a 5 foot 8
inch frame. Don't talk to me about gaining weight, I can look at food
and gain weight.

Since I got out of the hospital on 3/27/2007 I've put back nearly 20 lbs
of the 103 lbs I had lost prior to that. I'm managing to trim off some
of it but still have another 30 lbs to go to get to what the docs
consider my "ideal" weight. When I was young (late twenties, early
thirties) I could lose a lb a day getting ready to go to summer camp.

I make my kids come and get the goodies, they both live a little north
of Houston and get weekends off. Don't see them that often as they have
their own lives to lead so don't worry about it. Both are in their
mid-forties now and pretty well grown up. Now I worry about the grown-up
grandkids more often than not. <VBG> 27, 24, and soon to be 21 those
are. I do get to play with the greatgrands when their daddy brings them
to visit, ages 6 and 3 and a lot more fun than grandkids.

George