Dog Days...

I didn't do much of anything this week-end.

I just ~vegged~ out.

A short jaunt to work late this afternoon and well...

That was about it.


102 degrees Fahrenheit today.

Day Number 17 of 100 degree, or 100+, temperatures.

Certainly not a record, or anything like that.


We sure do like to complain about the heat, but most of us have it so good.

With air conditioning in our homes AND our cars.

We can set the thermostat, sit back with a TV remote...

And something cool to drink.


No troubles sleeping at night with the A/C on.

And the sheets don't stick to you either.


My kids don't really know what it's like to live without central heat and air.


I do.


And we're blessed.


I learned something new.

I never new where the term "dog days of summer" came from.

Now I do.

dog days \DOG-DAYZ\ noun

*1 : the hot sultry period of summer between early July and early September in the northern hemisphere
2 : a period of stagnation or inactivity

Example sentence:
With the steamy dog days upon us, air conditioners are selling like hotcakes.

Did you know?
Dogs aren't the only creatures uncomfortable in oppressive heat, so why does a dog get singled out in "dog days"? The dog here is actually the Dog Star, which is also called "Sirius." The star has long been associated with sultry weather in the northern hemisphere because it rises simultaneously with the sun during the hottest days of summer. In the ancient Greek constellation system, this star (called "Seirios" in Greek) was considered the hound of the hunter Orion and was given the epithet "Kyon," meaning "dog." The Greek writer Plutarch referred to the hot days of summer as "hēmerai kynades" (literally, "dog days") and a Latin translation of this _expression as "dies caniculares" is the source of our English phrase.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.

Do you think those Greek folks knew what it was like to live without air conditioning?

later...