August 1, 2015

  • Sunset

    Last night I was sitting at my desk and happened to look up just as the sun was setting.  There was a lot of moisture in the air, and the whole sky appeared to be pink.  I grabbed my camera and took several shots through the window, blinds and all, for fear that if I went outside it would have disappeared.

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    Five minutes later, it was even more brilliant!

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    Life in my little townhouse has been a little rough recently.  Through the spring, I've had to have my patio furniture, hoses, etc. in the garage because they were repairing trim boards and painting the complex.  This took from mid-March until late July.  The week before it was finished, there was a notice in the mail announcing that the Board had signed a contract for termite fumigation, and that everybody must attend a meeting that weekend to learn about preparing our houses -- and, by the way, you need to be out of your house for 3 days and 2 nights on their schedule, 3 weeks ahead, so that the buildings could be tented for this fumigation.  That would have meant that right after the painting was completed I would have had to remove all food from the house, as well as valuables, etc.   The entire complex was in an uproar sufficient that the project was postponed.  It has now been decided to go ahead with the project, but no date has been announced -- they are required to give us 15-30 days notice!  I expect that sometime in September I will have to be out of the house.  Because they use a really nasty gas for fumigation, and because my unit has little air circulation, I expect that I will try to be gone for a week, rather than just the 3 days required.  Maybe by October I'll be able to put the house back together and live my life without feeling quite so hijacked!  Oh the joys of Homeowners Associations in California!

    Meantime, for the last few days we have had temperatures around 90 degrees and high humidity.  Today was about the same temperature, but the humidity had dropped considerably, so it didn't feel that hot.  The high humidity is very unusual for this part of the world, and it has been a bit uncomfortable -- I understand better now the comments about heat and humidity that come from those of you in the Southeastern part of the country!

Comments (14)

  • Yes, Californida must take some degree of adjustment. I would definitely say that a week away from the house would be prudent- perhaps that would be a good time for going back to Santa Barbara, or visiting central Arizona.

    • My first thought was a couple of nights in San Diego -- Santa Barbara is too far for just that short time, but if I stay away longer it may be in Santa Barbara -- depending on when it is, Arizona might be a good possibility too, but not in the heat of September or early October, which I suspect is when it will be.

  • Yikes! I'm glad they have postponed it -even if only for a couple months. I do not like disorder so I'd be a little crazy if this had been going on since May and it was still happening. Yes the humidity is fierce and will take the starch out of you in a hurry.

    • I'm usually pretty flexible, but by now I feel a little as if my life has been hijacked! The humidity has been much better for the last few days, and I expect we are moving into our dry summer months.

  • Your pictures are delightfully beautiful!! Thanks for sharing them.
    As for homeowners associations - don't get me started. I am finally in an association that has some sense - if not a lot. It probably helps that we are only a 30 unit association.
    Mostly our temps have been in the high 80's for several weeks - not unusual. I don't notice that the humidity is excessive, thanks goodness.

    • Thanks, Char! This HOA had a problem about 15 years ago, and overcame it with a special assessment. They've done pretty well until this year, and I'm really discouraged now! For some reason they seem to want to do everything all at once, no matter how disruptive! Temp today a little lower, humidity a lot lower!

  • Sunsets and sunrises have that tendency to change the pattern in the sky within seconds. I love the pictures through the blinds. How beautiful and pink!
    Arrrgh! the fumigation nonsense. I certainly hope they give you a notice of several weeks so all the owners can safely move to a different place at their own pace and not have to clamber all over the place to get things removed.
    We have had a few days of humidity too, and as I have said to you in my response to your comment, I am hoping that the humidity in my city in India won't do me in.

    • They usually change so fast that I couldn't have gone outside to take those shots -- I was surprised that it lasted so long and became more intense that evening. I, too, hope that we'll have enough notice to be controlled about moving safely. There was a comment the other day about sending a "save the date" if they cannot give us specific dates, letting us know an approximate time frame. There are people who are pregnant, or who are on oxygen, or post-op, etc, who need special care -- the answers we're being given are worthless. Our humidity is a bit lower today -- perhaps we're now moving into our more normal summer dry heat -- I hope so! Are you nearly ready to go to India? Excited?

  • I hope things will settle down for you eventually. The sky is beautiful, and the view through the blinds is so interesting.

  • That sounds very annoying! Hopefully, it all goes smoothly for you ~

    Great sunset shots ~ even through the blinds!

    • The sunset was lovely, even through the blinds! -- I just happened to look up at the right time! They now are saying they might be able to give us a timeframe by the end of the week -- how does one make arrangements and appointments around a time frame?!

  • My comment was going to be similar to fwren's - that sounds annoying.

    • It's been pretty bad -- I now know that my probable fumigation date will be 9/15, so I'll plan a week away for that week!

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