Friday, April 24, 2009

Best Time of the Year

For as much as I complain about my life here, there is much that I will miss when we finally leave The Sandbox and this is no longer home.

I am a person who needs sunshine. Here? I have it almost all of the time. Even in the winter months when it is cold [that is a relative term] it is still, for the most part, sunny with a blue sky nearly every day. About now, though, it starts getting light outside before five in the morning. In June, it will be light outside shortly after four in the morning. I am a morning person. I would much rather have the daylight earlier than late [actually, late would be good, too]. I believe I was one of those people, when we lived in the States, that had SAD [seasonal affective disorder]. I do not like the cold. I was born in upstate New York, outside of Buffalo. There, it is cold. Winter starts in October and ends in April. I lived in New Hampshire for many, many years. Winter starts in October and ends in March. Even North Carolina, which we consider to be "home," now, has a winter albeit not nearly as severe as an upstate New York or New England one. No thank you. I want sun. Blue skies. At least 90 degrees every day. Even warmer if there is no humidity.

It is a beautiful sunshiny day here in The Sandbox. The forecast is the same today as it was yesterday and as it will be tomorrow. These are the days I will miss. We have not reached our "summer" temperatures yet. It will be 115 degrees every single day of June, July and August. Some days will be even warmer hotter. I don't mind them. We have virtually no humidity so it is not the same in the heat, here, as it is in say North Carolina in August, which is close to unbearable because of the humidity - and where there are no good hair days - for the same reason.

Today, there is an article in one of our papers that says, "Summer is here!" It is melon season. I bought a melon on Wednesday - not a watermelon [there are no seedless watermelon's here - why?], but today, I figured out that it was a Juan Canary Melon. One of the sweetest, juiciest melons I can remember eating in a long time. I'll need to get another one, tomorrow. And a watermelon, too. Melon is going to be part of my new diet! I can eat a lot of it. It is fairly low in calories, and filling. Surely no physician would sanction a "melon and water" diet, but I am going to give it a try. No. Of course I'm not going to only eat melon and only drink water. For dinner tonight I am going to have a salad with crab meat and two glasses of grape juice [wink, wink].

Not too long after we had moved here, we were at a gathering and someone asked me where we would go for our first vacation. Everyone here seems to do a lot of traveling. It is part of the lifestyle [and another thing I will miss when we finally return to the States]. In answer to the question I said, "I don't know. Somewhere hot and sunny." Everyone laughed, and someone commented, "So, you're just going to go outside, right?" Ha ha. Funny. As it was our first vacation was to Italy. It was November. It was not hot or sunny [it rained almost the entire time we were there]. The weather. Here. That will be one of the things I miss the most. I know that we, as it stands for the time being, are planning on someday returning to North Carolina. I am starting to wonder if that is the right place. Arizona may be more our style insofar as weather and temperature goes. [Texas though, as far as our political leaning. If they were to actually secede? We're there! DH was born in Texas. Would not be difficult for him to go back.]

Anyway, it is finally time for me to start working again. I've only been working a little bit, part-time the past couple of weeks. Time to get out there and really work, though! The pool will be almost warm enough to float around in by the end of the month. [DH went in yesterday. I can't go in until it is about 82 degrees. It is only 76 degrees, right now. He said it was "refreshing." I bet it was!] If my blogging starts becoming somewhat lax. That is why. I'll be busy working. I've got a cruise that we're going on in a month or so, and I am going to need to be tanned. If I had a lap top that was wireless I could accomplish so much more, outside. We have a lap top - it is DH's - and I've never liked using it. And, for whatever reason, we aren't hooked up to be "wireless." That may need to be fixed in the coming weeks...

Enough of a work break. Time to head back to my chaise next to the pool.

8 comments:

  1. Like you, I enjoy the warm weather. I hate the cold and yet here I am in Pennsylvania where winters can be ungodly.

    Summer's can be miserable with the humidity too, but it was nothing compared to the years I lived in North Carolina. The humidity was so thick you could cut it with a knife!

    In case I haven't told you, I really enjoy reading your blog. You have great stories and you seem like a very nice person.

    I wish you and your hubby well there.

    Enjoy the sunshine. :)

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  2. Summer's in upstate New York only lasted two weeks, Daisy. [Something to do with "lake effect" - it either rains, or it snows.] And two months in New Hampshire. So much more enjoyable in N.C., but for the nasty humidity. You are right about cutting it with a knife.

    Thank you for the very kind compliments! I like to think I am a nice person [most of the time - trust me, I have my moments].

    Thoroughly enjoying the sunshine!

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  3. I'm with you, Sabra. When it is time for us to leave our part of the Sandbox, I will miss the sun and the warmth. It is rather nice to plan an outing for June in January and know the weather will be gorgeous. I moved here from Ohio. Don't miss Ohio. At all.

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  4. And, it is another beautiful day, here in The Sandbox today, isn't it, Linda! I worked for three hours yesterday. Will probably work for at least four or five, today. Absolutely luvin' it.

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  5. mmm. Sunshine. Chaise lounge. Pool. Nirvana.

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  6. Tan lines, DL. Need to work on those... There is a really, really good reason that I am not laying out there with less on though. Prying eyes. Yes there is the privacy wall. There is also an air-conditioning plant that is a block away and the men that work there have a clear view into our back yard. That and the Saudi Air Force jets who fly directly overhead - close enough so that I can almost make out the faces of the pilots. Nope. Will continue to wear enough "material" to be covered. Dayum.

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  7. It was beautiful until about 5PM here then it got NASTY. Total brown out. Visibility was less than 1/3 of a mile.
    We don't have a private pool, but we do have a nice one on the compound. It is a small compound and since the company downsized last summer, we are just a few, so the pool may as well be my private pool as I am the only one using it during the day. And I do use it. Daily. With the minimal amount of coverage as possible. But we do have good workers here and they are very respectful. Sri Lankan. When I am at the pool, they make a point to be elsewhere on the compound.
    I truly am blessed to be in Tabuk and not one of the larger cities.

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  8. We had a little wind last night, Linda, but not much dust. Thankfully. It was so nice to sit outside - DH smoked a cigar, me with my glass of grape juice and a cigarette, and the Kids - playing. [Providing endless hours of entertainment!] The pool is up to 80 degrees. Almost warm enough to actually get in - right now? Haven't put in anything but my feet - dangling them over the edge of the pool. You are lucky with your workers. I don't have a problem with the workers - for the most part - but I'm not going to be sunbathing sans suit anytime soon, either.

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