It’s chilly here–63 degrees when I last looked, with steady clouds which sometimes rain, sometimes mist and sometimes break into a rare patch of blue.Everyone here in Prince Edward Island complains about the Spring, not the winter when they had 13 feet of snow.

The Spring, they say, was cold. Instead of raking their lawns in April, they couldn’t do it until June. And now it’s been cloudy and cold. Instead of my day-lilies blooming the first week of July, the first bloom didn’t come out until July 21st.

Better warmer weather is forecast for this week, but friends, especially those arriving here next weekend, so far today, which was forecast to be partly cloudy, is just more grey clouds.  And that makes it the ninth day of clouds.

I know the weather is boring, but it is so much with us here.There are no trees around the house. The sky whether blue or grey takes up two-thirds of the view outside my window. then there’s evergreens, the potato field where the potatoes are discreetly blooming and the lawn, freshly mowed. And my day lilies–one sharp shot of rich yellow orange.

They say the weekend will be lovely. Today is Monday.

Finally!  Sun and dry cool air from the North. We’ve been here a week and this is the first day of really clear air. On heavy days (humidity), my energy level is low and my asthma perks up. Yesterday was one of those. and we were expecting the exterminator: too many cluster flies. He came and sprayed and  sprayed and we had to stay in our warm, extra-warm house all closed up. Hot!

Before he arrived, our bathroom sink leaked all over the floor. Mop and squeeze, mop and squeeze. I used a rag to soak it up and squeeze into a bucket. The plumber is due this morning, so all shall be well.

Later…. Bonanza! Nothing wrong with the plumbing. the kids let the water overflow through the escape ole at the top pf the sink so it went into the wooden pull-out tray under the sink and from there to the floor. So–our plumbing is excellent and the kids learned about the water escape hole.

And it’s still cool!

I’m going away on Tuesday for six weeks. Yes, I am. So I started packing several days ago.

Now packing  really means dumping things on the bedroom floor. Since I have clothes in Prince Edward Island where we’re going, I don’t need to pack many. Instead there are things like my Weather-boy, a mini weather station which tells me the temperature outside every a.m. and the time and temperature inside, plus the phase of the moon, etc. It’s a must-have.

Then there’s decisions to make: do I bring one  pair of reading glasses or two? If I bring my ipod, I don’t need my portable CD player, do I? Do I bring my MELT balls to work my hands and keep them supple?  Yes. And my new coral-colored shorts, that I bought in Fort Myers Beach: do I bring them? Of course. Never know when I’ll meet a top to match.

It’s Sunday and I’ve selected tops and my new hat: white, made of some thick material that won’t allow the sun on my face, head or neck. Hurrah! I bought a second hat and though it works at keeping the sun off myself, it’s made of some cheap straw and won’t pack. At least it isn’t made of paper which some of the hats at TJ Max were made of. Actually I wanted one but they were too big.

And now when it’s almost time to go, the weather here is perfect.  Oh, well, the sun will shine there too.