Rose Temperatures

Here's what everyone was talking about this past week: the weather! Never in all the time that temperatures have been recorded have we had such high ones for this time of year. The week started out hot, but the hottest day of all was Wednesday when it did get up to that 100º F (37º C). At 5 p.m. before I left for my last classes, it was almost 98º F (36ºC) according to my phone. Honestly if I hadn't had to go out in that heat, I'd have stayed inside. As it was, I arrived to my destination all sticky and sweaty.

The kind of heat that we experienced this past week is worse than the usual heat that we have in the summer. The air was coming in from Africa along with particles of sand which covered the sun partly and the sky completely. The sky was grey but without clouds. One of my friends came back from Alicante, which is on the east coast, on Wednesday and said it wasn't nearly as hot as it was here. I can believe it! On days like this all I want to do is stay where it's cool and drink liquids. Gazpacho is something I try to have on hand too; it's so refreshing and works better than ice-cream at making you feel cooler.

Another topic that people were talking and worrying about was the proposed football strike which was supposed to have started yesterday. In the end the strike was called off, so yesterday there was football. I'm not sure if the other strike - the rubbish strike - that I also mentioned has gone ahead or if picking it up 4 days a week is keeping my area fairly clean. Yesterday on my way to the supermarket, I threw away some paper and the container was full but that's normal.

On my way back from class on Friday, which was a holiday for most, I saw that this rose bush that I often pass was finally in bloom. Well, maybe it had been in bloom for a few days. I don't always notice changes immediately. I think I noticed the bush because there was absolutely no one in the street. I'm glad I saw the blooms (one big and one little one and another one ready to bloom). They're such a lovely shade of red. Here's a photo of the smaller bloom.

My plans for the rest of the afternoon include making a shepherd's pie for meals this week and perhaps prepare something for lessons tomorrow. On this day next week, I probably won't even bother turning on the TV since everything will be about the elections, and I'm sure plenty will be said on Monday.

I hope everyone has had/is having a pleasant weekend and that the coming week will be just as pleasant. Not a lot happening in my world, so this is me for this week.