98 degrees here yesterday

It was 98 degrees on our front porch yesterday afternoon when I got home.  However, upon entering our house, I found it refreshingly cool!  No, we don't have super insulation.  What we have is a lot of shade on the south side of the house.  We actually have 42 trees on our property and the front porch and yard are both completely shaded by trees.  So, that helps to keep the house cooler.  Today it is supposed to make 99 degrees.  The boys next door already have their air conditioner blasting away.  We haven't needed to turn ours on.  Hubby bought a dual set of the tall, standing fans from COSTCO and the one in the living room moves the air just enough to provide a nice breeze.

I do remember a few spring break times when it was in the high 90's, but I don't remember it being THIS hot THIS soon!  ACK!  What will summer be like?  Al, I think you were wise to leave and head home!  I have to take the kids out for PE 4 afternoons at 2:00 and believe me, even they were wilting yesterday, although we did get a good game of jump rope going under one of the shade canopies!

And, I saw my first gecko last night.  Yup.  A BIG one, too!  We seem to have several families of them living around the house.  I love to see my little night visitors.  They love to crawl up the screen in the kitchen, right above the sink.  They'll stay there and catch the moths that are attracted by our kitchen light.

So, that's all the excitement from here, for now.   :-)  The kids go home an hour early every Wednesday so that we can have staff meetings and professional development, so I can hardly WAIT to see what excitement awaits us this afternoon.

These flowers are from my neighbor's yard.  She's a professional landscaper.  Unfortunately, she has SEVERE knee problems and has to use a walker now.  She's thinking about retiring soon, too.

And, here's her mailbox:

If you are wondering about her dry lawn...No, she didn't plant rye grass this year.  And, YES, the city is now after her.  Can you believe it?  Here we are in California's WORST drought in years, and the city is after her for not planting a rye grass lawn!  She told them to ... "stuff it".  Now, they've given her until June to provide either a lawn or to cover it with rock...sigh...Cities can be a real pain in the patootie!