No More Heat Please And Buy A Friggin Ashtray

Holy crap. I actually called in sick today and I can't remember the last time I have done that. But somehow coughing in people's faces as I greet them would not be the ideal situation for anyone. I don't know when the cough is coming, it just comes and its a tad embarrassing. My throat constantly tickles and I am always clearing it; plus my eyes are watering and red as a tomato. I think also being only a recent quitter of the cigarette, isn't helping my cause.Perhaps if I worked in a office, alone, that would be one thing and I could get away with going to work, but working in such a public place as I do, I just would feel uncomfortable. Even yesterday I had customers asking if I was feeling all right.

We all woke up to this haze yesterday morning, September 5. The first day of school for many kids and my mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Mom! Not only is the smoke making it hard for me to breathe it also is bringing a certain mugginess to the area. Mind you, probably would have been hotter if there had been no haze.

As I am writing this now, and looking out my window in my office that faces the east, the sun is a brilliant orange. You can see a bit of it on the right in the picture below.

I tried to capture it in pictures but its hard for me - not an expert photographer yet. But it's all due to the smoke coming from the many fires in the burning in the interior.

We already broke a record for the longest continuous dry spell - not sure how many days its been now - lost count at 54 and 53 was the previous record. With all the fires burning on the mainland we desperately need rain. I personally have been doing the rain dance for the past month to no avail but I will keep trying. Our firefighters need it, the people evacuated from their homes need it and I need it. This is B.C.'s worst fire season on record. Last I heard they are calling for rain tomorrow - my official day off this week. So hoping I will be good to go come Friday.

another view of orange sun from back yard

B.C. Forests have asked the public to stay out of the back-country during this heat spell to prevent human caused fires and concentrate on the natural caused ones. Somehow though it would not surprise me to learn that some idiot threw caution to the wind and ignored the request, and accidentally caused a fire although there have been some fires recently started on purpose and were caught on video).

And then you have those other morns who think that, get this, that if vehicles don't come with an ashtray, as they don't, then it is acceptable to use the roads, sidewalks, gardens, etc, as their personal ashtrays. Hats off to the RCMP officer who ticketed the guy in Langford who threw out a lit cigarette from the vehicle he was in and who complained very loudly of the $525 fine. I would have thrown him the $2000 littering fine if it were up to me. I mean, seriously people??? Do we still all have the mentality that it 'won't happen to me' or 'it won't happen here'? Like really?!?! I don't know how many times this year and last I had to go outside at work to put out a smouldering fire because some nut tossed their lit cigarette in the bark mulch near the entrance to the building. It takes me several buckets of water to put out the smoke. I shudder to think someone doing this late at night where there is no one to see the smoke.

Today I am going to stay in the house, get some serious housework done and drink plenty of fluids to keep my throat lubricated. I might even have to put drops in my eyes and I NEVER have to put drops in my eyes. Hell, I don't even know if I have any. Off to search for one.

Cheers! and don't forget to follow🙋🙋