ENOUGH…

Summer is here and ………. ENOUGH already!

First day of summer and I’ve had enough heat to last a very long time!!

The entire nation has higher heat than normal and then there are sweltering states! I’ve been in a sweltering one!! In a hundred-year-old house, old insulation, window unit AC’s, which equals a hot box when temps stay in the nineties all night long and hit 100+ during the day.

Can anybody say SWEAT?

It’s instantaneous… running down every body-surface. I hear it’s supposed to cool you off, not feeling that benefit!! I’m dripping from doing NOTHING. Just sitting causes it and not sitting and laying down!!

Thank goodness for window units, but they just can’t compete with Mother Nature’s heat! They try their hardest, but barring sitting right in front of them; the house is oppressively hot.

I hear more heat wave is on its way, so I thought I’d mention a few things I’ve tried to keep from being overcome.

COLD SHOWERS!!

They work to cool your body down, remove sweat debris, especially before bed! I recommend them as often as necessary!! Thank the Lord for the cold water!

ICE WATER… LOTS OF IT!!!

Hydration is key and ICE helps cool from the inside out! I pounded water consumption, quart after quart!! I couldn’t get enough. For the middle of the night, I sat a quart by my bedside.

CAR AIR CONDITIONING!

It took about 20 minutes to get the car cooled off when the temps read 103, but it felt so good to take a brief drive and feel the climate control!

How did I survive my younger years when A/C in cars was not a thing?

I remember sticking to the seats! I also recall leaving the windows down when we parked the car. When Mom took us to the pool to cool off, we had to sit on our towels on the way home or burn our legs. No joke! You could get leg burns!!!!

FROZEN COLA SLUSHIES/DRINKS

I happened by a McDonald’s and saw they had a frozen drink!! There are a few fruit flavors, but my eye went instantly to COLA!! I’m not a huge soda person, but cola slushes takes me back!

On trips home from the pool when I was young, while sitting on towels so my legs didn’t burn, Mom would often stop at 7-11 and treat us to Slurpees!! The other flavors tasted fake to me, so I chose Cola flavor! It hit the spot after exhausting pool time and an oven temperatured car!! We’d be sweating, but the frozen concoction cooled our insides, making it all bearable/delightful!

And Yummmm, even now those frozen delights help beat the heat!! I was going to buy my usual unsweet tea. My order changed when I spotted my old summertime friend! It cooled way down and up; brain freezes are real😉

SALAD AND SMOOTHIE MEALS

Extreme heat takes away my appetite! We chose salads and cold smoothies on the hottest days. It’s all we could ingest. Nothing else sounded worth the effort or digestible.

Frozen fruit smoothies with a little spinach thrown in quenched the heat and our need for nourishment. Freezing the smoothie mixture into popsicles or just a container tastes yummy, too. Salads sustained us.

Cold, cold, cold, anything cold!!! You sense a theme here?

ICED COFFEE

In the hottest moments, hot coffee does not appeal to me!!

What does a woman do?….. Ice it, of course!

It’s not usually my favorite, but when I can’t stand anything else hot touching any part of me… it’s a welcomed indulgence. It’s what the doctor ordered!

DO AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE!

Record-breaking heat, in an old house without central AC, is not the time to do deep cleaning, paint, clean out the attic, or even MOVE!

Refrain and reserve as much energy as possible, cause like it or not, the heat will take it out of you, even while sitting!!

Be good to yourself and observe the weather warnings. When they say it’s dangerous, it is!!! This isn’t the time to start training for marathons or do strenuous exercise outside.

Be kind and give your body what it needs to function instead of pushing yourself! Perch closest to the nearest AC unit or fan! Find the coolest place in the house, become best friends.

Thank the Lord, the window units with bedroom doors closed sufficed to sleep!! The rest of the house got hotter, but we had no options. Sleep and the renewal of our bodies was essential!

Okay Summer… you can leave now and take your sweltering dangerous heat with you! No wonder Fall is the favorite season of billions!!

I’d like snow right about now! The need to wear a sweater sounds heavenly!!

How hot is it where you are?

What helps you beat the heat?

Dew-Rag in Hand,