Wellness Wednesday: Nothing in particular...

I don't have anything in particular for Wellness Wednesday today. Frankly, I'm becoming disgusted and tired of the heat. For the next three days, we will be over 100 degrees and that basically means I am trapped inside. Usually I like to go for long walks in the morning and spend time in the garden. This summer has been the hardest on me yet as I have no heat tolerance since I had shingles.

So I am here with my Joseph Campbell DVDs, prepared to spend hours in front of the TV. I might even order pizza. Diet be damned. The DVD I am watching now is all about western mythology and it's quite interesting. He is discussing the parallels between ancient western mythology and the origins of Judeo-Christian thought. I also have two or three more DVDs, covering a range of topics from heroes to the power of myth.

Later, I will watch the DNC again, hoping for an inspiring speech.

So... over and out for the day. Hope everyone has a good couple of days.

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Wellness Wednesday: Hot Town Part II

Looking at this picture makes me feel cooler.

It's a week-long heatwave here ~ again. It is over 105 degrees with two more days of it expected. At night, it doesn't really cool off substantially enough to give us much relief.

So of course we use the air conditioner.

There was a time when we didn't have air conditioners in homes the way we do now. So what should someone do who doesn't have air conditioning?

I began thinking about this. When I was a kid, hot summers were hot summers and we had to find a way to live with it. Since I'm from Southern California, we spent most of our time at the beach or in the pool.

Still, there was a method to keeping the house cool and I wanted to post about it because there are some people who don't have the luxury of an indoor cooler.

You can create an ersatz swamp cooler with a tray of ice and a fan. It works quite well. We used to do that especially when we would visit my grandparents in New York. Their house was large with a staircase that split half way up to the second floor. They would place a large dishwashing tub full of ice on a table and place a standing fan behind it. The cool air would blow upstairs and down. They would also put one in the living room which is where we spent our time. Sometimes they would buy bags of ice at the liquor store and other times it would be an actual block of ice.

The fans ran all night, with or without ice. It helped to have the air moving.

We used to drink cold lemonade and spend time running through the sprinklers. (There's no reason adults can't do the same thing. :)

We would eat simple light foods that required no cooking. Fresh vegetables or perhaps a peanut butter sandwich.

We would wear cool, loose clothing that would help keep us cool, too. It was the only time I ever saw my grandfather in his underwear. It's not a memory I hang on to for dear life, by the way. When it's hot though, who cares? He certainly didn't!

It would be interesting to hear your ideas. What do you do to stay cool when you can't use the air conditioner?
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Hot Town, Summer in the City

Summer is hitting with a vengeance here. It is already over 100 degrees.

I am heat sensitive, a total wimp who spends all day inside with the air conditioner on. This morning, we went out to look at houses and after two hours (this being between 9-11 am), I wilted. Felt like a damp rag. Nauseous. I couldn't drive any more because my legs were cramping. It was time to come back. The air conditioning in the car wasn't enough. (Hear that, Infiniti?? Do something about it! :)

As I've been at the computer or around the house, I see people outside walking around, wearing shorts. Some are even walking dogs. They're riding bikes, hanging out in the park down the street and doing yard work. They seem entirely unaffected by the heat.

Just a few minutes ago, I went into the back yard and the sun has passed over. It's all shade. I sat for five or ten minutes and actually enjoyed the sensation of heat on my skin but the "edge" was off somehow. It just felt ... warm.

Generally though, anything over 85 degrees is too high for me.

How do you respond to hot weather? Do you do well in it or prefer to stay in?

(And before anyone asks how I will survive Thailand, it will be the same way I survive here. Air conditioning set to 75 degrees. :)

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