Keepin' Cool

It's heat wave time.  This isn't a part of the country that usually gets all that hot.  But when it does, it does.  I've never lived in a house with A/C--or a ceiling fan.  I do have a portable electric fan.  I also have a collection of those cute little hand fans--though they're not that much help in the sort of heat we're now having.  But they do have the distinction of being green.  And good if the grid goes down.  Mine include a sandlewood-scented fan from Thailand and another from Bali.  Two Balinese woven straw fans.  A paddle fan from Hawaii.  And two mini paper fans made in China

However, when the days get really hot, such as they are now, I sometimes need to turn to my one source of A/C--my car.  Like yesterday when I simply had to drive around for awhile to regain my equilibrium.  I didn't have a destination; I just drove out into the countryside, along a pretty river, then turned around and came back.  It helped.  

In fact, few houses around here do have A/C.  One friend hies himself off to the public library for a few cool hours.  Another carries around a spritzer and, rather like moisturizing a plant, she spritzes her face, arms, and hair.  One has a secret spot where she goes skinny dipping.  Families buy a seasonal pass to swim in a nearby lake.  Or they get out their little plastic pool in the backyard.

I used to make what I called sun tea in the summer--simply 3 herbal-blend tea bags dropped in a container of water and set out in the sun to steep.  Then I heard a program advising against doing that--that that can produce yucky bacteria.  Better to let it steep in the fridge, it said.  So instead of sun tea, I now make fridge tea.  It's a pretty color and is wonderfully refreshing.  And it has the advantage of having no real sugar, no fake sugar, and no high-fructose corn syrup. 

Fridge tea with its three tea-bags

So while the heat lasts, I take it as easy as possible, turn on my electric fan, keep that iced drink at hand, and read a good book to take my mind off things.  Right now I'm reading The Twin by the Dutchman, Gerbrand Bakker.  I recommend it.  Anyway, just reading about the protagonist going for a good long ice-skate on a frozen lake can be cooling, too!  Of course, getting back to reasonable temperatures would be even better.

My stand-by

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