Now, as most of you are aware, there's a reason most people don't visit Mexico in the summer (bad economy, drug wars, and swine flu not withstanding): it's HOT. Jungle hot. The type of hot we get for one week in the Midwest that once it's over we slap on our badge that says we suffered through The Sweltering Summer of '09 and prepare for winter. Except it's only May, and I'm already dying.
Ugh.
In the past week it's gone from being a little warmer mid-afternoon as the sun sets into our living room, to holy mother of blazing deserts I think the sun just landed in our living room. And it brought the ocean with it (it's very humid).
Double Ugh.
Ibis swears it wasn't this hot last summer, but I think we've just blocked it out. Either way, I'm back to multiple showers a day, drinking even more water than normal -- so much that I'm thinking I need to mix in a Gatorade every now & then so I don't get water poisoning -- and we've slept with the AC for the past two nights. I think we used it for about two months last year, and not until July or August. I'm a little nervous about what this means for the rest of the summer.
A thick haze arrived earlier this week and has hung around ever since. Normally the mountains on the other side of the bay appear the same color as the trees on this side, but as you can see from this picture, we got moisture in the air.
Fortunately, we have ways to beat the heat. The best? Paletas! They are essentially popcicles, but in addition to water & sugar based ones, they also make them with fresh fruit. Here were have my new favorite flavor, strawberries and cream.
I had to eat it FAST!
(I had to include this picture because of what's on my computer screen. You AW folk should understand.)
Anyone know any stay-cool tricks you'd care to pass along? I'm hoping my body adapts soon because it's been impossible to get any editing done when my brain is dripping out of my ear.
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25 comments:
Oh cool post! I love the picture of the haze. :-) And strawberries and cream is my favorite flavor.
Have you tried the wet washcloth, frozen, and then wrapped around the back of the neck? Probably. :-) Something about the neck and blood and veins that cools down the body, I forget.
Yesterday Ibis put a wet long-sleeve t-shirt in the freezer, then put that on. That seemed to help. I don't know why I didn't do that. Maybe I will when it comes time to edit.
Yikes! You are reminding me of why I don't want to move back to San Diego. It didn't get that hot at the beach, but inland would reach 100 often.
Turkey, it's definitely cooler at the beach, but then you have to deal with sand everywhere and I swear it's even HOTTER when we get home. And everything's covered in sand.
I'm doing laundry today and it's already a thousand degrees on the patio.
I may or may not have been known to stick my head in the freezer on hot days...
Okay, I have stuck my head in the freezer on hot days. I would open the freezer door, put my head in and pull the door as close to me as I could and stare at the frozen food, jealous of their cold state. I would only do it for about 20 seconds, but I felt it really helped.
Oh man! I totally feel for ya. Let's see, keeping cool techniques... *thinking* Dang mine was taken... the whole washcloth thing works for me.
How about a small fan that spritzes water?? a fan water spitzerer...? Other than that, good ol fashion ice, being spread over your body... that sounds dirty doesn't it. It wasn't meant to!!
Keep cool!
Nadine, I totally do that. :P
Fortunately we don't have much in there -- mainly cookies and alcohol -- so there's plenty of room for my head.
Erin, Ibis emptied our ONE bottle of spray cleaner to use for that exact thing. I kept waiting for him to realize there was still a little cleaner left in there, but I guess he emptied it pretty well. He sprayed himself ALL afternoon yesterday.
Today I've reclaimed it and told him to buy a spray bottle that doesn't have toxic chemicals in it.
Maybe the heat will turn the swine flu into lard and we can be rid of it once and for all.
Mmm... swine flu lard.
If my feet are cool, the rest of me is generally okay. So feet in some ice water?
Wendy, that's an AWESOME idea!!
ROFL!! I just told that to Ibis and he said, "also, wearing the latest model of shoes will keep you cool, too."
Ba-dum-dum.
That actually took me a second to realize he was joking. Love him. :)
LOL. That, too.
Mmm, that popsicle thing looks awesome!
Do you have any gelpacs? One of those frozen, and then placed on your neck would feel awesome!
Wendy, he cracks me up. When he first said it I was trying to figure out what shoes keep you cool.
Janna, I think I need help. I was just translating a line of Spanish in my wip, so when I saw gelpacs, I thought what the heck kind of treat is that, and when did Janna have one in Mexico?Gelpacs!
Yes, I have one and that's a marvelous idea.
I think I'm losing my mind.
Ugh, sounds painful. I'm dealing with the freezing cold here. Second winter in Melbourne and I don't want to go outside at all.
I have no advice, except to maybe write about cold settings...I didn't do that in summer here though, just used my hatred of the heat to write for a good flash fiction piece.
Your face with the strawberry pop cracks me up. It says, "Yum! Strawberries and cream!" Such a happy face.
I love Wendy's feet idea. It makes sense. When you put your feet in the pool, it cools you off. I'm going to try it, too! Even though I'm sure Pennsylvania's heat is nada compared to what you guys are facing.
Ben, that's an idea. Mental trickery...
Today has been very breezy which made it feel a lot cooler. Yay!
Robin, the funny part is I hadn't actually tried it yet. Notice it still has it's fresh-from-the-freezer sheen?
Wear wet socks. Cool them in the freezer for a few minutes, then slip them over your feet and ankles. Wrapping your leg in a cold cloth will work for a few minutes.
sorry for being late to the party. I had to work. I hate it when it comes time to work.
Allen, that's a good idea and one I'm sure Ibis will do.
Late is better than never. :)
Oooo, I see teh bunneh!
He told me I have to pay him one million dollars for using his picture. :P
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