I have now received two emails from my mother telling me that she kept expecting a dramatic post about the now famous "heat wave" up here in the PacNorWest (my new term for where we live). I hate to disappoint, so here is my post, which will undoubtedly be lacking in drama. The post had to wait a few days since it was too hot to blog. Really it was too hot to blog, eat, clean, go visiting teaching, be patient, or appear productive in any way shape or form.
It was really got here last week. I know that may come as a shock to some of you, since it is July. It really seemed to take a lot of North westerners by surprise, as well. It almost broke the record for all time high up here, but it just couldn't make that one degree up to 107.
My mother often reminds us that they do not have air conditioning, but I have come to realize that is a lie. They have more than one window a/c unit. I now believe that that counts as a/c. We have no window a/c units, just a few fans that blow the hot air around.
I can be honest when I say that I know what hot weather is. I grew up in L.A, spent my summer vacations in St. George (the only people on the planet that thought it was a good idea to spend August in the desert), and just left the Central Valley where the triple digits were commonplace. The main difference is that then we had air conditioning and now we do not.
When you have no air conditioning you learn how to handle the heat in other ways. We went swimming every day for hours then came home and napped, watched movies and played the Wii. Mostly the boys played Wii while Agnes and I sought refuge in the basement. The basement managed to stay at a reasonable 78 degrees, but the upstairs was beyond help at 87 degrees When it got to be too much we went and got Slurpee's, checked out the Mall, the movies, the library and visited all people and places that might be air conditioned. I also noticed that David was working long hours. I am fairly skeptical that this was because of his heavy workload. I think he wanted to stay in his heavenly retreat -also known as the air conditioned office.
All in all I think it was a positive learning experience for my children. They kind of got to see what it was like for the pioneers (except for the pioneers didn't really have Slurpee's) and now they are sporting some killer tans.
8 comments:
Glad to see you survived!!
I may have window units, but you usually have to stay in that room to benefit from them!!
Hopefully you will be back to normal when we come.
Pete told us about the heat wave in Seattle. It did take all the old folks by surprise. We are always 65-75 here in La Paz. It is winter now and we have to go home and get under blankets to stay warm. The houses in La Paz DO NOT have central heat. We do have a fireplace but we have run out of wood. We also have a couple of space heaters. One we keep in the bathroom. It is nice to step out of the shower in a warm room. I am dreaming of heat right now but, I am sure, that if I were in 107 degree heat, I would be dreaming of this. Why are we not content with what we have.
Amazing how the heat can just suck the life out of ya.
Glad you survived.
I hatebeing hot, I am sorry for you! Thankfully you had a basement and slurpees!
Are they wearing the same outfit here? Sorry, I don't usually even notice things like that, but Calvin looks so tall, skinny and grown up! I guess that is what happens when you move away (but it has only been a month and a half!). Happy Summer!
You're so funny! Way to have a great attitude about an uncomfortable situation!
Same outfit-different boys. I figure I get to dress them in matching clothes until they revolt. So far, so good:)
There is nothing worse than a heat wave in a place that isn't equipped for the heat. I feel your pain. We had a week-long heat wave in Paris and it was miserable, and multiplied by the fact that it's polluted and trafficky. At least you had hoses and probably air-conditioned movie theaters or something. The only place in Europe that is air-conditioned is Barcelona. Bless you, Barcelona.
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