hot – Site Title

We’re Having a Heatwave!

It’s here and it is driving everyone crazy! Everyone is talking about the weather and not in a nice way either!

We’re sweating it out and in a country that doesn’t believe in air-conditioners, it is next to impossible to survive. Lots of water, staying indoors, going out only when it is necessary and walking around naked is the way to it! Well, some of the people here do but I don’t. Too much of a stick-in-the-mud for that.

Anyway, I was out at 8:30 this morning. I wanted to beat the heat and to go get my grocery shopping done before the “heatwave” arrived but it beat me to it! People were grumbling about the heat and everyone had the same idea of getting out there early.

Shiro, the white Persian, was down in the dumps yesterday. I think it was the heat. She moped around and refused to eat or drink. I had the fan going most of the day and that seemed to help. This morning, she seemed to be alright again and was upstairs sunning herself! The room was as hot as a sauna but the “drama queen” was loving it. After half an hour, I brought her downstairs because I didn’t want to go through what I did yesterday. It was a tough evening caring for a sick cat.

Looks like the heatwave is going to stick around for a little while before it heads on out of here. I can’t wait to see it go! The trend seems to be a couple of excruciatingly hot weather days and then the thunderstorms move in for a day or two to cool everything off. A friend calls it the, “El Nino Effect.” “It is a natural climate phenomenon characterized by unusually warm ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific.” This massive shift causes a domino effect on global weather.

Whatever it is, I want to see it gone! I’m not a fan of hot weather and this is unbearable to say the least. Now, if we had air-conditioning that would be a different story altogether!

HEATWAVE!

“Dear weather, stop showing off….we know you’re HOT!!!”

The news reads, “Europe swelters under severe heatwave as temperatures soar above 40 degrees Celsius” No kidding! It is HOT and there is no reprieve.

According to a 2024 report by the EU’s Corpernicus Climate Change Service, “Europe is the continent with the fastest-rising temperatures on Earth, having warmed twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s.” This is alarming folks.

Some love it hot and some don’t. My friend, the diver and diving instructor, loves it. I complained that it was too hot yesterday and he said, “At least, it’s not humid.” Hmm…..”humidity” was wearing bells and singing Hallelujah in my bedroom! Just goes to show that some like it HOT and some don’t.

I have a beautiful garden but not because I put a lot of work into it. I had a Polish gardener who did a fantastic job of keeping the weeds at bay and the flowers in bloom. Last year, he had a back problem and went back to Poland. Now, I have a Chilean guy who helps out now and then. I had him scheduled for today but decided it was too hot to be sweltering it out in the garden so called to cancel. His response, “No problem, I LOVE HOT WEATHER!” Like I said, some like it HOT and some don’t.

Chachi, the cat, is like his mom. He hates hot weather. The fur coat doesn’t make it any better either. He walked up to me looking absolutely miserable.

“Mom, we need to talk about this fur coat. Can I go skimpier?”

ME: “Sorry love, you’re stuck with it. Mommy will make it better.”

So, I’ve been wetting a towel in cold water and running it over his fur and that seems to help for now.

Today, the temps will be reaching new highs.

“My skin is sticking, my brain is frying, and I haven’t stopped sweating since I got out of bed.” Unknown

AND

“The heat index is between OMG and WTF!” Unknown

You get the picture.

Have an amazing day.

The Lazy Hazy Days of Summer!

It has been HOT, it has been sticky and the heat has been unbearable. Sweating it out is not a pleasurable experience and going without air-conditioning is not my kind of a nice summer day either!

Europeans do not believe in air-conditioning. “Less than 20% of European homes have air-conditioning, compared to 90% in the US.” This is due to environmental concerns such as energy consumption and green house gas emissions. Add “no deo” to that, and you’ve got a hot sweltering mess!

My energy levels have tanked and I’ve been doing what Chachi, the cat, has been doing. Staying quiet in a cool spot indoors. Add lots of hydration and it is bearable. Walking is out of the question for now and that hasn’t set too well either. It’s just too humid and the “stickiness” that ensues from being out there has kept me indoors for the time-being. I’m like a grumpy bear looking for some relief!

I’ve upped showers to twice a day and some days I want to stay there for a while. A friend told me, “Do what Europeans do when it’s hot.” It seems they go naked and let it all hang out! Not a pretty picture considering most of the people in this village are older people and going without clothes, well, you get the picture! I recall the first time I saw my in-laws in their “bare nothings!” It was a traumatic experience, well not quite, one I don’t want repeated again!

Summer is here and it plans to stay for a while. I’ll just have to put up with it and do the best I can.

One good thing about summer is this:

“Some of the best memories are made in FLIP-FLOPS!” Unknown

I’ve got them on and my feet are smiling even if the rest of me isn’t!

Have an amazing day.

HEATWAVE!

“Then came July like three o’clock in the afternoon, hot and listless and miserable.” Allie Ray

Only problem we’re in June now and after weeks of rain, the weather has decided to do the other extreme. We have heatwave warnings on and it is supposed to hit 36 Celsius today! That’s 95 degrees in Fahrenheit.

It is noon right now and the temps are going up. Just took a walk in the garden and the plants are drooping even though I watered them this morning. Chachi, the cat has given up and he is hiding out under the stairs where it is cooler. The living area is nice and cool because it has stone floors but the rooms under the roof are another story altogether! It feels like a sauna up there.

The weather prediction calls for rain tomorrow, however, it is up and down and all over the place as far as the weather is concerned recently. I’m hoping for a cooling off as I’m not a fan of hot weather. Perhaps, tomorrow will bring a reprieve but today it’s going to simmer and dance with heat!

Sweat it out, stay indoors with feet propped up and do what Chachi is doing. The little guy in the fur coat sure knows how to do a number on the weather but since I won’t fit under the stairs, I’ll retreat to the bedroom with a glass of iced tea and a slice of cheesecake!

Fingers crossed for a cool off tomorrow.

Have a wonderful day.