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WE hit 94 degrees here today and I feel like I'm going crazy 
My best air-conditioning is in my studio so I locked myself in and worked all day. Good for production but already I'm feeling paranoid, like I'm trapped by the heat. We don't get this kind of heat too often in New England. How do you hot weather climate artists handle the heat? I thought I'd be better with this as I got older but at this point I'm thinking of Alaska 
Karen and hot cats!
You're not going to IDEX next weekend, are you? 
Last I heard, it's over 100 in Vegas (or will be).
I'm used to scorching, dry heat, having lived in Chico for seven years now; one year we had over a week at 110+ degrees, reaching a high of 114 for two of them. Now THAT's hot!!! Too hot for me. It's easier to cope with when it's dry vs. that muggy, suffocating heat. Are you humid where you are, Karen, or just boiling?
If you're thinking seriously of relocating to Alaska, by the way, do contact Aleta; I believe she grew up there.
<giggling here> ;)
In all seriousness... I keep my house well air conditioned to stay comfortable; that's my primary way of "handling it!" Of course, it costs me a stinking fortune. The year we were at 114 degrees I paid over $600 for ONE MONTH of cool, comfortable air... I kid you not. I freaking hate PG&E. My house is new-ish (2000) and totally up to code!
Anyway... when I have to turn the air DOWN so as to keep my family clothed and fed, and the heat really gets to me, I make sure to keep an icy beverage nearby at all times; I never wear socks or closed shoes in the summer (and I take them off when inside); and I keep my hair off my neck in back. I'm not a tank top kind of girl (and wasn't even when I was young and skinny) so I wear cotton or linen tops that are kinda loose and flowy and breezy, and often, cropped pants. I really don't like body parts sticking to body parts, which is always how I feel on scaldingly hot days in shorts and bare arms. But maybe that's just me... ? In any case, I do think lots of icy drinks and clothes designed to move and breathe help a lot, as does being barefoot on my cool laminate floors. And I even have little fans in most rooms in our house, so that when people are settled in there, they can feel a nice breeze. Nothing spectacularly original or interesting in any of this, but when added together, it helps, I think.
Stay cool, Karen!!!
q.D.paToOtieSOh, Karen. I feel for you but wait until we get to DC in AUGUST for Expo!!! Now that's stinking hot with miserable humidity!!!
BrisbaneCan somebody convert that to celsius for me???
Dolls N DreamsLOL
Coming from a Texas girl, now living in Colorado!
I always had a fan in every room, and like Shelli said, bare feet in the house, hair up off my neck, cool tops , crop pants or shorts.
We had tile floors too and boy does that help with the heat! Carpet holds warmth!
Stay cool!
Moving to Alaska........ LOL
I can also tell ya about freezing your butt off living here in Colorado during the winter months. LOL
Sorry, Sarahjane,
I know a lot of artists here are on celsius 
I think that would be 34.44 Celsius?
Tami, we get to -20F here in New England but you can always get warm! Dress in layers, run around, stand in front of a fireplace But how can you get cool when you're walking around? Naked is tempting but......
Karen
Posts: 1,836Airconditioning, room temperature water (it's supposed to be better for your system) and eating "COOL" foods .....juicy tropical fruits are made to cool the body and they're in season so eat up!! My treat: Edy's Strawberry Fruit Bars, love those on really hot summer nights sitting out back :teddybear:. We've got ceiling fans in almost all of the rooms too...every home decor show I've ever seen RIPS out the ceiling fans as soon as they set foot in the house, but I love them for heating and cooling reasons.
I gotta tell yah though, I always heard that thing about dry vs humidity and I don't buy it 
I've lived in humid summers my whole life and after being in Vegas in the summer I was praying for 90 and humid at home. I felt like I had a hairdryer on high pointed at my face all day long, it was unbearable for me personally. Either way hot is HOT and I'll move to Alaska with everyone who's going. I Love the winter, snow, and COLD 
:hug:
~Chrissi
PS...Play in the water!! The hose and an old fashioned sprinkler are a summer time staple over here with us and the dogs. This is last summer....but nothings changed 
Chrissi,
I love the sprinkler solution but then I have to go back into the fur situation. Hmmm?! Naked, Sprinkler, and fur? Interesting 
Karen
Matilda Huggington-bearehttp://www.onlineconversion.com/temperature.htm
:dance: :dance: :dance:
Newcastle, OntarioSarah Jane,
We were taught to double the figure and add 32 degrees for a rough estimate, when converting from Celcius to Farenheit degrees. So, 94 F would be about 31 degrees Celius, give or take a bit. It's the humidity that makes it feel MUCH hotter. Oops I just saw Wendy's conversion chart - 34.44 degrees it is!!
Karen,
I understand completely - I absolutely hate the heat, especially with humidity! When we moved last summer into our current house, there were two bedroom ceiling fans, which I have never liked. WELL, now I am a HUGE believer in them! They keep the air moving and I even put one on the lowest setting at night, when we are sleeping. Hubby plugs up all the downstairs vents, to keep the cold A/C air flowing to the upstairs more, as cold air drops eventually anyway and we keep all the curtains closed to keep out the sun. Make sure you stay hydrated, although I still drink my hot tea - can't live without it - call me stupid. When it's this hot, I only go out when I absolutely have to - I water the garden early morning or after the sun goes down. Good luck and stay cool and call me if you go to Alaska - I've been threatening to move there for years!
hugs,
Brenda
Matilda Huggington-beare114F = 45.5C NOW even I reckon thats HOT!!!!!!! It rarely gets over 40C where I live. Thankgoodness.
Chrissi, we would get fined if caught playing with our hose that way. We are on such tight water restrictions over here. No reticulation or sprinklers are to be used fullstop over here this winter.
Wendy 
Yep, that's hot! Where I live it does hit 40c but not very often, thank goodness 
BrisbaneThanks Wendy..... :redface: I had forgotten all my school conversions!!!
Karen a wet rag on the back of my neck works for me and a fan, but other than that when we get the really hot temps over here you just grin and 'bear' it
Working with fur is really hard though in those sorts of temp and I can only do it for short spells at a time!!
bears by beesley TMAwe! I hear yah! Well my problem could be blamed on Menopause for the most part but Garnet finally put central air in our house last summer. He got sooo tired of me complaining that he said it was the best $2000.00 investment he had ever made LOL What a relief!!
Hugs Louise
Mutz's Tootsz Bears & BudsI have the air conditioning on & the ceiling fans....I also remind myself that in 6-7 months if could be 14 Below, & I hate that even more. I have converted to working on some other projects for the time being. Am going to post in the friends for sale stuff.
Stay cool!
Amy
Amy, Hello!
I guess we all have different genes or something on those lines?! I can take 14 below in stride. Bundle-up, stay near a fire, get warm But heat gets me panicky and paranoid. I feel like I'm trapped and going to die My ancestors were from Northern Denmark, maybe that has something to do with it, but you look very Nordic, so maybe it's just ME?!
Karen
Bears by EdieWell, we could use a bit of heat here in southern Alberta - it was only 7 degrees Celsius yesterday morning and I think the high that day was about 12 or 14! It is supposed to be summer here but I had all my woolies on and was still asking hubby to put the fireplace on - he kept saying just wait, the sun will warm the house up - but we didn't see a lot of sun yesterday! Today was better, and sunny all day, but I still had on long pants and long sleeve top - so you see you don't need to move to Alaska, just the Crowsnest Pass area of Alberta!!! And even when we do get to a blistering 25 above on occasion in the summer - well maybe the RARE 30! - we just open the windows and let the wind blast through and cool things off in no time! I HATE to be cold - give me heat anytime!! Although I do much prefer dry heat to muggy humid weather - that is a bit hard even for me to take! When we do get the rare HOT day here we just go float in a dingy on the river with a cool drink in hand - makes me wish for heat every day as it is so relaxing - but not so good for getting bears made!
Back Road BearsKaren, how is it that is was even hotter here in NH with a high of 99F and the air was so thick with humidity you could drink it! It's just plain GROSS!!!! We don't get DRY heat here, ever! If we were in the desert I could have tolerated it!
Air conditioning....... I have one in my studio and actually end up with a sweatshirt on cause it makes me so cold! LOL!!!! I'd MUCH rather be cold... it's so much easier to warm up! We also have ceramic tile flooring which the dogs are practically stuck to all summer!
This heat does indeed make me stay inside and tend to bear making! High heat and rain.... guaranteed to make me work! Go figure!!!
Little Bear GuyI hate the humidity, today is was Almost 40C here with the humidity and that's just wrong . We have Central Air which is such a life saver for us, don't have ceiling fans yet but I'm going out to buy some as it helps so much to keep the air circulating.
I've been to Texas in both April and September and both times it was stinking hot LOL, South Padre Island in Texas in September is dreadful but such a beautiful place. It was so hot there that when I wanted to take picture of the sunrise I walked outside with the camera and it froze up because of the temp change from inside to outside .
big hugs
Shane
We keep the windows closed and the shades down all day, then open the doors and windows at night and run fans as long as we can. It works pretty well; I can't stand being hot; I melt very easily. It helps too if your house is well insulated and you don't have any cracks around your windows or doors, so the heat can't get in and the cool can't get out.
Other tips for keeping the house cool is to open the windows overnight and then close them first thing in the morning which will keep the humidity out. I have just returned from 17 days in Greece where this month was the hottest June on record. Every day was sun and temperatures between 30 and 40C- hotter than this if you factored in the humidity!!! Tramping through ruins, climbing stairs and high elevations made for a lot of perspiring and fatigue. It was still a wonderful trip and part of it was cruising the Greek Islands including Santorini- the most beautiful island of all. We also saw where the Sea Diamond sank- the spot is marked by a rope on top of the water
Weather here in Ontario is blistering- over 100F with the humidity and we have one more day of it before cooler air moves in. I much prefer the colder weather as you can always get warmer. Sure hope this is not an indication of what the Summer will be like!!!
Keep cool
Hugs
Gail
As my husband says "That's why they paint cars different colors." I would much rather be hot than cold. I live along the coast in the middle of Florida and we only run the ac for a couple of hours in the afternoon, never at night. The pool in the backyard helps too.
In Jan & Feb when it goes below 60 I am freezing. It looks like I'm in the minority here.
Newcastle, OntarioKaren,
I actually start stressing after Dec 21st as I know the days will get longer and summer will come! By April, I'm in full panick mode as I know summer is just around the corner. I celebrate June 21st when I know the tide is turning back towards winter. Now it's almost the end of June and I know there are only 60 days left until September - Yippee! I looove spring, fall and winter - hate the summer heat! The only saving grace is that this house is a back split and the back of the house is almost always in the shade and it stays pretty cool, even without A/C.
hugs,
Brenda
Thanks! Brenda,
Now I don't feel so crazy
Karen
Posts: 3,540One thing that can help your air conditioner is to also run a dehumidifier. Yes, I realize it will kick out hot air (just don't sit in front of it), but as it pulls the humidity out, your air conditioner will 'feel' cooler.
I've also had to grow up without air conditioning and it .... well it SUCKS! There's nothing nice about it at all. We had a central attic fan, did all the open windows at night for the cool (damp) air, then all shades drawn at dawn to keep the cool trapped inside.
When it was truly unbearable, I'd sit on the rim of the bathtub with my feet in cold water, as cold as I could get it. Seemed if I could cool my feet, it would help to keep my core temperature cooler.
Oh, and I totally agree with muggy weather being 'suffocating'. Its nothing like desert heat. Completely saps your strength and makes you feel like you're drowning. 
Bleah.
