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Sunnie BearsAw you guys! Come on.... does anyone want to visit me in the very sunnie Mojave Desert???? hmmmmm. didn't think so... actually it has been quite cool here.. over 100 degrees but not up to the 118 to 125 that we usually see this time of year. All I can say is, "Thank God for swimming pools"
Past Time BearsAs 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.
Well, I'm with you, Nancy . . . or at least I had preferred being warm than cold up until the last few weeks. Although our temps have been a bit cooler than the norm, all the rain has made the humidity skyrocket . . . so that I work up a good sweat just walking from the house to the car. Sheesh, it's ghastly!! Karen, do you have ceiling fans? We turn the A/C thermostat to 85 at night and just use fans. In the daytime, the A/C is on 72, but with the high humidity, we keep the fans going.
Shane, you betcha, the A/C keeps all of us Texans alive in the summer - the difference when going from the outside to the inside (and vice versa) is really dramatic. We've been to South Padre several times - gorgeous beach, or at least it was when we were there years ago.
q.D.paToOtieSSorry, Sarahjane,
I know a lot of artists here are on celsiusI 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 fireplaceBut how can you get cool when you're walking around? Naked is tempting but......
Karen
Naked definitely isn't an option here Karen!!!LOL!!!I'm pretty sure I signed some sort of form in the hospital after I had the twins that insisted that I never show more than 15% of my body in public again. Ever. At any point in time. Under any circumstances. Hot weather included.
Plus, wouldn't mohair stick to you more if you got sweaty? That would be really itchy!!!
MerBear OriginalsFortunately our office is air conditioned - or I wouldn't be here! At home we run an air conditioner in our bedroom/sitting room and I had one put in my sewing room this year as well. Also fans and ceiling fans.
It's been extremely hot here for a few days but it hasn't been bothering me quite as much since that month I spent in Thailand. It was 42 C there and so humid you immediately broke out into a sweat as soon as you stepped outside!
Couldn't live there for long.
Marion
Waggle BearsI have to get in on this! It's hot, hot, hot here, and I never get used to the heat. Winters are wonderful and mild, but they're so short.
This morning our paper tells us we've had 30 days over 100 as of yesterday...2006, we had 41 days over 100 by the same date. Today we're headed to 110 today and 115 by the weekend.
We've seen 100 temps in January and February while we've been in the desert. And 120-129 is not unusual for summer. The hottest day since we moved to the desert was 130 maybe 10 years ago.
We can have very dry, dry heat...like single digit numbers, and we can have very high humidity, at least for us...high can be as much as 80%. Thankfully, those days aren't the 120s. The humidity comes in mid-July through September. And we don't really cool off until November...which means maybe 70s. It makes me crazy for people to say, "Yeah, but you have a dry heat." I tell them to come in August.
Our air conditioning comes on sometime between March and May and stays on 24/7 through October...though it may go on and off a few times in October. Our ceiling fans also run 24/7. There are maybe 14/15 days through the summer than you can open windows or doors. Summer can be miserable for sleeping as it doesn't cool off at night. The overnight low can be in the 90s and 100s.
I would so much prefer colder weather. The heat here can make people crazy. I always have a bottle or water with me when I leave the house...and I've learned to drink water that has turned hot enough to steep tea when I've left it in the car. Swimming pools can reach temperatures of 105 and many people have a type airconditioning unit on their pools to keep the water cool enough to get into.
We've never used our fireplace. The people behind us will use their fireplace in the winter but they have to open their sliding doors and windows.
But from November through March (if we're lucky) can be absolutely perfect weather so if you ever come for a visit here, plan a winter trip.
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)I just picked up an issue of Time mag on global warming. I'm not political but this is a thought-provaking issue, and has been building for 250 since the Industrial Era revolutionized our living & work environments.
I heard the weatherman explaining about dew point and humidity; basically, if you were handed a cubic foot of air, w/less than 10% humidity in it, you could breathe comfortably from it for X number of minites.
Now fill that same cube with 75% humidity: 3/4 of the oxygen has been replaced by water. You'd breathe that in in mere minutes, because there is only 1/4 % or oxygen there, and your rate of breating increases dramatically as you attempt to suck 'air' out of that 'wet blanket'.
I feel smothered too, and after that hearing explanation I now understand that it's not just all-in-my-head. Asthma attacks must be horrendous... I can warm up much faster than cool off and there are laws about how far down one can strip. Like Shelli, it's more comfortable to wear loose longer natural fiber clothing that keep body parts from touching. Look at the desert dwellers in Asia & Africa - they've always covered up! Those 'moisture-wicking fabrics' are ridiculous - they cost a fortune and are still like wearing plastic bags. It's been the same since the first nylon & polyester fabrics were created.
Our DD's family is near Phoenix (Paradise Valley is surrounded by Scottsdale & Phoenix.)
AZ is like a bowl and Phoenix sits near the bottom of it. It's 120° today - I've been there at 126°. They're looking forward to (Chicago's version of) hot & humid in the high 90s next week, as it is today. Fortunately (for me) it's going to be 75° after this cold front comes through - and send it on to Toronto & VT/NH/ME. They're going to be layering on the sox & sweatshirts at night....
Dry is a bit easier to cope with.... and as long as the air is moving I'm happier. I'd live in a wind tuinnel if I could..
HATE feeling the water running down all of the gutters.... (That's graphic enough!)
Newcastle, OntarioBobby,
You can send all the cooler weather to us that you want - I'll wear a sweater any day, compared to the feeling of being stifled.
hugs,
Brenda
Posts: 2,203It gets nasty here too but It was 111 degrees in st George Utah two weeks ago. That is where my brother lives.
It's too late, I'm totally insane from the heat!
But, heh, I've had some very interesting thoughts and panicks But I guess I'm lucky, our heat wave will end in two days. Lisa, come to our Mudge pond and show as much skin as you need too! This is an old NEw England town, average age around 80 
you'd be a young nymph 
Karen, is that my name?!
A/C!!! Ours runs all year long. Summer is not too fun here because it's hot and very humid and it's hurricane season. I like living by the beach because we get the ocean breeze, which is nice. I like our pool but sometimes in the summer it gets pretty warm and can feel like a bath.
But I would rather have the heat in summer than winters. I'm such a wimp in cold weather!
q.D.paToOtieS
Karen, is that my name?!
Mmm. I'll keep that in mind Karen when I hit 40 next week!!!
Creative Design Studio (RKR4CDS)Hip Hip Hooray! An hour ago the front came through - inch & a half rain in 30 minutes. I've just discovered all of the flower damage done by the cicadas. THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO LAY EGGS ONLY IN TREES BRANCHES!!!!
My 'Love Lies Bleeding' stalks that were in a pot 3' above the ground & getting nearly 18" tall, with 24" 'Love' blossoms draping majestically over the edges, are broken & on the ground. I hope the roots put up new stalks soon...
I'll wear a sweater any day,
AAAAAAHHH! Sweater weather - my Favorite season! DH Hates my Sweater Weather w/a passion.
At any time during the year, one of us is happy & the other one miserable. We joked for years about living 1000 mi away from each other after retirement and visiting the other during the season that we're not comfortable in!!
Palmerston North, NZheat sounds good to me right about now...i'm so cold my hands are numb, makes it kinda difficult to type. i'm sitting in front of the gas heater right now. seems this year winter has been especially cold.... so maybe i can send some the cold your way and you can send some warmth? then we'd all have perfect weather. hehe
Jare Hares & BearsOk here's how I handle the heat... sit right in front of the AC and don't move for the summer! Seriously, we keep the temp set to ~72F.
I am also a huge fan of ceiling fans, they really do make a difference on the electric/heating/cooling bills. I don't understand why anyone would rip out a ceiling fan. I think that most of those designers on those home design programs don't have a clue about the benefits of ceiling fans. If they ever did that to one of my rooms the ceiling fan would be the first thing to go back into the room. I don't care if is does interrupt their design theme, my comfort is more important.
I also buy "wind machine" or "wind tunnel" type fans. They move tons of air yes they cost more to buy to begin with, but the savings later on make up the difference.
I also recommend switching over to CFL bulbs, they use less wattage and are cooler than traditional light bulbs. They will help to lower your energy bill in two ways. 1. They use less energy. 2. Since they use less energy, they generate less heat. There are CFL that generate a light similar to soft white lights, they also have daylight balanced lights. And no flickering! I have them in the garage light and the porch light and there seem to be fewer bugs around the porch. There is still one regular light bulb on the porch and the bugs are more attracted to that light then the other 2. Go figure. Maybe the CFL generate a sound the bugs don't like. Who knows?
H2O is a must! I keep a bottle of water handy. I have all kinds of Sam's Choice flavored water in the frig and unflavored water nearby. Yes, room temp water is the best, cool or cold water can shock the system. In college, most of the singers carried water bottles and we were always told to drink room temp water. Don't drink cold water, don't want the vocal cords to go into shock before singing, that would be a very bad thing!
And pray :pray: for cooler weather. I think a year round temp of 72F would be good, don't you?
Jare Hares & BearsHip Hip Hooray! An hour ago the front came through - inch & a half rain in 30 minutes. I've just discovered all of the flower damage done by the cicadas. THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO LAY EGGS ONLY IN TREES BRANCHES!!!!
My 'Love Lies Bleeding' stalks that were in a pot 3' above the ground & getting nearly 18" tall, with 24" 'Love' blossoms draping majestically over the edges, are broken & on the ground. I hope the roots put up new stalks soon...I'll wear a sweater any day,
AAAAAAHHH! Sweater weather - my Favorite season! DH Hates my Sweater Weather w/a passion.
At any time during the year, one of us is happy & the other one miserable. We joked for years about living 1000 mi away from each other after retirement and visiting the other during the season that we're not comfortable in!!
Did yard work at Grandma's in Villa Park and we could hear the cicadas over both the lawn mower and the chipper. There were several of her neighbors that had netting over their plants to protect them. They eat anything that they can chew. I had several land on me. They were all over grandma's patio set and there was a huge pile beneath the pine trees. I am glad they are there and not out here.
Did the cicadas damage your plants or was it the weather?
Chaska, MinnesotaEven in Minnesota, I have never seen it so hot. Lucky I am a couch potato. I turn on the air conditioning and stay home. I do love to rest you know....But I can say, since I am a night owl, I grocery shop at 11:00 pm or midnight. I like that way, because I hate crowds. But more importantly, I get the best parking spaces!!. It also helps that I do this on my way home from work. And the bonus, it is cooler at night!!! Not much help here but that is how I deal with the heat.
