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Chillin: 11 Ways to Stay Cool on a Hot Summer Day

Considering that the cumulative high temperature over the last 10 days has been about 1000°, and considering that my home (and home office) has no air conditioning, I have brainstormed some helpful hints on how to spend your next 60 days (or 6000°).

11. One word: basement.

10. Slather on the sunscreen and set up the Slip ‘n’ Slide, uh, for the KIDS. Right. For the kids.

9. Conduct a mad Internet search for an air conditioning unit. Pay whatever is asked, even if it completely usurps the childrens’ college funds.

8. Plant an acorn and envision that in the Summer of ’42 you’ll have shade.

7. Hijack an ice cream truck.

6. Daydream about the Blizzard of 2003. And the snowless snow days of 2011 when it hit 40° below and the school buses wouldn’t run.

5. Eat this dessert (adults only).

4. Go to Costco and accidentally find yourself in the refrigerated food section. I mean INSIDE it. If caught, claim that you were chasing a wayward child who loves cheese.

3. Investigate rain dances from various indigenous cultures. Gather the neighbors to help you summon and please the rain gods with a rainmaking ritual. Stop short of sacrificing small animals, especially if flame is involved.

2. Hug a firefighter. Air hug, perhaps, to prevent spontaneous combustion.

1. Popsicles for dinner.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

How do you cool off on a hot summer day?

(Southern hemisphere friends, please tuck this post away and come back to read in January.)

20 Responses

  1. During the hot season where we are it is commonly 110 degrees in the shade. I fill a spray bottle with water and spray myself while standing in front of a fan. I also drench wraps made out of thin cotton in cold water and wrap them around my head and neck. Not particularly attractive but it works. That dessert looks amazing!!! We used to live in Brooklyn and had an Italian landlord who kept us supplied with homemade limoncello. I wish I had found your recipe then!

  2. Dude, you don’t have air conditioning? Oh yeah, I guess it doesn’t usually get that hot there. I can’t live without my a/c and I currently can’t work, because the a/c at work broke and our server shut down. Oh well.

    My friend’s advice was to get your head wet and then stick it in the freezer for minutes of relief!

    But mostly, I just go where the air conditioning is – usually a movie theater or a mall.

  3. Very fun and creative ideas Lori!

    On a hot day my family and I like to spend time at a local pool or beach, go for a bike ride (giving us a bit of a breeze) and/or go out for ice cream.

    We are actually about to head out for a family bike ride now! 🙂

  4. I’m a San Franciscan and I would normally know nothing about these things but currently I’m in Austin and its super hot so I’m not totally ignorant of the heat of which you speak. I’ve been combating the swelter with swimming, snow cones and ice water. I’m having relative success. 😉

    1. I should put snow cones on the list!

      As a young adult I was shocked at how chilly San Fran is in the summer. I hadn’t yet heard the Mark Twain quote (“The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco.”)

  5. And another record week – these tips are useful and we use #11 all the time. #11 is our safe haven and of course the popsicles too! The sprinkler runs a lot too – and the kiddos run through them. What fun! Stay COOL!

  6. Haha 🙂 We don’t have AC, either and it’s been hot.

    Luckily it’s always foggy and freezing at the beaches or in the city, so we’ve gone there a few times.

  7. No air conditioning? Oh my. Weeks like this make me so happy that my husband refused to buy the house I liked that had no air conditioning. I hope you stay cool. (and the hug a firefighter one is no joke – we have needed a ton of extra guys on fires because they are needing rehab so quickly in this weather)

  8. I never had a/c… until I moved to & spent a few summers in southern Ontario without it. :p The summer after we moved into our house, we got central a/c. I would hate to be without it. :p We do have ceiling fans in several rooms (which the previous owner installed), which come in handy at times. Sometimes it’s not hot enough for the a/c, but you want to get the air moving.

    Have been thinking about you & my other friends & relatives in Colorado or with Colorado connections. I hope you are well out of the fire zone!

  9. *laughing* I love this.

    We used to spend a lot of time in public air conditioned places when I was a kid (movie theater, mall, etc.), but I loved the freezer section, too. In fact, we did that yesterday until my daughter started whining that it was too cold!

    I am so grateful for central AC, though … now that we have it, we always invite people over who don’t!

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