Need some heat help? You’re not alone! We’re supposed to have a scorching weekend, and sometimes it’s hard to figure out ways to stay cool.
First, make a heat plan, because when it’s 88 degrees and you’re hot and cranky, you won’t be able to think of ways to help yourself. Start right now to think of ways to stay cool. Make plans to:
- go to a movie
- call a friend with a pool
- get a group together to play cards in a cool location. Bring the lemonade.
- Visit a museum. Linger and eat lunch.
- Visit a big store like L.L. Bean, that has a built-in coffee shop, and plenty of places to sit outside to enjoy the weather, but come back inside when you get too warm.
- Go to the library, check out your favorite author, and read the book or magazine there for a few hours.
- make your own movie theater. Draw the shades, set up the fan or turn on the AC, have cool drinks and invite your friends over to binge-watch.
Heat Help
Give yourself permission to actually focus on staying safe and comfortable, rather than accomplishing anything. If your garden needs work, go to the gardening section at your library or book store and do the research you wanted to do in the spring. Makes notes, find new resources, make a plan for the fall cleanup and perennial planting, for example.
If you’re at home and without air conditioning (like me), set up a fan to blow out on the sunny side, and open a window on the shaded side. Let the cooler air draw through the house. If there is no cooler air, grab a good book or magazine, get a basin of ice water and a wash cloth, set up the fan to blow on you and occasionally bathe the back of your neck and your face with the cool washcloth. Drink lots of water. When the sun gets lower and the air cools off, set up the fan to vent the house so that you can sleep more comfortably.
Remember that we get few really stinkin’ hot days in Maine, but that it doesn’t take much to get heat stroke if you’re overextended. As we age, our body can’t regulate heat as easily as before. Lucky we’re better thinkers and planners! Heat help is closer than you think.
Below are links to some other heat-related blogs that might give you some cool ideas.