Only rarely do I wish for cooler weather. This is one of those days. At 8am it was already 80 degrees Fahrenheit with a forecast of 100+. Add in humidity and the heat index will be at least 113+. Ugh. My body prefers to be under 80 degrees but I really don’t like it under 0 degree Fahrenheit either.
No air conditioning in this old house. I procured a window unit when I moved in but it isn’t strong enough to keep even the first floor cool so I don’t bother to install it anymore. I am usually content with a fan but that fails when the heat index gets over 90 in the house. I venture to the library to cool down because it is generally quiet and I can use the computer. Alas, all libraries are closed for the Independence Day Holiday. I will sometimes hang out at the mall but nary a comfie chair can be found, its loud, bad lighting, and I don’t think they like it that I don’t have money to spend. I even bring my own water bottle to sip.
I will retreat to the basement to read a book. I can drag down the tv and dvd player to watch movies that I check out from the library. Unfortunately the tv-dvd is about fifty pounds and I worry that I will fall and we both will break. If I am fortunate, a friend will take pity upon me and invite me into their coolness for a few hours. Someday I’ll install an air conditioning unit but right now I have to concentrate on paying the bills. Unemployment still sucks.
Nighttime is tricky. I open a window on one side of the house and have an outward facing box fan in the window of my bedroom. I turn it on and it sucks air from the other side of the house to create a breeze. My bed is about six feet from the door so I partially shut it to direct the breeze across the bed as it travels to the outward blowing exhaust fan. I haul up ice packs from my freezer and place them on the side of the bed near the door. As the wind blows over the cold packs it creates a small area of cool to flow over my body. I use one bendable ice pack under my neck and this mini-ice age works well enough for me to get to sleep.
I really need to slumber in my bedroom because that is where my CPAP machine is located. I need the CPAP to waft air into my nose at night or else I stop breathing. The machine is too cumbersome to haul around. Rock and hard hot place, indeed. It only becomes uncomfortable when the ice packs warm up to room temperature. If the ambient temp has not fallen below 80 then I will wake up. I go into the bathroom and wet myself down in the shower to create a temporary swamp cooler effect. Plus, drink several glasses of water.
Stay cool and have a terrific 4th of July!
© 2012 Ima B. Musing
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