When we were young, we spent a spring and summer in Washington, DC, a town known both for its political intrigue and its oppressive, humid heat. Being a cost (and environmentally) conscious college student, we found a simple alternative to air conditioning: the grocery store. Many a stifling afternoon found us cheerfully, slowly strolling the aisles of the local IGA, reading labels, chatting with stockers, and simply standing peacefully in the frozen food section. A trip to the Museum of Modern American Consumerism.
Which leads us to our reader question: what are you doing to beat the heat? Temperatures are expected to stick in the mid-90’s through the rest of the week, so it’s best we put our heads together and come up with a plan. If you have an air conditioner at home, getting ac tune up will bring your system up to its peak operating efficiency. This means less energy is used to cool your home. Efficiency brings many benefits in and of itself, as it makes your home more comfortable and decreases wear and tear on your system.
UW Libraries! Good thing since I’m doing dissertation research, but also just a wonderful place to hang out!
Put damp towels in the freezer, remove when frozen, place on body, repeat. Open windows at night, close house and curtains during the day. Hose down the dogs. Swim at Greenlake. Drink lots of water. Smile!
So glad we have a basement. Working from home down there among the cobwebs and canned food.
water balloon fight at Wallingford Farmers Market 5pm
I wear my shades inside.
I am camping out in the basement with my 6 month old. It is at least 20 degrees cooler down here.
They need to invent something like a blanket, but for cold.
We bought one of the last three portable air conditioners at Home Depot. It was expensive, it’s only good for one room, it takes several hours to cool down, and I’m sure I’ll regret it when my light bill arrives — but for this week, at least, I’m considering it the best purchase I’ve ever made.
Basement. 95 degrees upstairs, 75 down – and it’s FREE! (Except for the lights I have to run.)
Ice cubes in the dog bowl. Wet washcloth on the head. Green Lake. Cold 16oz Diet Coke down my pant leg (accident? you decide). Basement. Open windows. Wet t-shirt.
Eat out. Everyone else is.
Move to motel for three nights. Our apartment is on the top floor, above the shady trees, and has three exterior walls on the east, west, and south, plus the roof. We get sun from dawn to dusk and couldn’t take it any more.
Yesterday we went back for half an hour to grab some things. After twenty minutes our toddler was flushed red, drenched with sweat, and crying almost constantly.
It’s that bad. Hello, motel!
You could go to the 7-11 at N 59th & Phinney Ave N. I swear the have the AC set at 55 or less..
Saw the story in the paper today that Wallingford doesn’t have senior center or library (for now). What about Wallingford Center… doesn’t that have A/C? Personally I think our brick apt bldg continues to heat up for a couple hours after the sun sets. Have 6 fans on now (incl. bathroom vent and kitchen hood) to try and draw cooler air in.
@7. Flash, you may be referring to the Wet blanket.
Put a damp washcloth in a ziplock bag of ice and use it to mop down your face, neck, head while you walk to a restaurant that has A/C. Box fan in the bedroom window (and lying right in its breeze) is allowing me to sleep at night. Someone did suggest putting a wet towel in the freezer and putting it on the dog bed or in a spot where the dogs can lie.
I’ve also heard about putting a damp towel in front of an open window (presumably after the outside temp goes down and there’s somewhat of a breeze). Anybody tried that?
Did anybody fry an egg on the sidewalk yesterday?
Sean DeTore (engineer for “Too Beautiful to Live” on KIRO) tried to fry an egg yesterday:
http://www.mynorthwest.com/?nid=78&sid=194751
It didn’t work.
Thanks Megan. Those Texans and their tall tales… (bah!)
Fry an egg? I think you could have cooked a steak!
A nice cool treat for dogs – frozen carrots. My dogs chew them like bully sticks. Make sure you break them into desired size before freezing them b/c you won’t be able to after their frozen.
…I meant after they’re frozen. 😛
@Joan Good save. The Grammar Police were ready to come down on you like a ton of bricks. Now I gotta run, cuz the Cliche Police are on my tail.
@ Forrest. Forrest, my blankets are wet in about 15 minutes anyways. No additional moistening appears to be needed.