How do you cope with the heat?

[jajbellsouthnet]

It's September in Florida. It has been hot since May. Too hot to do much outside and I am getting cabin fever in reverse. With highs in the 90's (heat index running 100+) and lows in the 70's, a half-hour at a time is all I can do outside. This means that I get squat done outside and am getting really frustrated. I know that age (65+) has much to do with it, but I NEED ADVICE! I know that Nebraska, Oklahoma, Georgia, etc. suffer the same conditions. I used to live there. If you are older than dirt, like I am, how do you cope?
Thanks,
John

[CarolAnn]

It's a little hard to relate just now, here in Wisconsin because there may be snow tonight in the northern counties! :P Brrrrr! Even here, that's TOO early!

But a couple of weeks ago we were roasting! My favorite way to cool off is to splash some cold water on my feet & hands - a cool shower, drinking ice water, or even just a damp washcloth stored for a while in the freezer can be a relief! Give us northerners two more weeks and we'll probably be roasting again!

As for outside work - we still can't do it now that it's cool. It rained last week and we've got skeeters the size of Boeing 707's! The lawns look like hay fields!

[DaNgEr_KiTtY]

I happen to live in the south east in the shenandoah valley in VA. I lived many years in VA Beach where its always hot & muggy in the summer & very similar to FLA. As a painter I have had to deal with harsh conditions on a number of occasions.

A few years ago before I stopped doing exterior work I spent 2 weeks on a black metal roof in one of the hottest times of that summer. I just used one of my old tricks.....the cordless air conditioner. I just hung a 5 gallon bucket of water off the gutter & soaked my shirt every 20 min or so. I wore a boonie hat which has a wide brim & soaked that too. I still do the same thing whenever I am workin in the yard & have to be in the sun with lotsa heat. sure i may look silly doing this but who cares! it works & you will be surprised how comfortable you will be.

[tufhelp]

I just read this tip, haven’t had the chance to try it out yet. This guy used to wrap up some ice cubes in a kitchen towel and put them on top of his head and then put on his straw hat. The head has an amazing amount of blood flow so the cool ice takes the edge off the heat and as the ice melted it did double duty dripping down on the body… ;)

[TNDadx4]

I have used both soaking my hat in water and ice cubes in a towel.

I introduced my youngest son to this recently when we were at his older brother's football game. It was 105 degrees outside and he loved it!

[Suzy]

It has been SO HOT in north central Alabama too this year....breaking all kinds of records in August for days over 100 and more.

We didn't have any kind of air conditioning in our house until last year when we finally gave in and bought two window units at Wal-Mart....I don't know what we would have done without them this year! We do have a ceiling fan right over our bed but before we got the AC we just sweated through the nights....

We just can't seem to stand the heat like we did when we were younger (husband is now 63 and I'm a YOUNG 55!!!!)

When I was working outside, feeding and watering animals, and doing all the other chores that have to be done around the farm, I would wet a terrycloth dish towel and drape it around my neck and wear a baseball cap to keep the sun off my face....

I had to work in short periods of time....couldn't stand much of that three to four hour periods of fence building or anything like that.

Didn't have to worry about the garden very much....what the late freeze didn't get, the drought did....

Now it is at least getting a little cooler here at night so that reduces my chores....I'm not having to haul icey bottles to the rabbit barn for the 18 Angora bunnies (which can be pretty time consuming) and I'm not having to check and refill everyone's (goats, chickens, ducks, dogs, cats) several times each day....

When it was the hottest I just wouldn't leave home except maybe to run into the small town three miles away for a quick trip to the store....I was just too afraid some of the animals would get in distress with it so hot.

My husband can remember times of chopping cotton and things like that ALL through long summer days....but I also remember times when folks worked out in the fields, would eat lunch, and then would nap in the shade during the hottest part of the day....

I lived in and near Plant City Florida in the mid 1970's and had two young daughters at that time....we had no AC in our car and no AC in our house and made it just fine....but I was MUCH younger then!

I hate to use the electricity that the AC pulls....I tried to be so energy efficient in so many other ways....we have no clothes dryer and I hang clothes on line, etc. etc. etc. but as we've gotten older, especially husband, needed that cool air to sleep in once he comes home from a long day of work in his electrical business....

[Txanne]

Older than dirt!! ;D

I have lived in South Texas all my life---So I am acclimated to it---Its the humidity folks--- ;D

In the heat of the day a shade tree will do.
I try to be still or out of the heat between 2pm and about 5pm.

Also--lay off the sugar and I understand that smoking [[not saying you do ]] causes your temp to rise.

Older folks dehydrate FAST---take plenty of water--i know i know [[you can wear that one out--but having been dehydrated in the winter of all things--i watch it in the summer.

And remember--seeing pics of older folks with a wet towel?
Shake it a bit in the air---wrap around your neck.


But---sometimes ya just gotta go with what weather brings ya!!

annie

[bookwormom]

boonie hat? never heard of that, what kind of hat is it? your ideas sound good DK, sure plan on trying that next summer. It has been a miserable summer, especially when you are waving an old calender every so often for hot flashes on top of it all and used to cool and wet weather. (July 4th 53°F). still, we did pretty good, get up really early to get things done, then rest during the worst part of the day. when the sun is getting behind the trees start up again. funny how it seemed much cooler when it was "only" 96 instead of 106.

[RangerRick]

http://www.thermotux.com/html/_____-cool_vest.html

Sweetie and I ride a Honda Gold Wing motorcycle and take several 2-3000 mile trips around the country each year. Needless to say, in the summer it gets hotter-n-hell and pretty quick Sweetie started looking for a solution to the problem. The remedy that "Gold Wingers" have come up with to combat this dilemma is the aforementioned Cool Vest. You soak the vest in the cooler for a few minutes (gas stops), wring it out, slip it on and as it wicks you can count on 68 degrees for 2-3 hours. With the wind blowing at 70 mph the vest wicks out fast so we usually cover with a light weight jacket that works well. I wear mine while haying or fishing to boot as it really keeps things comfy.

Rick

[ericknowschrist]

We close the house up tight during the day, closing all the drapes.

At night we open up the windows (especially downstairs) and run the whole house fan.

At least now we have the whole house fan!

[MYellowRose]

I cope by hibernating somewhere with a/c! Because of health concerns I'm supposed to avoid being out in the sun. Since I live in South Texas that's pretty much an impossibility! LOL I ride the bus and tend to carry a thermal mug of either iced tea or iced water where ever I go! I've also learned where the shaded bus stops are so when necessary I can hide. Since I now use a walker with a seat that gives me more options when I'm downtown waiting on a bus and the bench is in the sun I can usually find somewhere close by that is in the shade and sit down.

[ol_hoot]

It DO get hot in Texas

I found a bandana at Academy (outdoors store) that has some kind of "stuff" sewed up in it that you can soak in cold water.
The stuff will soak the water up and swell up
You tie it around your neck and it helps a lot.
It's kinda messy but if you sweatin down working or something that ain't no problem

The stuff wears out after a while and gets where it won't soak nothin up

Probably some dang chemicals that will make my babies be born toothless and nekkid

[ol_hoot]

Shoot, don't know what I was thinkin
Lord willin my baby days is through

till grandbabies come anyway

matter of fact all my younguns was born toothless and nekkid !

[Terri]

To start with, I go out at sunrise.

I ALSO bring a LARGE glass of ice water, and I not only drink it I GET MY SHIRT WET WITH IT! I just trickle it over my shoulders and my shirt when I wish it.

Fortunately my backyard has a lot of trees, as I have never liked the thought of wet T-shirt contests!

Wal-mart sells a dandy hand-held fan for $2. It eats batteries but it is sure nice! And, if your shirt is wet it works even better.

[machinemaker]

Well here at 9500' elevation with little humidity a hot day is 80 and not too many of them. But I try to keep the greenhouse 90.
kent