Tothill

I am lucky to live in an area that does not get extreme heat, but we do get hot spells. My house (no ac) can get up to 90 degrees inside.

What works for me is going for a swim at the lake or in the ocean after work. It cools my core and I no longer feel the heat.

I do keep the windows open at night and shaded during the day.

Cactus Stitchin

We just set a digital thermometer out on one of our bushes to try to eliminate it picking up "extra" heat from the pool cool decking or stone on the barbecue area. Current temperature in the shrub - 119.5; setting on top the barbecue we had gotten a reading of 125.8 and figured that was a little off. Many people tell us "oh, but that is a dry heat so it doesn't feel so bad"! Ha! Anything 110 and up is just plain old hot humidity or not. Bad part is - we have about 3 hours until we hit the hottest part of the day. Tonight it will also cool off to - say maybe - 100?

marge954

What helps me beat the heat is wearing shorts, going barefoot and drinking lots of sweet iced tea! I purchased several sizes of fans from Walmart that have metal blades in them which really puts out a lot of air. Usually they sit on the air register and I point them up so it helps cool the room. It seems to help with keeping the thermostat a little higher (76). I keep the insulated drapes closed and try to remind DH to shut the door when he goes outside. Fortunately our temperature topped out at 84 degrees today since the A/C decided to quit for the third time this season.

elnan

Heat Wave? Here in SW WA, I have been cold for the past week and right now am seriously considering a fire in the woodstove tonight. AC, what is that?

Sandra in Minnesota

Make you wonder what we did before we had A/C.

TexasSunshine

It has been in the mid-90s here in NE Texas, high humidity but we manage fine, we are used to it. We keep the temp at 78 degrees and use fans which really help. I dislike paying high electric bills.

ptquilts

My tips for heat waves - When I had a house with a cellar, I would go down and lie on the concrete cellar floor until I got chilled. Like a slab at the morgue, it sucks the heat out of your body.
When upstairs quilting, I would get a wet washcloth and rub it over my bare arms and legs, bonus points if you can sit in front of a fan while you do this. In between uses I would keep it on the back of my neck.

I would much rather bundle up in cold weather than deal with heat.

lindaschipper

Living in Iowa now, we seldom have a real heatwave. But I'm from St. Louis where it gets extremely muggy in the summer, so I'm use to the hotter weather. My husband likes to keep it COLD in the house as he can't stand the heat, so while he's wearing shorts I'm getting goosebumps and a sore throat running around in jeans and long sleeves. Guess we can't always agree....LOL

Edie

Oh, Geri B, I love to sew outside - either by machine or by hand. I have a deck out front facing east and a patio out back facing west. When it gets hot here in Minnesota - anything over 65*, I head for the shade. My favorite is out front, where I can wave to the neighbors, sit under a birch tree with lots of dingle-dangles hanging from it and is the stopping off point for walkers who like to look at the stuff I have hanging - anything from porcelain angels to hummer feeders, to crystal prisms and mirrors (little tiny ones that reflect the sun and twinkle on the grass from the sun reflecting on it. I learned to love Minnesota weather. You go out in the winter to buy food, you go out in the summer to mow the lawn and enjoy the sounds of the birds, and motorcycles!!!!! I am a German Swede so it is so obvious that I belong where my mother and father planted me. Yesterday it hit 93 and it was gorgeous out. Last night it poured buckets and drop baseball sized hail in Northern Minnesota - Gotta love it!!!!! And at 78, I do so appreciate my state and its weather so much more. Today is the first day of summer, and I don't even remember having a Spring. Seriously!!!! We had snow in May, frost in May, cold weather in June. We had the "Back to the '50's Car Show this weekend. It's summer.

Enjoy this weather. I love it. Even the dead of winter. I have my birds chirping in the house, the dog wants out and I get a blast of the cold weather, but honestly I can't complain. I would rather live here than anywhere else on earth. Spoken like a true Minnesotan or a weird German-Swede! Carpe Diem! Edie

Wanabee Quiltin

We have a cottage on the Illinois River we go to every other week. Until this morning, we kept windows open and used a fan. Our bedroom is small and so is the A/C window unit we use at night. I came out of the bedroom this morning and the heat hit me like a sledge hammer and I told DH the A/C is going on for this week. We have 3 small dogs and I hated that they slept in the heat last night. I have been staying inside piecing though I do look out the windows. I feel kind of bad that I'm not outside enjoying the beautiful weather, I think today I will plant some flowers before the heat hits me.