A Hot Summer Day

I think today is probably one of the hottest days we've had so far. As soon as I go outside, a wall of heat hits me. The air is thick and even the breeze is warm and provides no relief.

It's about that time of year where the weather stays hot for a while. We wait for storms in the simple hope that it means we won't have to water the garden. My garden is currently parched and the plants look wilted from the heat. They'll revive after I water them tonight but for now, they look rather pathetic.

The dogs don't waste much time out there either. As much as I try to take the girls for a walk every night, even if it's a quick one, tonight, they won't get their walk. It's too hot. The pavement is scorching and I'm afraid for their paws. Also, knowing my girls the way I do, it won't take more than a few moments of walking before Little Miss Rory decides that she's had quite enough, thank you very much and she simply sits down. Sookie will join her and our walk will disintigrate into Captain Monkeypants Attempts to Get Her Dachshunds to Stand Up and Walk Without Dragging them.

There's little sign of life out there anyway. This heat is too much even for the kids who usually have no problem running around, riding bikes and spraying each other with the hose. That's for ninety degree days. We're currently over 100 degrees with a heat index of 108.

It's times like this that I am grateful that my air conditioning is working and that I can escape from the heat into the sanctuary of a cool room. I've made a point this summer of trying hard to get outside as much as possible. I'm an indoor girl by nature but I try to at least sit outside and enjoy the summer once a day. At the moment, it's too hot to sit outside and far too hot to work in the garden. Besides, it's not pleasant to do so anyway. There are these nasty little black flies that converge on me the moment I start to sweat and even when I swat them away, they still feel like they're crawling on me. I'm not fond of that buggy sensation that the humidity brings.

It's the type of heat that makes me want ice-cream. I don't like ice-cream much except for when it gets hot. I've still resisted those Magnum Bars mostly because my parents tried them and said they weren't anything special. Here I was picturing them as the most luxurious combination of vanilla ice cream and Swiss chocolate and they're about comparable to a Dove bar. I don't mind the Dove bars but not enough to spend the calories on them- I'll stick with my Skinny Cow treats. They're yummy, low fat and rather tasty. Also, they're nice and cold and that makes them a nice treat on a hot day like this.

Summer is fully upon us. It has been for a while but this is the first time she's truly pulled out all the stops and said HERE I AM! I'M GOING TO MAKE YOU MELT! It does make me miss the days of those 78 degree temperatures and cool nights but then again, without summer, I probably wouldn't appreciate them so much. What I do wish I had, however, was a pool. I'm not much on swimming- I never have been. I didn't learn to swim until I was 11 and I've never much liked swimming. I do, however, like floating in a pool of cool water or doing the dog padde onto a floating raft and letting the cool water slowly evaporate as the sun takes it away and then doing it all over again. One of my favourite hot day memories of late was at a spa in California where my friend and I lay on rafts after doing spa-type of things all day. The air was warm but the wetness of our swimsuits kept us cool and we just relaxed, talking and laughing and enjoying the peace of the day.

I like that feeling. I like that summer makes that feeling even better because of the relief the water gives you from the heat. I don't really want a pool- my garden isn't big enough- but I'd quite like to float again on a raft somewhere. The trouble is, all the public pools are filled with cannonballing kids and there's never enough space to float on a raft. Also, this is going to sound a little snobby but with all those kids and a pool of water, I've always worried how much pee is actually in the pool. I know, I know, I can't think of that and that's why chlorine is good but, well, I still think of it anyway.

I don't even have a hose that works. Stupid me left it out over the winter and it sprung a million tiny leaks when I turned it on in the spring. Besides, since I only have a privacy fence on one side of my garden, the other sides might find it a little crazy if I stand there and hose myself. It's the type of thing you might do when you're alone or if you were playing around with other people but to do it alone in full view of the neighbourhood...well, I'm odd but not that silly.

So, for now, I'll stick to my air conditioning and enjoy the relief it brings. I'll continue with the ice-cream and try to keep the dogs cool. If a storm comes, I'll welcome it and, if not, I'll have to water my plants.

Ah, summer...you're fun but I'm glad you only last three months.

Happy Tuesday!

Hot Days and Swimming Pools....

Short weeks at work are nice. It means that today is the middle of the week instead of only being Tuesday. It's shaping up to be one of those weeks where I just feel frustrated with my job and am starting to get the itch to look elsewhere again.

It's not that I don't like the work. I'm just frustrated with the politics. No matter what I do or what I say, I end up playing second fiddle to my coworker who seems to be able to do no wrong.

She mostly doesn't do wrong although she's a little bored at work at the moment. Thus, she goes to 'talk business' with her friends and disappears for hour-long stretches at a time. My boss doesn't notice. I know that sometimes she does talk shop but, mostly, she disappears and starts whispering with one of her friends.

I hate whispering in the office. I think it's quite unnecessary. There are enough locations throughout where people can go inside, shut the door and talk properly. Whispering incites gossip and I get fed up with that.

Still, it's not all bad. I've been busy lately which has made the days go fast. Also, it's been so hot outside that going to the office isn't so bad. It's very cool in our building on hot days where the heat index is above 100 degrees, it's nice to be in the air-conditioning, looking out on the hazy day.

It's so hot out there that it feels as there's no air moving at all. It feels like a classic summer day where all you want to do is lie on a raft in a swimming pool and float the day away. I've done that before and it's one of the pure joys of hot days. You lie on the raft, listening to the gentle lap of the water as it brushes the sides of the pool and the edges of the raft. Chances are, you got in the pool to get on the raft and so your swimsuit is wet and the last drips are evaporating on your skin. You start to get warm as you dry, the hot sun beating down on you and, just when it gets to be so hot that you're going to start sweating...plop! You roll into the pool and begin the whole process again.

When I was younger, my parents got us one of those inexpensive above-ground pools. It was somewhat flimsier than the more 'permanent' models but it held water and was deep enough for us to float. My younger brother and I were the primary users of the pool, playing and floating on a Little Mermaid raft that provided endless hours of amusement. Summers later, the pool began to leak and we got rid of it.

Sometimes, I think it would be nice to have one of those pools in my back yard now I have one of my own. Unfortunately, my back yard isn't nearly as big as my parents' and a pool would take up most of the grass. Also, I'm afraid if I did get one, the summer's day peace would be interrupted by the yapping of the Dog Whisperer's beasts.

The closest pool is just down the street at the community center. It requires a membership to use and, given that it's summer, its primary users are children. This means that it would be hard to peacefully float on a raft because if there's even enough room for a raft, it would probably be jostled and splashed by kids doing cannonballs and learning to swim.

The best floating I ever did was at a spa in California with one of my best friends. It's a wonderful place, that spa. You pay an entrance fee and you have access to their multiple pools which include saltwater, sulfer, hot springs and other spa-oriented pools and you can also get a mud treatment. My friend and I floated for hours in the pool that allows rafts, slowly getting punchier and sillier as we floated and we relaxed more than more. That was a hot summer day where it felt good to get wet and let the sun dry away the water.

Since I don't have a pool now, I can only close my eyes and imagine I'm floating. The closest I've come is accidentally soaking myself with the hose while trying to screw it to the tap a little tighter. The cold water felt good on my skin, even though it soaked my clothes. I let myself dry in the sun and the sensation was very nice and cooling. It's not a pool but it did the trick.

Sometimes, we just have to improvise. Especially on hot summer days.

Happy Thursday and stay cool!