Kelly's Korner - Hot Town, Summer in the City

Hey, All,

It is only the end of June and we have been getting some really warm weather here in Portland.  While we didn't get the 103 degrees they were forecasting this weekend, it was still 90 something, overcast, with humidity at the sauna level.  And the rest of the summer is looking just as uncomfortable.

Creative Commons license on image.

Now, I may be weird but summer is my least favorite season of the year.  I don't do well in the heat and my poor pets aren't too happy either.  So what do I do to help alleviate some of the discomfort (I don't have central air)?  First of all, if I can't get to a pool, river or lake and stay home, I make sure I have lots of water (iced tea for me) around for my pets.  I set out extra bowls of water and drop ice cubes in it to keep it cool.  I also have a big box fan to blow air on me and move it around the living room.  I also have a spray bottle with water to spray both me and the furballs.

Once temps in the house reach about 80, I will put my ferrets in the big dog kennel with food, water and an old flannel sheet for them to curl up in and move them to the basement.  It stays blessedly cool down there - my boys practically live down there in the summer.  The cats and the grand-dog are either down there, too, or else the cats have found a cool hidey hole outside.

Once the sun goes down, I open up the house - doors and windows to catch any stray breeze, and leave them open all night.  When I get up in the morning, I close everything back up to keep the cool in and go through the same routine.  The two smaller bedrooms now have window A/C units but I just open up my windows at night and unplug the heater on my bed and sleep just fine.

Now, if you can't afford to install whole house air conditioning and all stores are sold out of window units (the windows in my front room don't open so I can't put window unit in - one more thing in the list of honey-dos on my house!) there have been some very innovating ideas out on the Web for do-it-yourself A/C units.  I am not recommending them, but some of them do look pretty interesting and if they work - hey, there's a plus for you.

If you have any other ways to keep cool, let me know - it's going to be a looooong summer!

Have a great week and a safe and sane 4th!