Staying cool

I think we're finishing up our second full week of high temps in the 90s, and there's no end in sight, according to the weather forecast I saw. Sigh.

I know it's almost officially Summer and all, but for it to be THIS hot, THIS early in the season has been a little disconcerting. And I'm not even nine months pregnant (like my sweet sister), or someone who has to work outdoors all day ( can't think of anyone to name, but I see people all the time when I'm driving in my air-conditioned car).

And speaking of air-conditioning, I grew up in a house that was sans a/c, which was manageable most of the time, since it was in New Jersey. But nowadays I thankfully spend most of my time in a cooled environment (sometimes too cool for my taste, but I have to share space with others). I really shouldn't complain about the heat.

So instead of complaining, I'll just share some of my other favorite ways to stay cool:

ICE
Sonic ice is my favorite, but regular old ice cubes made in the trays you have to fill up yourself work just fine. That's what I did all summer growing up. I'd have a big cup of ice cubes and a huge hard-cover book from the library and I was set. I sometimes got in trouble for not filling up the ice trays after emptying them, but I probably blamed my sister. For the past several years(so long I can't remember), we have not had a working ice maker in our fridge (it's unfixable), so I regularly buy bags of ice to keep on hand. It's much better than having to fill up those trays!

FROZEN GRAPES
I think this is a treat that I started enjoying when I was growing up, too. Probably another way to try to stay cool in the humid New Jersey summers, and it's still a refreshing treat for me now. If you've never had them, just go pull some grapes off the bunch and pop them in the freezer for a few hours. They don't get as hard as a popsicle and are very yummy!

FAN
We relied heavily on big box fans in our house in New Jersey. I think we had one in each bedroom and probably a couple downstairs. They kept the airflow moving throughout the house and except for the most hot and humid summer nights, allowed us to sleep comfortably with the windows open all summer. Of course, there was the time that Dad put the fan in the window sill and somehow it fell out of their second-floor window, bounced onto the roof of the sunporch, and off onto the back patio. My grandparents were "asleep" in the sunporch/den, so in an attempt to not wake them up (again, who could sleep in that heat--it was the 4th of July!), he went downstairs and out the front door to try to retrieve the fan from the backyard. My grandmother heard someone outside and thought it was a robber. She could be heard saying, "Granddaddy! Someone's outside trying to steal their fan!" I don't think my grandparents came to visit in the summer ever again.

So, what are some of your favorite ways to stay cool?