Sunday 18 July 2021

Another Hot Week

 It's been over a week since my last post. The reason is that we had another heat wave here, with daytime temperatures up above 30°C (into the 90s in °F), and "tropical nights" (i.e. temp staying over 20°C / 70°F even then). Indoors in my flat the last few days it's been  27°C / 80°F. (No, I don't have air condition. Very few private homes in Sweden have it, and neither do most other places, except for the bigger grocery shops - as for the most part of the year, we have more reason to keep warm than to keep cool...) 

I have morning sun in my bedroom and kitchen, and afternoon+evening sun in my living room, balcony and study. (Sunrise 4:30 am and Sunset 10 pm, this time of year.)

I've been out for walks in the mornings, but even then seeking shadow as much as possible and still needing a cold shower when getting back home. Afternoons and evenings have been spent  behind drawn blinds and curtains, moving as little as possible, listening to radio and audio books (listen, nod off, rewind, repeat...) -  with a break now and then to drink and eat. Even watching TV has seemed too strenuous most of the time!

In between, I keep telling myself (repeatedly) It Could Be Worse, as at least I have a home, and although unusually hot for my part of the world, it's neither been as bad as for example west Canada (how does anyone survive 49°C??), nor flooded like many places in Germany and Belgium this past week, nor... a thousand other (im)possibilites...

And today at last the heat has broken (for now). It's cloudy, windy and 22°C / 72°F - a day  keep windows open to let in some cooler air and hopefully bring the indoors temperature down a bit before the next round. (Alas higher figures are predicted again for next week...) And even try to put a blog post in... ;)

More photos some other day, but here are a few flowers from the old cemetery, my most shady place nearby to walk...

 



13 comments:

  1. We have had the same heat wave. I just cannot imagine having to endure it without air conditioning. I hope you at least have a fan. I wondered where you have been!

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  2. Ginny, I do have one fan in each room :) At bedtime I've sometimes had all four going!

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  3. the heat has certainly not harmed the flowers. they are beautiful. sorry you are living with our temps, but we have cenral AC. i lived until I was 40 without AC but now i would find it very difficult. you are doing better than i would I think. hope the cool air is flowing in your windows as I type this.. fans are better than nothing but they only stir the hot air around..

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    1. Thanks Sandra, luckily the whole day today has stayed rather cool. Takes time to get the indoors temp down though, after a week the heat is "in the walls"... An additional problem, esp. in the evenings, is neighbours. With everyone keeping their balcony doors wide open, plus kids out playing below, there is often so much noise - which I find as tiresome as the heat, or even more so. So if I want to watch TV or read or whatever in the living room, I usually have to shut my own door to be able to concentrate...

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    2. PS. As for the flowers and the grass on the cemetery, gardeners keep the sprinklers busy, which is why that place remains an oasis :-).

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  4. The flowers are gorgeous!
    We‘ve had cooler days and nights and only just now it has become warmer again. Today was perfect - sunny but not too hot, with a slight breeze. Higher temps are forecast again for mid-week and onwards; I don‘t mind them too much as long as the nights are cool enough to allow for proper sleep.

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    1. Meike, I agree the night temperature is what matters most.

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  5. You certainly have a wide range of weather conditions. I sleep in an airconditioned bedroom year-round now. It is 27C, but I find it cool enough for a sound sleep. I used to look down my nose at people who sleep in air conditioning, and now I am one of them.

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    1. Louise, you're obviously more used to high temperatures than I am! ;)

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  6. I am not a Summer person, I don't do well with the heat and humidity, being in menopause doesn't help either. Sounds like the temperatures there are much the same as here in New Zealand.

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    1. Amy, I don't do well with heat and humidity either. Most of July was very dry here, though - but we're making up for that this week! Cooler temperatures now, but lots of thunder and torrential rain...!

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  7. I love the lilies and the hosta is the same as one I have. I only started enjoying hostas last year.

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    1. Thanks for providing the name of that purple flower, Graham! I had no idea what it was called, but they are quite common on graves in that cemetery :)

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