We've been in a long period of unusually sunny weather and drought in the southern parts of Sweden this spring/early summer. Not all that noticeable yet in the still fresh greenery in our town parks (being watered regularly), but on the news there are daily reports of fires, and farmers getting increasingly worried about their crops etc.
Yesterday was one of the warmest afternoons here so far (~27'C/81'F); which means I've now entered the stage of constantly trying to keep the sun and heat out of my flat, and spending my time indoors in summer semi darkness with blinds down, curtains closed, and fans in every room (not all of them whirring around the clock, though).
The kitchen (morning sun) is the only room where I don't need to keep the blinds down all day. The top left photo is my bedroom window (also morning sun), where on top of blinds I also have 'blackout' curtains drawn in the night (and still half-drawn in the daytime). In the living room (bottom left, afternoon sun) I have a blackout curtain in front of the balcony door (and two parasols outside, when wind conditions allow). In the study (also afternoon sun) no blackout curtains (as then I wouldn't see a thing in here) but blinds down around the clock + now the white curtains drawn as well...
The major downside of hot summer weather is that the best time of day for getting anything done (whether indoors or outdoors) is the morning. Unfortunately, that's also the time when I usually get my best sleep...
In the mid afternoon on hot summer days, I often end up sitting behind drawn blinds and curtains watching episodes of the British TV show "A Place in the Sun", i.e. Brits looking for homes (or holiday homes) in places like southern Spain or Portugal. More often than not, they seem to enter a flat or house and immediately react with complaining that it's "too dark". Myself, I think what I'd look for first of all in that climate would be air conditioning and ways to seek shade...! ;-) (In Swedish homes AC is rare though, as the summer is after all fairly short - and sometimes also more rainy than sunny.)
Yesterday was laundry day for me, so I also spent parts of the afternoon down in the (fairly cool) basement, and didn't go out until 5 p.m. - and then just for a stroll around the nearby cemetery with big old trees providing plenty of shadow.
Today (one or two degrees cooler) I may venture out a bit earlier (soon after I've pressed "send" on this post). Will probably still be seeking shadow rather than sun, though...
10 comments:
the word drought is scary no matter which country or city or where in the world. it effects our food supply and that is scary. here in the states and Canada it is causing fires and that also connects to food supplies. you are doing the right thing with the curtains, I would no be happy shut in with no open windows but i would not like the heat either.
Those are very pretty curtains - so summery. It seems strange to read that in such a northern climate you are seeking cool and shade, Monica!
Apart from the garage, which faces north, the rest of my house gets a fair amount of sun all day and by the evening I am frequently glad of the air conditioning, which also heats and is useful in the winter to supplement the central heating. I also have metal roller shutters(called Persianas) which help keep the rooms shady.
I sometimes watch "A Place In the Sun" (just in case it's somewhere local) and laugh at the comment about how dark the rooms are. That's how all the houses were built at one time, with small windows to keep the sun out.
It's just 22ºC here, according to the local forecast on my computer, so it's much warmer where you are. If you continue to enjoy such high temperatures, it won't be long before Sweden features on "A Place In The Sun" too!
Gorgeous closeup of the Rhodendron flowers! I guess you've heard about the air here, from Canada's fires blowing down. New York's air is dark orange with warnings that it is dangerous and do not go out for fear of breathing in particles that damage the lungs. We have a bit of it here, but not as bad as states further up north. So how long does the of weather of summer last? I'm sure I've asked you before, but where did you get the gorgeous curtains with the blue tulips? I love them and may buy them if I could find them. I know you've had them for a long time though. I love seeing when you change your curtains.
Sandra, at least as I live a couple of stairs up I can sometimes leave a window or the balcony door slightly ajar in the night or early morning when it's cooler.
22 sounds rather ideal, Carol - that's my normal indoors temperature...
Ginny, yes, I just heard (again) about the air pollution from Canada's fires... And it seems it's coming our way, too! :( The weather forecasts here predict the sunny weather to continue over the next ten days (that's as long into the future that they dare give a prognosis at all). And probably even warmer next week... As for my kitchen curtains I bought them at my local supermarket, I think probably as far back as 15 years ago in connection with moving to where I now live. So not much chance of you finding any just like them, I'm afraid!
Yesterday afternoon, we had a thunderstorm with rain. Not a huge amount of rain, but VERY welcome, and it did freshen up the gardens and fields a bit. I checked my diary and found that this was the first rain since May 15 in my town. Later, the sun came back, right in time for me to enjoy a walk in the beautiful evening light. It is warm but not really hot yet; I believe we had 24-25 Celsius yesterday, but this weekend the thermometer could reach 28-29 or even 30 in sheltered spots. Still cooling off enough over night to allow for a good airing of my flat in the mornings.
Your place always looks so beautiful!
Thanks Meike. Even when needing to shut out most of the light I like to have some things to "rest my eyes on"...
Heat? What's heat? It got to the giddy heights of 20 ºC here yesterday!
Graham, no doubt the definition differs depending on who you ask. Just now ok(ish) here at 23-24, but 27-28 and still no rain is forecast again for the upcoming week. That for me is heat!
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