Flamingo Fountain

 

Photo snapped off my TV screen, from the news on Swedish Television today. At a retirement home somewhere they have introduced this as a fun way for their residents to "cool off" in the current heat wave.  

 I did contemplate yesterday to perhaps make similar use of the sprinklers in the cemetery. (But then it wasn't yet all that hot, so I didn't...)

 

Today I might have been more tempted, as we reached 31C (88F) here in the afternoon. But that also meant it was too hot for me to walk that "far". I was only out for a very short walk in the morning, to buy some fruit & veg in the nearest small convenience shop. The rest of the day was spent indoors behind closed blinds and curtains, with fans whirring... 

Tomorrow they predict 32C, so I won't be doing much then either! 

Hot Again

 

 

 

It's getting hotter here again - seems we can expect around 30'C in the next couple of days. Today "just" around 26-27, but with the sun glaring from a clear blue sky without a cloud in sight, still feeling too much for me. I've been out twice but only short distances. Before noon I walked to one of the two small convenience shops in my neighbourhood and bought a big box of ice cream (1.5 l, which I was just about able to fit into my freezer, which is rather small and was already rather full of other kinds of food). After lunch I fell asleep for a while; and then in the late afternoon (after some ice cream!) went for a short stroll to the old cemetery, keeping in the shadow as much as I could. Before turning back home, I sat down there for a while (also in the shadow), on a bench in the memorial grove overlooking the chapel, near a little fountain providing a "cooling" sound. 

The next few days for me aren't likely to include any longer outings either.

 

Summer in the City

 

The heat from further south in Europe is moving north (or north-east). So far, it seems that where I live (Borås), might only be just on the border to the "serious" heat warnings - as in we might get away with only a couple of days with over 30'C (86'F), rather than longer. (Yellow = over 30'C for several days; and orange = over 33'C for several days.) How good they are at predicting remains to be seen, though!

Not comparable to 40+ in areas further south in Europe, of course (and I try to keep that in mind); but 30+ is still too much for my liking. I never coped well with high temperatures, even when younger. So today I called to postpone my appointment with my optician in the city centre tomorrow - until the end of next week, when (according to my weather app) it will hopefully be a bit cooler again.

 

In my flat I've already been keeping curtains and blinds drawn for a few days, trying to keep out the heat. Nights still being cooler has helped a bit but now it will inevitably be getting hotter indoors as well over the next few days.

Today, I received a delivery of groceries from the supermarket. They had even put me first on the list rather than last for a change, so it arrived already at 10 am. So I have plenty of fresh food and drink, and won't have to go out for supplies. 

On Saturday I have the basement laundry room booked for the afternoon. I'm thinking I might refrain from using the hot air drying cabinet for a change... ;)