More Weather

Hot weather arrived right on schedule with the beginning of summer. We celebrated the change of season by going to a party at a friend's house. This friend owns an outdoor hot tub. My body felt too hot to subject it to more heat, but Bob and others took a relaxing soak in the warm water. More power to them. I stretched out in a chair underneath the apricot tree, a perfect spot. I was protected by the shade of the tree, but could still enjoy the beautiful day.

It was 80 or more, a bit too hot for comfort. I know I won't get much sympathy from my friends back east who have been enduring weather in the high 90's, but we're spoiled here. To us 65 to 70 seems normal so when the thermometer leaps up our bodies aren't acclimated. Besides, in the part of California where I live, air conditioning is rare even in public places and the houses aren't designed to stay cool. Our little house is bearable when there's a breeze, but when there isn't, the indoor temperature increases as the day goes on. By evening, it's much hotter inside the house than out. With the sun beating down ferociously through the kitchen windows at dinnertime, it's too hot to even contemplate cooking. That makes for a diet of salads and ice cream or late-night meals.