6 Steps to SURVIVING summer heat.

Here in Texas, we take our heat pretty serious.

Even though Texans can fry an egg on the sidewalk, pop tar bubbles with toes, and get a tan in 10 minutes, that doesn't mean folks in the Lone Star State don't take heat seriously. Real serious. 100 degree weather with 70% humidity = frighteningly high heat indexes.

When temps SOAR, who needs the most attention?

Kids
Elderly
Hard-headed teens
Pets

CDC Warning Signs for Heat-Related Illnesses

So those are the medical specifics . . . but what actual steps do folks who bake in six months of heat follow?

No SKIMPING on water consumption! Room temperature is fine. My farm-boy daddy swore that when you were really hot nothing beat a glass of regular temp H2O. He didn't want his glass clinking with ice. 'No sir,' he'd say, 'just gimme me a tall glass of tap water.' Whose to argue with a man who grew up picking watermelon and corn from a field, and shooing cattle from pasture to pasture? Now, the 'crik' water? That he wanted cold.

Parenting independent-minding teens is always a challenge, but parents should make certain that teens carry water bottles when headed out for a game of pick-up basketball or an afternoon at the skate park. Refillable (makes the green crew happy) and many parks now sport the higher drinking fountains designed to refill bottles. Parents: emphasize to teens that any fast food restaurant will provide water when asked. The fries . . . they'll need to buy.

Shade, shade, and more shade! Nothing will take the place of getting out of the sun. Our youngest population can overheat quickly, and none want to sit in the shade when there are swings for swinging and ropes for skipping and little brothers or sisters to chase . . . but getting out of direct sun exposure is crucial to protecting little ones. When temps soar, make certain youngsters take a break in the shade.

Perch a hat up TOP! But remember to make it a breathable hat. Closely woven fabric doesn't allow the head to breathe. Yes, that's right breathe. Old myths prophesied that 40 to 45% of the body temp escaped through the head. Some go old-school and believe that wearing a hat makes a body hotter. NOT TRUE. 1st -- According to research from 2008, only 7 to 10% is lost through the noggin, reports Life's Little Mysteries. 2nd -- Consider walking a shady path, sitting beneath a cafe umbrella, or even a bus stop awning . . . shade that protects the surface of the head will keep body temps down. Besides, who doesn't like to pull off a nice-sized hat and fan themselves? Not you! Then you haven't been hot enough, yet.

Protecting pets! If you can't stand on the concrete--barefoot--for 5 seconds then it's too hot for your dog to walk. People generalize that because dogs come with leathery pads that the surface temperature doesn't affect their furry companion. Nothing could be further from the truth. Serious pet parents know that walking during the heat of the day is to foolishly court overheating for critters & themselves. Morning & evening are the ideal dog-walking times. Remember, too, if it's hot enough for the walker to have a bottle of water then the walking sidekick needs a drink as well.

Always . . . always . . . always check the backseat.
Have kids -- check the backseat.
Don't have kids, but kids live in the neighborhood? Check the backseat.
Don't have kids, but leave your windows down for cooling when it's parked in your drive? Check the backseat.
Getting the picture -- always, always check the backseat.

This demonstration shows 80 degrees. For those who live where summer has more of a bite and day-time temperatures can hit 95 to 100, internal car temps can reach 150 within minutes.

Check the backseat!

Finally, keep an eye on the sky. Or at least a weather APP tuned in. Spring into Summer can turn vicious: quick-building thunderstorms, flashflood warnings, and tornado watches. Don't speak weather-ese on approaching cold fronts & stationary hot troughs? Rising barometric pressure & potential wall clouds make your head spin? Then make certain to have a weather APP with alarms downloaded to your mobile device. Lakes, parks, family outings are all things meant to be enjoyed during summer months, but being cognizant of rapidly-changing weather conditions can save lives. Yours and those you love.

I'd always heard . . . if you don't like the weather in Texas, just wait a minute. It'll change.

But seems that adage applies to loads of places.
Common sense should be the best rule of thumb.
Oh, and do keep a sense of humor.

Summer Memories

Special shout-out to my writing friend,

Marsha R. West.

She put on my thinking cap for summer end.
What are you favorite/not so favorite summer time ends?

Marsha mentioned her first summer job and memories flooded back.

1st summer a bit over 16 and I went to work for Leonard’s (now Dillards) in the cosmetic department.

Three strong memories:

1) All women department – even in the men’s cologne.

2) Old-styled cash registers – counting change a requirement (loads of folks used cash for purchases. At least once a shift, I’d get some lady who dumped all her change on the glass counter-top and counted pennies/nickels/dimes until she made up the odd amount.)

OLD fashioned CC machines: remember the card swipers? No, not where you ran your card through the side of the POS machine. Nope, OLD-SCHOOL. Hand over your credit card, the sales person placed it on a ‘flatbed’ card swipe, loaded a 3-ply form on top, physically swipe flatbed arm over the card to make an imprint on the form, then fed the form fed through a slot in the old-styled cash register, price was entered, last four on card were entered, click amount, click credit, click VISA, MasterCard, AMX, click total, then if the stars lined up right it all went through. What could go wrong with this system? Everything. However, the good news? We weren’t inter-linked to the internet so as long as the store had power we could conduct those sales.

3) I came home smelling wonderful EVERY day. Always some new fragrance to try. Because the senior sales reps knew that young women wearing their fragrances were more likely to reel in men looking for a last-minute wife or girlfriend gift. I had loads of samples.

Heat – hours and hours of it.
Texas girl, remember.

Asphalt so hot that the tar bubbled in street cracks. (When we were little and constantly barefoot, my feet were tougher than the odd ‘tennie shoes’ my mom made me wear.) I wore Sunday shoes – white patent leather – that my dad had to buff out every Sunday morning because I couldn’t walk without scuffing my shoes, sandals for the beach and occasional trip to the discount store, tennis shoes (Ked’s) for the sticker fields that were the cut-through to the local 7-11. On the street, in the yard, even biking, we went barefoot. When they say shoe-leather tough, we really had the feet for it.

We really did fry an egg on the sidewalk.

Slip-N-Slides. It took until mid-October before the Slip-N-Slide rut in my parents’ front yard finally disappeared. Again, Texas girl – grass stays green a long time here.

Oh, but ours didn't come with a built-in bumper cushion. You stopped when you slid on the grass. Many a swimsuit turned permanently green.


Skateboards. Not high dollar durable fiberglass with titanium wheels. Not quite so elaborate. My dad cut out an oval from dated, stained plywood, sanded it down, drilled holes and connected a metal skate to the bottom, attached a rope through a hole in the front and off I went. From the ages of seven until . . . the ten-speed took precedence, I constantly rode the skateboard. Skinned knees, banged-up toes (no shoes, remember), tan lines from shorts and tanktops, freckles and life was wonderful.

Is it any wonder that we never wanted summer to end?

Did 100° heat keep us inside?

Absolutely not. There were sno-cones to eat; Slip-n-Slide contests; paths to explore; lemonade stands to build and man; dogs to walk and occasionally chase; hide-n-go-seek after dark, and fireflies to capture.

Be inside?

Not on a double-dog-dare.

Survivng Texas Heat . . .

CAN YOU SAY SWELTERING?

HERE IN TEXAS WE CAN!

WHAT DO WE DO WHEN TEMPERATURES SOAR OVER 100 FOR TWENTY STRAIGHT DAYS?

CALL EVERY FRIEND -- AND SLIGHT FRIEND THAT WE KNOW THEN OFFER BEER AND BAR-B-QUE UNTIL SOME ONE'S WILLING TO TOTE THE NOTE TO PUT GAS IN THE BOAT AND HEAD FOR THE LAKE. Oh, and boat size doesn't matter -- as long as it runs under its own power (no rowing allowed) then the boat is fine for a day on the lake.

Of course, it is way better if the person we've swindled into toting us to the lake happens to own a ski boat because to survive Texas sun, large doses of water are required!

To endure blistering temps, this is good

but . . .

This is much better. Remember, in Texas there is no such thing as too much water!

When outside fails us, then we look for cool indoor sports:

A little indoor manufactured chill.

Indoor cinema works too!

Something hands on!

Or a quiet afternoon in the library will help turn the temperatures down.

Bottom line to managing triple digits in Texas is to stay cool and wish for winter:

Drop by anytime -- just don't look for me on the porch -- it's too blessed hot!
Until next time,
~Sandra

It's officially summer

Yep, it's hot here in Texas. It was awhile in coming, but our lovely little weathermen are focasting a run for 100! As hot as it seems to be in Texas, we don't normally see 100s in May. A good thing, too, since July and August have plenty of those tar-bubbling, frying-egg-on-concrete, sweat-pouring days.

Nonetheless, today is my kids last day of school and we're headed to the water park.

If there is one thing we Texans know how to do, it's play in the water.

This past Memorial Day week-end was boat a-mania. Of course, there is always more than one boat on Texas lakes. It looks more like a jammed freeway on most lakes around holiday time. Nonetheless, for any of you stuck in the colder climes, I thought you might appreciate that Texas is already toasting.

I know some of you are still stuck inside -- WORKING! And I'll be hard back at it tomorrow. But since my kids are free from school, and I'm playing hooky for the day, I'll enjoy the sun and wind (and heat) for all of you who can't.


Happy summer! Whenever yours starts.

Don't forget to drop back by the porch. The tea is chilled and I have a really large fan to keep us cool.