Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Under siege

Well, we have lived here in Bellingham now for a year and four months. Last winter we were completely surprised by the amount of snow we had (which was unusual, I discovered), and now, this heat and humidity. The image above is of the high temperatures for the day from www.probcast.com at the University of Washington, for today, July 28. Tomorrow is supposed to be even hotter.

My husband figured out that if we close all the windows except for the bedroom and have our fan turned on high and blowing out the back door, it pulls relatively cool air onto us so we can sleep under a light sheet and stay fairly comfortable. We had day after day of 90+ temperatures in Boulder, but the humidity was in the teens. Here, while we are already in the mid-80s, the humidity is 63%. No wonder I'm feeling so hot.

I awoke at around 5:00am and walked out onto the front porch. The air was still, and the feeling in the early morning twilight was of incipient heat, of something unusual to come. Not one pine needle in our lovely tree was moving. It felt as though the day was holding its breath, not sure what to do. Although the air on the porch was cool in comparison to the air inside, it was just barely comfortable, even at that time of day. When I thought about the title of this post, "under siege" seemed appropriate. We are hunkering down and hoping things will get better soon. Here's a quote from the Cliff Mass Weather Blog:
Anyway, this is a very serious weather event, and the National Weather Service has upped their predictions to the century mark. People don't think about heat waves in the same vein as storms, but heat kills more people around the world. So drink lots of liquids and check on the elderly, who are particularly vulnerable.
My thoughts turned to the older people in my apartment complex, and then it struck me: hey, that means me! I am 66, so don't forget to check on me too, people!

On another topic, Nancy of Life in the Second Half has asked a provocative question: is the blogosphere bringing us together through our intention in order to create something new? I wrote something early in March about Teilhard de Chardin, in which I asked a similar question about what we are creating. What Nancy brought up is tantalizing: we are connected to one another in order to... I am unable to find a word. I just finished reading The Intention Experiment by Lynn McTaggart. This link will take you to a website created to allow interested people to give it a try. I'm still mulling the implications.

And lastly, I want to say thank you again and again to my commenters. I am buoyed by your appreciation and I am excited by the possibilities. My previous post to this one was commented on by so many of my new family. I feel absolutely surrounded by the promise of the future.
:-)

12 comments:

  1. So what did you think of The Intention Experiment? I am almost finished. My husband has felt certain liberties were taken in regards to some experiments she quotes. He remembers the results being different. But he remains interested in the book. Which means it must have some scientific value, as he's very science-minded.

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  2. Oh, and stay cool anyway you can! Our daughters in Portland are really hot, too! It was supposed to be 102 there today. About 90 here. We have no need for air conditioning here except on just a few days a year. This could be one of them.

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  3. Thank you for your nice comment on my blog. I feel for you and the heat – it is like this here most of the summer and I could not survive without the air conditioner and the fans. The humidity is what makes it so bad. I hope your weather will change soon. I have a little hand fan that I use when I am too warm and fan the top of my head and the back of my neck and it helps. I heard that most of your body heat in winter goes out through your head and to keep it covered – so I reverse that in the summer.

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  4. I have never thought of you among the elderly! You are only as old as you feel. Therefore, you are much younger than me!

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  5. Wow...you are getting some heat there! And we are having an unusually cold spring and summer here..and rain and wind......
    We joke here by saying: no global warming here!

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  6. 66 is the new 35, don't you know. I remember as a teenager thinking that 50 sounded so old. Now that I have passed 50 I am rethinking things and now 100 sounds so old lol. You are truly as young as you feel.

    Anne

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  7. Your humidity just makes it feel way too hot, I'll take our 101 and low humidity any day. Either way I wouldn't mind seeing one of those isolated thunderstorms tonight.

    I haven't read The Intention Experiment yet but I feel we are creating something and from what I have seen and experienced so far it can't be all bad. I will have to take a look.

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  8. Hi DJan,

    Being 66 doesn't make you feel old, hey look at you! You can still sky dive, you can still run for marathons, you can still hike, so what makes you feel you are 66?

    Drink lots of fluids, wear comfortable clothes, exercise more, you know sometimes sweating helps ease out the heat and eat lots of fruits.

    Take care.

    AL

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  9. Ironically we have been experiencing the coolest July temps on record here in Tennessee.
    Lots of rain, and nights in the middle fifties. I could get used to this.
    Of course there is still August to get through.
    I would think it would be much cooler on the coast, but then your on the Pacific side so not sure about that.
    How brave you are, just to run the fan...

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  10. Oh my goodness - My heart goes out to you with that heat and humidity. I wish I could wiggle my nose and send you some cool northern air and a wee-bitty rain to help keep you cool. Please take it easy in that heat.

    As for the age thing...I know I couldn't keep up with your numerous adventures. You've inspired me but I don't think I'm ready to jump out of a plane yet. :))) I wish I had you get-up-and-go!

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  11. OH,my goodness! That is hot.I know you are as fit as a fiddle ,but do take precaution and drink lots of water/juice and slow down a wee bit when it's so hot.66???? NOooo.

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  12. I'm sorry you are experiencing such heat just now D-Janity. I find the heat very hard to deal with, much worse than the cold, I have to say. Let's hope it cools before long.
    Blessings, Star

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