I Do NOT Love Hot Summers

Earlier in the week Dkzody wrote about how much she loves the hot summer weather. I'm glad someone does. It's not me.

The biggest problem is my area's usual summer combination of high temperatures and high humidity that causes muggy days and uncomfortably hot nights. For weeks the dew point will hover in the 70s. Anything over 65 degrees means there's a lot of moisture in the air, which makes things pretty oppressive. And there's no doing outside activities early to beat the heat; even first thing in the morning it's muggy when you walk outside. In addition, the high temperatures lead to the faster formation of ozone, which leads to often-poor air quality days.

Thanks to my menopause-fueled internal temperature regulator, getting overheated makes me feel irritable and stressed. I have the house programmable thermostat set for 77°. When I'm at home I usually override that, pushing the temperature down another degree or two. When I'm not at home I leave it on the automatic setting, and the house feels like an oven when I return.

The problems continue when I go outside. In the summer heat and humidity, no matter how well I dry my hair, or how much product I put on it, within 15 minutes of going outside the cowlicks take over.  Since my skin is fair I have to keep it coated with sunscreen. I have tried more brands than I can count. Each makes my skin feel sticky. And when my face sweats, the sunscreen rolls into my eyes and leaves me with unattractive looking eyes from smudged mascara.

In the heat of the summer our water bill goes up because I hate being sweaty, especially at bedtime. I take at least two showers-one in the morning and another one before I go to bed. Sometimes a third in the middle of the day if I've been working outside in the yard.

I'm already counting down the weeks until mid-September, when the average temperatures are a more manageable mid-80s. That's my kind of weather.

Five years ago today: Racoon Eyes