Weird Weather of '09 #12

I really wish I'd bought that soaker hose at my neighbor's yard sale the other day. *facepalm*

It's so nasty hot in our house still... my poor kitties. I put a gel icepack thingie under a towel for my fat little cat to lie on- the heat was getting to her worse than the other two. She seemed to like it, she stayed there til it wasn't cold anymore. I need to get a second one so I can alternate them for her.

Pony - in the meantime, take a facecloth or handtowel, get it wet then wring out the excess H2O, fold it a couple times & place in the freezer - Take it out after 20-30 minutes & place it so Kitty can lie down on it. I use these all the time in the summer & the animals like them - works for the back of the neck, too!

I'll try it- thanks, Katye!

That's a great idea Katye!

Pony... I know for certain that I've had many of those "facepalm" moments myself. Don't you just hate that!?!? Is there any chance that it didn't sell?

Nope, it was gone when he called me over later in the day to offer me a bunch of free stuff before he took the leftovers to Goodwill. Darn the luck. What was I thinking? It was brand new, and marked $5- I know he would have probably gone even less for me. DUH.

Ah shucks!! Next time. Or maybe, with any luck, another yard sale.

Katye, I just went to make one of your towel cold packs- but I left it really wet and then put it in a gallon ziplock bag to freeze it. Now it will stay cold longer, and she won't get fussy about the dampness. Thank you so much for the idea! :)

Soaker hoses, timers, quick connects, and the phone. Water the pots for an hour before work. Set at least four soaker hoses on timers running when I leave for work. Go to work. Call DH around nine am and tell him to turn off the other two hoses that I haven't been able to afford timers for yet. Come home from work. Switch four hoses on timers to new quick connects on different soaker hoses. Switch soakers/sprinklers on other two hoses and vow to remember to turn them off before I go to bed. Spend an hour watering pots again. Automatic sprinkler system comes on at 9 (yes, I have 6 zones set up on a sprinkler system as well) so I had better be done watering by then. Time to cook dinner and get to bed so I can do it again tomorrow....

This is supposed to be the mild PNW for crying out loud! 90+ sucks!!!

OK....I'm done and I feel better now......

On the good side, like Katye said, we may have tomatoes this year....

ROFLOL Hope you feel better Julie! Good idea about the soaker hoses, I have a couple (wouldn't let DH get rid of them). There are a couple of places that need extra even with the sprinkler system, which I've been running everyday and hose watering later. Glad I don't have the extensive gardens that some of you have, mine and mom's is about all I can handle. I'll have to do a really good water in the morning.

And mom's sick again (her ulcers are back), so I've been tending to her needs too. Two hours at Urgent Care this morning. Hopefully only two more doc. appts. She's feeling better already and has a/c, so she's comfy with the heat. I can't turn mine up because DH has issues with cold due to his meds. So I go over to mom's when I need to really cool off. Otherwise I'm using a fan too. Have to tell you what she said at UC, it was so funny. They were giving her fluids and went to put some meds in with it and she says (with a straight face)........"That's not what they gave Michael Jackson is it"? I thought the nurse was going to explode she laughed so hard. LOL And this was while she was still hurting.

They just said on the news that our normal temp is 83, that sounds blessedly cool right now. But we just got down to 83 and I'm still sweating.

Ok, just wanted to mention that my house has only just gotten cool enough that I can go to sleep and even now I'm just using a sheet, I hate not having the weight of a blanket on me.

I hope everyone else doesn't have my issues.

Good grief Laura!!! I don't usually see anyone here at this time, so I know that you must not be getting any sleep. I sure hope that changes soon! And I hope that you're not still up and here to read this for a while!!

Sent the wading pool to Laura this morning....sage can play in the pool, Laura can sleep in the bath tub...

...hey Laura we get that pond for you, then you can soak with YOUR fish.....

Laura, I was up til 5 AM too hot to sleep too. I have a feeling I'll be pretty much nocturnal for the next few days. Bleah.

OMG it's hot here. The thingy in my car said 103. I got up at 6:30 am to water. I do not have air conditioning as most people with 1905 houses do not. Yesterday I scoured the Portland area for a store that still had portable air conditioners but no luck. I've been sleeping in the buff with no sheets or any covering, and a big fan in the window. Unfortunately it has not been cooling off at night. My poor dog lies around panting. I think I will give her a hosing off today. Last week I took her over to the beach but too much going on this week. On a positive note, this heat is forcing people to their front porches in the evening around 9 pm, and there is a lot of chatter back and forth. Lots of folks are walking their dogs around 9 or 10 when it is bearable to be outside. It's a very social place after 9pm!

I have every door, window and blind closed tight and every fan running...that is keeping it tolerable inside....news last night said Lowes has ever fan and air conditoner they get in sold through at least Thursday....they get in 20-30 a day!! We put up the Bamboo Blinds in front of the garage to keep the shop temp down enough for Bill to get a little work done....even with two fans going it is still way to hot out there, thankfully he takes frequent breaks inside...I even have one of the little table top fans on the floor for the dog....the cat is sprawled on my bed in front of the fan there....we have a nice breeze blowing, unfortunately it feels more like a blast furnace...

I have been working on the patio... 5 to 10 minutes out, come in for 20.....yep, the dog is getting a bath a little later on...

I just cancelled two appointments that I had tomorrow and Koka and I will head over to the beach. The report for Portland says it is 107 degrees right now. How crazy is that?

105 now and very humid. Been working on my seed collecting today and just about kills me when I go outside to collect the bags. Putting A/C in this house was the best money I have ever spent with the exception of A/C in California! What's up with this weather. I moved here to get away from the hot CA summers. Give me 70--75...that's all I need. One positive note..the tomatoes are turning red!

Stay cool everyone..drink lots of water!

Beahive, that is one of the things I liked about Oregon - no more hot CA summers! And I agree with the 70 - 75 max. I have a couple of fans but now they are blowing hot air!

Its horrible..when I do go outside its like a blast from a furnace when you open the doors. Even the dogs made break time very short this afternoon and came in and gulped down a ton of water. I usually have to beg them to come in when the sun is shining. Rainy weather no problem.

This should cool everyone down.... a dip in the pond! Actually looks inviting about now!

I agree completely Bea! The thermometer on my porch is in the shade. IT'S 104 IN THE SHADE!!!

I went out to check on the plants and the tomatoes I flooded this morning are dry and wilting. Looks like a three waterings kind of day! It's too hot to do anything except eat popsicles and watch TV - and DG!

NASTY WEATHER The temp shown at the bank down the street at four fifteen said 105* when we came by 20 minutes later...it wasn't working at all !!! On the shady side it still worked and read 103*.....Nine at night and I am still dripping!! I brought in a table fan and put it down for the dog....she is staying right there!!

Canceled the club bike ride for tonight....done little except lay in front of the fans....at least when DH goes back to work tomorrow He has A/C !! Threatening to just put the lounge out under the sprinkler and stay there!

So, it is even hard to be on the computer as my laptop is REALLY heating up my legs.
Guess tomorrow is supposed to be worse!!!!!

At least you all can console yourselves that you don't have to get ready to show off your gardens at the Roundup! Mine might just be a bunch of dried stuff if this continues. And I do know that everyone will understand!

91 here. Just had a few scoops of Dyers peach pie ice cream. (limited addition) Yummo! Saw a frog hiding underneath the A/C unit in the back yard. Think he is trying to cool off too! One of my Koi is acting very lethargic...the rest seem Ok. He is just staying in one place looking sad. Maybe he is hot too! Water temp is 85. It is actually nice outside now but I do not think it will cool down much tonight as there is no breeze. Up early to water in the morning!!

Finally set up a TV tray for my laptop, couldn't stand the heat on my legs........

My fish have definitely been hiding in the deeper part of the puddle under all the plants....and very hungry!!!

I found one of my tadpoles dead. Maybe the water was too hot for him. :( It felt like bath water it was so warm. I remembered we had an extra patio umbrella up in the attic, so I set it up over the pond this evening. I hope that will help keep it a little cooler the next couple of days.

Yep Sharron, I'm positive that EVERYONE will understand! It looks as if most of us are being affected by this.

This is the first time, that I can remember, that doing a third watering in the middle of the day wasn't enough to keep stuff from wilting. :-( Tomorrow I can't be home to get to the hand watering in the middle of the day. I know that I'm going to be so saddened when I get home and see crispy stuff. I'm just hoping that it will only affect the foliage though. If that's the case, then all in all, these efferts wont be for nothing.

Pony.... I think that the umbrella will be a big help. What unfortunate timing of this..... just when you get your pond done!

Bea.... i think that your solution is fantastic!!!

OMG ice cream sounds sooooo good. Wish I had some! I'm about ready to climb into the freezer. Ugh.

Sharon, I think everybody's gardens will be in the same boat if this keeps up- we'll all definitely understand!

Red, I hope you're right, I'd hate to lose any more tadpiggles! The goldfish seem to be perfectly fine, but they're not as delicate as froggie babies, I s'pose.

We're all keeping our fingers crossed for your pond critters!!!

Still hot here too. Went to the neighbors with my knitting friends tonight, came home at 9:30, cooler but still hot.
Had to go to town this morning, came out of the grocery at 3:00 and I swear it felt like Phoenix!! I hated Phoenix mostly because of the summers. Thought I was out of that. Can't imagine how you all are doing without a/c. Our phones went out yesterday and again this afternoon and when I called they'd said they'd get it fixed in 2 or 3 days. My reaction was No,no,no,no. Totally unacceptable, I need to talk to someone else. Got her supervisor, explained we had 99 homes in a senior community in the middle of a heat wave with no way to call for help (some of our people don't have a/c). And our gate is operated from the inside by phone. He asked if I could hold, came back a long time later (very bad music) and said.......someone will be there between 4:30 and 8:30 today. Thanked him very much, did a happy dance, got hold of a board member, went did a manual override on our gate and came back and sweat for an hour or so. They did get the phones working about 7:00 and the board member said they called and a rep was coming out to find out what happened. As usual we were checking on shut ins, but instead of being able to call, we had to go to the houses. I sick of this heat.

My Cousins from Tucson Arizona are up here visiting right now. They keep saying that they could've just stayed home for this!!
That's great that you were able to get them to bump up the time frame on that Sally. Although, I'm really very surprised that they said that it would be 2-3days in the first place. It's not as if there are many outages around the area like there are in storms.

You know what amazes me though.... I actually remember the day Eugenes' all time high record of 108 was set! I was 4 or 5 and my parents decided to take us kids out on the boat and go fishing (the fishing was just an excuse to use the boat) on the lake since it was soooooo hot. I think that since i'm the only red haired, freckle faced, person in the family, they forgot that I needed more sunblock than anyone else in the family. I actually ended up with blisters and a fever, but the fever didn't last long. I still remember how painful it was to take a shower for the next few days! Yet, at the same time, cold showers brought the only relief! Anyhow... in all of these years, I have NEVER forgotten that day! The record was 108 in Eugene, which means that there was potential for it to be 2 or 3 deg. warmer by Oakridge.

rc...I couldn't figure that out either. But I know we're high on the list of getting things taken care of, because it's all seniors. I think they didn't realize it was a community and they were treating the complaints individually. But you would think the first response would have settled that question. I'm just glad they could get it fixed, since mom isn't well. I gave her our other cell phone just in case, but DH isn't doing well either...didn't know which one to stay with!! I'll be glad when this is over.

So sorry you had to remember awful things about that record day...they were talking about it on the news tonight. I'm not a red head, but fair skinned and have always blistered. Glad we have sun block now. I get sun poisoning, not fun, so I stay out of it as much as I can. Why is it that people who love the outdoors have issues with sunshine? Doesn't seem fair.

I agree. Fair it is not! There's something seriously twisted about nature in that respect!!

While remember the painful sunburn is not good... We did have a lot of fun on the boat. So, it wasn't all bad. Especially since we would've been absolutely miserable at home.

Sun Poisoning? I sometimes get hives and weird spots if I'm out in the sun without Heavy duty sunscsreen (spf 70). Is that similar?

Here is a link to the symptoms of sun poisoning. It can happen to anyone not just the fair skinned .
It happens to brunette's (or former brunettes') with olive skins. I know first hand. Not fun !


http://www.buzzle.com/articles/sun-poisoning-symptoms.html

Want. Cooler. Weather. NOW. Brain. Frying. *sizzle* *pop*

I moved the other umbrella over to the pond 'cause the one wasn't giving 100% coverage. I'll probably have to adjust them as the day goes by.

Here's the pond with umbrellas and my new little electric fence:

To quote my kids, this weather really sucks.....it was eighty out at nine this morning and NWCN was just predicting 105* for Olympia today and upper 90's plus thru the weekend and possibly into next week :( Mom has A/C but she is just dragging around not at all happy with the weather...at least all of the older residents in our housing area all have A/C.

I really like the Umbrella idea, wish I had one for my pond.I do have a lot of well established plants the fish hide under until the shade hits it in late afternoon and so far they seem to be doing okay.

Everyone stay Cool and Safe...

pony.. the electric fence looks great. Hope it does the trick!

That was an interesting article Bea, I knew about exposure but not the allergy part. I've always had allergy problems, nothing drastic, just a pain in the b#@%! The sp was awful and lasted for days. I have several lightweight oversized flooppy long sleeved shirts I use in the garden and of course my favorite hats. Dad used to call me farmer john.

Great idea with the pond Pony.......hope that cute fence works for you.

Thanks, Bea! I hope so too. I saw the coons up in the neighbors tree last night, but haven't seen them in my yard at all. No idea if they've gotten zapped yet.

Just found another dead tadpiggle when I went to adjust the umbrellas. *sigh* He looked like he'd been dead a day or two- his body was probably caught up in a plant where I couldn't see it before. The water is definitely cooler than it has been, so hopefully the shade will keep it that way.

To all of you with pets, on one of the other threads they suggested putting down wrapped ice packs for your animals to sleep on or next to or make up makeshift one by wringing out washcloths and putting them in the freezer. I have a chest freezer and I’ve been thinking about putting a whole towel in there for me. I used one of the washcloths on myself last night when I was trying to go to sleep.

Red, I have insomnia, both the “I don’t want to go to bed yet” and physiological forms. When I fall asleep is anytime between midnight and not that day. I have medication to help, so the not sleeping at all is far less common than it used to be, though I don’t have health insurance right now so I’ve been trying to only take it when I need it. I just usually don’t get on that late.

I don’t sleep well if I’m sweating, whether it’s due to too many blankets in the winter or ambient heat during the summer, so this week has sucked. Of course if it gets too warm I go into torpor and pass out, this might happen today. It’s cooler in the house than outside, but I’m still sweating. We have broken the record temperature already today, yesterday was a new record and tomorrow is predicted to break the record as well. How do people live with temperatures like this all the time? I suppose you get somewhat used to it and they have air conditioning and swimming pools, but it still sounds like torture to me.

Mom, the pool is pretty messed up, Sean and Sage did use it, but it leaks.

That was the way our fan was last night I swear the air coming out of it felt hotter than the air it was blowing.

Pony, it really sucks, as I said I’m pretty used to staying up that late, but I want to be able to go to sleep when I’m ready and not have to wait for it to cool down. If you’re not used to being up it must really suck.

Sally, DH is a sun worshipper, loves the sun, says he loves heat, but he say he does like this because it’s too humid. I don’t care what they say, a dry heat seems way hotter to me; it feels like the moisture is being sucked for your body. I don’t want it to be muggy, that is the worst, like trying to breathe soup, but I like a little moisture in the air.