Jessie: Grateful to be spending the summer writing on the coast of Maine.
I confess, I am not a fan of hot days and warm nights. For me, warm ocean temperatures are in the low to mid 60s. If it gets much higher I start to imagine any number of pathogenic horrors. Besides, I come from a very long line of New Englanders and we seem to be of the mindset that one needs to pay for their pleasures. If the sea is your heart’s desire, the price is numb extremities!
I know that the heat has been effecting people across the country of late and it has turned my thoughts to strategies to feel more comfortable when the mercury rises. Here is a list of some of my favorites:
- Watermelon Salad: I cut up a melon into bite-sized chunks and place the pieces in a bowl large enough to stir it up in. I add the juice of a lime, two if it was kind of dry, a couple of large spoonfuls of rum or triple sec, and a generous sprinkling of fresh mint leaves. Stick in the fridge until chilled.
- Cucumber sandwiches on white bread with a bit of mayo and scads of freshly cracked black pepper
- Reading in a hammock under a tree, bonus points if the book is set in a place that is even hotter than where you are! Dantes Inferno is a winner for most everyone!
- Clean out the basement, or at least go down there and think about how you would clean it if it weren’t too hot to move around as much as a job like that would require.
- Make an espresso tonic. This is my favorite summer beverage. Fill a tall glass with ice. Add tonic water, leaving just enough room for a double shot of espresso in the glass. Pull a double shot of espresso and pour it over the tonic. Gently stir it with a swizzle stick if it is slow to mix together on its own.
- Buy a box of ice cream novelties at the grocer. I love to choose favorites from childhood like strawberry shortcake bars and orange creamsicles. Don’t forget to pick up a box of frozen dog desserts for your favorite pooch!
- Watch a movie or show set in the cold like Fargo, Groundhog Day or Ice Road Truckers.
- Or, if at all possible, take a dip in the sea off the coast of New England!
Readers, do you have a favorite way to beat the heat? I’d love to hear it!