It’s Summer and it’s HOT!

Summer is the best season! Everything’s blooming and ripening and growing. The sky is blue, the kids are on vacation, it’s picnic and barbecue time. Life is good. Until you get stuck in a heatwave (that weather condition that causes the high temps to hang around for days). Be reassured, that Texas heat can be beat.
Four Crummy Things about a Heatwave
- No fun if you have to get things done outside after mid-morning. And, don’t even think about weeding at 4 p.m.!
- No more after-dinner walks. Go first thing in the morning unless you’re walking on a treadmill at an air-conditioned gym.
- Getting into the car after you’ve forgotten to use your sunshade or weren’t lucky enough to park under a big tree.
- Forgetting to drink your water or forgetting it on the kitchen counter. Staying hydrated is definitely a thing in a heatwave.
Four Non-Crummy Things about a Heatwave

- Your bones will be warm all the way through.
- The sky is blue.
- It’s warm enough to enjoy an unheated pool (or Hood Canal!).
- It brings back memories of vacation days when you’d hope for the highest temps possible.
Staying Cool when it’s Anything But
- Cook/bake as little as possible, in fact, eat light to keep your metabolism turned down (you don’t want your internal heater kicking on).
- Drink more water than usual and not alcoholic, sugary, or caffeinated drinks, they shoot that metabolism up.
- Freeze your sheets and soak your clothes (not at the same time!) ? If you don’t have AC or don’t want to pay for nighttime cooling, frozen sheets will help. And, cold, wet clothes will eventually dry and warm but sure will feel great before they do.
- Try a cooling product from Amazon to help with that Texas HEAT:
Mission Original Cooling Towel:
Deluxe Hand-Held Misting Fan:
Floating Lounger (Pool or Lake):
Keep Your Eyes Open in the Heat
Your people (and your pets) who aren’t as ‘weather aware’ as others or who simply can’t take care of themselves, need your attention during a heatwave. It might be a neighbor or someone you’re aware of across town. Invite them to your air-conditioned house or make sure they’re doing okay.

Keep a cool attitude! It’s hard if you’re somewhere you don’t want to be and suffering through the Texas heat. It’s hard even if you’re somewhere you want to be and it’s this dang hot. But know that your cool attitude can cool you down. Did you ever see the Mash episode where everyone was dying from the heat and Hawkeye and Trapper gave Klinger a placebo and told him it would cool him down? He was the only one not sweating profusely! Your attitude and a couple of the tips here can help a lot. Or, at least make you happy and hot rather than crabby and hot! Listen to some happy music. Watch a fun summer movie. Go to the water park, the lake, the splash pad or down the lazy river.
And, know that a heatwave will eventually break and cool. It might come back but now you’ll know what to do. Order a couple of products to help if you have to be outside. Do the things you know to do to keep nice and chill. Take care of yourself if you do get too much sun. Otherwise, grab your insulated ice water bottle, your book and park yourself near your insulated window (so you can see the blue sky), the overhead fan/AC vent and enjoy!
Time to Share on QH:
What works for you? What do you do when it’s too hot for you? Please share your million dollar tips. We all want to hear! 🙂
11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ,[a] who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13 NLT
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Finding a new purpose in living and joy in the day-to-day was the goal when author Kathy Rowland and her entire family (adult kids and grandkids) moved from the PNW to Texas several years ago. The focus of Quiet Hollow is to encourage ‘next chapter women’ – those who are retired, empty-nesters, or have found themselves without a spouse to jump back into life. And, she shares multiple tips, ideas, and possibilities toward that end. Kathy completed her almost 30 years as an elementary teacher and hopped into over a decade of volunteer work, side hustle-type businesses, and grandchild care before discovering her unique and fulfilling purpose for the next chapter of life. What you read on Quiet Hollow is a large part of that calling. Another part is the happy life she’s leading in Central Texas in the same neighborhood as the 3 big kids and her 5 grandkids. She and her college sweetheart husband made sure to add a pool to their new Texas home, so there are lots of noisy, splashy days in their little oasis of a backyard. Come join her on Quiet Hollow in a conversation about finding and living the life you were created to live in this later stage. The chats will be full of laughter, support, faith, and inspiration to create.
Well, I’m not in Texas but; #1: Do remember to stay hydrated. #2: Keep your drapes/blinds/window coverings closed while the sun is beating on that side of the house. #3: Keep any doors/windows closed because opened they just let in the hot air and lastly: #4: A wet bath towel over a floor fan will help cool you down….it works, try it and make sure the towel is safely placed only over enclosed fans only ! 😉
Betty! Such great suggestions. Thanks for taking the time to post them here 🙂 The windows in our new house stay cool to the touch even with extreme heat…so thankful we can keep the blinds open. If they weren’t that way, they’d be shut for sure! Thanks again, ~Kathy