Mary, so true. "We're used to it." reminds me that my advanced physiology instructor told us, "you'll never get used to the heat sitting under a tree drinking beer." You have to work in it.
Electrolyte tips from my village development experience;
Sodium, sugar, and potassium are the main active ingredients.
Homemade electrolyte drink (from the handbook “Where There Is No Doctor”, a village health care handbook:
1 litre of water, 2 tbsp sugar or honey, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp baking soda (or substitute another 1/4 tsp salt) , a good splash of lemon or orange juice, or half banana. The drink should not be saltier than tears. If you add the baking soda after the lemon juice, it fizzes and is more fun.
Sometimes I just make a cup of weak tea and add a proportionate amount of sugar, salt, and lemon juice.
Or Gatorade. I buy the powdered Gatorade and mix it at home.
This was enlightening. An Amish community has established in Adams County over the past year. There have been conversations speculating how they have dealt with the recent hear. As a kid growimg up in Iowa I remember lots of hot nights without air conditioning. I'm grateful for the air conditioning now. Great article.
In Kansas in the mid 1970s: most of the above solutions (not the ice fan, or the electrolytes). Our house was one story, built into a slope like a walk-in basement, with a flat roof. Thick concrete walls. It faced west. Dad designed the overhang to block the sun in the summer but not the winter. Mom used to run a hose on the roof for evaporative cooling. By opening up at night and closing during the day, we could keep the house 10 degrees cooler than the outdoors, at least through mid-August. Mom was often on the porch at midnight, canning tomatoes.
Electrolytes are critical. Believe me. You don’t want to go to the ER with extremely low potassium. Been there. That said, heat had been brutal this past week. I’m extremely thankful. I have a central air-conditioning that was upgraded a few years ago. The Amish are far more hardy than I am.
Our 124 year old house with a wraparound porch and lots of shade trees has provided us with minimal use of air conditioning. Ceiling fans and opening windows at night was also our strategy.
Our threshold was when the temperature did not drop under 70 degrees overnight. It used to be just July but now it starts in June.
We now live in our balehouse and are figuring out how to live in it. Again ceiling fans, moving slowly and opening windows at night has been our solution. It’s been interesting living without air conditioning. I’ve been researching alternatives to window air conditioners and have yet to find a solution for those intolerably hot days.
Mary, so true. "We're used to it." reminds me that my advanced physiology instructor told us, "you'll never get used to the heat sitting under a tree drinking beer." You have to work in it.
Electrolyte tips from my village development experience;
Sodium, sugar, and potassium are the main active ingredients.
Homemade electrolyte drink (from the handbook “Where There Is No Doctor”, a village health care handbook:
1 litre of water, 2 tbsp sugar or honey, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp baking soda (or substitute another 1/4 tsp salt) , a good splash of lemon or orange juice, or half banana. The drink should not be saltier than tears. If you add the baking soda after the lemon juice, it fizzes and is more fun.
Sometimes I just make a cup of weak tea and add a proportionate amount of sugar, salt, and lemon juice.
Or Gatorade. I buy the powdered Gatorade and mix it at home.
This is a great read. Thanks, Mary.
Great to hear, Rosalie! Can you restack, please?
An all too timely topic. Love how you and your neighbors consult and trade tips!
This was enlightening. An Amish community has established in Adams County over the past year. There have been conversations speculating how they have dealt with the recent hear. As a kid growimg up in Iowa I remember lots of hot nights without air conditioning. I'm grateful for the air conditioning now. Great article.
Thanks, Pat.
In Kansas in the mid 1970s: most of the above solutions (not the ice fan, or the electrolytes). Our house was one story, built into a slope like a walk-in basement, with a flat roof. Thick concrete walls. It faced west. Dad designed the overhang to block the sun in the summer but not the winter. Mom used to run a hose on the roof for evaporative cooling. By opening up at night and closing during the day, we could keep the house 10 degrees cooler than the outdoors, at least through mid-August. Mom was often on the porch at midnight, canning tomatoes.
What a smart design. I forgot trees, too. Houses were surrounded by big shade trees.
Electrolytes are critical. Believe me. You don’t want to go to the ER with extremely low potassium. Been there. That said, heat had been brutal this past week. I’m extremely thankful. I have a central air-conditioning that was upgraded a few years ago. The Amish are far more hardy than I am.
Our 124 year old house with a wraparound porch and lots of shade trees has provided us with minimal use of air conditioning. Ceiling fans and opening windows at night was also our strategy.
Our threshold was when the temperature did not drop under 70 degrees overnight. It used to be just July but now it starts in June.
We now live in our balehouse and are figuring out how to live in it. Again ceiling fans, moving slowly and opening windows at night has been our solution. It’s been interesting living without air conditioning. I’ve been researching alternatives to window air conditioners and have yet to find a solution for those intolerably hot days.
Love this, Mary. This story brought back a lot of hot night memories growing up in Parnell.
Thanks, Kathi.