Violet Storm

Yet another abstraction distraction. This time, due to the heat!
Featuring a tribute to Grammy Carvell.
And tips to help you get through the summer heat.

Welcome to the ninth circle of Hell. Every day, it is way too hot to do anything. It gets that way fast, too. You can't even outrun it by going out early. Even early, it's way too hot. We are breaking records everywhere, and not in a good way. Thermometers in central Pennsylvania on this day reached 95 degrees F (35 degrees C); down around Philly, I spotted 99. Yuck!

When I was little, Grammy Carvell's house was the best place to go to beat the summer heat because she was the only person we knew who had air conditioning. She liked to crank it to the "penguins only" setting. My parents hated it (it gave my mom a "stiff neck" or so she said). But we kids loved it.

Grammy Carvell used to always keep birch beer in the fridge, which was served ice cold, in those little colorful metal cups that were so adorable back then (and still). Her homemade strawberry ice cream was a hall-of-famer, too. I don't have any of those cute metal cups but I DO have a fun cup from the bank that starts out white, and turns PURPLE when you put something cold in it. So cool! Literally!

So here is my abstract art tribute to Grammy Carvell in this heat (more pics from this set may be found here on Instagram). This photo is a picture of the birch beer bubbles in my fun turning-purple cup. I sit and drink this beverage in our bedroom with the A/C cranked to "penguins only," and I raise a toast to my Grammy! (Also of note and possibly related: her name was Carrie Violet, but her friends called her Violet.)

Hot-weather milestones: we installed window air conditioners in the past two days. First, the littler one in the bedroom window. And on this day, late in the day after the sun had left that window, the bigger one in the living room window. NOW we can cool the house down. NOW we can be comfortable, at least indoors.

I was reading an insert in the local Town & Gown magazine which provided tips for seniors to manage the heat. A lot of these apply to EVERYONE. This information is provided courtesy of the National Institute on Aging. Summarized quickly:

1. Keep cool and stay hydrated by drinking cold drinks. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which both dehydrate.

2. No A/C or fans? Stay cool by drawing the drapes, not using the oven, and letting in the night breeze.

3. Too hot at home? Go somewhere with A/C in the hottest part of the day. The mall, the library, the movies.

4. Need a ride to get to someplace cooler? Ask a friend or family member, or check with the local senior center.

5. Dress cool, in light-colored, loose-fitting clothing; natural fiber like cotton is best.

6. When it's hot out, skip or limit outdoor workouts or move them to morning or evening. Walk at the mall, or work out indoors if it's cool there.

7. Protect your skin by using broad-spectrum SPF 15 or higher. A wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses will help.

8. Some meds don't mix well with sun and heat. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about your meds, sun, and heat.

Some additional things that I do to manage my own body in the heat: 

*Wash my hands and wrists and face with cold water frequently.

*At least once a day, go into the bathroom, take all my clothes off, stand in the shower, and pour cold water down over myself. I keep a large container handy for this.

*Swim in cold water as often as possible, for as long as possible.

*Watch movies set in cold settings, featuring ice and snow. This helps get your head in a cooler space.

*A cold pack placed strategically under each boob works wonders! (You can also place cold packs against pulse points, but the under-boob approach is surprisingly refreshing.)

*I can also confirm that the thermostat at the North Atherton McDonald's has been set to "stun." It's cool enough to freeze your t*ts off. So there's a refuge for local cold seekers. You're welcome.

*In the film Seven Year Itch, Marilyn Monroe says that in order to stay cool, she keeps three things in the "ice box": champagne, potato chips, and her undies. Now, I cannot speak to the undies-in-the-ice-box personally (yet), but if you do try it, let me know how that goes. Oh, and please make sure they're CLEAN ones.  ;-)

That's it for now! Let's all be a couple of little Fonzies. And you know how Fonzie would act? That's right. Fonzie would be COOL!!! So let's have a song about staying cool. Here is Robert Plant, with Tall, Cool One.

P.S. About the name of this Blip posting: I have a favorite nail polish shade that's called Violet Storm. I always admired my Grammy's name of Violet and purple is my favorite color. If I invented a female superhero, she'd be sort of like me, only more heroic than I am, and way braver than I am, and we'd call her Violet Storm.

P.P.S. How this image was made. Same deal as the ice abstracts. This photo was taken in a darkened bathroom, with the cup and its contents sitting on top of a clear plastic thingy with a headlamp lit beneath it, to give life and glee to the bubbles.