Happy Weekend: Are You Managing with the Heat Wave?

Dear community,

I wish you a wonderful weekend. Are you managing with the heat? Are you still in the mood for crafting, or not so much anymore?

40° on the patio 🥵—no way I can crochet out here

but it’s STILL nice and cool inside

and out back by the MINI POND… when a little breeze blows

Otherwise, it’s time to water the plants ;)

All I can say is, “apartment under the roof.”

Luckily, our nearby café now has a small selection of ice cream.
That makes it a little easier to bear.

I can only knit in the evening.

It’s currently 37 degrees in the shade in Cologne, but it’s actually still manageable—on Wednesday, the 28 degrees felt much more uncomfortable because it was so much more humid. And my apartment is quite comfortable—it’s 23 degrees right now, and it’s unlikely to get much warmer than that. Since I don’t live on the ground floor, I can leave all the windows and the balcony door open at night, which makes a big difference.

So everything’s going well in my yarn life—crocheting is still going great.

Tomorrow I’m going to the Ahr with a friend—there’s a wine blossom festival there, so we’ll see what’s going on.

It’s 38.9 degrees in the shade on the patio today!!! And the heat is just getting started.

Inside the house, though, it’s very cool—22 degrees. We’ve had the blinds down all day and the awnings out, lowered almost to the ground. Sitting outside is only possible early in the morning or later in the evening under the trees. When I check my weather app, it doesn’t look like much will change over the next 14 days. So, keep the house dark, and it’s quite bearable. Doing crafts isn’t a problem at all.

Yes, it's hot; right now (7:28 PM) it's still 26°C. But it's okay in our apartment; we face east, so we only get sun until noon—and we keep it blocked out with blinds or drapes. Crafting is still doable; I finished some small gifts.  ;-)

Let's see which toilet roll hat will go in our car ;-)

. . . 

I can’t stand this sweltering heat at all—my legs are swelling up as if I’d swallowed an elephant ;-) I can’t do any crafts either; I have fabric lying around for two pairs of pants for myself and fabric for bodysuits for our dolls. Just the thought of it makes sweat break out on my forehead, and my hair is dripping again as if I’d just stepped out of the shower. I’m lying down a lot with my legs up—that’s the only way I can stand it. The tower fan is running behind me, blowing gentle, cool air into the room.

Today our thermometer read 36°, and now it’s still 27°—and it looks like the temperatures will stay this way.

Kind regards, Inge

I’m looking for spots where it’s bearable. 

A morning swim at the outdoor pool is absolutely wonderful. There’s always shade in the garden thanks to our jungle-like overgrowth. If it gets too stifling, I stay inside. Right now it’s still 22 degrees in here. 

Everything gets done more slowly and calmly. I’m currently working on a summer yarn crochet project—it’s so pleasant. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

I HATE the heat! 

My head always feels so foggy, and I think 100 times a day that I’m definitely about to pass out. It hasn’t happened yet, but the feeling itself stresses me out. 

I have two fans blowing on me—one from the front and one from the side. 

It’s about 26 degrees in the room—way too warm. 

But I can still crochet. 

Sewing would work too—then the side fan would be blowing right on me. 

I just don’t get how people can shout “Summer’s finally here!” and then throw themselves into the heat. 

It’s really hot when my Iranian neighbor takes off his black turtleneck (he wears it up to 28 degrees). 🤪🥵💧

I don’t like this extreme heat 🥵 either—it was 34 degrees yesterday, but luckily it cools down a bit at night here to 17/18 degrees.

I just finished a shirt—I sewed it all together. Other than that, I can only knit or crochet in the evening.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Sabine

Yesterday we had a little rain and a mini thunderstorm, which cooled things down to just 25°. Now it’s 29° and nothing but ☀️; in my craft corner in the living room, it’s 27.5°—only bearable with a fan. 

It was even hotter in the kitchen from cooking 🥘, so now it’s time to rest and drink plenty of water with two mint leaves and a bit of lime or — 🍋— delicious and refreshing.

Oh, right, I have some mint too—I’ll go pick some right away. Great tip ☆

The heat is unbearable for me, too. You can only stand being on the balcony in the morning—then the sun comes out around noon. I’ve got all the blinds closed, too, and the fan is running; otherwise, it’s just too much. 

It’s currently 33 degrees outside and 28 degrees inside. Just too warm. But I’m still crocheting (just little things).

Drink plenty of fluids, enjoy some ice cream, and eat light meals. Cool your face and hands with cold water often, or take a cold foot bath.

Wishing everyone a nice weekend anyway

Just take it easy, put your feet up...

I recently made a big batch of rhubarb-lemon syrup and bottled it. When mixed with sparkling water in a big, fancy glass, it tastes delicious and is so refreshing. 

I just had a nice, heavy rain shower here. Now the air feels fresh again. That’s just what summer is like. 

I skipped turning on the fan this time, which I usually always do. For the past week, I’ve had a stiff neck from overuse. So I can’t stand any drafts right now. But it’s slowly getting better. In that sense, I’m doing just fine with the heat right now.

But this post has plenty of helpful tips for getting through the heat. 

Best regards, Ina

I just made two delicious kinds of ice cream, because that’s the best way to cool off and it tastes really good, too. One is banana ice cream—my husband’s favorite—and the other is pear ice cream, which I really like, but I like the first one, too :-))))

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Love, Inge

So, my husband is still watching soccer; it’s 11:30 p.m., and Germany just scored the equalizer (1–1).

I’m going to take a lukewarm shower now, and then it’s time for bed—actually, it’s been time for a while. It’s 23° outside right now; all the windows and balcony doors are open to let in a little fresh air. 

Good night to all of you, and have a wonderful Sunday. 

I’m back home, and it’s still pretty comfortable in the apartment.

At the Wine Blossom Festival on the Ahr, there were plenty of shady spots, and the hotel was air-conditioned, so I really have nothing to complain about.

And yes, ice cream is replacing quite a few meals these days—which I actually find very enjoyable.

Yesterday we were with friends on the Swabian Alb at Römerstein. It was really pleasant there. Lots of woods, a little breeze, and some shade—the air is fresher there and the temperatures are a few degrees cooler; it was great. We had a wonderful picnic and didn’t take a single unnecessary step, so no hiking either. 

It was just a great day. 

This morning at 5:30 a.m., I harvested my currants; at 8:30 a.m., we’re heading to the pool for 1.5 hours, and after that, we’ll bake a cake. It’s still a pleasant 23 degrees downstairs. It’s quite comfortable there. 

Hope you all have a great start to the new week! 

Outside 35°, inside 27° 

The living room and bedroom face southeast, so they get sun from early morning through the afternoon. Unfortunately, the roller blinds don’t do much to cool things down here. I set up a small basin of water for my feet—it feels great.👍 The fan is running, and for drinks, I have water with either melon chunks🍉, cucumber slices🥒, or homemade elderflower syrup and ice cubes.

The outdoor pool doesn’t open until 1:00 p.m. due to staff shortages, so I’m not going to drive halfway across town—it’s open from 10:00 a.m. on weekends, but then it’s packed with families.

I can’t crochet or knit at all at the moment😒

It’s getting worse every day. 

At first, it was 24 degrees in my room; now it’s 27.4! 

Even the fans aren’t helping. 

The blowing air has really been irritating my eyes. 

I don’t want this anymore. 

I feel the same way as you, Anja—this heat is unbearable. Because of my asthma, I’m having trouble breathing; it’s really hard for me to catch my breath, and my legs feel even heavier :-( I’ve been doing Kneipp treatments in the bathtub a few times a day and taking ice-cold showers—otherwise, I wouldn’t even be able to fit into my shoes. I have some beautiful fabrics lying around for trousers for myself, but not even those are tempting me right now—it’s way too hot for that. The pinstripe is a linen-viscose blend and the blue one is jersey; it’ll become a pair of slouchy trousers for around the house

Best, Inge

It’s just kind of boring without something to do... 

It’s funny—when I could be crafting, I often don’t feel like it, but now that I can’t, I do. 🙃🫠

Checked the weather forecast—it’ll soon be 38 degrees 🫣😵‍💫🤯🤥☠️

Inge, with my excess weight and poor exercise tolerance, I get really out of breath too. 

I went down to the basement and brought up my fan because there was no other choice.

Otherwise, since this morning, the shutters are down on the windows that have them, and the curtains and blinds are closed.

Later, I’ll make sure there’s a good draft going through the apartment again.

This morning at 8 a.m., it was already 28 degrees in my room despite airing it out, and it was only 26 outside—the house just gets so hot. 

Today I’m going to do absolutely NOTHING, except a little crocheting and hanging up the laundry (in batches—I can’t manage it all at once). 

I’d love to keep sewing on a project, but I have to iron first—that’s just not possible right now. 🔥🔥🔥

God, I’m so glad I don’t have to work anymore. 

The office isn’t air-conditioned—the indoor temperature is the same as the outdoor temperature. My poor former coworkers.