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Monday, August 9, 2010

Move OVER, or It’s Too Hot…

Oh, it’s just too hot to write.

You do it.

Minneapolis, land of the free and home of the sweat-stained, is in the midst of a wave of heat and humidity normally enjoyed only by those living on the edges of bayous or by those trapped in steam baths. The sky is a pale, murky blue; the air quality such that it is advised that the old, the young, those with legs, and those who depend upon breathing to maintain life stay indoors.

The plants, on the other hand, appear to be quite happy.

The bus remains a joy, of course, a continually shifting group of relieved commuters. Like the looks of contentment that accompany boarding a warm, dry bus during a snowstorm, the commuters climbing aboard these days smile as the cool, dry hair hits their moisture-beaded foreheads.

Gratitude is a lovely thing.

August in Minneapolis can be brutal. Umbrellas are being used for shade, morons are arrested almost daily for leaving children and dogs in parked cars (“But I cracked the window!”) and talcum powder is the new black.

And like three-quarters of the people I talk to, the approach of autumn is eyed hopefully, visions of squirreled-away sweaters, socks, and jaunty hats dancing in our heat-addled heads.

The four seasons roll on.

35 comments:

Sam Liu said...

As I write this, it is raining outside with unspeakable force, the sky is murky and a permanent shade of grey, everything is wet, damp and cold. Want to swap?

ruthibel said...

Boy, the heat here is unbearable too. But, like you said, gratitude is a beautiful thing. I've never been so grateful for the comfort of an air-conditioned office - splendid cool I tell yah!

Everyday Goddess said...

It's brutal here too.

Unknown said...

I am all about the jaunty hat...

Rene

Livin' la weeda loca over here in the 'Shire
no, no that kind..
due to their luxuriously long roots the weeds are having a quite a field day this summer...I must say :)

cfoxes33 said...

Talcum powder is the new black. LOL. I just came home from 3 days of band camp and the big talk with the boys was Gold Bond medicated powder. I know all about that.

mapstew said...

Weather eh? Somebody should do something about it! :¬)

Sarah said...

On the other hand, we're so tired of the 60s and 70s luke warm summer here.

Sausage said...

On behalf of the entire state of Florida, I have been asked to ask you "Hot enough for ya"
The fall beckons, good luck

lisahgolden said...

I would be nothing without my talcum powder.

Douglas said...

When I was a wee child, a lad green as the fresh summer shoots, I lived in a land that had four seasons. Each winter I would pine for summer, each summer, I pined for winter. Now I live in a land of two seasons: tourist and swelter.

ellen abbott said...

Welcome to my world.

Bossy Betty said...

Pearl--You've got seasons, don't you darling? It makes you better people up there, you know. Here in Good Weather Country we are demonic folks who are destined to pay with our souls after death.

Herding Cats said...

I kind of love heat, and right now I'm in a fog. Want to trade?

Argent said...

Grey and cool here in England - wouldn't mind a spot of sauna - just a spot mind.

Anonymous said...

If we don't have some horrible hot weather we won't have good corn on the cob...it's a trade off really!
=]

Fred Miller said...

I made two pitchers of frozen margaritas yesterday and nobody wanted any. That's how hot it is in Kansas. Seriously, I drank one whole pitcher myself and didn't even feel it. The other pitcher's still in the freezer. A ten-dollar pint of Cuervo Gold shot to hell.

Notes From ABroad said...

I guess this is not a good time to whine about how sick I am of cold weather?
OK... but remember this in the winter... or something, my mother who never had a bit of sense, used to tell me. Like remembering how uncomfortable you were at another time , will make you less uncomfortable now ?
Come visit me, the high today is 58.

Madame DeFarge said...

It's raining at home, with M. DeFarge fed up hearing it bounce off the car. Can we swap a little bit?

Pearl said...

I will swap it all for a crack at Fred's second pitcher of margaritas and a cozy blanket to sit under.

And now for the 11 block walk to yoga. I belive -- and I may be exaggerating here -- that the temperatures has reached tar-melting heights. If you don't hear from me tomorrow it's because I've melted into a puddle on a sidewalk. Yeech. I've just grossed myself out.

Pearl

Cheeseboy said...

Note to self: Visit Minn. in any other month but August.

Gigi said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Gigi said...

Why is it I never thought Minnesota got really hot in the summer? You've opened my eyes Pearl.

It's been hotter (and more humid) than normal here too. All right now - 'fess up - Who pissed off Mother Nature? Will the guilty party apologize immediately, please?

Sorry, had to delete the previous comment as it had a *gasp* misspelling and I couldn't leave it there for all the world to see.....

The Retired One said...

Aren't we fickle? We pray for sun and heat, we get it and we pray for cool....but in between there, we have a heckofa wonderful 3 weeks. ha

vanilla said...

"Dangerous," Weathergirl says. Heat index 110. Who invented that concept? I don't need a number to tell me it's miserable.

And no, thank you, I don't want to "go back". Old is the new cool.

J said...

It is unbearably hot outside right now. We need some rain.
Sad thing is, Thursday I leave for school (sophomore year) and it's even hotter there. :\ Not looking forward to it. I hate summer.

Anonymous said...

Yup, it's a hot one, all right. I remember way back in the day, before air conditioning took over the world, people pretty much just stopped doing things in this kind of heat. No one really cooked meals, there were sandwiches, fruit and such. We respected the heat, sat in the shade, drank cool drinks, fanned ourselves hear and there, and I think actually enjoyed it a little. Nowadays, we try to push ourselves to keep going, from air conditioning at home, to bus, to office, and repeat. I'm not THAT old, really-but I think we lost something somewhere.

Blogger won't let me post comments with a wordpress blog id, but I am alwaysinthebackrow

The Jules said...

Stop ya whingeing!

You'd never find us English people going on about the weather.

Maggie May said...

i am glad for the heat now...we had a weirdly cool July

Symdaddy said...

We whine when it's hot n we whine when it ain't!
Happy mediums ain't somethin' ya git in weather reports!

Tempo said...

60 deg here Pearl, beanies and jumpers are the way just now. Sitting here with the heater on trying to get the warmth but my 2 Fox Terriers and my daughters Kelpie wont let the hot air get to me.
Less than a month until Spring... Woo Hoo!
Hope things start to cool off for you soon.

Jon in France said...

Never mind. Just think of your elevated vitamin D levels from all this lovely sunshine.

Anonymous said...

But I just cannot bear to think of wool sweaters when I'm busy scratching at my mosquito bites!

Unfinished Rambler said...

That heat must be coming east, because I think we have it today. Thanks a lot, Pearl. Well, at least we know who and what part of the country to blame. :)

Casey Freeland said...

See I live in a place where the highs are up to 118 in the summer. That sounds pretty hot, I know. But it's a DRY heat. So it only feels like you are being baked alive... not walking around with your own personal hot tub.

Cheers,

Casey

Wild Rose said...

Just passing by from Gypsy's blog and thought to tell you nice blog and i lived in Minneapolis before now in Dallas haha..great change but miss the fun up north :)

Wild Rose~