Jul. 30: There’s been a huge mistake

I guess you never really know how accurate a car’s external thermometer is, but I imagine it’s not usually more than a few degrees off.

This picture was taken yesterday afternoon. “111° F.” is not the channel I’m listening to (duh—who would ever make THAT mistake, Loveliest Lori?), but what my car believes is the temperature outdoors. I was even parked in the shade when I took this picture. Twenty minutes earlier it had said 108°. While I doubt that it was actually 111° in Happy Valley yesterday, I am quite sure that it was SO FRIGGIN’ HOT.

Possible proof there is a God: air conditioning exists.

What contradicts any possible proof there is a God: brassieres.

Y’know, what makes the Pacific Northwest such a beautiful place is its moderate temperatures. Having air conditioning in one’s home is not all that common because it’s really, truly needed just a few days a year. This is why almost everyone in this part of the country is bitching and moaning about the weather this week. It’s unusual for it to be this hot at all, much less several days in a row. We are all grouchy and uncomfortable. It’s hard to sleep. Grocery stores are sold out of Popsicles. Highways to the beach are traffic-jammed. In other words, life sucks.

We are fortunate to have air conditioning in our home. There are two rooms without vents that we’ve been keeping closed—the laundry room and master shower room—and they’re like saunas. Ugh. We’re avoiding them as much as possible. However, we’re starting to feel kind of trapped in the house; it’s too hot for the kids to play outside, and it’s too hot in the car to want to go anywhere.

On Tuesday Katie begged to go to the Radio Disney kids’ camp thing. For some regrettable reason I agreed to take her. We stopped by Cassie’s house, traded Jack for Erika, and got to “camp” just as it started. In less than an hour Katie and Erika won some fun prizes, we got ridiculously overheated, Katie got stung by a bee, and we were back home. The next time Katie wants to go to something like that when it’s 100° it’s going to take every bit of good-mom effort in me not to remind her of the bee sting.

Today it’s supposed to cool down to 98°. This is still a crazy-high temperature for Portland. Who pissed off the weather gods? You were NOT supposed to do that.

Until life gets more normal-like, please don’t expect to read anything of quality here.