Things I do to survive a long hot summer

It’s coming, guys. Fall is just around the corner. I’m sticking to my promise not to complain about the heat, but am I ever looking forward to cooler weather, and falling leaves. I CANNOT WAIT!!! 

And, after Fall..WINTER!!! I love everything about winter. It took me many years to get to this point, but once I saw the quiet beauty in it, I quickly changed from being a summer girl. And, seriously? Who could blame me with the heat index being between 105F and 110F here almost every day? It is absolutely nasty out there for months at a time.  

I try to keep winter alive during the hot summer to fool my brain into thinking it’s a different season. I do things like use plugin air fresheners that smell like apples and cinnamon. Whenever I smell apples and cinnamon, I think of fall, and falling leaves, and cool crisp air. I also drink hot tea, and keep my black curtains drawn in my office. Too much light and the hot sun gives me migraines. 

I stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning to get more darkness, less light into my “day”. Sleeping later in the summer means less hours of sun to deal with. I really miss it getting dark outside early. It’s light here until 9 something every night. That’s too much light for me. Even though I do these things to protect myself, I’ve still had a headache every day for a week now. :/ 

I also watch a lot of wintry shows on Netflix. One favorite that I’ve watched 3 times in just the past couple weeks is Antarctica: A Year on the Ice. It’s absolutely fascinating, and has convinced me that I want to spend a winter down there, which means I could skip summer here altogether. 

Flannel
Acrylic abstract painting on canvas
Available for purchase here

Other things that help..having snow scenes as my background image on my computer, ipad, phone. Listening to Christmas music. I have found some amazingly long videos on Youtube, here, here, here, and I pop my wireless headphones on, and listen all day. It makes me forget how miserable it is outside. 

Another thing that helps is painting wintry scenes, like this flannel shirt abstract painting. The top resembles snow to me, and the bottom is the color of my favorite flannel shirt. I’m going to be wearing it again soon.