Time for a Cool Change

We survived!

Melbourne has just endured four consecutive days over 40 degrees. The temperature got up to 46 degrees in some suburbs, and the nights stayed above 30 degrees for most of the time. We only have a little thermometer inside (as part of the heating system), but it hovered between 32.5 and 35.5 for pretty much the whole stretch.

Thank goodness it is over!

Sleeping was hard for the girls, particularly Charlotte. We have a little old air conditioner in the dining room (where Neil slept one night!) and another in the back room (where he spent another night!), but only fans in the bedrooms.

Here is how we did it:

1. The sprinkler/hose/wading pool.

Grace enjoying the cold water.

Charlotte hosing down the swings.

Early in the morning, and particularly late in the afternoon, we ventured outside and into the shade. We took turns spraying each other with the hose. The girls splashed in the little wading pool (Lucinda just dived straight in!). And we ran through the sprinkler. Being wet made us the most comfortable.

2. Wearing limited clothing.

One dirty, hot and sweaty little girl!

I didn't take a lot of photos over the last few days, and I can't include a many of the ones I did take because the girls are naked! Lucinda lived in just a nappy the whole time, and Grace and Charlotte wore their undies, or nothing. Neil got around without his shirt, so it was really only me who stayed fully clothed!

3. Spray bottles.

I mentioned water above. I took the girls to the supermarket and got them an empty spray bottle each, which we filled with cold water. They sprayed themselves. They sprayed each other. They sprayed the furniture (which I pointed out was a bit unnecessary!). And they sprayed into their mouths to drink the water.

4. Water and icy treats.

Our most popular frozen treats.

We drank a lot of water. Our water bottles all contained cold water from the fridge (since the tap was running pretty warm) and ice blocks. The girls played with and sucked ice blocks. They had frozen juice, icipoles, and icecream. We went through a lot of watermelon and cold grapes. Anything cold and wet was good.

5. Air conditioned shopping centres.

In a few centres, the air conditioning wasn't able to cope with the heat and extra bodies. But we went to a supermarket or shopping centre to hang out for awhile most days, and it was definitely cooler than at home. It can end up expensive, unless you are very firm! But we saw a lot of families doing the same thing.  And a lot more elderly people than usual. Some were sitting in chairs with water bottles and the newspaper, looking like they were there for the duration. And why not?

6. No cooking.

Or at least, no oven turned on! We ate salad and fried things like patties. And, because little girls aren't big on eating salad every day, we ate at the shopping centre two nights so they could have pizza or chips. We also found a McDonalds with an indoor playground, and hung out there for awhile more than once before enjoying a 30 cent cone!

It was tough. I hate hot weather. (Have you ever noticed that hell is said to be hot, not cold?) But one of the great things about Melbourne is, the heat doesn't last. You know that, eventually, a cold change will come. And when the wind picks up and that wonderful cool air finally arrives, what a relief!