Daily OpusEverything I write is freely rebloggable. Just keep the source and tell people about my books :D [Until I decide otherwise, my pronouns are Ze/Hir/Hirself. As in "Ze went to the shops to get hir medication hirself". Thank you for the respect.]
A lot of Northerners were very kind during the freeze in Texas this winter with tips on how to stay warm for people who had lost heat. This is an attempt to repay that favor for people in the Pacific Northwest and other northerly locations who are facing dangerous heatwaves without built-in A/C. My qualifications to give this advice are that I was a summer camp attendee and counselor with no A/C for many summers in humid-ass central Texas with highs over 100F basically every day. Hopefully some of it will be of use to somebody who isn’t used to the heat.
1) PUT ICE WATER IN YOUR BODY. Ice water is your best friend and the #1 way to drop your body temp. Drink more than you think you need (like, at least a half-gallon a day and closer to a gallon or more if you have to be outside doing manual work all day) to cool your insides down and stay hydrated. Have some bananas, trail mix, or a sports drink to help replace the electrolytes you’re sweating out and keep you from getting cramps, but try to have most of your fluid intake be water. I used to take a giant water bottle, fill it part way with water, and freeze it on its side so the ice would slowly melt over the course of the day and my water would stay cold longer.
2) PUT ICE WATER ON YOUR BODY. Cold water, ice, or a damp rag on your head and neck, the backs of your knees, the insides of your elbows, and under your armpits will help you cool down the best, because your blood runs close to the surface in those places. Cold packs designed for injuries or lunchboxes, bags of frozen vegetables, etc. can substitute for ice water as well. Even room-temp water will pull heat away from your body better than body-temp sweat will, especially if it’s humid, so if you don’t have enough ice, the sink, bathtub, or hose will do fine. Dipping your feet into cool water helps a ton as well if you have to sit and work and don’t want your clothes to be wet.
3) WHERE AM I SUPPOSED TO GET SO MUCH ICE?
To make sure you have enough ice to last you the weekend, especially through a potential power failure, I recommend getting a cooler (even one of the cheap styrofoam ones is fine in a pinch) and ~10lbs of ice from the big coolers at most gas stations, drug stores, or grocery stores. Try to do this now, before anybody loses power, and store as much in your freezer as you have space for to keep it from melting. You can use it for drinking or to keep your food cold in a power failure. You can use it for a party later if you don’t end up needing it during the heat wave, but you will probably be very happy you had it.
4) AIR FLOW. Being inside a room with the windows closed is the worst possible place to be if you don’t have A/C, because glass windows create a greenhouse effect and the hot air can’t escape. If at all possible, find a shaded place outside where you can catch any possible breeze. If not, open all your windows and, if it’s safe, doors so you can get a cross-breeze. Hopefully you have window screens to keep pets and kids in and bugs out. If not, you’re gonna have to do your own risk assessment. Fans of all sizes and descriptions are your friend; ceiling fans should be set to spin counterclockwise in summer. Even if you have A/C, finding or making a handheld fan will be worthwhile for when you have to venture outside. If you aren’t in a situation where you need to conserve ice, blowing air over a cooler full of ice will give you a makeshift A/C.
5) SHADE. You will probably immediately notice that direct sunlight is a miserable place to be when it’s super hot. Find or make a shaded location, and don’t be afraid to move around to avoid the sun as the day goes on. Stay on the shady side of the sidewalk whenever you walk someplace. Try to shade your windows as best you can without obstructing airflow using blinds, curtains, shutters, etc. especially if they’re directly in the path of the sun.
Do not be a jerk to your neighbors if their shade solutions are ugly.
If you can get a shade for your car windshield, I highly recommend it, as the steering wheel, dashboard, seatbelts, and even seats can quickly become too hot to touch in a sealed car and will hold that heat for a long time.
6) CLOTHING. Light-colored, loose clothing that is as close to 100% cotton or linen as you can find is your friend. It doesn’t necessarily have to be short as long as it’s breathable. You will sweat through anything you wear, so I personally prefer only wearing machine-washable stuff. Sun hats, sunscreen, sunglasses, aloe gel for sunburns, mosquito repellent, anti-chafing supplies, etc are all worth looking into if you aren’t used to spending time in the heat.
7) TIMING. Try to stay out of the sun and avoid doing anything strenuous in the middle of the day when the heat is the worst. If you have a choice, plan to be more active early in the morning and late at night when the temperature is more bearable, and take a break in the middle of the afternoon.
Here’s a graphic from the CDC about how to recognize heat-related illnesses and what to do about them. I will add to this that if it’s hot and you stop sweating, you are getting to a dangerous level of dehydration and need to drink something BEFORE you start having more serious problems.
If you do not have ice, you can also use a cloth bucket hat or small towel. Soak that bad boy in clean water and wring it out. Put it on your head.
This works best in dry heat, but a little air flow can also help.
Up your salt intake. You will be sweating a lot, and keeping hydrated is good advice, but you’re also losing salt with all that perspiration. Keep those electrolytes balanced.
DO NOT apply ice directly to your skin. You can do yourself damage that way. Have it in a baggie, have it in a towel, but never hold it still on any part of you for longer than eight seconds.
If you can get hold of a Cool Towel, get one. They are the best thing in heat waves.
Best of luck from your friendly neighbourhood Aussie.
In addition to what’s mentioned in this link, we have some info to help folks make a plan to stay safe when leaving an abusive relationship, and when they can’t leave just yet: The Scarleteen Safety Plan
Seriously, I’ve only been able to skim this article so far, but I definitely plan on reading the whole thing later
If you’re being abused by your partner, and you’re reading this right now, then you have awe-inspiring strength.
You’re suffering, but you have the courage to seek out ideas on how to take care of yourself.
I’m guessing you haven’t come across many tips like these. When I was being abused, the only advice I found was about how to leave an abusive partner, or how to heal after you’ve left.
In this society we sometimes talk about abuse victims being strong after they leave, but frame them as weak before hand. I think that is so wrong. Living in an abusive relationship takes a strength that most people cannot even comprehend. you’re not weak because you stay. there are a million reasons why we stay because, frankly, abusers actively work to keep their victims trapped.
So know that if you’re in an abusive relationship right now as you read this, I think you are strong as fuck, and I am rooting hard as hell for you.
Honestly, if people feel even a little inclined to reblog this, I would appreciate it. I am not trying to guilt anyone, if you don’t reblog I won’t think you’re a horrible person, that’s totally your prerogative… But if these words can help even just one current victim of domestic violence… I would be so happy.
Someone on my dash asked for a link to this recently and I didn’t have it
Please share this, if you can. The decision to walk away from an abusive relationship of any kind seems like such a no-brainer to people who have never been part of one, but it’s not an easy thing to do. The support in assisting people who are needing the strength to get out is so so so important.
If menstruating, add some ‘menses sauce’ to his order [Bonus, it may make him completely subservient to your will]
Take a discrete video of his disgusting behaviour and send it to his mom’s Facebook page
Melodramatically act like you’re madly in love with him. Then immediately declare that your “father the king” will have him executed in various horrible ways. Describe them in gut-churning detail. Continue for as long as you can without laughing in his greasy face.
Start nicknaming him after edibles, but never after footlong hotdogs for obvious reasons. Suggest that he might be the next secret ingredient in the house special. (“You’d look *fiiiiinne* slow roasted in an apple glaze…”)
Add “putting up with misogynistic bullshit” to the bill. Add ten dollars for each offence.
I’ve been cleaning my house, lately [it’s mostly OK now BTW] and in the process, I have been doing absolute shittons of laundry. Y'know, mostly because there were drifts of dirty clothes in there that were a foot deep.
I had been doing a load a day, but thanks to my unsister, Powerhouse, I’ve been going through load after load after load. And putting it all on the clothesline to benefit from the absolutely vicious summer sun.
I haven’t been benefitting from said summer sun, I’m as red as a beet and sore to boot.
BUT.
There are distinct advantages to using a clothesline rather than a dryer. And here they are:
1) it’s quieter 2) sunlight is free 3) it’s exercise [try pegging up a wet doona and tell me I’m wrong] 4) sunlight kills all of the bed-loving pests that make us itch 5) the smell of sun-dried cloth is practically orgasmic 6) it uses less electricity 7) it can be a social activity 8) there are no tiny dust particles floating through your house and causing breathing problems as a direct result.
Yes, it’s old-fashioned, but that doesn’t automatically mean that it’s bad. Yes, it takes some effort, but I’d take people power over fossil fuel any day. All people power needs is food for fuel, and you can grow your own (see previous posts). And yes, you do need to keep an awareness of the weather.
You are also allowed to keep a dryer for the wet weather. Just because you’re going frugal doesn’t mean you have to throw out everything that ever cost money.
Consider this, though: The average Hills Hoist can hold about four loads of washing. A dryer can only contain one. On a hot day, a load can be dry before you’ve finished hanging up the second one. Dryers always take ages.
I started this year at 95.4kg, just a few small kilos away from 100kg. I made a resolution to lose weight and get fitter, so immediately I went out and stuffed myself for the annual new years’ rello visit.
Hubby didn’t help, either. Next night, he took me out to Sizzler’s.
Today [the 5th of Jan] is the day where I finally dipped below my starting weight. I’m now 95.2kg. You might not think this is a big whoop, but my peak weight was almost 97kg.
There’s lots of things people do when they want to lose weight, and the first thing most do is spend a ton of money on useless shit. Diet meals, diet meal replacements, thin shakes, that powdered stuff that allegedly turns into jelly in your stomach [creepy…], and the exercise machines… My good gravy, the exercise machines.
Listen.
You don’t need any of that shit to get fit.
You have feet. You have a place of residence. You can walk. Hell, if you live in a block of flats, quit taking the lift. Exercise, right there. Who needs to buy a stair master?
And you don’t need diet food [or food replacements].
If you’re going to buy anything, buy some chia seeds.
All you need to do is change your habits.
Avoid what I call “the white foods” - all the processed, bleached, chemically-enhanced whatever that’s ever-so-tasty and also ever-so-bad-for-you. Buy bread with bits in [seeds are great for you if you really can’t stand wholemeal]. Skip the potatoes and rice and definitely, definitely steer clear of pastry products.
Swap sugar for honey, wherever possible.
I ration my sweet foods. As someone who loves the sweet things, I have to have some little treat or I will go simply bonkers. So now my chocolate stash is strictly regulated. It should remain so. Last time I went off track, I started eating an entire block of chocolate for lunch, resulting in where I am today.
One of my new little tricks is honey toast. When I’m feeling peckish, but it’s not mealtime, I make a slice or two of toast and spread some honey on it. Very simple. BUT - it also gives me an extra serving of grains and cereals [bread with bits in, remember?] and staves off the cravings and desire to -say- eat an entire bowl of popcorn with butter in one sitting.
My other tip is also deceptively simple: Walk everywhere.
The easiest method of exercise is walking. You walk inside your house, so why not outside as well? The trick that I still employ is look for parking in the middle of buttfuck nowhere and walk to my ultimate destination instead of getting ulcers looking for a place to park near the doors.
Back when I knew where my pedometer was, I walked up to 10 kilometres just fartarsing around. This is based on a rough estimate of steps taken divided by a thousand, assuming that each step is a metre.
It’s amazing what you can do when you’re busy doing other things.
And my diet breakfast of choice? Oatmeal porridge.
It’s naturally low GI and stops you feeling hungry all morning. This with a side of chia could probably work miracles.
Oh yeah. The chia. I nearly forgot.
Chia seeds are available in health shops everywhere. If yours doesn’t stock it, ask. I like the white chia, but you don’t have to get it. Now let me tell you, this stuff is VERSATILE. If you soak it until it becomes a thick goo, you can use it as an egg white replacement. They pre-process sugar for you and turn it into low GI energy. Mix it with your favourite beverage to get an energy drink. Add it to cakes/bread/food of any kind to keep your energy up all day.
And, as a bonus, it’s gluten free. You can make gluten-free bread out of it. My mum-in-law sprinkles a teaspoon into her morning cereal.
I have yet to get my mum to try it, but I think that’s more her being a big scaredy-cat than anything else [yes, I know you read this, Mum. Try half a teaspoon in your coffee sometime. It will not kill you] and I really should get back to pestering her about it.
It looks like frog spawn when it’s been soaking up the liquid. It hardly tastes of anything at all [some report a slight bitter taste, but it’s easy to get accustomed to] and the only big worry is getting used to slightly lumpy beverages.
I take some chia and let it soak in a litre of water until I have a thick goo that I can mix with any beverage of my choosing. This is one of those rare few things that the more of it you take, the better it is for you.
I’m going to have some with my porridge. See what happens next.
Further bulletins as progress [and boredom] dictates.
Composting and mulching is a natural process involving organic waste. And as such, it is almost inevitable to attract… little visitors.
Insect visitors.
That lay eggs in your mulch bucket.
I don’t want to be too gross about things [hence the lack of instructional pictures] but I’ve been a little too busy, sore and tired to go empty the mulch bucket into the compost bin, these last few days.
That bit me in the butt.
Big time.
Let’s just say I found a fine crop of live fish bait in the making, writhing around in my kitchen scraps. Gross.
But here’s what to do if this happens to you.
DO NOT panic or reach for the bug spray. We’re keeping this organic and chemical free, remember? DO take the mulch container outside as soon as humanly possible. Add a layer of cellulose to keep the little visitors inside. Tip the contents wholesale into your compost tumbler.
You will, at this stage, find a few reluctant hangers-on in the bottom of your container. Your options are:
a) Use a generous handful of cellulose to sweep the hangers-on out and tip that into your compost tumbler. b) Use hot water to kill the hangers-on and clean and sterilise your container in one fell swoop. c) Grab the chemicals and spray the living crap out of everything.
Note, I do not recommend option C.
I chose option A, as grass clippings are free and plentiful. And, as it turned out, pretty pleasant in the nasal department. A couple of stirs around with a really generous handful of dead grass and there was no trace of my unwelcome company.
And don’t worry about the little visitors ruining things inside the compost tumbler. Compost generates a LOT of heat, and the whole box and dice pretty much gets most of the sunshine all day. Most, if not all of the little visitors will have passed on by the afternoon.
It’s not a nice topic, I know, but it is almost inevitable. It has to be dealt with and this is the more eco-friendly way of doing so.
