A while back, Suesie asked a very good question… “What do we do to stay cool?”
For the several weeks it’s been hot, hot, hot with temperature of 90+ degrees and heat indexes in the 100s most days. Living off the electrical grid means no air conditioning and no fans except the old fashioned kind that your hold
in your hands and wave back and forth 
So how do we beat the heat? Well… one way is to get up early in the morning so we can get our daily chores and work done while it is still cool outside. Currently that means feeding and watering the poultry and watering the garden.
After the morning chores are done we usually cook up some breakfast. Breakfast varies from light to elaborate depending on what we’ve harvested from the garden. Lately we’ve really been getting into sautéed veggies — green beans, lemon squash, zucchini, onions, and tomatoes with a little bit of soy sauce. Yum! We have our outdoor kitchen set up now so it’s a bit cooler than cooking indoors.
By then it is too darn hot to do anything but sit in the shade and drink lots of water. OK, OK…. sometimes we still find some tasks that we can do in the shade but a lot of times it’s a just a good excuse to read a good book. Any suggestions?
And when we get REALLY hot we take a nice cold shower with the garden hose. Blaze gets a shower now and then also. She likes to act like she doesn’t like it but it sure perks her up.
Finally, as it cools off in the evening we’ll take another tour of the garden and do “bug patrol” and gather more produce for dinner.
If you have any other ideas on how to stay cool… let us know!
Isn’t there a Lake or Pond nearby? Also some good books to read are by Sherryl Woods. God Bless you both but don’t think I could live without A/C
If you can access the Internet, here are some links to keeping cool without an air conditioner, some ideas may apply to your homestead style of living.
Keep cool…
1) http://www.wikihow.com/Cool-Yourself-Without-Air-Conditioning
2) http://environment.about.com/od/greenlivinginyourhome/a/air_conditionin.htm
3) http://greenterrafirma.com/keeping-cool-without-air-conditioning.html
4) http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/keeping-cool-without-air-conditioning#fbIndex1
Pray For Rain, That Might Help And Catherine Anderson is Great To Read And Linda Lael Miller Is Good Too!! Pull Them Up On The Web and it Will Give You Their Book Lists.. Happy Reading and Stay Cool.
I know what you are feeling for I really don’t live that far from the MO boarder. This is the first yr that we have had A/C,but if I really had to live without it I think I could. Solar is a great way to get power and you can build your own panels, just look it up online.
As for good book I like Laurell K Hamilton and Sherrilyn Kenyon.
maybe read books about snowy weather? maybe a mister on the garden hose? wish i knew of some un-electric way to keep cool. aren’t there ‘ice packs’ that only get cold when you break them open and they get cold with chemicals? not practical for everyday probably, but would be a good idea to stash a few in case of an emergency.
rain would be great…..but the humidity afterwards is such a drain on energy.
good luck, and remember that september is only a month away.
Thanks for answering my question! much appreciated
I think i would keep going under the garden hose..and also u can soak a wet towel and wrap it around ur neck,thats what we did when we were littlw with no air conditioning.
A really good trilogy book set to read is by Nora Roberts, Dance upon Air is the first one. I read them all within a week…it’s a girl book so ur husband might not like it. My neice is reading them now and she loves them..she is already on her second book.
Stay cool…and let me know how u like the books if u decide to read them
My father still runs his house like when he grew up. Heats with an old coal stove and refuses to use air conditioning. One thing he does during the summer is to soak a tshirt in cool water, wring it out, and then as he is working and it is drying it cools his skin. Another thing is to wrap a head band (water soaked) and place under your cap. Same can be done with terry cloth wrist bands (like tennis players where). The coolness against your veins will keep your body temp down.
for a book, a favorite is Hesiod’s Works and Days.
Your last Post was in July. It’s now Dec 8 2011.. Is everything alright with you guys??? Miss hearing from you!! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Your Friend Nita
what happened ?????//
Hi it’s me again, Is everything OK out there?? What has happen to you and your hubby and Blaze?????? It is now April 25TH 2012 :0
Im just wondering what happened to you guys!!! I miss your posts…I hope all is well and we hear from youj soon