Heat Wave -------------------------

It's hot everywhere!  Charlie, Tooners, and I have been trying all manner of ways to stay cool, but once it gets to the point of not cooling down at night it becomes pretty hard to get any relief.  We do not have air conditioning in the house, not even a swamp cooler, so we have had to come up with some creative ways to deal.  For the dogs I rub them down with a wet wash cloth or put them in the bathtub and use some moderately cool water to get them good and wet, let them do a good shake (with the shower curtain CLOSED!! LOL!) and they remain reasonably comfortable for awhile. Repeat as necessary. For myself, I splash my face with cold water, drape a cold, wet washcloth around the back of my neck, and drink a lot of water.  I had a few issues with dehydration recently and have learned my lesson on that one. The house is barely cooler than outside and keeping lots of fans going once all the windows are closed is helpful.  I have even resorted to placing a gallon size frozen bottle of water in front of the fan.  It provides a little relief if you stand right in front of it.  Sometimes ya just gotta do what ya gotta do.   Sorry I don't have any thrifty tips or tricks for you this week, but I will be working on that for next time.  Stay cool out there!