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Monday, June 30, 2008

The Heat is On


2 p.m. yesterday
Air temp: 104 degrees; pool water temp: 90 degrees
10:45 p.m.: 100 degrees.

9 a.m. today
Air temp: 96 degrees

Yes, we love that it took its time in getting here this year, but the heat -- the real, "I can't believe it's so freakin' hot" heat -- has reared its ugly head in our little cul-de-sac of the universe.

Everyone here says, "It's so nice here 7 months out of the year." And then June comes.

We lived through it last summer, we knew it was coming, but still, I don't think even the lifelong Arizonans are ever fully prepared. You're never ready when -- sorry, I know this is so cliche, but it's true -- you get in the car and the steering wheel is so hot that you really can't touch it.

When it's 10 p.m. and still hovering above 100 degrees. When your pool feels like a bathtub at 2 p.m. Or, when those lovely hot winds come whipping around out of the blue -- nothing like an unexpected fire-like blast to unleash your hanging towels to send them twirling around your back yard. And then there's the pile of coloring papers Allie left on the outdoor table. Night before last we saw towels, papers and various other back yard debris, whirl about reminiscent of the tornado scene in Wizard of Oz.


Returning home from our California trip, we were greeted by the overbearing dry heat. This week it's 110+. Last night the weather caster (who, by the way have the easiest gig in the world here in Phoenix -- warm, hot, hotter ... and rain once in a while.) said, "The good news is that it's not going to get any hotter; the bad news is that it's not going to get any cooler."

That's summertime in Phoenix.

So, what do we do? We venture out to our pool two or three times a day. We buy sunscreen nearly every time we go to the store. We go to the movies. We run our errands and do our grocery shopping early in the day or later in the evening. We grimace when we pay the $400 power bill. We write about how hot it is. We take the kids to evening swim lessons and summer soccer sessions and make them drink lots of water. We suck it up when we have to go outdoors in the middle of the day. But most of all, we think about those seven beautiful months of the year.

Check out how hot it is right now: The Phoenix heat

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