Past midnight and it's supposedly 25 deg C outside. All windows and balcony door open, but the indoor temp is 28 deg C. Hoping to bring it down (reached 29 earlier in the day).

Spent a wonderful evening with new friends in our garden celebrating last day of school. Kids played with water balloons and made stick bread over a camp fire. Had two electric fans running on our terrace to keep us cool and drive away mosquitos. Kids are now asleep in a tent in our garden while I rest in the comfort of my bedroom with our ceiling fan running. Summer is bliss.

You can't fight the extremes of the weather, so best to try to work with it.

As much of my work is outdoors at the moment, I do that in the morning (I'm only part time); home for lunch, followed by a snooze and some other interwebbing type activity; a bit of shopping followed by the grilling of my purchases; digest watching the tennis in a nice cool house.

Just before dusk falls, it's out with the dog to the woods - and a quick snoop around the recently discovered and partly excavated Roman villa; then home to water the garden by moonlight.
With everything done, it's now after midnight and a balmy 25° - so a quick jump in the pool is in order .... water temperature of 30° should be bearable, at this time.

At one o'clock, the only thing that got me out of the water was a bladder full of now warm beer.

25! Wow, pleasant. It's 29 on my balcony here in Basel.

Swimming in a pool at 30? Ouch. That's unpleasantly hot; how can it cool you down? The Rhine is 22 and even that's starting to feel warm.

Last minute trip to Chicago...

Switzerland hotter, muggier than Chicago in July?

Whatever is this world coming to?

Whoever can't take the heat:

Freeze two or more ice packs, use one at a time when needed and refreeze immediately when thawed, taking a frozen pack out if you want to prolong the cooling effect.

Last night i dragged my sweaty self to the pub. And drank not one but two pints of cider. Bliss. And there was a wee piddly bit of air.

Today is the Lake Parade in Geneva. I may drag my even more sweaty self down there. I have water in the freezer and one can of beer.

It's not fun having menopausal sweats along with the normal ones!!

I need some sort of rubber stopper thingys to stop my glasses sliding off my nose.... Or i could sellotape them behind my ears.

Guinness and cider mix (half'n'half - poor man's black velvet) was always my summer-cooler-at-a-pub choice. Completely refreshing ...... and very drinkable.

If nothing else, it was always amusing watching inexperienced bar staff struggling with a glass full of froth, when they got the order wrong ..... although I nearly died of thirst on more than one occasion.


Which reminds me - I picked up a four pack, only yesterday, in Aldi ...... should be nicely chilled by now - no cider, though, but I'll manage.

Anyone for tennis ..... ?

I am a woman, i don't do wet t shirts.... But i am sure they will be spraying water during the Parade.

On another note, i saw one of our Arabic sisters who arrive annually yesterday. Dressed head to toe in black. Beautiful eyes, and shoes.

So far I've had 3 luke warm showers today - seems to do the trick.

To be honest I've been gradually acclimatising to the weather all week, and it doesn't seem so bad now. However the problem with Swiss weather is that as soon as you acclimatse it bloody changes again meaning as soon as it drops below 25 it'll start to feel cold for me.

From what I've read we're in for the hottest summer here since 2003.

Apparently, due to some kind of elliptical orbit irregularities, Switzerland ends up nearer to the sun, every 12 years.

For my lake parade ruck sack melody i have - three bottles of water, one can of beer and a lovely concoction of white wine and lemonade. A home made spritzer. Trying to get the wine into the sprite bottle without spillage was a wonder.

Hold the bottle between your feet, use a hand as a funnel and basta. No spillage.

Oh, and a packet of fags. Obviously. So i can blow smoke all over the place. And annoy the merkins.

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LOL, just Switzerland?

I can certainly believe that eliptical orbit irregularities can bring the earth closer to the sun. But even though Switzerland, well actually Zürich, is the centre of the known universe, I can't believe that a couple of thousand kilometres nearer the sun would make that much difference.

Me too, and yes, they seem to be very effective for a couple of hours.

I don't think I had fully realized just how hot it was until today. Going to work early-ish, having a nice cool office (normally I would moan about air conditioning but not this week) and a balcony that is shady in the afternoon and evening had protected me from it.

Tomorrow will be a quest for altitude.

Warning - do not drink Cahipirhnas in the heat. They make your brain boil. So much so that you can't spell them. I asked for an extra strong one and the lovely young wench delivered... I think my legs are just now learning how to walk again!!!

So i came home with my ruck sack medly and a dubious brazilian drink.

Lake parade was fun. Lots of people enjoying themselves. And from the sounds of it, still are.

Nothing is better than 1:1 Bulmers/Guinness in an ice pitcher Sitting at Spanish Arch on the Corrib's banks....Ahhhh I'm getting emotional :/

Spent the day in A/C-ied car and A/C-ied shops That is a method in this madness :>

My method is to enjoy every second of it and hope it lasts as long as possible

Well tomorrow it will be Lake Neuchatel - Yverdon les Bains Much better than shopping - water should be splendid!

And today's T record was...38! Managed to catch only 37 but still

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Recently, I have been in the habit of opening my windows at night to let the cool air in and closing them in the afternoon to keep the warm air out. Helps a little, considering that I dont have air conditioning