While not the heat some of last summer, we’re a week into a heatwave with temperatures topping 90° daily. That might not sound like “extreme heat” to folks who deal with warm temperatures regularly, but for here, it is significantly warmer than normal. Plus, the majority of homes here do not have air conditioning.

At the same time, Saint Louis had record breaking rain, the Appalachian region is seeing horrific flooding, and there are heat records being broken around the globe. Anyone who continues to disregard climate change and its impact on all our lives needs to start paying attention.

Friday’s Frugal Five

1. On one of the first days of the extreme heat, we went to downtown Seattle for PokémonGo fest. We picked the morning time, and there was a lot of shade, so the heat wasn’t too bad, but it was still very warm.

We had such a good time though, and the $25 a ticket was well worth the cost. And as the kiddo said when he agreed to wait in line to take a picture with someone in an Eevee suit (indoors in the AC), we were “making memories.” And we were. A day we will all remember for quite some time.

2. I’m continuing my routine of biking to and from work on Mondays and Fridays, and I’ve gotten slightly faster as I get used to the trip – 22 minutes to get to work and 25 minutes to get home. Only slightly slower than driving and so, so much better.

If you’re on the fence about an ebike, do it. You absolutely will not regret it. Expensive for a bike, but far cheaper than a car, you get exercise, and you don’t use any fossil fuels. Plus, you don’t contribute to traffic.

3. I finished a couple more books this week (my bike commute time helps): Cadillac Desert and Barbarian’s Choice.

Bedtime ends each night with us reading a book with the kiddo. Right now, we’re working on Wings of Fire #8: Escaping Peril. If you have a kid in your life who like dragon books, I highly recommend this series. There fun and snarky for adults, too.

4. This heat means we’ll finally get to see more than just a handful of ripe tomatoes and peppers, and our first crop of beans are just days away. I picked another big bowl of snow peas, but they’re likely on their way out since they prefer the cooler weather. Usually by the end of July we are well past the time for peas until the cooler fall months.

We’re also getting plenty of kale as always, plus onions, garlic, chives, and herbs. The blueberries are ripening, but so far just enough to eat off the bush and not save in a bowl. And eggs, lots of eggs every day. Perhaps I’ll get used to having chickens someday, but for now I’m still ridiculously pleased every time I go out to the coop to collect the eggs each day.

5. With the hot weather this week, we spent Thursday at the beach. I actually had the full day off (other than Planning Commission in the evening), so we headed out after breakfast and spent most of the day outside.

We swam for a couple hours in the morning, walked to lunch (caprese salad and pizza, pretending we we’d back in Italy), and then walked back to the beach for an afternoon swim. It was a fabulous day, and it really felt like a mini vacation. Definitely one of those weeks where I really feel my reduced work schedule.

Exercise Update

Friday was my bike commute to and from work, plus 2.5 hours of walking, ending the day at 26k steps. Saturday I cleaned out the chicken coop, and my back and arms were definitely sore the next day from shoveling straw and manure.

Sunday was a ton of walking around Seattle for PokémonGo in the morning, and then more shaded hikes in the afternoon to finish out the event (the first half was at the Seattle Center but the second half was anywhere in the Seattle region, including by our house).

Monday was another bike commute and another walk. Wednesday was a run in the late afternoon; it was really hot, but I kept it short and in the shade. Thursday was three hours of swimming plus a walk in between.

What’s the weather like near you? Feeling the climate chaos, or is it more typical summer weather?