Janice asks us : Since the Lazy Hazy Days of summer are upon you now, tell us what activities you enjoy doing outside and how do you stay cool. Share some photos of both if you wish.
Living in Belgium this question seems to me like a dream. The last years where everybody is complaining about "Global Warming" we should complain about "Local Cooling". After a week or two of unusual hot weather 32° C (90F) (where I was in Italy) we dropped down now to 16°C (61 F) which is more like an Australian winter and of course it rains.
The average summer temperatures, when summer is so kind to show up its nose, is around 25°C (77F) and with that you don't need something special to stay cool.
But when it is hot, then inside the country it's almost unbearable, because it's sticky with no wind. What I do then, is opening all the windows early morning and try to make drafts to cool the whole house, then close the shutters and leave the windows a little open. That's the way they do in Italy and it works to keep the house "cool". 6 years ago I bought an air conditioner on wheels for the living room, because it was so hot, we exactly used it twice, because the next day, the temperature dropped to the half !
Outside activities are limited, a little work in the garden when it doesn't rain. When it's nice at the coast, I sometimes take the train and go to Ostende at the sea. There at least you get some air when it is hot.
Brussels' market in summer !
The same here in Waterloo
I could sit here even when it rains but
16°C (61 F) is a little too cool !
The sky is grey, but the grass is green
The cats don't go out and are laying around
and I had to put a little heater in my room ! (Instead of an air conditioner !)
Long live Belgium's summers ! Even in my archives I couldn't find an appropriate summer photo !
Nooo...16C is way too cool, even for winter. Normally 22C is our average winter temp, but we have had some cooler days lately, even getting down to 17C on one day and it was totally miserable. See, that's what happens when one is used to hot weather, one's blood gets very thin and cannot bare less than about 20C of cool weather. We're hothouse specimens here...
ReplyDeleteIt sure looks dark and too cool for the general idea of summer ... make the best out of it!!
ReplyDeleteIt would be too cold for me too but I think my family love it :D
ReplyDeleteI would so love your summers, Gattina. Rainy weather is the best. Although I couldn't believe those hats and hooded coats at the market. Do you have trouble getting certain fresh vegetables like tomatoes that take a longer growing season and more warmth?
ReplyDeleteBTW, love that white cat belly!
Jientje always says how cold it is there and rainy. Not always but what I gather is it's not much like Hawai'i. Looks cold. Love the picutres :)
ReplyDeleteOh my...it's indeed way too cool there! LOL
ReplyDeleteI love the green grass and I just feel like the cat right now...LOL
Oh I love summer rain! Its so wonderful! I do not so much like this winter rain though! We have had so much rain the past two months its not funny! I think a nice even spring all year would be nice! LOL
ReplyDeletehahaha :) i love the last paragraph.. a little heater to warm you up.. i just hope we'll have some more warm weather. well the sun is shining today it seems.. let's see
ReplyDeleteNow I know where to go if I want to cool off during our hot,humid summers. We are lucky this year, the weather has been perfect with low 80's, lots of sunshine and low humidity. Its almost like a New England summer (which is cool n short) Thanks for playing FM Gattina
ReplyDeleteOur summer has been so bizarre! Do you know this year we have not had one 90 degree day? We usually have had several by now.
ReplyDeleteWe had one and a half months of rain and only the last few days have been full of sun but only 70 degrees!
Living in the UK, I can totally sympathise!!
ReplyDeleteGday Gattina, It gets colder than that here in winter.we had a low of -2c overnight and a high of 13c today.central heating running non stop.
ReplyDeletebut then summer we can get up to 44c thats hot when we have air con running 24/7.. 32c is a beautiful temp..
Everytime I read your blog, I think I need to move to Belgium!!! I am NOT a hot-weather girl and living in Florida is sheer torture. One day when the parents are gone and the husband is gone, I'm moving to a cooler climate!!! (Hubby NEEDS the heat).
ReplyDeleteYour lucky. You don't have too much hreat or cold.
ReplyDeleteIn your photo of the market I see people wearing their hoods and coats. I had no idea that your summers in Belgium could be so cool!
ReplyDelete... yes but the grass was lovely and green Gattina!!
ReplyDeleteWe are having a Belgium type summer here so far: cool and damp. Unfortunately we need the weeks of hot dry days for successful harvesting of hay. We should be into those days now and yet it continues damp and cool.
ReplyDeleteEverything is green a lush. I prefer the cooler days to the very hot days as long as it is still warm enough to swim.
I'll quit whining about the weather in New England now! And I'll make sure I visit Belgium in the summer. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHow sad! Until Belgium starts behaving itself, I am NOT coming to Belgium in Summer!!! (that's as good of an excuse as any...) At least you had Italy!
ReplyDeleteI think this post is a little too pessimistic Gattina! We've had a beautiful Winter, lots of blue skies, an early Spring with lots of sunshine, and the last month has not been bad either! Okay, last year was dreadful and so was the previous one, but we have been spoiled this year so far? Please don't make the rain gods angry with us again?
ReplyDeleteYour summers are similar to ours although I have to say we've just had a bit of a heat wave.
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