Following the sun

I hope you like listening to this happy Beatles song from the sixties.
I've always loved the idea of following the sun.
 My cousin always used to say that if there was enough blue in the sky to make a pair of sailor's trousers then it would turn out to be a nice day. On grey misty days my mother would search the sky for a 'patch of blue'.
'There's a little patch of blue,' she'd say and I would desperately scan the horizon. If we found one then hope would fill our hearts and we'd get all optimistic about the chance of having a cup of tea in the garden.

In the heat of a Mediterranean summer patches of blue abound, the sky is constantly a bright dazzling blue and people start to look for signs of rain.

There are some life lessons here I'm sure. We all need balance and harmony, people as well as plants. We thrive when there is just the right amount of rain and sunshine.
When life gets tough for whatever reason we keep looking for a patch of blue, and when we have too much sunshine and heat we try and cool off.

Here are my tips for a heat wave.

As Baden Powell said 'There is no such thing as bad weather just bad clothing, so put away your polyester and only wear cotton or linen.

Don't expose your skin too much to the sun. We are always told it's so bad for us, so lots of high protection sun cream and make sure you don't get the sun on your head. As the Australians say 'Slop, slip, slap,' Slop on some cream, slip on a cotton shirt and slap
 on a hat. 

Make sure you drink small amounts of water regular. Gulping down large quantities of ice cold water is very bad for you, so just small glasses and often.
Limit sugary drinks or avoid them altogether. the very best drink is home made lemonade.  Boil some water and then stir in a spoonful of honey and let it cool. Add the juice of two lemons and put in the fridge, delicious.

Try and use the oven and cooker as little as possible. See my post of Angie's Summer recipes for ideas.

Don't rush around and go in and out of places with air conditioning. I worked in a place where the air conditioning was so cold that I felt as though I was going from a fridge to an oven all the time.
One of my fellow workers told me she had spring cleaned her house, in summer, and then lay down on the bed with her air conditioning turned low. She ended up rushed to hospital with something wrong with her kidneys, so be careful.
Keep a shawl or a man scarf in your bag to wrap round you if you go into a cold air conditioned place.

Last but not least.. keep your chocolate in the fridge, ha ha!

Have a wonderful summer wherever you are.