When It's So Hot That...

...a ceiling fan spinning at top speed doesn't make a dent in the inside heat index, wearing a bathing suit all day long makes you long for a swimming pool Big Time, a Long Island Iced Tea is what you dream about at 8 a.m., then it's time to go to a cooling center.

So that's what I'm going to do....although my cooling center has a multitude of sewing machines. Here in Chicago, Mayor Daley opens up a slew of public buildings where people, mostly the elderly, can keep their cool when their own homes fail to do the job. The shame of it all is not that many people take advantage of this Free Service.

Now I'm not old, but I could use a major cooling center. I've an air-conditioner, unused since 2002, in my bedroom window. If I turned it on, I'm certain I'd still feel like I was overly warm blueberry muffin. So I'm heading over to Vogue Fabrics this afternoon. Yes, as soon as the door unlocks at 12:00 noon, I'm there with my sewing projects, fabrics, notions, implements, everything that will make me happy (although I really could use a tiny boom box to play some jazz tunes) while the air outside becomes basically unbreathable. There I'll stay in sewing la-la land until 5 p.m. Then maybe I'll go to my mother's for dinner OR I'll just go to church, which is un-air-conditioned, but at least it's late in the day, thank goodness.

It's on days like these days you get Really Good Ideas. You're walking so slow melting ice cream could move faster, so you're forced to sit and Slow Down. You lay down on the bed, and watch blades on the ceiling fan go round and round and it's just so wonderful! And then the Ideas start to assault you from all sides as beads of sweat drip down your face. What if I turned that black linen fabric into a hat? What if I took the basil in the refrigerator, chopped it into a bazillion pieces and baked it into a cake? How does a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee stack up one from Einstein's? Such are the questions that float across my brain when I'm too tired to do anything except nap (which something I ought to do this crazy-hot afternoon, but probably not in my oven of an apartment.)

Ok. I am half-dressed for my adventures this afternoon, of course, which will not be explored without a Hat. My new favorite is the white straw from H&M. Today I've embellished it with some white netting. What crazy, creative activities do you get when the temperature soars?