Oops!

I´m beginning to think I shouldn´t be allowed out on my own!

Yesterday I had  hospital appointments for a CAT scan and doctor. This is a six-monthly event and my daughter usually takes me by car but this time she was busy. I went by public transport which means a bus and two underground trains each way. The hospital has several different units and I got off at the station I seemed to remember was the correct one for mine. Wrong! I was about a mile away from my unit and had to try and find my way at a fast walk up some steep streets not to be late.

When I finally got there, dripping with perspiration, I had a long questionnaire to fill in - that´s when I realised I´d forgotten my glasses at home!

Not a fun day but all´s well thank goodness.

Beating the heat

 

Take one light cotton knee-length petticoat, sew on two spaghetti straps, wear it pulled up under your armpits - voilá - a short cool "babydoll" (remember them?) to wear around the house. 

Photo by Raphael Wild on Unsplash
 

Too hot

Yesterday was the second hottest day here in São Paulo since records began. Today it feels even worse. The temperature indoors in my apartment was 32°C in the afternoon and this morning at 9:30 it was already 30°C indoors. It´s over 37°C outside.

I walked to the studio and back this morning, very slowly and trying to keep to the shade but I think I´ll avoid going out for the rest of the week while this heat wave lasts, it is just unbearable out there. Last night I slept with the fan on all night otherwise I wouldn´t have been able to get any sleep.

Unfortunately I can´t install conventional air conditioning as there can be no external additions to the building (for aesthetic reasons, for heavens sake!). The only AC I could have is a portable one and since my flat is mostly open plan it wouldn´t be effective. So fans are the answer, although at the moment they are blowing hot air! It´ll all end with another tremendous storm, I suppose.

Storm

We had the worst storm I´ve ever seen a couple of days ago. The wind was gusting at over 100km p/h driving horizontal rain straight at my windows. It came through the closed shutters and window frames and water was running down the walls (and over a couple of sockets!). I really thought the glass was going to blow in.

There were over 800 calls to the fire service about fallen trees and three people were killed in separate incidents. Miraculously my power stayed on although many areas were without as the trees had brought lines down. Today it is sunny with blue skies as though nothing had happened, the only reminder the number of branches still lying about.

I had meant to go out shopping that afternoon but thank goodness I had an attack of laziness and stayed home.