When I think that people lived for years without air conditioning, I do wonder how on earth they managed to survive during the summer heat.  I am thinking particularly of ladies in long dresses and petticoats (note the plurality).  For instance, on days of 98-plus degrees with 98 % or more humidity, how did they breathe?  I sometimes think I would have loved to live in the beauty and values of Victorian times.  However, I must admit I am sincerely thankful that I was born in the age of air conditioning!  As much as I love the beauty of Victorian clothing and decor, I can’t imagine living with all those clothes without being able to get cool.  (I am visualizing Scarlett O’Hara wiping the sweat after having worked in the fields in her long dress.)  No matter how romanticised we make those days in our minds, there were many hardships and not a lot of relief from weather …whether cold or hot.   Monet’s Lady in “Sketch for a Figure in Open Air” looks cool with her umbrella in the breeze, even in the blazing summer sun.  But an umbrella can only go so far…

So, come indoors and enjoy the wonders of technology in a cool house.  Then put on the kettle.  I’m having Celestial Seasoning’s Mint Green Tea.  Won’t you join me?