Tea time!

Between the months of June and September, the state of Texas becomes completely unreasonable. Weeks ago, temperatures began the climb into the upper 90s with heat indices dancing in the triple digits. Thus, I returned to my state of perpetual sweat and now seek slivers of shade underneath trees or behind signs as I wait for the bus. I even have a spare shirt stashed in my office.

Even native Texans find the summer heat unbearable, although what separates them from the rest is their willingness to be outdoors anyway. Me? Not so much. No matter how slow I walk, or how early I get up in the morning, Texas is just too hot to a girl who can easily conjure up memories of Wisconsin summers - a magical place where when the sun goes down, so does the heat. A place that doesn't feel like you are constantly standing behind the exhaust pipe of a bus.

That's not to say that I haven't made progress. With one summer already under my belt, I've made crazy remarks like, "Ninety degree days aren't that uncomfortable in the shade" or "Screw it, let's just go outside anyway." Of course, it's only June. I have barely begun the fight.

Texas summers are just reverse winters, anyway - the majority of time you're indoors, and you keep an eye on the news for weather warnings, only this time it's the heat, not snow, that's the culprit. On the bright side, you don't have to shovel the sun. Still, summer is the pits here. But in an attempt to be positive, I plan to occasionally share with you all of the things that keep Texas summers from turning completely into Dante's Inferno.

Starting with Sun Tea. Oh, how I love iced tea. When I manage to greet the great outdoors, it's usually with a glass of iced tea in hand (not to mention SPF 50 and a floppy hat). I love seeing jars of sun tea brewing on folk's front porches around the neighborhood. Iced tea is even a big business around here, although I draw the line at sweet tea which is a great example of how too much of a good thing is just gross.

When my outdoor plant died due to heat exposure and owner negligence, my sun tea jar took its place. It's better use of the space, anyway. A few weeks back, I read an article about the bacterial problems with sun tea. I brought this up to a colleague who responded, "If there was any true danger from making sun tea, 80% of the South would be dead by now." I cringed at his response. Wait, I live in the South?!

Oh, well. No matter where I live, iced tea = summertime. I guess it will just depend on my future locations as to whether I actually enjoy the summertime or not. But that's beside the point.