Goodbye Heatwave, Goodbye Beach

Before

We were at the beach when the cool change started to blow in this afternoon. We could see it in the sky, coming across the water. And then, in an instant, the hot wind blasting from the north which had been roasting everything, was replaced by a beautiful refreshing southerly.  Suddenly the flat sea became choppy, and everyone was smiling. Next thing we knew virtually everyone was packing up their stuff and heading home, and although we lingered a bit longer than most, to have just one last dip in the water, we were soon on our way too. Time to open up the hot house and let in the good air.


After

What a relief, what a welcome relief. The last two days of the heatwave were hard. I stopped caring about keeping things clean, or picking things up.  I avoided clothes where possible. I let the kids have icecream after icecream from the stash in the freezer. They couldn't believe their luck. My sister's house got impossibly hot, so we turned on all the fans, ran a cold bath for hopping into when necessary, and I  spent most of the evening with my feet in a bucket of water, sipping on a Gin and Tonic, aka icecream for grown-ups. Actually I had icecream as well.



We have had such a lovely break though. So good to get away from Melbourne, so good to be at the beach every day. The kids have had a lot of fun, and got on together very harmoniously. They have also been getting blonder and more tanned each day, despite the hats, sunscreen and rash vests.



Not me though. I was most definitely the whitest pair of legs on the beach. And the tops of my feet are slightly burned after today too. I'm glad my kids didn't inherit my fair skin.



Sadly, I can't say the cat enjoyed his beach holiday. I suspect all the trauma from Basil vs. Car has made him a much less robust cat.  He was happy to be with us, but stressed out by the unknown environment. He barely ate or drank anything, and hid behind and inside furniture quite frequently, usually if he was reminded about The Different Outside.



Yesterday I tried putting some butter on his paws, something I'd read about. It makes them groom themselves which helps them relax. It did help a bit.



I think it was probably the right thing to bring him down though. It has just been too hot to leave an animal untended, even with the nicest neighbours.  And I think he was looking dehydrated on the last day so we found a syringe and squirted water down his throat. It helped, and after that he perked up and shared some fish with us, the first time he'd really eaten much.



Tonight is our last night.  Fixit and Basil are already back in Melbourne. The boys and I will pack up in the morning and head home too. Big, big thank you to my sister for lending us her new house and letting us have a nice beach holiday.