Local Knowledge?

Today was a challenge.  Despite my best efforts last night I couldn't get the house below 25 degrees by the morning.  It stayed stubbornly at 30 degrees until after midnight.  Call me an absolute pansy, but I find the heat debilitating.  I've been told this is a slur on me, but I just can't function in it.  Particularly when there is nothing I can do to make myself or my children more comfortable.  An ill northwind blew strongly.  It was too hot for the beach or anywhere.  This morning we went and got the kids' their school uniforms.  I am again bleeding money and this is an expensive exercise.  They do look gorgeous in them and they are both genuinely excited.  My uncle, brother-in-law and nephews turned up with our washing machine (oh joy....) in the afternoon and after this we sought refuge at Lyn's house.  By the time I got there my head was splitting with a vice like grip on it and poor Jessica was pink in the face and heat stressed as the temperature in our new house that should be built to the new 6 star standards climbed above 33 degrees.  It's evil.  They are coming to check things out very soon I hope.

The cool change arrived around 8pm and I have the house opened up.  Lyn managed to find us an evaporative cooler, on loan from a friend of hers.  I often stop and wonder how I would have managed without Lyn.  She's been the best friend I could have asked for.  Has this in some ways made up for the loss of others?  I can't answer that, but I know that she is one of the best and most loyal friends I've ever had.  The cooler probably managed to drop the inside temperature by about 5-6 degrees but it was still disgusting when we walked inside.  I've found it impossible to work at my computer in these conditions.

I've done a shop for lunches tomorrow and have withdrawn cash to buy the kids' school bags and hats.  When I remembered to set my radio alarm for the morning I realised that I don't even know the what the local radio stations are.  There seem to be so many things I don't know here and that's tiring.  It's supposed to be cooler tomorrow and I'm hoping that this will allow me to regroup a little bit and get a few of the urgent things that are rapidly piling up out of the way.  I truly do fall apart like a cheap suit in the heat although  I am trying desperately to toughen up...  I scowled angrily at the long range forecast though because it returns to the mid to high 30s for the rest of the week and weekend and that stinks.  My only consolation is that Canberra, which we've just left, is staying stubbornly at almost 40 degrees all week and through to the weekend without a single reprieve.

A definite little positive today was using my dishwasher for the very first time today.  Ok, admittedly it took me several minutes to work out how it worked and it's so quiet I still wasn't sure that it was actually going.  It was certainly nice to end up with clean dishes without having to wash them myself though.