Welcome summer.

First Official day of summer hit us southern Californians hard!

News channels warning us of  record heat and to prepare for a lot of it!

Our first official day of summer was hot. Keep in mind it's supposed to be hot here. We live in a desert valley and experiencing a 7 year water drought. Shockingly, it has never been THIS hot this early into the summer. August is our hot month. NOT mid June!

Hotter than Hades.

Hell on earth.

Man, is it hot!

Melt the CD's in your car hot.

Worse day for the car to break down on the freeway hot.

Shoes stuck to the asphalt hot.

Out of control fires surrounding us hot.

Sweating while you're swimming hot.

We all spent the day texting the photos of our digital thermometers, doing it multiple times as the thermometer kept going up and up. "Look at mine. It's 110degrees in the shade!" , "Now it's 114 poolside, and 118 in the full sun. 120 on our pavers." This went on between friends and relatives throughout the state to compare. Demoralizing to see it was only 68 degrees in the northern coastal towns at 4 pm compared to our 116 degrees at the same time.

We put on our fire retardant gear and boots just to get to the pool water without incinerating or suffering spontaneous combustion. (I don't want to be one of those poor people who burnt up sitting on their couch watching TV and the only thing left of me is my lower legs!).

Friends from Palm Springs came to Corona to escape the heat. Dismaying to them..... 122 degrees in Palm Springs Ca. and 114-118 in Corona. Barely noticeable. Once it gets over 110, it all feels about the same. Guess what that is??? HOT!

Heat is expected here. Not this melt on your way to the car heat. Forget walking anywhere or you may pass out. No shade trees available in this town along frequented roads. The city removed them as water conservation measures 2 years ago. I am very thankful for having a swimming pool I can afford to keep full of water. Floating in it at 8pm was delightful, even if the water temperature was 82! (that's with sun on the water surface only heat). I've enjoyed some of my best meals eating in the pool.

Today, the weatherman says we are in for a cooling trend for a week .  So mild and relaxing. Barely noticeable. It's only 100 degrees today. Yay! Now it's just HOT, not HOT HOT.

-Drink lots of water.

-Keep your pets in shade with cool water.

-Save your pet rabbits. Bring them inside.

-Do not leave the house without footwear or your feet will fry on the sidewalk.

-Check your garden. Anything that was green and starting to ripen yesterday is ripe and needs to be eaten today,

-Do not leave anything in your car that you care about. This would include pets, children, or groceries.

-And what I have said a million times to every mother with an infant. . . . If you are hot in shorts and a shirt, then your baby will be too - DO NOT wrap that kid up in a blanket when its this hot! In fact, don't even make the baby go outside and have to be packed into a hot car seat or stroller.

If you are coming to California to go to Disneyland, prepare yourselves for the hottest adventure of your lives. . . . . guess what? ITS HOT THERE! WATER COSTS $4 a bottle. wear a hat and sunblock. Leave your small children at home or in a cool hotel room with a nanny!

Welcome summer. I guess it's gonna be HOT!    Now go and drink a big glass of cold water!