A feeling of dread

Cloud • Apr 27, 2007 3:09 pm
comes upon this town as the summer draws near.

Average temp 95 degrees (although it usually seems to hover around 100 degrees) from May through August. We all turn into cave dwellars (no cellars around here!), and creep out of our air conditioned holes in the early morning, and in the evening after the sun goes down.
Hyoi • Apr 27, 2007 3:19 pm
I'm not prying so deeply that I want to know where you live, but is it desert or semi-desert? The lady and I are wanting to move to New Mexico, probably up north a ways (maybe Santa Fe, maybe Taos). Is it that bad, or are you just a sissy?
Cloud • Apr 27, 2007 3:23 pm
I live in El Paso. Santa Fe and Taos are both fantastic places, but higher up, so it doesn't get as hot there (and gets a lot colder in winter there, too). El Paso isn't as bad as, say, Phoenix, or even Las Vegas, but it does get pretty darn hot.

I've lived here for 20 years, so I've adjusted, somewhat. Still--it's hard to get things done in the summer because I HATE being out in the sun.
Kitsune • Apr 27, 2007 3:33 pm
But it's a dry heat.
Hyoi • Apr 27, 2007 3:37 pm
O.K. We got one thing settled. Having lived in El Paso for twenty years, you're no sissy! Been there, like it. Like Mexico, too. But yeah, I think high and dry might just be the ticket. I'd send you some of our humidity, rain, and clouds if I could, 'cause the gods know we have plenty to spare.
piercehawkeye45 • Apr 27, 2007 3:41 pm
Kitsune;338233 wrote:
But it's a dry heat.

Yeah, in Wisconsin we either get very humid heat or very dry cold. I love extremes.
Cloud • Apr 27, 2007 3:43 pm
yeah, damp & sticky + hot is surely worse than here.
piercehawkeye45 • Apr 27, 2007 3:47 pm
I'm sure your heat is more constant than here though. We get one or two heat waves for about a total of a little over a week than it is back to comforable temperatures.
jester • Apr 27, 2007 3:51 pm
i'm not a big fan of the heat either - i swear i don't believe it got this hot when i was younger or maybe because i work in an office area and have f-o-r-e-v-e-r. i have become addicted to a/c.:)
Cloud • Apr 27, 2007 3:52 pm
yeah, and the ironic thing is the a/c in offices (like mine) is turned up so full blast that you're like an icicle when you leave the office. So the heat feels good then.

Until you get in your car and the surfaces burn, burn, burn!
Trilby • Apr 27, 2007 3:59 pm
Cloud;338229 wrote:
I live in El Paso... burn, burn, burn!


Cloud lives in the West Texas town of El Paso and she burns, burns, burns in the ring of fire (the ring of fire)



:)
jester • Apr 27, 2007 4:02 pm
we don't have heat waves - we have heat tsunamis:D
Cloud • Apr 27, 2007 4:06 pm
Brianna;338251 wrote:
Cloud lives in the West Texas town of El Paso and she burns, burns, burns in the ring of fire (the ring of fire)



:)


hee!
Sundae • Apr 27, 2007 4:22 pm
Bless you and your strange foreign heat.

I get distressed when it goes above 20 (68) here.
Now that it regularly hits 30+ (86) in the summer I seriously think I'll have to leave my beloved England by the time I retire...
Kitsune • Apr 27, 2007 4:30 pm
Sundae Girl;338259 wrote:
Bless you and your strange foreign heat.

I get distressed when it goes above 20 (68) here.
Now that it regularly hits 30+ (86) in the summer I seriously think I'll have to leave my beloved England by the time I retire...


:eek:

We don't turn the air conditioning on unless the house gets above 80F.
Hyoi • Apr 27, 2007 4:39 pm
Sundae Girl;338259 wrote:
Bless you and your strange foreign heat.

I get distressed when it goes above 20 (68) here.
Now that it regularly hits 30+ (86) in the summer I seriously think I'll have to leave my beloved England by the time I retire...


I've been to London, Leeds, York, and Aberdeen some ten years past. Most days were overcast with misting rain and this was mid-July. I've never seen such beautifully green countryside. The locals crabbed about being pissed on yet again, but I enjoyed it.
xoxoxoBruce • Apr 27, 2007 6:56 pm
So they're like seattle, the people don't tan, they rust.
Hyoi • Apr 27, 2007 7:08 pm
xoxoxoBruce;338329 wrote:
So they're like seattle, the people don't tan, they rust.


Surely you know this one. And yes, I'll stop calling you Shirley.

Sitting in an English garden
waiting for the sun
If the sun don't come you get a tan
from standing in the English rain
Cloud • Apr 27, 2007 7:13 pm
I can't complain too much, 'cause we don't have earthquakes, tornados, forest fires, hurricanes . . . all we have is a few dust storms.

And, oh yeah, last summer it rained for 6 days straight and the entire town FLOODED! I mean, canoes on the streets, streets collapsing, buildings demolished flooded. We're still trying to recover.
Hyoi • Apr 27, 2007 8:06 pm
Cloud, I would stop somewhere in west Texas but I have every intention of being my own contractor. Our for-sale-righteous-right Governor Rick has made that an impossibilty, thanks to an $800 K campaign contribution from Pulte Homes. Being a licensed engineer in this once great state, I could obtain the title of contractor for a steep fee, but no bank in the country would provide financing. Born and raised in Texas, but I'm forced to look out of state.

If you're ever up Taos/Santa Fe way in the not too distant future we'll have you over for cabrito y fajita!
TheMercenary • Apr 27, 2007 9:54 pm
El Paso, land of the drug lords? well right over the border.
Cloud • Apr 27, 2007 10:22 pm
yep. Most people I know here don't go into Juarez much anymore, for social purposes. Plus, women get mass murdered over there, and there's still no satisfactory explanation.

Doesn't much impact the weather, though.
TheMercenary • Apr 27, 2007 10:38 pm
Cloud;338412 wrote:
yep. Most people I know here don't go into Juarez much anymore, for social purposes. Plus, women get mass murdered over there, and there's still no satisfactory explanation.

Doesn't much impact the weather, though.
Holy hell! the folks that I know that are stationed there say you don't need to cross the border to experience the chaos. A good buddy of mine, a senior Army officer at the post down there had his car/truck stolen 4 times before he finally bought a beater truck that had windows that would never roll up. He never locked it. It was never stolen again. My wife was born there. I have never lived there, but from what I hear it has all the problems of any major city in the us, only about 5 fold. I am just talking about 2nd and 3rd hand info here....
Cloud • Apr 27, 2007 11:02 pm
Aw, no, it's not that bad at all. In fact, I really like it here. there's property crime, certainly, but not as much violent crime as many other similar cities. Juarez is another city (and country) and has its problems.
Undertoad • Apr 28, 2007 10:47 am
...he finally bought a beater truck that had windows that would never roll up. He never locked it. It was never stolen again. My wife was born there.

Did they clean her up with windshield washer fluid?
TheMercenary • Apr 28, 2007 10:49 am
Undertoad;338574 wrote:
Did they clean her up with windshield washer fluid?


No, they use the polluted water from the river. Does that make her a Wet Back?
xoxoxoBruce • Apr 28, 2007 10:59 am
Cloud;338412 wrote:
yep. Most people I know here don't go into Juarez much anymore, for social purposes. Plus, women get mass murdered over there, and there's still no satisfactory explanation.

Doesn't much impact the weather, though.
Clouds of suspicion, but no reign of terror or hail of bullets.
Cloud • Apr 28, 2007 11:17 am
cute.
richlevy • Apr 28, 2007 11:56 am
Hyoi;338336 wrote:
Surely you know this one. And yes, I'll stop calling you Shirley.

Sitting in an English garden
waiting for the sun
If the sun don't come you get a tan
from standing in the English rain


OR

Out in the West Texas town of El Paso
I fell in love with a Mexican girl
Nighttime would find me in Rosa's cantina
Music would play and Feleena would whirl

From El Paso


OK, the Wikipedia for this song states:

El Paso was covered most famously by The Grateful Dead. They started performing the song in 1969. When performed, it was sung by rhythm guitarist Bob Weir with Jerry Garcia contributing harmony vocals on the chorus. The last time they performed the song as The Grateful Dead was on July 5, 1995, 3 days prior to their final show. In all, it was performed 386 times. [1]


Can anyone provide a link to this version on-line. I just want to hear a piece of it to see how the Dead interpreted it.
Cloud • Apr 28, 2007 11:58 am
I think there's actually a Rosa's Cantina here for the tourists.

All 3 of them.
Cloud • Apr 28, 2007 2:30 pm
aw, Rich--you looked up my town. I feel speshul! Here's a link to Amazon that supposedly has a little listen:

http://www.amazon.com/Fillmore-East-April-Grateful-Dead/dp/B00004YRGK

or maybe this one:
http://www.plime.com/entertainment/webvideo/l/17281/1/

my audio controller is broke on my 'puter, so I can't listen.

And Hyoi, you be sure to let me know if you get up there. I've been to Santa Fe many times (got my back tattoo done there over a year and a half); but have never made it up to Taos yet. It's on my list.
Beestie • Apr 28, 2007 5:46 pm
Cloud;338412 wrote:
Plus, women get mass murdered over there, and there's still no satisfactory explanation.
I heard the tail-end of an interview on NPR by a woman who just wrote a book about that. Fascinating and horrifying at the same time. She was pretty sure that the Mexican government - or someone in it- knew/knows who's behind it and is protecting them. Every time someone gets close to solving the mystery, they become a mystery too.
Cloud • Apr 28, 2007 10:41 pm
like Jack the Ripper
xoxoxoBruce • Apr 28, 2007 11:44 pm
More like Jose the reaper.
Hyoi • Apr 29, 2007 7:39 am
And Hyoi, you be sure to let me know if you get up there. I've been to Santa Fe many times (got my back tattoo done there over a year and a half); but have never made it up to Taos yet. It's on my list.......Cloud

Will do. :thumb:
richlevy • Apr 29, 2007 11:53 am
Cloud;338675 wrote:
aw, Rich--you looked up my town. I feel speshul! Here's a link to Amazon that supposedly has a little listen:

http://www.amazon.com/Fillmore-East-April-Grateful-Dead/dp/B00004YRGK

or maybe this one:
http://www.plime.com/entertainment/webvideo/l/17281/1/

my audio controller is broke on my 'puter, so I can't listen.
Thanks. The second link had the whole song. It sucks that you can't listen to this. It's a great cover. Since it was actually a YouTube link, I've put it here.

[youtube]EfI5Ep4GDK8[/youtube]
Cloud • Apr 29, 2007 12:07 pm
thanks! I was actually aware--or had forgotten--that the Dead had covered El Paso, even though I've seen them perform several times, etc.

I'm sending the link to Daughter No. 2, who will enjoy it.

Keep meaning to fix that darn computer thing!
godsandmen • Apr 29, 2007 1:42 pm
I think I'd rather die than have to live in El Paso. Hell, I don't even prefer the salsa that's made in New York City!
godsandmen • Apr 29, 2007 1:43 pm
I meant to say I DO prefer the salsa that's made in NYC. Sorry about that.

Hey, maybe I should make it a practice of having to make "correction" posts. I suppose that's one way to get my post count up there.
Cloud • Apr 29, 2007 7:41 pm
I'd rather die than live in New York. Almost.
godsandmen • Apr 30, 2007 12:43 am
I wouldn't want to live in NY either. But El Paso, uhhhgggghhh - I would die in that hot sun!
cowhead • Apr 30, 2007 11:38 pm
nope, kansas was hot and cold enough...
Cloud • Jun 17, 2007 11:06 am
well, it's supposed to be 99 to 101 degrees all week. And so it starts. Basically we hover around 100 (unless it rains) for the next 2 or 3 months.

I tend to hibernate a lot during the summer. :(
Cloud • Jun 17, 2007 10:48 pm
:biggrinba (waves to BrianR, who I just noticed also lives in El Paso)
Urbane Guerrilla • Jun 17, 2007 11:01 pm
Sundae Girl;338259 wrote:
Bless you and your strange foreign heat.

I get distressed when it goes above 20 (68) here.
Now that it regularly hits 30+ (86) in the summer I seriously think I'll have to leave my beloved England by the time I retire...


Americans are often amused at what the English call a terribly hot day -- just ghastly. Americans are used to that being where the hot weather is only barely beginning to get serious -- "What'samatter with you guys? It's nice and warm!" It's our lower latitudes.

It takes a day to make Australians wilt -- 43 C in the waterbag -- to really impress the Americans, and even then this only means some of the Americans. Las Vegas born and bred would feel right at home in, say, Coober Peedee. Though they'd reckon it's definitely hot enough for them.

Just went there, and it's summertime for sure. The dry lake south of town is the abode of dust devils. Drove through one of those once, right there as it was crossing the road, and the whole car bounced and jigged. Startled the wife -- "What was that?"
kerosene • Jun 18, 2007 9:00 pm
cowhead;339534 wrote:
nope, kansas was hot and cold enough...


AGREED. I thought I would die in the heat out there. And then our air conditioner broke.
BrianR • Jun 18, 2007 9:27 pm
Hi Cloud!

I should have noticed earlier, we could have had lunch or something.

I roll out of here tomorrow (Tuesday) for Dallas and a new truck, then who knows? However I do know that I will be coming back through soon to pick up some stuff I can't take with me as well as my dog.

Perhaps then? I will be at the truck stops in I10 at exit 37.
BrianR • Jun 19, 2007 10:10 am
Cloud, change three...I don't leave until Thursday morning. The Doctor I need to see isn't in on Wednesday this week.

So, gonna be around at all?

Brian
Cloud • Jun 19, 2007 11:13 am
what happened to the woman you were moving to the desert for, hmm?
Sundae • Jun 19, 2007 1:40 pm
It's warm & sticky here today (and not just under my skirt).

I just went to the shop and there's a warm but lively wind rising. We're due a storm but it's not going to hit Leicester until about midnight, so I might be projecting - but am hoping for a real ground shaker.
Sundae • Jun 19, 2007 3:33 pm
Here comes the rain!
And the wind just shook the door of the shop hard enough for me to think my boss had stopped by.

My heart is just about recovered.
BrianR • Jun 19, 2007 9:28 pm
Cloud;356771 wrote:
what happened to the woman you were moving to the desert for, hmm?


In the next room as I type. She would likely accompany me just to get out of the house. She's a lurker here anyway.
Cloud • Jun 28, 2007 1:58 pm
I see El Paso has made the list of the top 10 fastest growing cities. hmm.
xoxoxoBruce • Jun 28, 2007 2:05 pm
Does that include illegals?
Cloud • Jun 28, 2007 2:37 pm
most assuredly. We all melt equally here. It was 106 on Tuesday.
Cloud • May 19, 2008 10:10 pm
It. Has. Begun. 100 degrees tomorrow.

Thus, the start of several months of hiding in my cave. Venturing forth only in the early morning, and after the sun goes down each eve. I hunker in my bunker with my fans, wearing nothing, 'cept the short cape my friends insist no true Cave Girl would be without.
monster • May 19, 2008 10:13 pm
Fan a little our way. The pool opens Saturday and we're only looking at 74. 80 would be beter.....
HungLikeJesus • May 19, 2008 11:05 pm
The snow is finally starting to melt here, but there's still two or three feet on the trails.
Cloud • May 19, 2008 11:06 pm
oh gee, guys, I'll glad waft a few degrees your way.
classicman • May 19, 2008 11:44 pm
Where are you HLJ, that you still have snow?
Flint • May 19, 2008 11:48 pm
It was 98 here today. Wait, isn't it just May?
I was sweating outside at 9pm, with no shirt.

[SIZE="1"][COLOR="Silver"]I remember the difference between AM and PM by saying After Midnight and Pefore Midnight.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
HungLikeJesus • May 20, 2008 12:08 am
classicman;455154 wrote:
Where are you HLJ, that you still have snow?


West of Denver, Colorado, at about 7,800 feet ASL. But there's very little snow left right here. The trails I was referring to are a little higher up.
dar512 • May 20, 2008 12:32 pm
Brianna;338251 wrote:
Cloud lives in the West Texas town of El Paso and she burns, burns, burns in the ring of fire (the ring of fire)

I wouldn't have pictured you knowing either one of those tunes, Bri. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Cloud • May 20, 2008 12:39 pm
LOL! after our "cave girl" discussion (in which my friends insisted I MUST have a cape--even just a little one--with wings); my friend said she had bizarre dreams about flying around her house nekkid!
Trilby • May 20, 2008 1:19 pm
dar512;455283 wrote:
I wouldn't have pictured you knowing either one of those tunes, Bri. Not that there's anything wrong with that.


You'd be surprised at what I know ;)

It's a perfectly seasoned 68 degrees here in oHIo land. Tis rare indeed that we have nice weather. I get panicky at 78 degrees. Our summers are like being in a sauna----hot, humid, sticky and they piss you off.
skysidhe • May 22, 2008 5:50 pm
dar512;455283 wrote:
I wouldn't have pictured you knowing either one of those tunes, Bri. Not that there's anything wrong with that.



Well I know she is close to my age and from what I remember there was not much else on the radio and nothing but Wild Kingdom and Walt Disney on tv so.

Those would be my reasons for knowing those songs. Not like I am projecting on a generation or anything. :o
Shawnee123 • May 22, 2008 6:09 pm
And then there was that whole movie about that guy...who was it...oh yeah, Johnny Cash. :p
Cloud • May 22, 2008 6:28 pm
freeway in the next town over was closed yesterday for 8 hours all the way to the Arizona border.

For WIND and BLOWING DUST.

The price we pay for having good weather the rest of the year, I guess.
Sundae • May 22, 2008 7:04 pm
I'm not dreading the heat this year. Being 4 stone down on last year helps, as does not having to commute. And also this year I've gone all girly and it's all about light coloured clothes, floaty dresses, skirts and sandals.

I feel I am prepared.

Be prepared to put up with complaints I am melting however. I predict a hot one and my sanguine attitude will desert me!
Cicero • May 22, 2008 10:31 pm
"A Feeling of Thread" anyone?
:)
xoxoxoBruce • May 22, 2008 11:48 pm
Shawnee123;456189 wrote:
And then there was that whole movie about that guy...who was it...oh yeah, Johnny Cash. :p
El Paso was Marty Robbins' song.
Cloud • May 22, 2008 11:56 pm
she's talking about Ring of Fire, tho'
Trilby • May 23, 2008 8:47 am
I was talkin' 'bout both of 'em.


Ever see Steve Martin's take on El Paso? HIlarious!
TheMercenary • May 23, 2008 8:52 am
xoxoxoBruce;359682 wrote:
Does that include illegals?


Damm good question.
skysidhe • May 23, 2008 10:44 am
xoxoxoBruce;456245 wrote:
El Paso was Marty Robbins' song.


My dad used to strum on an acoustic and sing that song along with ghost riders in the sky. That is a really good memory but then we're talking about dread.

How about this.

I am at a point in my life where I think my major tribulations are over. I might get a fatal disease and fight like hell but then I will be only taking care of myself.

It's like a mid life crisis without the crisis. I am adrift, bored, happy and blessed all at the same time. When you live with stress for so long that it becomes the norm and then it wanes practically in the space of a year now one's body still wants to get in that stress mode but it has no problem to focus on. I have no place to go. I have both paddles in my canoe and no road map.

so there's my dread...or my anti dread. I am going to take a class next fall so I have something to do during my work shift. That's all I know the future is a blank. What if it's really good? :eyebrow:
classicman • May 27, 2008 11:13 am
Been livin with that feelin for weeks now, no matter how I try to convince myself otherwise.
HungLikeJesus • May 27, 2008 11:24 am
The heat is still coming on here. It was 34° this morning, but I think it's starting to warm up. At least the rain is pushing off the fire danger.
Cloud • May 22, 2010 2:58 pm
it's coming! we've been lucky so far this spring, but it's officially a/c weather now.
ZenGum • May 23, 2010 8:01 am
It was 25 degrees here today. 10 in the morning, and 15 in the afternoon.
Cloud • May 23, 2010 11:14 am
is that dreadful?
lupin..the..3rd • May 23, 2010 12:20 pm
72 and rainy here today. It'll be 95 and humid soon enough though, and stay that way until september. July and August are when I really wish my car had air conditioning.
Tulip • May 23, 2010 10:13 pm
Cloud: Has the temp. hit the 90's for you yet? It is now 90 degrees for us...ugh! Give it some more time and it will get more and more humid. Then it will be truly dreadful. :thepain:
Tulip • May 23, 2010 10:15 pm
lupin..the..3rd;657972 wrote:
72 and rainy here today. It'll be 95 and humid soon enough though, and stay that way until september. July and August are when I really wish my car had air conditioning.

It reaches 95 degrees there? How come cars don't have a/c if it gets that hot over there?
Cloud • May 29, 2010 10:29 pm
99 degrees today. time to change my routine a bit--wake up earlier and go out earlier; hibernate in the middle of the day--go out at night
Trilby • May 30, 2010 11:01 am
this is sucking, even for Ohio.

been in the upper 80's all last week and now all this coming week. :( Sucks! Hot and heavy and humid and makes you just want to shoot people.
monster • May 30, 2010 11:11 am
Beautiful weather for pool opening day :D We're all a little sunburned though....
Pie • May 30, 2010 11:38 am
Brianna;659436 wrote:
Hot and heavy and humid and makes you just want to shoot people.

Quoted for truth. Even in MD.
Cloud • May 31, 2010 11:24 pm
I don't think I can take it. I can't take 4 more months of being fucking HOT. I'm going to go insane!
lumberjim • May 31, 2010 11:33 pm
so move north!
wolf • May 31, 2010 11:37 pm
It's stupid hot here too.

But this is why we invented air conditioning. What I can't figure out is how we never had AC in school when I was a kid and we didn't die.
Undertoad • May 31, 2010 11:37 pm
Because they let us out in the summer.
monster • May 31, 2010 11:42 pm
'swet here. very wet. wetter than a wet thing in the wet season. Even my duck is pissed off about it.
Cloud • Jun 4, 2010 6:13 pm
Forecast for next week:

Sat. 106
Sun. 109
Mon. 104
Tues. 104
Wed. 106
Thur. 101
Fri. 99

fuck. I'm melted already.
TheMercenary • Jun 4, 2010 8:20 pm
Our hot season does not start for another few weeks.

Then we get the same treatment.

Thank God I will be on vacation for at least two of them.
SamIam • Jun 4, 2010 11:48 pm
Can't beat cloud, but here are our coming temps:

90
94
92
90
88

I live in the high desert, so we don't have much humidity, but believe me, it still feels plenty hot and we have at least 3 solid months to go. I HATE it! Keeping my fingers crossed that my old AC will work when I plug it in tomorrow.

If people could hibernate, I'd do it in the summer. In the winter I can just put on lots of warm clothes and be OK. In the summer I could walk around naked and still be too hot. :greenface
Cloud • Jun 5, 2010 12:32 am
Oh, I do hibernate as much as possible. I get very little done during the summer because I just can't stand to be out in it. Stay in during the day, keep the fans running on me everywhere I can, scurry out in the early morning or late evening to do chores. Keeping in mind I'm fat and menopausal, I really suffer.

I think I'm gonna get me one of these little gadgets:

http://www.amazon.com/Handy-Cooler-Evaporative-Personal-Battery-operatable/dp/B002F8IFV6/ref=wl_it_dp_o?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1Y9P1QTPQILYT&colid=ZI1O4SU5WHRE
skysidhe • Jun 5, 2010 2:08 am
A week of rainfall, ankle high, we will enjoy a heat wave up to 71 tomorrow. I suspect people will be in the pool enjoying brief sunshine.

I will not get in the pool until it hits 80. Who knows when that will happen. *snuggles down further in my fluffy robe*
zippyt • Jun 5, 2010 3:50 am
supposed to have a heat index of Over 100 here for the next 2 days ,
tomorrow ( Well in the am when i get up ;)) cut grass , then live in the WallyMarto inflato pool
Cloud • Jun 5, 2010 1:06 pm
zippyt;660696 wrote:
then live in the WallyMarto inflato pool


now that's an idea . . . I wonder if I could fit a tiny one on my porch. With a shade.
Cloud • Jun 6, 2010 8:26 pm
We hit 110 today and broke our record!
monster • Jun 6, 2010 8:28 pm
White School Glue is really good for fixing records. Epoxy is awesome, but not so neat.
Cloud • Jun 6, 2010 8:28 pm
quit sniffing it, then!
TheMercenary • Jun 7, 2010 9:08 pm
I would take hot over snow anyday.
HungLikeJesus • Jun 13, 2010 6:35 pm
Tonight's forecast:
"Rain showers and snow showers likely together with isolated thunderstorms in the evening...then a slight chance of rain and snow after midnight."
xoxoxoBruce • Jun 13, 2010 6:56 pm
Cloud;661063 wrote:
We hit 110 today and broke our record!
Cheer up, summer's only a week away.