How Did You Stay Cool in the Summer

Another question for your life story:

How did you stay cool in the summer?

When I was young we did not have air conditioning or a swamp cooler.  There may have been two or three weeks when it was hot and uncomfortable.  We never locked our doors, so we left the front door open with just the screen door shut.  A cool breeze went through the house from my bedroom window to the front door.  It made it more tolerable during those hot days.  The afternoon was the hottest and that was when we went down in our basement where it was cool.  

As an adult we used a portable swamp cooler that had to be hand filled with water.  There were a lot of trees surrounding the house which helped to keep it cooler.  Again windows provided cross ventilation especially when a cool breeze was blowing.  

Some people like to go swimming when it's hot.  I don't swim, but I have used a wet cloth to pat on me to cool down with.  I have hung a wet towel in front of a fan or put ice in front of a fan to cool down when the swamp cooler isn't working.  Ice cream and cold drinks are nice when it's hot.  

What have you done to stay cool?  Were the summers hot where you lived or were they moderate?  Did you go swimming or run through the sprinklers when it got hot?  Did you have a basement to stay in when it got hot?  Did you have a favorite foot that you enjoyed when it got hot?  Did you go camping in the mountains when it got hot?  How do you remember cooling down in the summer?  Write those memories as part of your life story. 

What Was Your Favorite Piece of Furniture When You Were Growing Up?

Here's another question to answer for your life story:

What was your favorite piece of furniture when you were growing up?

Do you remember a favorite comfortable chair that you would sit in when you were young?  Do you remember what the table you ate meals at looked like?  Do you remember what you bed was like?

Furniture is an important part of our life story.  If you think about the furniture you had when growing up, it will probably bring back memories of things that happened with that furniture.

I remember when my parents bought a new sofa-bed and two recliners.  We hadn't had the furniture for very long when my sister, who was teaching my Sunday School class, decided to have a party for the members of the class at our house.  Things got out of hand when several of the kids piled on one of the recliners.  It broke. 

When I think of my bed, I remember most the night our cat decided to have her kittens in my bed.  My mother didn't get much sleep that night, nor did I.

Remembering the kitchen table from my childhood brings back good memories.  Eating has always been one of my favorite things.  We rolled out cookie dough, kneaded bread and made other delicious food at the table.  We always ate family meals together around the table.  It was a red Formica table.  My dad would get out his pencil and do some of his figuring right there on the table.  The pencil washed right off from the table when he was through.  That table outlasted more than one set of chairs.  I do remember good things when I think of that table.  Here's a picture of that table.

Write down what you remember about the furniture you grew up with in your house and add to your life story.