Rub a Dub Dub

Summer’s cruel hold has finally been broken!

Last night, for the first time in months, I was able to sleep without my trusty and faithful fan, Brisa. Actually it was so nippy I had to break out my sleeping bag since the sheets and blanket I had weren’t cutting it.

While I don’t doubt that nature may still have some lovely melty temperatures in store for the next month, I’m fairly certain we are on the downward slide into fall.

Overall evaluation of this summer = Toasty but tolerable.


I am officially a bucket bather-at least for the next two weeks.

The only bad aspect about cooler temperatures is that my electricityless, and therefore light and hot waterless bathroom, has become more than a mild inconvenience. When the temperatures were in the mid/high 90’s and 100’s, a cold shower was refreshing. But right now, no thank you.

My new habit is to put a pot of water on my hotplate to heat up right when I get home from a run. It starts to boil just after I stretch and feed Lila dinner. Then I put the boiling water into a bucket and mix it with the cold water from my shower until it cools down to a non-scalding temperature. And bathe. It is actually not bad at all.

This is one step above the usual bucket bathing arrangement of some volunteers. Most people who have to bucket baths do so because they don’t have running water and have to pull their water up from a well. I have running water and a drain for it to go down, so I don’t have to worry about hauling water out of the well and over to the bathroom or throwing it out afterwards.

I feel like I’m paying my dues for the fact that I live in a really nice community and for the fact that in about 2 weeks I’m going to be moving in with Carly. A little suffering makes me feel more like a proper volunteer 