Oh Aunt Purl! I wish I had your humor! You are truly fan-tab-ulous even when it is a gazillion degrees. *hugs* (albeit sweaty hugs, I know how you feel with the sweating, I have it too...)

You have all of our sympathy here in hotter 'n hell Tejas. I had to housesit once (on a holiday weekend, of course) when the AC went out the first night. The doggy and I couldn't sleep so I took him back to my apartment (illegally) for three more days since the repairmen couldn't come until Tuesday (it broke Friday night. In August. In Tejas.)
Your kitties are in our thoughts! (You too!)

There's all kinds of fancy pet catalogues out there, for those of you with extra cash to burn and animals you need to cool down...

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11111&Ntt=cooler&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=0&Nty=1

But I think the misted washcloth from the freezer is good enough.

And for you, those bandanas with the crystals tied up in it that you soak in water and then wear around your neck are great - do y'all have REI in the southland there?

Ah sweaty aunt purl, only you could deal with a house that's nearly 90 degrees and not go homocidal! Your sense of humour is enviable, girl! I hope you and the kits get cooled off today. Hey, here's one to try - stick huge bowl of ice in front of a fan on high, and then sit downwind. Of course, to really enjoy it you need to sit withink a foot of the fan, but it does indeed work. good luck!

Aunt Lobster Purl - you poor poor thing!

I despise the heat...anything over 80 is uncomfortable. I should live in Alaska.

I do hope your AC is fixed soon so you can finally have a good nights sleep!!!

Staging a sit in ALWAYS works. Trust me. I've done it several times and things get done. So, if a company owes you money, or your a/c hasn't been fixed, literally take a cooler of food and go sit in their office and tell them you'll wait there. You'll be amazed how quickly they want to get rid of you. Especially if you're a dude that is working on his crochet and tells EVERY person that comes through the door why are you are staging said sit in.

Since we did not get any juicy tales of a HOTTIE a/c repairman, I will assume that he was less than worthy of your attention. Or am I wrong, and you're keeping all the juicy (sweaty) tidbits to yourself?

I have been parading through your archives for the past few days (what? you didn't hear me? I was playing the trombone and the big bass drum) and it has to be said... this blog has it all! Knitting! Cute cats! Wine! Beer! Cheetos! The word "ya'll"!

Awesome, so awesome. Glad I found your blog. Sorry about the LobsterGirl arm thing and the broken A/C. Hope that gets sorted out rightfuckingnow!

If they don't fix it this time, take that photo of your 1:37 am thermostat (with captions), put it on a t-shirt, put it on, and sit in their lobby. Because if their repair was only temporary, you can make your payment temporary, too.

And, don't you hate it when your driving arm gets tanner/more sunburned than your non-driving arm? I call that "Trucker Tan".

God bless the English and Aunty Purl! I'm sorry the AC wasn't fixed and that the AC company did not find any sympathy in their hearts. I think sarcasm and the occasional threat of a "sit & knit-in" always works!

I envy your lobster-ness and now I am hungry.

I'm so glad we didn't have to wait too long for another entry! Hope you and the kitties get cool tonight!

Poor Aunt Purl. That SUCKS! Curses to the inept RepairGuy. CURSES! [note to self: Must find knitting pattern for voodoo dolls.]

So, do you make chicken-fried fish?

By the way, Saturn left a dead squirrel under the porch that's stinking up my life.

I feel bad for you, but I feel more bad for your kitties...I hope y'all get cooled of mightily soon!!

London calling. We're all getting really really fed up with the tube being shut down so when you're done with the A/C repairman could you please sort out London Transport? Ta.

It's nice to have your support Aunt Purl and I hope you enjoy your fish supper with beer. BTW I heartily approve of your choice of beer in an earlier post, Newcastle Brown Ale is brewed just round the corner from me, I used to be able to smell the ale from my house! Alas the brewery has closed now and the ale will only be made in Edinburgh from now on. Such a shame. If you ever get the chance, I recommend some Youngs beers to you, brewed in my old locality of Wandsworth, London* they are fab and they make a chocolate stout which is not to be missed. Also BTW I read before that you like snooping round people's homes on their blogs. So do I. I put lots of pics up of my redecorated flat, perhaps you'd enjoy a peek sometime. Yours sincerely, PP x
*I don't choose my accomodation on its proximity to excellent breweries, honestly.....a;though this is rather more important to me than proximity to excellent local schools...

i will keep your technique in mind when my ants return. because y'all know they will.

Speaking of ants... I could send ya a packet of fire ants (sans queen! no biological infestation here) to threaten the repairman with. He has to stay until the house cools down, or you empty the ants into his vehicle. Just to show'm you're serious... let ONE bite him. That'll be all it takes, believe me.

No butter for your burn lobsterette... use aloe instead. Not as tasty, but you'll feel better.

I assume you did not mention if the repairman was a hottie or not because he failed to get it on ( the A/C, I mean) Maybe the next one will be the charm.

my recommendation?? Frozen vegetables--- very cool and comfy on the back of the neck (although peas are alot less lumpy than cauliflower or brussel sprouts!)

Ooo, Storm STories. I love all those disaster-y things. Engineering Disasters is another favorite.

Never underestimate the power of a hysterical edge to the voice, and threats, veiled barely or not at all, are really good.

I'm saving my pennies to go to England in solidarity, but your fish 'n' chips idea is excellent too. After 9/11, my way of not letting the terrorists win was to book a trip to Paris.

Hey - they sell those bandanas with the cooling crystals that Ellen mentioned at Wal-Mart also...

I think that the A/C repairpeople have simply heard of the hateful mad that is Sobakowa in the hot hot California that they cringe in fear of Chairman Meow invading their office with her three minion kitties and Lobster mama and submitting them to her evil furry will.

Hey, and it's not so bad to turn into a lobster...I saw an episode of Medical Incredible on Discovery Health channel that showed a person with "Lobster Claw Syndrome" crocheting away like nobody's business, so it's not like you'd have to give up the stitchin' & bitchin'!

Actually, could you send the A/C man 'round to fix the aircon (or lack thereof) in the Underground, too?

I really like the fish and chips idea! Would sushi count? Because, you know, it's not heated, and would be better while sweltering? You could eat french fries, too...and put all KINDS of condiments on them!

I hope the new A/C guy is damn hot and lays you down on top of that brand-new WORKING A/C. Harlequin Blaze plotlines, here I come.

The important question is - what condiment do you eat with yoru fish and chips? Malt Vinegar - or Tartar Sauce?

I don't have cats, but I have overheated guinea pigs (not at all a good thing). They love laying next to frozen water bottles.....

malt vinegar all the way!!

and ketchup (fries)

and beer (beer)

OK, I am hitting the road ya'll. Let's hope there is a/c at the end of it. Bye!!

I also am in favor of malt vinegar on the fish & chips!

Working in the customer service dept of a payroll processing company I can tell you that there is NOTHING I dread more than getting a call from the receptionist that there is a client in the lobby. Any time a client says they want to come into the office with their issues my brain melts "no! NO! I"LL DO ANYTHING!! PLEASE NO!!!"

as i am an extremely white girl, i can totally appreciate your lobster arm. my left armis the only part of me that is not glaringly, chalk white. that one particular arm is the color that most other caucasians are in the dead of winter. i also can't figure out how this happens, as i don't hang my arm out the window. ah, the great mysteries of Nature.

Purlpower may have lived by breweries, but I live by a chocolate factory. Sadly not Wonkas, so I don't see Johnny Depp every day. But Cadbury's, which is just as nice and delicious. And real! There is often a chocolate smell in the air, heavenly!

And good call with the fish and chips - enjoy them! You have made me hungry now though.

here's a tip: drop the 'malt' from vinegar and no-one will know y'all are yanks.

I know the best fish & chip shop in London (oddly enough, intro'd to me by one of yours) and the best greasy spoon (for eggs on all odd things).

Crazy Aunt Purl, you call yourself a traveller? Come and visit - we'll show you a good time!

(Purlpower, you know you're always welcome down south!)

I kome today. No more threten. I kome today and fix. Plees dont kome to our office with troubles and kattens. We already have many troubles with heet. We have part and I kome today for fix. OK? I also like pinot noir with ice cubes and long walks on beech. We talk more after fix, OK?

Help me, I'm melting....LOL.

those photos of the brown l.a. air and that traffic helped to remind me why i moved away from the city!!! come to south dakota, laurie!!! the air is clean even when it's 100 outside. and we have a tiny a/c that when set on low keeps us and the kitties very cool.
clean air.
no traffic nightmares.
working a/c.
i'm just saying is all!!

Well, thank goodness your thermostat only goes up to 90... Can you imagine how hot your house would get if it went up to 120?!?!?! Just sayin'

Be careful of lobster arm... you might want to rent a r.h. drive so as not to overly increase your chances of melanoma on the left arm.
Your kitties are lucky to have you as their mommy. Mine only gets to lie under the ceiling fan... no misty towlettes or anything.

I, too, wonder if the AC guy was worth the sweet tea and sweet talk.

Next A/C guy better get no sweet tea or sweet talk til the house is down to 69 degrees. THEN, maybe....

if not

sic Madam Meow on him.

I've been directed to your blog by the lovely Miss Acechick - and all I can say is (in the words of a great Aussie sportsman) "love your work, love your gear".

Niall (in Sydney, where it's currently 14 degrees - Celcius) (I converted your fahrenheit into Celcius, now it's your turn)

Well....Sleepless in the Valley...Did it get fixed 'r what? Were all on pins and fricken needles o'er here!
;-)

Hi Purl - just came out of lurking mode to ask what sort of odd things you think we put eggs on?? I can't think in any (or maybe it's an English thing and not a British thing, and me being in Scotland hasn't noticed). And this coming from a nation that drinks it's tea iced???
P.S. Noticed you havent' mentioned the dreaded price of petrol for a while - how's it doing?? [We have just topped the 90p per litre mark - making the equivalent of about $1.40 I think, although I think the people in England are paying slightly more!!!]
P.P.S. My kitties send their concerns for your wee furry friends as they are currently struggling to come to terms with venturing out for their afternoon fun in the sweltering scottish heat of about 17 degrees - well it is sweltering for here!!

There is nothing more debilitating than heat. I hate it like poison. My neighbor says, "Oh, I love the heat!" She has central AC and I don't, no wonder she loves the heat. She loves ESCAPING from the heat.

Good on you for the window struggles - there're few things worse than trying to survive in an environment that was designed to be air conditioned with no AC. What can we send to you?

I remember being stuck in Lubbock Texas at 6 am a few years ago with a broken down van and a repair shop telling me it would be ready "sometime this afternoon".

The tow truck guy was not happy having me and 3 large dogs loaded into the cab of his truck. (they were NOT riding in the towed van whose sliding door would not close!!)

The car dealer was also less than pleased when all three dogs and I were planted in his waiting area with the appearance of being settled in for the day. WAY too hot to put the dogs back in the van sitting in the HOT HOT HOT parking lot!

We were out of their with fixed van in under 2 hours!

You were right by my house when you were taking the picture of the bumper sticker on that camry! I'm so sick of this heat wave. Is it necessary for it to be 100° plus every day? It's already 78° when I get in my car at 6 o'clock in the morning. How ridiculous is that?