Now let me first state that Sherry’s already written about this and I’ve stolen her water tank image. But I think I may be able to bring a different perspective . . .
Water is something we all take for granted, right? In the photo, the tank on the left is the storage tank for the city water that is completely drinkable. It holds 700 Liters of water. That works out to just about 185 gallons. According to the EPA, “The average American family uses more than 300 gallons of water per day at home.” My guess is that when you take into account inefficient toilets, washing machines, pets and yards (specifically potted plants), you can see that 185 gallons might not go very far. I’m here to tell you. It Doesn’t.
Honey, I'm sorry to tell you . . . but you stink.
Twice this past week (or was it 3 times?), when it came time for the evening shower before bed, we got nothing but air from the pipes. “But,” you say, “There’s another entire tank there!” And you’re right. But that tank is ~700 Liters of rain water, collected from an old concrete cistern that we were warned might include dead cats, mice, rats or who knows what else. You want to shower with that? Didn’t think so. We don’t either. And even if we did want to, I haven’t yet figured out how to connect the rainwater tank to the household pipes.
I sweat . . . a lot!
Since the temp when we’re not in bed (like between midnight and ~4 am) is always in the 80’s and 90’s with humidity in the 70% – 85% range, I sweat. A Lot! And when you have to use your bottled drinking water for “spit baths,” you just don’t get very clean. I typically go through 2 complete sets of clothes each day and when I can’t shower before bed, well it just isn’t pretty.
To give you just a bit of a feel for how hot this is, I typically drink two 40 oz Therma Flasks of water + a diet coke or so. And. Never. Pee. All. Day. Like Sherry quips: Enough Said.
Oh my. You know I always like to give you both a hug but maybe not now. That heat and especially humidity sounds really awful. Will it be like that all summer? That water situation sounds horrible. Dig yourselves a well.
I wish we could dig a well! We’re in the city and can’t really do that here. And yes, the average temp stays the same here all year. And now we’ve just entered the rainy season (June – November) and the two “rainiest” months are June and July. We’ve had lightning and deafening thunder every night for the past several nights, followed by near-torrential rains (at least compared to what we see in So Cal!). But we’re enjoying the evening light shows!
Hang tough brother. Thanks again for the update.
Thanks, Aaron!
Oh my word! Water is so precious! That is the ultimate, water rationing! How are you even able to launder all those change of clothes? So I guess there’s no gym to shower at either! We Americans are so spoiled for sure! Thanks for giving us perspective on how blessed we are!
It’s amazing how easily we forget how privileged we are!
Well good news bad news… bad news is you stink… good news you don’t have to up at night to pee. It’s all about perspective. I would have thought you guys would have founded a gym to join that has showers or even a public swimming pool to get some refreshing laps in. Seems like it should be worth the price of admission. Just tell them your have the Medicare Silver Sneaker plan and maybe you’ll get in for free 😜. Final comment of the day, Sherry does NOT quips “Enough Said” she says “Nuff Said”.
At least that’s what her prior post stated…. Keep on Blogging buddy and enjoy the humidity…. It keeps your skin nice and soft giving you that glowing look …..
Yeah, we have found a gym . . . but it is open-air with no air conditioning, helping us to “glow” even more.