Summer siestas and such

The past couple of weeks have been so hot. It's very hard to enjoy the outdoors unless you are in a pool! Every morning, I take care of the horses, water potted plants, then mow or do whatever other outdoor activities I need. Afterwards, it's inside for the majority of the rest of my day. As it turns out, after lunch I have very much fallen into a naptime routine. Have I expended so much energy in the morning that I need the nap? The evenings and nights go back to being productive. I can see why other cultures have taken their afternoon naps. I remember many shops in Italy and Greece closed a couple of hours after lunch, those that were away from the touristy areas. Of course, the little Italian town where we stayed during the World Cup championship of 2006 put up a large screen for the entire town to watch the final match with France that evening. It was fabulous to be a part of that! The townspeople were up all night after their win celebrating with car horns and noisemakers. They definitely needed their naps the next day!