Tips to beat the Boston water boiling blues

I am a pro at living without water. When I grew up in the backwoods of Pennsylvania, we had a well, so in the winter when we had a bad ice storm and the power went out the water stopped running too. It was loads of fun, and helped me prepare for situations like the boil water advisor now in place for most of Boston.

Trust me I know the "I can’t drink the water and that’s all I can think about doing" feeling. Here are a few wonderful options to make your day healthy and hydrated.

Go to the beach: The sun is shining. The temperature is climbing. And we all know the ocean water is not safe to drink, so why not head over to the beach. Bring a towel, don’t forget the sunscreen, and listen to the waves come crashing in. If you’re heading over there you might as well make a day of it. Pack a meal and don’t forget bottled water.

Spa Day: Nothing says spa more than pots of boiling steaming water. If you have it, throw some lavender in one of the pots and carefully lean over the it while it’s steaming. — You should probably make sure it isn’t boiling when you try to do this — The steaming water will open your pores. Make a sugar scrub by adding granulated sugar to your favorite soap and massaging it into your face. Rinse it off with some cooled boiled water if you especially worried about water quality.

Smores: Camping, roughing it, living like people lived thousands of year ago. Ok so we still have electricity, but everyone knows nothing makes a bad day better quite like smores. If you have a gas stove, you can toast the marshmallows right over the stove using a fork to stick it. Top it with chocolate and graham cracker sandwich. Just be careful. If your stove is electric make a smore casserole by layering a glass pan with graham crackers, Hershey’s milk chocolate, and marshmallows. Make sure the top layer is marshmallows. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes, or until everything is gooey. If you like the marshmallows a little more toasty pop it under the broiler for a few minutes. Smores go best with a nice cold glass of milk, so this is definitely a no-water-needed kind of treat.

Make Iced Tea: Boiling pots of water give me such an iced tea craving. After you’ve boiled the water for 2 minutes — just to be safe — throw in a few tea bags. Get creative.  Jasmine and black tea make a very tasty iced tea. Allow the pot to cool. Taste it. If it seems a little strong add some water you boiled to dilute it.  Refrigerate and the next time you get the urge to drink something pour yourself a glass.

Try Something New: We all know soda is terrible for us and most juice is filled with sugar, but you can’t drink the water unless you boil it so I think that’s a more than reasonable excuse to try some new beverages. Trader Joe’s is now selling a Trader Joe’s brand of soda made with cane sugar. It comes in a few different flavors, and would be terribly refreshing on a nice hot day like today.

And finally as my mother would say, "This is how people live every day.  Aren’t you grateful for what you have?" Remember as you’re boiling water to be thankful for the stove that conveniently boils water fairly quickly and for the luxury of being able to buy bottled water. Not everyone is so lucky.