a dutch woman in the ticino summer

this is my 17th summer in ticino. when i first came here i was so overwhelmed by the great weather. those july nights sitting at a bar in the piazza until very late without freezing like i was used to in holland(or maybe it was just the fuel i poored down that kept me warm?). without opening the curtains in the morning one would know the weather would be perfect, one could smell the sun in the air. it was very easy to get used to the temperature and not having to bring an umbrella where ever i would go in case of a little summer shower. then in august there would be a change in the weather. still warm but thunderstorms almost every night with rain pooring down like it would be the last day of the earth. and then the next day it would be hot again. ofcourse every year would be a bit different. when the boys were very small, i can recall that some days we just couldn't get out of the house because of the rain, which wasn't bad at times. but the summer would be nice and warm. then we had the hot summers like 2004, everyday over 35 degrees. those are the only ones people around here recall, and they will tell you it was always like that, in the old days(which isn't correct, i checked with a meteoman i know!). last year's summer was 5 days of sun and two days of rain. my sons and their friends didn't mind, doing a day inside with lego, computers, and doing whatever wasn't bad. being inside with rain felt like relaxing to them(those were their words!). and now the summer of 2009. yesterday i started to prepare my suitcase for going to the netherlands. and all my nice summer tops were still in a box waiting for the good weather to arrive. i have loads of sundresses and skirts which are hanging in my closet and would surely like to be worn. BUT WHEN??????? my legs are a little tanned thanks to tennis and a selftanning lotion. but i keep having to cover them up because of cloudy weather. and if it is finally a day with sun there is a hurricane wind. luckily i didn't come and stay here for the nice weather like many foreigners, because the way it is now i could just as well live in holland.