Jo
I am so happy for you that you have a new A/C unit.
Kudos to you
The way you have it set up, sounds just like the way our old window A/C was
And that A/C last us many many years.
So I hope you get just as many from your new unit.
Yes on the subject of cooking in this heat? No fu*king way would I ever turn the oven on in this heat. I usually buy all microwavable meals or make loads of tuna for the week.
PB&J works well in a cinch too. If nothing else is around, lol
We have had steady 90+ days now for over a week.
And its been killing me.
I have not stepped foot outside this house all week. And I am running out of food, lol
And yes, I DO have the car, lol
Its just the idea of getting into the HOT car and trying to get that cooled off too. But, by the time I reach my destination the car still is not all that cool. And I just get hot & sweaty all over again.
So, I will wait till hubby comes home.
That way he can drop me off by the store wait in the car and keep the A/C running of course and when he see's me walk out of store he pulls up and I can hop into a cool car with groceries in hand
Yep I am spoiled, but that is part of what the CF lifesyle is all about.
I cannot imagine living without any kind of A/C in this kind of heat
Yes I know, our parents managed just fine without it.
But there not around that I can ask them how they did it.
So, for me, all I do is stay inside and enjoy my central air
Vis-a-vis opening a window at night to stay cool -- it is now 10pm, and the temperature is 86 degrees, although it "feels like" 93.
Spend a lot of time looking for stuff in the fridge and freezer.
PG reminded me...
I spend a lot of my time outdoors in the evenings, when things cool down after 10pm. It's still pretty hot (it drops from 37C to 32C from 10pm to 11pm - that's about 92F) but during the day the termperatures are consistently between 40-45C (104-113F) and closer to 55-60C in the sun (131-140F) and as there is no shade... we go outside after the sun has set.
I'm discovering that it's all relative... I still can't survive in the heat of the day, but temperatures that would flatten me back home now feel very comfortable.
I live in Alaska, it keeps me cool! lol
But seriously when I lived in the desert it was above 100 degrees from April to October and would go as high as 120 for a few weeks each year. Did I worry about using AC? No way! People die in those conditions, you'd be an idiot not to turn on the ac.
A few things I did do:
1) tinted my south facing windows
2) spent an arm and a leg on wooden blinds which stayed closed
3) try to run ac in rooms I used on a regular basis
4) kept the lights out and didn't use the stove or oven
5) drink lots of h20 and spent a lot of time at the pool.
I visited Lindsay when she lived in the desert, and I thought I'd DIED AND GONE TO HELL! Re: The weather, not the company. LOL I have never been that hot in my life. We went for a drive to Palm Springs and as we walked down the street, there were pipes overhead that MISTED YOU WITH WATER! I wear glasses and was about to get annoyed when I clued in the water actually evaporates so fast, you don't even get steamy glasses. I think that night we went for a drive in her convertible with the top down, and it was DOWN to 85 or so. I felt like I'd landed on Mars. No wait. Venus. Mars is colder than earth. HAHA
Woman up and moved to Alaska for a change of pace! ROFL
***
Anyhow, I had an annoying couple of days.
I had put in my larger window AC unit (Kenmore brand) with the remote control and controllable temperature. It was working well and actually cooling down the whole apartment, which was nice. I had a smaller Haier brand AC that I'd bought for $89 at Walmart one summer and I had it in the kitchen at my old place. The kitchen was off to one side and west facing and was BRUTALLY hot in the summer. That little AC did the trick for that one room. But it had knobs, not a digital gauge, and if you turned it on, it stayed on until you turned it off.
I was not using it at the new apartment, and didn't see a need for it at all.
So yesterday I decided to freecycle it. The couple came to pick it up YESTERDAY MORNING.
Guess what happened YESTERDAY AFTERNOON?
My AC died. It was blowing air temperature air, not cold air. I was near tears. I googled 'how to fix window AC' and learned that a lot of the time it just needs a good cleaning. I took it apart and used an old toothbrush to clean dust off all the fins, both interior and exterior. I thought it wasn't bad, considering some of the pictures I'd seen online. Put the whole damn thing back together and turned it on...
Nothing. It still seemed to be blowing 'tepid' air. I was fit to be tied.
Last night I sent out SEVERAL emails to kijiji ads and made a lot of phone calls. Today is a Stat Holiday in Canada, and I considered driving cross border to get a new AC. I called around and almost ALL the Home Depots, Walmarts, Best Buys, etc. are SOLD OUT OF AIR CONDITIONERS!!! I SHIT YOU NOT!
Anyhow, finally heard back from a guy today in St. Catharine's (45 min from here) and he had one of those portable units on wheels for $135. I scrounged up my pennies (I'm broke until payday... literally, took the guy rolled coins) and picked it up. I'd turned on the Kenmore before I left just to see if it would kick in. I wasn't sure if the cleaning had worked or not. Got home and lugged this MAMMOTH unit into the house (it's only 6K BTU, and you have to empty the dehumidifier water every day, I'm assuming, grrr)... and
The Kenmore seems to be working again.
AGGHH!
On the bright side, this new one is my "spare" and I'm not giving it away! LOL And it has this 6" x 80" adjustable thing to put in any sized window, so I won't have to take the window out at all if I use it. I'm kind of excited about that. I can even put it in the bedroom as is, and probably have it hooked up and functional inside of five minutes.
I just cannot believe I gave away a PERFECTLY GOOD AC moments before having to BUY ANOTHER. GRRRRRRRR!
That's funny Jo, in a sad kind of way. Sounds like something that would happen to me.
But you know that old adage; as soon as you get rid of something, you're going to need it.
"But you know that old adage; as soon as you get rid of something, you're going to need it. "
Having grown up in a home where my mother seemed to strongly believe in that adage...
I finally had to tell her that I would personally replace anything that she gave away and then needed in the next year. I only mention it because I know that Jo has made a lot of good effort in keeping a manageable amount of things in her house, and I applaud her for it!
Everyone in Houston goes inside and cranks up the AC. Here it's more like, "How do you stay warm indoors?"