Saturday, May 27, 2006

Locked In

It's finally air conditioner season here in metro DC. Until very recently- read a couple of days ago, it hadn't been hot/humid enough to put the extra air conditioner in the window. See, the problem is we live in an older (50+ years) building that has cheap single pane windows & a tiny AC unit.Together this means that it's colder inside in winter & hotter in summer than the resident (ie: my family) might like it. Dollar bills float through the windows at alarming speed.

So we bought a small window unit that helps take the load off of the main one. & surprisingly, our energy bills dropped signifigantly beginning that summer. The landlord has added small decks to some of the units (our complex has quite a few duplexes) rather than invest in substantial renovations like better quality windows or more powerful AC units. But I digress.

This morning Husband & Sons wrestled the little unit into the window & added the weatherstripping etc. I am officially locked into the house for the duration of AC season. *WAAAH* I like to be able to open doors & windows for fresh air. It gets stale in here- especially with three males around.

The only side benefit to the sweltering weather is that my hands & feet aren't ice cold all the time. The bad thing- I often 'feel hot' & don't want to be touched, hugged, etc. during the summer 'cuz everyone is radiating heat. It's yucky hugging someone you can fry an egg on. Husband hates summer for this reason & related ones..LOL.

Hope your house is cooler than mine!
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5 comments:

Kerri Wall said...

I love the fact that we don't have to deal with snow or any of the other problems associated with winter, but the heat here in Florida can get outta control. If we ran the A/C like we would like, all of our $$ would go to the electric bill.

Once we hit 95 degrees, I stop wearing make-up and doing my hair. There is no reason because it will melt off within minutes of being outside.

However, I grew up without an air conditioner...in Florida, so I can take the heat better than most!

...Fiona...

Tara Marie said...

It's a shame when the landlord doesn't update what really needs work. My husband is in contractor sales, he has one customer that has replaced all the window in 5 different apartment complexes.

It hasn't been too hot up in NY yet, today was the first "hot" day, we might hit 90 tomorrow. But, it still gets cool enough at night that we can leave the windows open, I love fresh air.

Bob & Muffintop said...

Fiona- I don'twear makeup in summer either. The only thing I'm sure to put on my face daily is sunscreen SPF 30 or higher.

Tara- It's incredibly frustrating to see the landlord build 'feel goods' but skip more important things. OTOH, it's too expensive to buy here & so we must make do.

Anonymous said...

Friday night, leaving DC and heading home to Baltimore, it felt like summer had arrived -- temperature wasn't bad but the humidity! Ugh!

I live in a rowhouse, commonly known as a sweat box during the summer, because circulation is so poor. I got an estimate for putting in central air, but well, let's just say it was outrageous, leaving me with ceiling fans and a bedroom window AC unit.

Bob & Muffintop said...

jmc- I'm not surprised about the estimate for your AC. Here they want your firstborn just to come out to do estimates, never mind actually doing any work.