"Jacquie" > wrote in message
m...
>
> "Julie Bove" > wrote in message
> ...
>>
>> "Jacquie" > wrote in message
>> m...
>>>
>>> "Julie Bove" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>>
>>>> "Jacquie" > wrote in message
>>>> ...
>>>>> Talk about hot...Our AC went out three days ago...Wayne found the
>>>>> broke part and fixed it (108 degrees that day) We've had a cool house
>>>>> for almost 3 days and the compressor died. So we either pay $2700.00
>>>>> for a new compressor or $3800.00 for a new AC , and since the AC is
>>>>> almost 11 years old we opt for the new one....Ahhh the benefits of
>>>>> being a home owner... Cold Salads for dinner tonight
>>>>
>>>> It reached 106 here the other day. An all time high! There are no
>>>> fans or AC to be found in any stores here. If any do come in, they are
>>>> already spoken for.
>>>>
>>>> We have been eating out at least one meal a day just to get some
>>>> relief. They are telling people they need to spend at least 2-3 hours
>>>> in AC to cool the body off. I have been driving the cat around in the
>>>> van because there is AC in there. We've been spending a lot of time
>>>> driving as well!
>>>>
>>>> We are having Angela's kid birthday party tonight and it's a slumber
>>>> party at a hotel. AC, yay! Our suites will have fridges and
>>>> microwaves. They have a restaurant there for dinner and they have
>>>> acceptable foods. They offer free snacks and cold drinks for dinner. I
>>>> was told that the snacks vary so no telling what those might be. Free
>>>> cooked to order breakfast. Not sure I'll be able to eat that either.
>>>> But it did say there was fruit. I don't normally eat fruit but at least
>>>> I'm not allergic to it. I'm taking a small bag of peanut butter filled
>>>> pretzels so at least I'll have those. Just watching the clock now.
>>>> Can't wait to leave!
>>>>
>>>>
>>> I'd be going to the nearest Mall....We were just lucky that we got a
>>> portable AC a few years back, and we put it in the LR and that's where
>>> we sat all day. We also spent some time in the pool...but it's not real
>>> cool. Sounds like a neat Birthday Party.
>>
>> The mall was not very cool at all. The employees were all wearing
>> shorts, sandals and no socks. I read somewhere that most of the large
>> businesses here do not use AC, but swamp coolers. Those only lower the
>> temp. like 10 degrees or so. I don't know if this is true or not.
>>
> Swamp boxes cool down very well..IF there is no humidity...if there is
> humidity they are not worth a darn . We used to have both AC and Swamp
> boxes at my old house...the Swamp boxes worked great until the monsoons
> roll in and we get humidity...that's when the AC's come on. We liked the
> Swamp boxes because using them meant lower Summer electric bills. I find
> it strange that a humid place like Seattle would use Swamp Boxes.

Well I did research on this and found very mixed reviews. Seems people
either liked them (don't think anyone loved them) or said they didn't work
at all here. I also learned that normally during our cool weather, we have
high humidity, but also normally when the temp. rises here, the humidity
drops. This explains a few things to me. Having lived in KS, PA, MA and
NY, I know what high humidity is when it is hot outside. It just wasn't
usually like that here. However, during this last heat wave that alas is
still ongoing, the humidity did get high.

I remember meeting my now in-laws for the first time and trying to bring a
present to them that would be something they couldn't get there. My husband
had told me that pretty much everything is available everywhere these days
and actually that's pretty true. If you can't get it locally, you can
almost always find it on the Internet.

I decided to bring some Dilettante chocolates (made in Seattle) and that
turned out to be an insult to them. I didn't know it but people in PA
simply LOVE their Hershey's chocolate and do not like anything else. Those
did not get eaten. I also brought some kind of candied nuts. I can't
remember the particulars on those, but my MIL laughed and said they wouldn't
keep there! To my dismay, the bowl of largely uneaten nuts had melted into
a soggy pile. All of the coating just melted off and was in a wet pool in
the bowl and the nuts lost their crunch.

I also remember sneaking an Oreo cookie at my SIL's house. I can't remember
now if I was staying with them or just spending the day there. She didn't
cook very often (not sure if she does now or not) so kept little in the way
of food in the house. What she did have was often of questionable "use by"
date. This was long enough ago that not all things had pull dates on them,
or if they did, she might have transferred them to another container. So
the only thing that looked edible were the Oreos, which I never liked to
begin with. But to sink my teeth into a humidity infiltrated sandwich
cookie was not a pleasant thing at all! I also remember spitting it out and
attempting to hide it in the trash because my SIL is one of those who does
not like to waste any amount of food for any reason.