Baby It's Cold Outside

Well, it was until today. Now, it’s a very warm 80 degrees and sunny--I love it!

But, for the past 5 days, it’s been down to the 40’s at night and low 60’s during the day. On the first cold morning, I got up literally shivering. I had on sweatpants and a t-shirt. I threw on a sweater, fuzzy footies and a pair of slippers. I went over to the thermostat which read 68 degrees.

Now, to many of you, that would normally be quite comfy. But, it’s not normal in this house! This little mobile home was built in 1970. It has very poor insulation. The windows are not glass except for 2 of them, the rest are Plexiglas. As one became broken it became replaced with cheaper Plexiglas. The high, cold Texas wind blows through every crack and crevice. I had my windows closed tight and my curtains were literally blowing in the wind!

I immediately cranked up the heat to 74 degrees and got my clear plastic tape and taped around all of my windows and found that did the trick. I then went around the house and taped up every gap and air leak I could find. It helped but it was still very drafty in here.

Mom got up and came out fully dressed right down to her shoes. She put on a sweater and sat in her chair. Then she threw a blanket over her legs. I told her I’d turned up the heat but it was too soon to make a difference yet. She said “Oh no, don’t do that! It’ll run up the gas bill!” Her gas bill averages $60 a month in the winter because of her habit of staying bundled up and wrapped in a blanket. She said I should do the same! Ummmm--No!

I told her I was not going to bundle up like an Eskimo, there was no reason for it. “Mom, you have the use of this wonderful invention called a furnace. It is capable of keeping you warm while wearing comfy clothes around the house.” She kept on about the cost--a cost she could well afford. I told her everyone else’s gas bill was double that and more and she has done very well keeping her cost down and should be proud of that. I told her I would check into the possibility of the gas company having a budget plan (it does) and we’d get signed up for it. She liked that idea, she’d never heard of it before.

So, she turned up the heat to 78 degrees. Once the house warmed up, she took off the blanket and her shoes, which she replaced with light slippers, and was much more comfortable. I told Sis about it when I saw her. She said she and my brothers argued with her every year about this same subject. They’d come over to visit and it would be almost frosty in here and Mom would be all wrapped up in blankets. Or she’d be running 2 electric heaters and have her electric blanket on. Well, that could pose a fire hazard and runs up the electric bill so it was a no-win situation there, but she didn’t see it that way.

So, we’ll see if she continues to be so agreeable throughout the rest of the season.

On another note, I had lunch 2 Sundays ago with my new found big sis, TJ. We ate and visited for 3 hours! It was a real trip down memory lane for both of us. We told each other of our past, growing up--our marriages--having children, etc.  We have many personality traits that are the same and have many likes and dislikes in common. I hope to see her again real soon. We have lots more to learn about each other.

I gotta go turn on the air conditioning. ‘Til next time..........