AT LONG LAST!

 

Finally, my old, kaput air-conditioner will be replaced! It lasted way longer than all the repair guys predicted. But sadly it gave up the ghost early last fall.

November the summer heat returned with a vengeance preceding the hurricane strike. I worried we'd be in for a hot winter. In the past I've sometimes worn my summer clothes straight thru Christmas. Instead it became cold -- and I mean as cold as Florida gets!

To those suffering thru ice, snow, and below zero temps I know this will seem silly. But I was raised in Florida and my body is s acclimated to warmer weather. And when I lost my A.C., I lost my heat as well.

The only place I had it was in my bathroom. But I couldn't very well bring my computer, big screen TV, and kitchen table in there!

I prefer cooler temps which is rare here, a chill in the air is refreshing and feels delightful but this was downright cold! I wore 2 robes over my nightgown and heavy leggings under my nightie and socks over the leggings, plus fuzzy boots over the socks. Also I wrapped a heavy scarf around my neck and put on one of my synthetic wigs. It felt like a fur coat for my head.

Christmas day was absolutely miserable! I was bundled in so many layers of clothing I waddled around my house. There was no tree and only minimal holiday decorations. 2022 was such an awful, stressful, and depressing year I didn't feel like celebrating.

Even without heat or air-conditioning my electric bill has soared! I may never erect another Christmas tree again! Those twinkling lights don't run on fairy dust. Even my neighbors didn't decorate the outside of their houses as elaborately as previous years.

Since it has been my life-long habit of watching TV in the dark I've been walking around my house unplugging as many lights and other things as I can do without. It may come to the point where I'll be using my hurricane lanterns to save electricity.

Always I've used my heat and A.C. sparingly. I kept my air-conditioning set at 80 which was better than the 90 plus degrees outside.

Back when my father was alive he not only insisted it be kept at 80, but also turned off at night with just the fans running. He claimed that if the windows were closed the house remained comfortable. -- He was wrong; nights were stuffy as well as hot! I used to open my big bedroom window because the air felt cooler outside.

Now due to costs I'm wondering if I can learn to live with the temp set at 82. I'm going to try anyway!

LIFE'S BUMPS, MUMBLES, & OTHER THINGS

 

As a writer I enjoy an exhilarating and riveting story in any form. I love movies! After my movie package became too pricey I started watching old westerns on GRIT.

Some I recall enjoying as a child on a small black & white screen. Now in color on a big screen television I notice things I didn't back then. One of which is women well into their 40's playing 20 somethings. It made me wonder how they pulled this off on gigantic theatre screens.

Perhaps audiences of that era were more willing to suspend disbelief. I read someplace that during the 1950's the average model was age 35 and a size 10. It wasn't until the 1960's that our society become youth obsessed and anyone over 30 was considered antique.

With the larger TV screens it's also easier to spot flaws in the character's faces in newer films. I notice despite my refusal to pay for HD. Often I spot all too familiar fleshy bumps. I'm tempted to scream at the actors, "Geez, get those things checked out by a dermatologist!" -- A similar one of mine turned out to be skin cancer.

My mother used to say that Hollywood people go to plastic surgeons as often as we visit our dentists. You can't really fault them for this, their looks are their livelihood. But skin cancer is another thing altogether.

I have some issues with many of today's movies. For one, too many actors mumble! Where are the directors? They're falling down on the job! Why can't these no-talents be taught to enunciate properly? -- And there is absolutely nothing wrong with my hearing! Yet no matter how many times rewind my DVR or turn up the sound, I'm still unable to decipher what was said.

But that's probably for the best in my case. What's with all this vile gutter language nowadays? Words have power and can be a tremendous force for good. Movies don't reflect society they shape it. I can understand an appropriate well placed profanity, but it should never dominate the dialogue. This is lazy writing! It's anything but progress and deserves to end.