Saturday, May 31, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Summer Lovin'
Oh, Chickens, is it officially summer where you are? Because Chicago skipped right over Spring, bringing us straight from May snow to May hot and muggy. Blergh.
But I am happy to report that while I am a bit sticky at the moment, help is coming.
Because, AIR CONDITIONING.
I may have mentioned before that Freon is my biggest vice. I don't just like my house cool in the summer swelter, I want to be able to hang meat in the bedroom. I keep my car temp on low and the fan on high from June through September. I worship at the feet of air conditioning.
Ironic that I have lived over 20 years in a home without central air, no?
For the past few years, every May my dear handyman Tony would arrive to schlep the five window units and their custom plywood window platforms up from the basement where I would clean off the gunk and rinse out the filters and he would get them into my windows with a complicated series of scraps of wood, and pieces of foam to fill in the gaps and racks. One 18,000 BTU commercial monster in the living room, and then normal ones in both bedrooms, the dining room and the kitchen. I would set all of them for 70 and leave them running nonstop day and night without ever turning them off until mid October. Then in late November, sure that no more random heatwaves would descend, Tony would return to undo the whole process. Complicated, annoying, deeply unattractive, but the apartment? Nice and cool from end to end.
But no more. Because tomorrow the HVAC guys come to install two enormous compressors to attach to our forced air system, and my contractor has promised me arctic chill by tomorrow night.
Which is good, because a couple more days of hot and muggy and just a little damp here at the old homestead, and I might be tempted to call Tony to go get the old gear out of storage and give a girl a little relief.
Keep your fingers crossed that by weeks end I can report back that we are having a polar vortex in my living room.
And while it is a day late, I do want to take a moment to publicly remember the servicemen and their families who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. I salute you all.
Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath
But I am happy to report that while I am a bit sticky at the moment, help is coming.
Because, AIR CONDITIONING.
I may have mentioned before that Freon is my biggest vice. I don't just like my house cool in the summer swelter, I want to be able to hang meat in the bedroom. I keep my car temp on low and the fan on high from June through September. I worship at the feet of air conditioning.
Ironic that I have lived over 20 years in a home without central air, no?
For the past few years, every May my dear handyman Tony would arrive to schlep the five window units and their custom plywood window platforms up from the basement where I would clean off the gunk and rinse out the filters and he would get them into my windows with a complicated series of scraps of wood, and pieces of foam to fill in the gaps and racks. One 18,000 BTU commercial monster in the living room, and then normal ones in both bedrooms, the dining room and the kitchen. I would set all of them for 70 and leave them running nonstop day and night without ever turning them off until mid October. Then in late November, sure that no more random heatwaves would descend, Tony would return to undo the whole process. Complicated, annoying, deeply unattractive, but the apartment? Nice and cool from end to end.
But no more. Because tomorrow the HVAC guys come to install two enormous compressors to attach to our forced air system, and my contractor has promised me arctic chill by tomorrow night.
Which is good, because a couple more days of hot and muggy and just a little damp here at the old homestead, and I might be tempted to call Tony to go get the old gear out of storage and give a girl a little relief.
Keep your fingers crossed that by weeks end I can report back that we are having a polar vortex in my living room.
And while it is a day late, I do want to take a moment to publicly remember the servicemen and their families who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. I salute you all.
Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Springing into Spring
Hello Chickens! Is it spring yet where you are? So far we haven't had any Spring. We did randomly have three days of summer, over 80 and humid as Hades, but now we are back in the 40s, and it is a lovely Fall.
The good news is that after diligently not touching or conversing with the plants Charming Suitor put in last summer, I managed to be near them and have them survive! There is something weirdly giddy-making about waking up and peeking out to see those shoots of green getting taller and unfurling their leaves. How I hate my Black Thumbs and my killing spirit that cannot keep a plant alive! But CS has the touch, which makes me dream of a not-too-distant future when he can fill tubs with herbs and other vegetation on the eventual deck. I? Will look and not touch. If the temperature ever manages to get above 60 we'll go pick a large colorful coleus and install it in the urn on the front porch and our agrarian impulses will be fulfilled for the season.
For those of you in the greater Chicagoland area, I hope you will save the date for a very special event.
Sunday June 22, 1 pm at City Winery the DREAM TEAM is getting together for Books and Bubbly!
Me, Jen Lancaster, Amy Hatvany, Sarah Pekkanen and Sarah Jio.
Oh yeah. Take that in for just a moment. Frankly, I keep pinching myself that I even get to ATTEND an event with these amazing women, let alone be on the panel.
Because these ladies? Rock my literary world. We will be chatting about anything and everything, with plenty of bubbles to go around. Tickets are only $5, and once they go on sale I will post a link. So tell your girlfriends and your book club and get it in the calendar in ink, and stay tuned for more details.
And in case you want to brush up on their latest books, which I cannot recommend strongly enough, here they are:
The latest from my BFF, and yes, I do make an occasional appearance....BUY HERE.
Loved this book so much I blurbed the crap out of it. BUY HERE.
Another page turner, the perfect thing for your upcoming long weekend or summer vacation. BUY HERE.
My other favorite Sarah, her latest is available for pre-order (May 27) but if you aren't up to date on her backlist, be sure to order her others as well. PRE-ORDER HERE.
And, you know, just in case you may not have gotten around to it...
BUY HERE.
Stay tuned for more renovation details next week...the big reveal of some flooring choices, why we love polished concrete, and why bold design choices are the name of the game.
Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath
The good news is that after diligently not touching or conversing with the plants Charming Suitor put in last summer, I managed to be near them and have them survive! There is something weirdly giddy-making about waking up and peeking out to see those shoots of green getting taller and unfurling their leaves. How I hate my Black Thumbs and my killing spirit that cannot keep a plant alive! But CS has the touch, which makes me dream of a not-too-distant future when he can fill tubs with herbs and other vegetation on the eventual deck. I? Will look and not touch. If the temperature ever manages to get above 60 we'll go pick a large colorful coleus and install it in the urn on the front porch and our agrarian impulses will be fulfilled for the season.
For those of you in the greater Chicagoland area, I hope you will save the date for a very special event.
Sunday June 22, 1 pm at City Winery the DREAM TEAM is getting together for Books and Bubbly!
Me, Jen Lancaster, Amy Hatvany, Sarah Pekkanen and Sarah Jio.
Oh yeah. Take that in for just a moment. Frankly, I keep pinching myself that I even get to ATTEND an event with these amazing women, let alone be on the panel.
Because these ladies? Rock my literary world. We will be chatting about anything and everything, with plenty of bubbles to go around. Tickets are only $5, and once they go on sale I will post a link. So tell your girlfriends and your book club and get it in the calendar in ink, and stay tuned for more details.
And in case you want to brush up on their latest books, which I cannot recommend strongly enough, here they are:
The latest from my BFF, and yes, I do make an occasional appearance....BUY HERE.
Loved this book so much I blurbed the crap out of it. BUY HERE.
And, you know, just in case you may not have gotten around to it...
Stay tuned for more renovation details next week...the big reveal of some flooring choices, why we love polished concrete, and why bold design choices are the name of the game.
Yours in Good Taste,
The Polymath
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)