I HATE concrete dust! And I hate it even worse when it's in the kitchen. But that's what we're dealing with right now, as we try to install a/c in the kitchen so we can cook in comfort.
Actually, it's not just for cooking that we need a/c in there. It's because the bottom level is 1000 sq feet and there is one mini-split in the living room and one in the bedroom, and then nothing for the dining room, kitchen, passageway, bathroom and laundry room. The lower level is open concept - the bathroom is in the center of the house, with all the other rooms circled around it. No doors to keep just the living room cool, and so the a/c in there works continuously trying to keep the temperature at 26 degrees C while a lot of the cool air migrates through to the other non-a/c rooms.
We are hoping the large a/c installed in the kitchen will provide a balance and enable efficient cooling and comfort. Now that we have a door (sort of) across the kitchen entrance to the staircase upstairs, we should be able to run the a/c and not run up a huge electric bill. Well, that part is relative, of course, because electricity is so expensive here. We will only be running the a/c in any part of the house when the humidity is unbearable, as it has been the last couple of day.
Speaking of unbearable humidity...it's so humid that:
1. The dish of salt we use for cooking is now a puddle.
2. I am constantly sweating, even just sitting and doing nothing.
3. The clothes take longer to dry on the line.
4. The battery on my laptop fizzled out and died (and it's only 8 months old).
5. One salt shaker we had here ended up with a rusty top and I had to throw it out.
The salt shakers at the restaurants, that have rice inside to absorb the humidty, don't even work. The holes are plugged with lumps of wet salt. We shake and shake, but nothing comes out. We wipe the top, pound the shaker on the table, and try again - still nothing. Between abusing the salt shaker and the ketchup bottle by pounding, shaking, and smacking them, we don't make such a great impression.
We have a salt shaker here at home that has rice inside, but the holes are a little too big and so raw rice comes out along with the salt. Not a great thing to dig into food that should not have hard lumps, and find hard lumps.
So next shopping trip I will be on a search for a decent salt shaker that will meet all my criteria.
I am miserable and uncomfortable because I'm too hot and soaking wet with sweat. However, I can't wait until they finish making a mess in the kitchen so I can pull everything out from under the counters and give it a good scrub - something it needed anyway. I'm sure the a/c in the kitchen won't be working when I get down to it, but I'll put on the living room and bedroom a/c and that will be better than nothing.
So that's my plan for this long weekend. I'm just thrilled it IS a long weekend - lately I just live for weekends, and when they end up being holiday weekends, that's even better. Hoping you all have a wonderful long weekend too!
9 comments:
I'm sending you COOL thoughts from Michigan. It is a lovely 77 degrees today.
Believe it or not, it's humid here in Arizona right now too! Not like jungle humidity, but enough that you really feel it. We went to the gym this morning and figured out that they must be using what they call a swamp cooler to air condition. No wonder we're dripping wet! Oh well, maybe I'll lose water weight? Hope you get the kitchen A/C done and it's cool!
Hello Sue and Miguel!
I read your blog almost every day. Thank you for letting us live on Isla vicariously through reading your goings on. No need for A/C in Ontario so far;it's been rainy the last few weeks and long range forecast is for more of the same. Hope to see you next March.
Tom and Brenda
We need to make a repair to one of the walls in a bedroom. I keep delaying it because of the ensuing mess. I keep my salt in a plastic tub and gave up on salt shakers long ago.
Have you heard anything about somebody hanging themselves with their belt off the cliffs?
Sue, as one with experience with humidity - we only installed A/C after 38 years in FLORIDA - forget the rice and put your salt shaker in the refrigerator between meals -and the box of salt too....it works like a mini-A/C unit and helps a LOT in keeping it dry! I suppose you could get some of those packets of salt to take with you when you eat out....keep them in the fridge too!
I don't know that a salt grinder would be any better Sue. But I have a salt grinder I got at Costco here. You might want to try that at home. If you can't find one I'll bring you one next time I come to Mexico.
Hope you have a great 3 day weekend. They just go so fast.
Sorry about the humidty. I couldn't live with it. On Kauiai today at 1;00 it was 88 degrees with 46% humidity and a nice tradewind. It was perfect. My kind of day.
The 13.5 peso store has nice tall shakers. I feel your pain!
K - thanks, but it didn't work. :-)
Beck - I don't know about you but I put on weight when it's humid - I seem to absorb humidity like a sponge, and I'm puffy and heavier. Still waiting for the a/c to be connected, but all the dirty work is done.
Tom and Brenda - Enjoy Ontario, it will get better. See you in 2010!
Wayne - good luck on the repair - funny how a small job can be such a mess. The downside of living in concrete structures. And I'll try the plastic container - I do that with sugar, not sure I've tried it with salt before.
Leslie - I do keep my bag of salt in the fridge, so that might work, but we're so used to it being right there on the counter when we cook or eat, that it will be a hard habit to break. But thanks for the tip!
Bennie - I bought one of those sea salt jars with the grinder on the top. But you know what? You can't grind a puddle? Yup, that melted too. A waste of $3.50. And yeah, the weekend is already gone - wish every day was a weekend lately!
Jackie - I guess we sort of adjust, because I think I'm dealing with the humidity better than I used to, although I have LONG way to go yet. Enjoy Hawaii!
Zina - thanks, I will check it out.
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