The New Place!

 I have been slowly moving into the new place for the last two days.  It's an older house with lots of Character!   (Wood floors, wood flooring,  old style windows....  etc.)    Actually, the windows are exactly like the ones we had in Iowa back in the day.    So they are not as foreign to me as you would think...

That being said, I have spent the majority of the last two days combating the HEAT WAVE that has beset the Midwest.  You know that the heat is bad when you are OBVIOUSLY aware on how the hot weather is effecting your personality.    

Example:   I find myself to have zero patience!  And I seem to be uncomfortable any time I am not in some form of indoor air conditioning.  I can only imagine how it is affecting people who are not me! 

If only it were that BIG!

So the first night here, I realized I would have to make AC a priority.    I spent the first night setting up a newly purchased AC unit.  And it was worth every penny!    Sure it is small, but so is my room...   And that means less cubic feet to cool down.  It all worked out. 

But then there is the rest of the place.    I asked Christina what it was like for her when she lived here. (This was her first place in Kenosha when she moved here..)   And she said you will probably need 3 units to keep the house cool.   I figured I would have to buy another one anyway, but wouldn't you know it... there was someone selling one at a "moving sale" just three houses down.   

It was a big one, and I figured it would work in the living room  perfectly.  And the price was substantially less than a new one from the store...   So I got it. 

But there is a risk in all bargains.    And for this one,   the unit seems to be low on Freon gas.  Everything works on it....  but it is old, and older units eventually lose the Freon and need to be recharged.   But "small" units like this do not have a recharging port....   So it now is pretty much useless.  

(That is not exactly true!  I know how to add Refrigerant, but the gas is EPA regulated.    I have read that you can purchase it easily on Ebay,   And you need a splicing bracket and some hoses and meters.   But that will take too long.    And by the time I am able to do it,  I will die of heat exhaustion and not save as much as I wanted....)  

Regardless,  I finally feel like I have reached my "Midway Moment"  in fighting the heat.  For those of you who are not into History,   the battle of Midway was the turning point in the Pacific during World War 2.  (And I just watched the movie on Peacock... so the reference was fresh in my brain...) 

I ended up purchasing another unit from Sam's and it is already making a HUGE difference!  I would walk out of my small bedroom into a sauna... But now, with each passing minute,  the air is slowly cooling down to an acceptable level of comfort.  Whew!  

As for Dave,   I have closed off his room as he is not here.   He is off in ALASKA enjoying the cool temps and fresh air that only God's Country can provide.  
  When he eventually gets back, he will have to make the decision if he wants a small AC unit in his bedroom.    Who knows!   Maybe the two AC units that are currently working will be enough for the entire house and no additional units will be required.  

In addition to the war on Heat..   I have been working on gathering up some odds and ends to make the place livable.   ( Now that the environment has been taken care of...) I recently went to IKEA to buy a bed for myself.  

I LOVE IKEA!   Not only because of the Swedish nature of the brand... (And my family tree....)  That is to say: Simple, compact, AFFORDABLE!    But also because the furniture comes with "Some assembly required!"   

And I LOVE assembling stuff!

And to make it even more challenging..  IKEA usually adds instructions that are vague or confusing.     And have NO written instructions.    

Now I know that they do this because most of the world is illiterate. (That is the snobby teacher in me...   or maybe it's the heat again...) But the pictures could use a sentence of two to clarify some things.  I'm just saying. 

None of that matters for me, because I never use the instructions anyway.   Even with the pictures, I treat it more like a puzzle:   Trying out each piece until I get something to looks right.   This usually means that I have to disassemble and reassemble it several times to get the results that look like the finished picture.   But hey!  It's the Journey, not the destination, right?   And I enjoy the process. 

So now I have a really cool bed that fits neatly in one corner of my small room.   I can take it apart and set the bottom half next to the top for a larger bed if I eventually choose to upgrade.   (IKEA is so thoughtful in their engineering and design!)  Or I can split the bed and share it with someone if we have company come over!   Like one of those Futons or Hide-a-beds! 

That has not left much time for anything else.  I have not been able to do any nature walks this weekend.   I did manage to capture a Tiger Swallowtail and find some old Woodear mushrooms.   I have been looking for Wood Ear for a while now, and was so excited to finally find some.   Too bad it was old and dry.   I ended up spreading it around to other logs in the hopes that it will take root and bear fruit next year.  

Tonight,  Christina has offered her services for another IKEA visit.   She will help me by providing an additional perspective on the things I may need for the new place.   Mostly kitchen stuff, as I currently am not cooking in the kitchen.   But I know I will eventually need some utensils and plates for food and stuff.  And I'm sure there are other things I am missing, and will not realize it until I need it.  

That all being said,   This week is filling up with things I must do.   And I can't afford to waste time.. because every second counts.