love/hate relationship...

I wonder sometimes about Mother Nature.

Is she really that mean? Does she hate us delicate humans and like to see us suffer? Or does she just have a wicked sense of humor...

Earlier this year I made a pact to myself that I would last the entire summer without the use of air conditioning. Not a huge thing to accomplish in my estimation. My century old home isn't outfitted with central air. So if I want the benefit of air conditioning, I have work for it and install window units. It's not just the flick of a switch to get cold air circulating, you have to do some rather heavy labor. I hate lugging those cumbersome things up from the basement and installing them. I'm always fearful that I'm going to drop them and a.) smash my foot all to hell; or b.) watch the damn thing tumble down the stairs making gouges in the walls as it goes.

If I do manage to get the unit to it's destination without creating havoc, I then start to experience anxiety about dropping it out of the window when trying to place it precariously on the window sill. There are those few weeks of the year that are so hot, humid and miserable that Mother Nature has forced me to cave and put them in. At least in the bedrooms.

However, this year I wanted to see if I could make it through the entire summer without installing said air units. My daughter and I agreed that it would be our contribution to being more energy efficient. Our small way of helping our planet Earth. Plus, it sounds better than admitting it's just my being lazy. I really didn't want to go through the hassle and trepidation in dealing with it.

But a few weeks ago I was forced to a decision. A decision that I had promised myself I wouldn't do. But after getting out of the shower one morning, I was so hot that I immediately started sweating. I just couldn't take the heat anymore. I needed the air. I craved it. I had to have it.

The master suite in my house is up on the third floor. With the sun beating down on the roof combined with all the skylights, it can get a bit warm and stuffy in the middle of summer. I broke down. I couldn't go one more day without some cool air. So I installed one of the units into my bedroom window. After completing the installation I stood naked in front of it and reveled as the frigid air caressed me. At that moment I couldn't have cared less about the 100 degrees temperature it had reached outside. I had cold air. And it felt good.

That was three weeks ago. I ran the units for a total of two days. In those measly two days my electric bill increased by $40. $40! I'm glad I didn't need the air conditioning any longer than that, because it would have been my monthly budget that would have gone out the window.

So as the cooler weather started to roll in, I welcomed the change. My armpits were happy. My sinuses relieved and my wallet was glad.

That coupled with my love of sweaters, bonfires and the crisp chill of fall air...it's all good. Except I prefer to ease into a season change. Not have it immediately dumped on me like a truckload of bricks.

When I awoke this morning, shivering under my down comforter, I was not elated to find that the temperature outside had dropped an entire 30 degrees overnight. Thank you very much, Hurricane Danny. According to Weatherbug and the Farmers Almanac this season change is supposed to have been a week away. Did Mother Nature lose her copy? Why didn't she check the calender? Is she trying to make us all sick?

Normally when I hear people complain about weather, my response is, "Deal with it." My routine is to take a look outside in the morning, check the Internet for the weather forecast and dress accordingly. If it rains; I grab a raincoat or umbrella. If it's cold; I grab a jacket. If it's hot; I head for the beach.

I'm a little shell shocked today. I'm not ready for the weather of fall. Really. I'm not.

My bedroom is presently getting a little face lift. I needed to do some ceiling repair in my dressing room. Since I needed to move all my articles of clothing from the room for the work, I thought it prudent to go ahead and renovate the entire space. Smart thinking, right?

But...I can't get to my sweaters. I can't find my pants or long sleeve shirts. I only have access to shorts. My closed toed shoes are God knows where, so my tootsies are freezing in my flip-flops. Usually a planner, I unfortunately wasn't prepared for this...at all.

All of my clothes are in piles on their hangers in one of the spare bedrooms. They are stacked on top of the containers that hold my shoes and my sweaters. So I'm pretty much SOL for the next few days. Up the proverbial creek without a provided paddle.

I wish that Mother Nature would have been a little more timely in her delivering fall on my doorstep. Had I known, I would've pulled out a few things before packing all my belongings into Rubbermaids. I don't have an unlisted number. She could have easily called to let me know. Perhaps she might have asked Danny to take a little longer in his stroll up the coastline that has delivered to us this unseasonal chill.

I guess I'll just have to take my own advice and "deal with it". That or spend numerous hours digging through the piles of stuff to find something that will keep me relatively warm. It sure is a good thing I've finally got that air conditioner installed. Although at this point it doesn't appear that I'll need it any longer this year.

I need to warm up. Pronto. I'm freezing here. Maybe I'll make some tea and light a fire in the fireplace. I'll stand in front of it like I did with the air conditioner a few weeks ago.

Except this time...I'll keep my clothes on.

:-)