Quote Originally Posted by Selkie View Post
Same here. My dad (the Original Miser) refused to get A/C until after my siblings & I grew up and moved out of the house. Pittsburgh summers can get hot/humid, and my dad was so cheap that he wouldn't let us even run fans at night (he claimed it might set the house on fire, but he was too worried about the extra few $$ it might cost--the man was an engineer at IBM, so we weren't exactly destitute!! ).

Running ceiling fans helps, as does keeping the blinds shut.

DH and I went for a walk around noon. When the sun was behind clouds, it wasn't that bad, but being in the sun was brutal. Back to work tomorrow, unfortunately. I have packed a sweater because my office will be like a meat locker.

I couldn't survive without fans - that moving air thing. I get car sick if don't have air blowing at my face, so often I'm driving around in the winter with the seat heater on, the heat blowing on my feet and my windows open.

We had window air units when I was young - at certain temps we were allowed to use them - otherwise it was the hang out in the basement (where my bedroom was anyways) or close the blinds & use fans. Fans really don't use that much electricity, I think - at least I use them constantly!

My brother tells this funny story about how when we were young and we used to go visit some family friends who lived in a double wide trailer in Alabama - that he always thought they were rich, 'cause they used their air conditioning constantly - which we weren't allowed to do 'cause of the expense.

My other brother just emailed to tell me that even his chihuahua wants air conditioning today - typically when he puts the AC on, his dog goes out to the un-airconditioned sunroom and sits under one of the skylights to stay warm or wants to stay outside. The dog hates AC.