Record heat wave, and my swamp cooler

WELCOME to B.W. and Carol!  Thanks for signing on to follow Me and My Dog.  I appreciate it, and hope you enjoy reading my posts as much as I am enjoying reading yours. : )

Yesterday was soooo HOT in San Diego.  Here in San Marcos (north county) my computer showed this at 4:30:

 107 DEGREES - WOW

SDG&E actually did turn off my air conditioning in the afternoon.  I realized it was getting warmer and muggier, even though the A/C was cranking away, and then I realized it wasn't putting out any more cold air.  

On the 5:00 news they had a story about the heat, and said we set an "all-time power usage record" in San Diego and Monday was the hottest day of the year in San Diego County (actually it was an all time record breaker for the whole area including Los Angeles).  I'm lucky I was off, I was able to stay inside with my A/C until it was shut off (only for a few hours).

I have a back-up system, which I'm going to bring with me when I'm full-timing, if I can fit it somewhere in the rig, and it doesn't use too much power.  I'll have to check on that before I decide for sure.  (I still have to learn about the energy stuff, solar, propane, batteries, deep charge batteries, deep cycle batteries - HELP! - but not yet. )

It's a portable swamp cooler.  I just roll it wherever I want it, add lots of ice and water, plug it in and turn it on.  The one I have now has lots of different settings, and a remote control, so I don't even have to get up to use it.  It has a timer in case I want to use it for specific period of time then have it turn itself off.

This isn't the exact one I have, but very similar.  Boy, do they make a difference! 

When I was in Pollock Pines, we had a very hot summer and I didn't have air conditioning in my house.  I was working at Chile Bar Slate Mine at the time. I worked in the office for the General Manager, but I was still considered a miner, had to wear jeans and steel toed boots, and had a full face respirator that I used occasionally when the slate dust wasn't under control.

I'll tell you, I'd get home from work, turn on the swamp cooler, throw all my clothes in the washer, jump in the shower, and when I'd finally sit down in the living room (which was upstairs in that house) it was already cooling down.  I'd sit right in front of this little baby, and it was heaven.  

I don't use it much here in San  Diego, but I've brought it out a few times this summer.  Sure was glad I had it yesterday.

From me and Katie, have a nice comfortable day, everyone!  : )

My weekend, the HEAT, and new app for Kindle

WELCOME to my new follower, Gypsy Jane! I am a gypsy at heart, myself, and appreciate you following along with us.  Welcome aboard!

WOW, on the TV news they just said it's 105 degrees at my office in San Diego right now at 11:00 a.m.  That's HOT, especially for San Diego.  I'm home today because I worked on Friday, and it's 98 at my house and climbing.

Today I slept in until around 9:30 and it was hot already, sun streaming into my living room, so I closed everything up and turned on the A/C (probably only the third or fourth time this year I've used A/C).  Catch it early and I'm usually good for the day in weather like this. Plus, I'm on a special SDG&E (San Diego Gas & Electric) program where I allow them to shut off my A/C periodically at peak usage times during summer months and I get a credit of $100 in December.  That paid for my December and most of my January bill last year.  Since I don't usually turn my A/C on, unless it's super hot, that's a total win for me.  I have a feeling they might shut me down for a while this afternoon, so I'm cooling things down now. 

I must be getting old. When I get home from a trip, after all the driving, visiting, playing with grandkids, etc., it takes me weeks to get back to normal. I've been so tired since I got back-and a little under the weather, but I've also not been able to sleep, which is unusual for me. Today I'm finally back to normal.

Saturday I slept in late, did virtually nothing all day, then dressed and took Katie out to grocery shop in the early evening, had the car washed, and stopped at the pet store to get food and treats for Katie.

I got her a cool new toy, a ball with both sides cut out, and you put a treat into the cutout, and the dog has to work at it to get it eaten.  She loves it! It was kind of expensive, but it has kept her busy now for two days, and she hasn't finished it yet. I bought a refill, too, which I'll give her in a couple of days.

Double sided Everlasting Treat Ball.

The ball comes with one "edible" insert, so you have to buy a spare Everlasting Treats, and use one of them.

This is what I usually give Katie:

It's just a simple ball with a hole in it - you put in treats and the dog noses it around and the treats fall out as it rolls.  It takes Katie a while to empty it.  I don't put "treats" in, I put in another kind of dog food, so although she thinks she's getting a treat, she's actually getting good, nutritious dog food.

Sunday I woke up early and realized it was going to be hot. It's was 100 degrees, or close to it, on Saturday, with the same predicted for Sunday and today. So, I brewed my cup of coffee, put the laundry in the washing machine, dusted the house, vacuumed, put the laundry in the dryer, stripped and changed the bed, cleaned bathrooms, hung up and/or put away clothes from the dryer, got everything done that I've been putting off for three weeks. The house is shining!  Then I scrambled some eggs, made another cup of coffee, and sat down to catch up on my blog reading. I turned on my air conditioner yesterday, too.

My condo isn't insulated, at least I don't think so, but the previous owners put in double paned windows and I have a neighboring wall on the north and south, so I stay warm in the winter without the heater and cool in the summer without my A/C.  Most days.

My plan for today is to catch up on my blog reading, maybe play some computer games, and do a bit of  Kindle reading.  I'll probably take Katie for a walk in the evening when it cools down.  My house is clean, my shopping and laundry are done, and so I can just take it easy and rest up for work tomorrow.

By the way, I've downloaded a free Kindle app on my new Droid2.  I found out this morning there's a free Kindle app for the computer, too, either PC or MAC.

 I like the way the Kindle app looks.

Amazon.com has lots of free books you can download, which is what I usually do.  If you download one free book, usually other free ones will come up on your screen.  Just double check before you download it to make sure it IS free.

I just downloaded the app, and all 158 archived Kindle books from my account at Amazon.com are now on my computer to access whenever I want.  Some I've read, some I haven't, but now they are all available to me on my Kindle, phone, or PC.  I don't need to have my Kindle with me to read them.  Pretty amazing!

That new Kindle looks pretty nice, but I wonder how the sales will be now that they are offering free apps to use your phone and computer just like a Kindle.

Before I finish, I just checked The Weather Channel for San Marcos, the (north San Diego county) city I live in, and it's 107 degrees right now, at 12:15.  I haven't been outside yet, but it sure is nice having A/C!!!  The little weather gadget at the bottom of my blog is for Encinitis, which is on the coast directly west from me about a 15 minute drive.  The closest I could get to San Marcos for the gadget.  It's where my son and his family live and since it's on the coast, it is a little different, but usually pretty close.

From me and Katie, have a nice Monday and a good evening, everyone!  : )