Heat Wave!!!

The Heat is On!  Here are some tips I have learned over the years of trying to conserve on my electric bill. There were some days in the 115 heat in Hemet, CA that I wore a wet T-shirt around the house with fans running and no a/c!

Of course, the biggest saver of all is insulation.  I am lucky that this house has double drywall on the outside walls, a wonderful attic fan, a crawl space that keeps the floors cool, and the vinyl siding which has an additional insulation under it, so my home stays about 74 throughout the day with NO a/c until around 4 to 5 if it is above 84 or so. I still follow these rules, though.

First REMEMBER YOUR PETS!  Water, folks.  They need clean (CLEAN) fresh water.  They need to be brought in during the hot days…smaller dogs especially have a hard time breathing (like pugs and Shitz Tzu's…those with short muzzles).  They can't pant fast enough to cool their little bodies down.

First, bring in the cooler air. Open windows and doors and if you have a fan, position one to bring in air. Some people put them in the door to pull air in, some to push air out. However, my fireman brother let me in on a secret. Heat is high, cool air is low, so if you are using the fan in a doorway, bring the air IN. The warmer higher heat will be forced out at the top of the windows and doorways. Also turn on exhaust fans to draw it away.

Then close your house up. If the house is still warmer than outside turn on the a/c now before it is tooooo hot, and before the hoards begin a brown-out process! Just get the house cooler. Turn all your window blinds so that the front of the blind is down and the back, toward the window side, is up. Heat rises you know! 

Turn on a vent over the stove and keep the exhaust fan in the bathroom on. They both take the upper heat out VERY effectively. You'd be smart to have an attic fan installed, too. All in all, these will help keep your house cooler for 3 to 5 degrees at less than 1/8 the cost of the a/c for the same time period.

Keep all your windows covered to help stem heat transfer, put your ceiling fans on so they are blowing air down…doesn't make a difference in air temp either way, up or down, but down means it is blowing on you and THAT is why it feels cooler. If all your seating and bed areas are against the wall, set it so it flows up to the ceiling and the air then moves down the wall to where you might be sitting. You will find that you won't be using the a/c as long, and may even use at a higher setting and still feel quite comfy! Helps a lot!!

STAY COOL!!

Put your feet in water!!!!!

(for my AZ friends, our heat wave starts at 90! heh, heh! But we are to be in the 100's for a couple of days).

Crocodile Booties - Bonita Pattern

I finished one bootie of the Bonita Pattern for Crocodile Adult Booties.  This is the Ravelry link. If you can't use the link, they do have their ow web site under Bonita Patterns.

I used what was called worsted weight, but it is more like a DK weight.  Unforgettable by Red Heart. I would not recommend this yarn for this project. If you can find something more substantial in a long colorway, great. Otherwise I'd say try a worsted weight in one color.  This yarn is slippery and too flimsy for booties.

And booties they are…the ankle part is huge. At least huge on me. I have small ankles, and yet the foot part fits well at size 9 1/2.

I will finish the second one and send them on to my niece and she will put in the buttons on the side so she can close it where she'd like to make them fit her better.

Foot part went fast….

Scales not so hard to do! Yay!

Almost finished…. 

FINISHED!

Yum, yum, yum!

CURRIED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

(My way)

Have you ever tried a butternut squash soup recipe?  My lovely step-daughter makes it from scratch.  It's wonderful! BUT - I am not a scratch type person, so I looked for an easier way to make it.

I found a box of Pacific organic creamy butternut squash soup (yes that is the whole name, and not capitalized on the box just that way).

It makes about three bowls of soup for me.  I don't measure so perhaps you should do so to your own tastes.  I put in "about" two teaspoons of Hot Madras Curry Powder  (it's hotter and tastier - I find the more I make the soup the more curry I can use).  

If I don't have any pears or applesauce to whip in there (use a blender on the pears) then I add a half cup of apple cider or a tablespoon of sugar.  It cuts the heat and cuts the dull taste of the curry. The "real recipe" calls for pureed apples or pears.

I'll vary the combination from here. Most times I use a teaspoon of onion powder, sometimes some garlic powder, and I use Jane's Krazy Mixed-Up Salt as it has it's own seasonings. I just sprinkle to taste.

If I have coconut milk, I will add that. If I don't, then I will add some coconut oil.  When you stir it up it will emulsify and you get just a hint of coconut.

Sprinkle some cilantro on top, and if you don't have any fresh, then add some dried to the soup while you heat it up! Still yummy!

There are times I find crisp bacon crumbled on top is great, or if I have made it too spicy hot, I can add some sour cream or sweet cornbread croutons.

Sorry…no photos, but will add some when I make it tonight! ETA: Photo and corrections to ingredient names added! Enjoy!

Happy Eating!

YUM!