No air here either. We have a split ranch and the basment it so much cooler. We stained the cement and have large rugs in the family room,our bedroom and my scrap/stamp room. It usually stays below 75 degrees and we have a HUGE dehumidifier. The problem arises when we have to cook or I have to can, then I have a sauna for the night!! But I try and plan around the weather as best as I can.

In the winter we heat with wood. But the woodburner sits up on cement blocks and there is a metal shield on the wall to divert heat and the chimney is lined. We clean the chimney twice a year. We have used wood for 20 years. We also have electric baseboard, but rarely use it,usually only when we are gone for a weekend.

Glad I don't have to worry about gas costs when it comes to heating!!

Julie

karenteacher:

As far as winter blankets go - I crocheted one for myself out of two strands of regular weight acrylic yarn (the dog lays on it, and I wanted to be able to wash it) and a large hook - 1 blanket made that way is warmer than two made out of a single strand.

Thanks for the tip. We have a king sized bed. I was thinking that I used two or more strands of yarn I could make a giant granny square blanket that would fit the top pretty well.

Funny, I can crochet a three strand shell stitch very well, as long as I round the corners it works out well, but I haven't figured out how to go back and forth with the shell stitich without it getting all oout of shape. That's one I want to try though.

We haven`t put in our AC units yet ...trying not to but hubby says by August I will be begging him to put them in . I thought it would be a lot cooler up here in the mtns than it was where i lived in the city but there is not much difference. On top of this mtn with few trees ...the sun can be terrible in the afternoons . But he is at work all day and it cools off at nite so I keep telling him not to put them in . If we put them in it Will be too easy to turn them on . We will be living in the camper most of the week now.....only home 2 days ..so I think we should be able to handle it without the AC .

Not sure where we will be living this winter but if we are  home ...we plan to make a living/bed room in the basement where the wood heater is to save on electric .

lynn:

I thought it would be a lot cooler up here in the mtns than it was where i lived in the city but there is not much difference. On top of this mtn with few trees ...the sun can be terrible in the afternoons . 

That surprises me a little that it doesn't stay cooler up in the mountains, but I suppose it depends on where you are located. When I was a kid I remember that we camped on top of one of the smokey mountains (a place called lookout mountain. I think there are a lot of those...LOL) and when we woke up in the morning we were surrounded by clouds and the temperature was about 55 degrees. It stayed pretty cool and we ended up swiming in the pool in the fog. I don't think we swam for long for turning blue. LOL

karin, check a couple of patterns. most end with double crochet etc for shell patterns. I love shell patterns so I have made a few baby blankets in that stitch in various forms.

We have to use our a/c almost daily for about 4 months of the year. Having daily 90+degrees makes that necessary. Our electric bill triples during those months. We have 2 window units, of 11,000 BTUs each. They keep the rooms they are in about 20 degrees cooler than outside, depending on the humidity. When the weather gets over 110, which it does occasionally, it's cooler than outside but still not very comfortable. Two summers ago we had 3 days of 117 degrees, inside it was 97!, that is the best the a/c would do. Some day I hope to have central heating and air, hopefully it would be more efficient at cooling. Edey

I use my a/c in the living room mostly to briefly remove humidity. Otherwise I am running the whole house fan in the nightime to bring the cool air in and move the warm air out.

My son has asthma and has not had a problem with our indoor wood/oil boiler or wood fireplace. Cigarette smoke and cats are the kiss of death, however.

I've lived here 5 yrs and have only paid for heat once...when we first moved in.

 I've always had the synthetic comforters which can be washed.  The down ones are probably warmer though, but with menopause getting too hot is an issue too.  A couple of years ago I made a blanket for our oldest daughter who lives in Michigan.  At the time she lived in an apartment which wasn't very well insulated.  She kept her heat really low, like about 60 when at home and always wore a heavy sweatshirt.  She complained about the apartment being cold but it was her way to keep the costs down.  So, I made her a blanket with some heavy fleece fabric.  It was only $1 a yard at Wal-Mart and 60" wide so I bought about 5 yards.  I doubled it over and lined it with an old flannel sheet. She loved it but said it was almost too warm!!!  I also bought her a "safe" space heater which she did use while watching TV.