If it gets any colder, I am going to Florida.
Oh wait.
This is Florida.
Welcome to Florida, the sunshine state.
I woke up alive and I am so super lucky and deeply grateful to have HEAT and clothes.
RV's are notoriously drafty. I am using both electric heat and the propane furnace to stay warm. It's almost 60F degrees inside now. Maybe I will nudge the thermostat a wee bit higher. I topped up the propane tank recently.
Soon as I wake up, yeah, I am up, just not awake. Anyhow I wistfully think I might crank up the stereo and dance in hopes of warming up further.
Ever seen a puffy arthritic middle aged body stuffed in 5 layers of clothes plus 2 sets of socks stuffed into ankle boots try to disco dance in a small RV?
It's hilarious!
Like being stuck inside my own cartoon.
The straw hat that helps hold heat in my silly head is especially trendy with a scarf wrapped around my neck.
For reasons I can not fathom, the RV industry built millions of RV's that are not the least bit efficient when it comes to energy costs.
Another mystery is the mass production of imported polyester clothing. I miss good old made in America, 100% cotton. Since my childhood I've had severe skin reactions to polyester. Much of my childhood I wore hand-me-downs. They never fit right and my tireless mother was always trying to alter them to fit. I guess my body isn't built to standard size. Off and on I had this horrific skin rash coming and going. Then one year when school started, my mother decided to sew up new outfits for me to wear to school. Maybe I wouldn't have this red scaly skin problems. I was ecstatic. New clothes, not hand-me-downs!
The local fabric shop had just got in a beautiful line of polyester fabrics.She made me these gorgeous dresses to wear to school. I felt so special. We didn't have a clothes dryer, my mother hung clothes out to dry, summer and winter, then tirelessly ironed the wrinkles out of them. Polyester meant virtually no ironing! My busy mother was ecstatic. But my skin tuned beet red and began itching and breaking out. It was very difficult for me to make friends at school. There I was with red blotchy skin and a chronic itch. Nothing like watching someone stand there and scratch and itch like a flea bitten dog to make the other kids and adults stand back 10 feet away wondering what kind of cooties I had.
My mother dragged me from doctor to doctor to dermatologist before they finally figured out it was the polyester fabrics. Meanwhile I felt like a lab rat subjected to a mountain of fruitless tests and treatments. My beautiful dresses were given away. My mother spent days and nights sewing up new school clothes for me in cotton. This time she made blouses and skirts. My skin cleared up and my overworked mother was ironing clothes again. The school had a dress code that wasn't casual like today's standards. In those days, bluejeans were not acceptable wear for school kids. Girls weren't even allowed to wear pants to school! Boys had to wear dress pants, not bluejeans. Older boys had to wear a shirt with a collar and a tie too. In later years, bluejeans became acceptable wear at school for both girls and boys.
Awhile back I bought a warm tunic that was labeled deceptively. The label on the back of the neck said 100% cotton. After I broke out in a scaly itchy red rash, I discovered that a second label was hidden inside near the hem that read 100% polyester. Turns out the little semi-circle insert in the back of the tunic up around the neck area was 100% cotton but the rest of the shirt fabric was 100% polyester. I felt like an idiot that I had not noticed this before.
Life is goof.
Note to self:
Smile! Laugh! Giggle!
While writing this the sun came up and here is my view out the window. Clear sunshine and it's now a balmy 27F degrees.
My husband hates to wear PJs that are not 100% cotton. Turns out the only place I could find 100% men's PJs was Norstrums at an outrageous price. So now every few years we buy 100% cotton fabric and I make him PJs. They seem to last about five years. We try to find bargain fabric, but his eye always seems to go to that which is not on sale so a pair of Jammies still runs $40-$60 (man's long sleeve, long leg PJs take about 6 yards, most good cottons cost $7-$10 per yard. Buttons can cost $50, and thread $3.
ReplyDeleteI know your might not like this idea but at least at night put some styrofoam in your windows it will help a lot.
ReplyDeleteAlso do you have a curtain that closes off the cab from the living area? If not hang something in that area you will be surprised how much heat you will save. I had a class c at one time and I was amazed at the difference
ReplyDeletei don't react well to poly clothes either. i also don't react well to some detergents. dyes and perfumes not at all. happy birthday. raz.
ReplyDeleteI prefer natural fabrics too, i.e. cotton, merino wool, and silk. They are also expensive and are becoming harder to find (hmmm . . . old clothing in second hand shops). I wear a cotton turtle neck under my wool to prevent itching. Cotton is one of the most chemical laden fabrics in existence -- from the pesticides used during growing and chemicals later in processing so I look for organically grown. Sigh . . .
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I lived in Missouri and became allergic to the cold also known as cold urticaria. I would break out in blistery, itching hives when the temperature was in the 50-60's. This problem went away as I aged.
I also apply bubble wrap with water to my windows. It stays up, lets in light and the air filled bubbles block a lot of heat and cold. Also colorful "window films" are helpful at times. The downside is you can't see what is outside unless you have a gap.