What do you mean we don't have any AC in our house...

Yes, I know it may be hard to believe that we live in a house that has no central Air Conditioning.  For most if not all Southerners, this is an automatic, something you expect when you purchase a house. Well, as my husband and I learned all too quickly in the PNW, it is NOT an automatic feature.  When we first moved out here we settled into a nice apartment. Nothing fancy, but it would do until we found a more permanent place to settle.  When we first looked at the apartment, they told us it did not have A/C, but we could provide our own window units if we wanted to….well, maybe it was because we were exhausted, or not thinking straight when we signed our lease (we were in Eugene for LITERALLY less than 24 hours to find a place to live), we did not even bat an eye when they told us this. Fastforward a few weeks, and we land in our new place, and its pretty warm outside, NOT Southern Warm , but warm…we open our windows and run a few fans and we are fine. We are told by seasoned "Oregonians", that the heat only lasts a few weeks and there is "no need" to purchase A/C.

Eight months or so go by, and we buy a house, with NO A/C.  By now we are used to the lingo and don't bat an eye, but my parents on the other hand are shocked. How could a house dwelling have now A/C. We explain the best we can about PNW weather , but no one believes us.  Come Mid July, we experience our first really "HOT" night…and I say "HOT" lightly…it is NOTHING like a hot southern day, but for a house with no A/C…its a bit toasty.  We are running all fans in our house like we are living in a wind tunnel.  We get through the few weeks of the summer, and then its rainy season.   Then we do what every other PNW person does…FORGET…how HOT it can be…

Fast forward to summer 2014, I have just had neck surgery at the end of June. Its WARM, but by all means NOT hot…my parents arrive from ATL to spend a week and help me out.  OF course they would arrive on the HOTTEST week we have had in like a century.  Its WARM, but , I feel like I have acclimated to the weather, or maybe I was on a lot of pain pills, but I was ok.  My ATL parents were NOT!  They were DYING.  They tried to play it off like they werent that hot, but when my Daddy offered to head to Home Depot to pick up a few things and arrived with 4 box fans, I knew they were not ok. We got through it all…but at the end of the day…I have to say, I MAY be taking up a collection to install A/C in my home. I am SOUTHERN, and this heat, even if its not as bad as Alabama, is still TOO hot to sleep in …Anyone want to start a donation fund to buy me an A/C???

Until next time y'all,

Emily