Chillin' at home with a bag of apps

On Sunday, clutching our complimentary grocery bags as we left a restaurant that participated in the Boston Super Hunger Brunch, Kayla called me a trend-setter.  I’ve been bringing my own bags to the supermarket since the days when my eccentricity provoked discussion among the cashiers.  (“Paper or plastic.”  “Thanks — I have my own bags.”  “You have your own bags?”  “She has her own bags!“)

But Kayla’s comment led me to remember a cartoon that has stuck in my head since I first saw it many years ago.  A quick search later, here it is (with ap0logies that it’s hard to read).  That woman who’s saying, “I’ve always washed and reused my plastic wrap”?  I am that woman.  Environmentally aware?  Pathologically frugal?  You be the judge.

I’m taking a quick break from my pile of applications, having just shifted from the kitchen to a room with a computer.  But the computer isn’t why I made the move.  No — I was frozen out.  Each morning, our programmable thermostat clicks the heat off at 7:30 and the temperature in our old house starts to drop.  On my at-home reading days, I read in the kitchen (coldest room in the house) for a few hours, and then I shift to a warmer location.  When the warmer location gets too cold, I add more clothing.  Or a blanket.  Or a hot water bottle to keep my feet warm.  Or all of the above — the house is never very warm even before the heat turns off.  Finally, I’ll head back to the kitchen for lunch, often eating with my coat on.  Then I finally give in and turn the heat back on downstairs.  Afternoon reading continues in the kitchen, now warmer than the rest of the house.

Reading with the chill of February taking over the house isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  It keeps me awake, and the nomadic location shifting is a bit of activity between groups of files.

Back to my pile of applications.  Additional sweaters to be added soon.