Hello July!
June historically is a super hot and humid month in Kansas City, but we sort of caught a break this year with some nice cool temperatures at the start. And right about the time I was thinking “Gee, we are saving a ton of money on our air conditioner bill,” the air conditioner completely stopped working.
We kind of knew this was coming, in that we’ve lived in this house for more than 20 years, but like most people, we also didn’t see it coming. After the sad trombone noise that accompanied the realization that were were not going to be saving money this month, and two nights camping out downstairs under a box fan, we were able to see the bright side and get bids for a new air conditioner AND a furnace since we didn’t want to repeat this experience on the coldest day of winter, too.
The new system came with a fancy WiFi thermostat, and while I originally thought they were just a shiny gadget, the fact that I can make the house comfortable from upstairs using my phone means that I don’t have to get up in the middle of the night and find my glasses and turn on lights and go downstairs. I can also cool down the house right before I get in the car for the commute home, so that’s a plus, too.
Other things I’ve enjoyed in June:
I used to really like a certain brand of frozen Chinese egg rolls, but all the stores locally appear to have dropped the vegetarian version. Apparently I was the only one buying it? Turns out they are embarrassingly easy to make. I didn’t actually use this recipe, but it’s a good starting point if you like instructions. Instead, I made a batch using bagged coleslaw mix and oven baked them, then froze them so it’s like having my own version ready and waiting for me. Double bonus – these are baked, not fried, and I know exactly what is in them.
It’s Iced Coffee season.
The Stanley Cup ended with the St. Louis Blues winning for the first time in history. Kansas City doesn’t have an NHL team, but Fox Sports Midwest shows all the Blues games all year, so I’ve been a fan for several years (it’s easier to pick a team you get to watch vs. picking say a West Coast team that is only on TV every once in a while and way past my bedtime).
Coming Up in July:
July is my birthday month, and the rule here is you get to celebrate the whole month. We call this one SuzerFest (obviously) and it’s full of special treats like breakfast out, the restaurant of my choice for dinner and I always take my birthday off from work as a vacation day.
