Ottawa can get pretty cold in the winter. It can also get pretty hot and humid in the summer. It has both extremes of temperature. The first year that we moved here we learned how essential it was to have an air conditioner. After lying awake for a few nights, stuck to the bedsheets, we went out to buy a window unit for our little one-bedroom apartment.
Strangely, there were none to be found. We learned that all the stores typically sell out their stock by the end of May. Every year, if you wanted an air conditioner after May, you were out of luck. For the life of me, I could not understand how this was possible. You would think that somebody would have figured out that people might still want a/c during the summer. It's like only selling winter jackets in October. So, we bought a little fan and spent a lot of time at the mall and going to movies that first summer.
By the following spring, we had moved into our townhouse, which had central air. It was absolutely fantastic. We never turned the temperature down quite as low as I would like to have it, but it was still wonderful to keep the house several degrees cooler than the outside temperature.
As pleasant as it is to have air conditioning in your home, it is at least as important to have it in your car. Unfortunately, the a/c in our car broke down last year. It hobbled through the end of the summer, but this spring it had nothing left. This morning I took it in to get it fixed.
It cost 787 dollars.
I think it is worth a high price to get the a/c working, especially now that we have little Scott in the back seat, but I wish I didn't have to pay so much stinking tax. When I was talking to our mechanic on the phone, he told me it was 70 bucks to diagnose the problem. Then it was another 620 bucks to fix it. That comes to $690 -- a fair bit higher than I would really prefer to pay. When I paid the actual bill, it was a bit of a shock to have to swallow the extra 97 bucks in sales tax. You would think I would be used to the 14% tax by now.
Nope. I'm not used to the heat yet, either.
OUR SESAME SEED
In week 5 your baby is about the size of a sesame seed
3 comments:
Yeah, but on the bright side if the Liberals were still in power you'd be out of pocket an additional $6.90 in tax, so at least there's that. Just be happy they didn't get their controversial Egg Tax passed into law, then you'd really have something to complain about.
Oh, you are my child ! In all my years I have never gotten used to the heat. We did not have air conditioning our first year in Colorado. We were told we wouldn't need it. HA! I thought I would wilt. We got it the next spring and I have been very happy since. Your brother, T, loves to be warm. If he came back as an animal in another life, he would be a lizard in Arizona on a hot rock. So we did not always agree on what the temp should be in the house. I, however, won. He called me Arctic Mama and wore a sweater.
NASTY TAXES ! At least when you move in August you will get rid of half of those taxes.
Always offer to pay cash for any services and avoid all taxes!!!
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