Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic women’s fiction with light paranormal elements. My stories show you what life could be like if you had a place like The Circle where you are unconditionally accepted, supported and loved. And where, with this support, you make choices to overcome the darkest nights and choose love and light.
This month the Genre-istas are talking about “Seasons”. March is a month
of change when it comes to seasons. In the Northern Hemisphere we are looking
forward to spring. In the Southern Hemisphere, autumn or fall is just around the
corner.
I live in the Northern Hemisphere and there are still patches of icy snow
in part of my yard. Four limbs from my Dwarf
Larch Diana are broken. I’m not sure if my Daphne’s blooms will survive and
blossom because right now they look a bit shriveled.
My least favorite season is summer with heat and sometimes humidity (I
live in the Pacific Northwest so humidity is not always a major factor). The
best investment I made in my house was getting a heat pump and more recently a
ductless system (mini-split) to keep my house cool in the hot months. Instead
of seven to ten days of 90 – 100 degree temperatures (the days of my youth)
during the entire summer, we now experience those blocks of high temperature
days several times during June, July, August and even September.
Then I take a deep breath and look around me. Where would I move? There
really isn’t a perfect weather/environment place in the United States. Am I up
to moving to another country after the Pandemic? I don’t think so.
And that brings me back to the core question. What can I do to make my
days comfortable right where I am? One answer for me is to look in to solar
energy. Would I have still had power if I had solar energy? Or a solar backup
battery? Heat and lights, keeping fridge and freezer working would be enough.
If I went without use of my computer for a few days, I'd be okay with that.
What about you? What would make your life easier during the severe weather
events? And this is about your dream…not whether you can afford it, etc.
My books illustrate how you can create those
unconditionally supportive relationships. I also share tips in my monthly
newsletter. You can sign up for Choices here.
Look for my next non-fiction Yes, You
Can Create The Life You Love by late spring aka early summer. And if you
need guidance on handling stress, Staying Sane in A Crazy World is available as are all of my books at your favorite e-book vendor. Be sure to ask your local library if
you’d prefer to read my books through that resource.
Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s
Circle series at JudithAshley.net
Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19
Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.
You can also find Judith
on FB!
© 2021
Judith Ashley
2 comments:
Here in Bend the only severe weather we have is the snowmaggedon storms we get now and then in the winter. I bought us a snow blower, and we have shovels. In 10 years we've only lost the power once for about an hour.
So I can't think of anything else besides the snow blower that I bought.
Happy winter!
I like the idea of ductless heating and cooling. I would invest in that if I had the money. However, before that I would invest in solar energy. I haven't looked into it in a number of years and wonder if the pricing has come down. There are also inherent problems for using solar on manufactured homes which often don't have the roof strength to support a roof mounted system. Though we do have electric heating, we do most of our heating and cooling passively whenever we can. In winter, we keep drapes drawn, windows closed whenever it is below 60 degrees during the day and keep them drawn all night. In the summer we open windows and drapes during the evening when it cools, letting the house cool down, and then shut everything up tight during the day to retain the cool inside the house.
Fortunately, about 6 months out of the year the weather is moderate (May-October) most of the time, where we can open and close windows and doors as needed. It is those few week long summer heat blasts over 90 that need management. And, those few weeks in winter of freezing or close to freezing temperatures that run up heating costs no matter our passive management. Compared to other places I've lived, Ohio winters or Virginia and Mississippi summers, I count myself blessed to live where I do.
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