We live in Texas also. The last house we had, we ran the temp at 81 constantly and the electric bill was still $300 one August. So, we paid $15k and replaced the entire A/C, conden.. ALL of it.. heater too. The only thing we kept was the ducting. We had all the ducts re-sealed, house pressure tested and sealed (even the electrical sockets were tested for leaks). We replaced the external doors with better ones, and we had the ENTIRE attic, including over the garage, sprayed with R49, more than required. We had radiant barrier sprayed into the entire attic as well. The loan cost us like $105 a month. The electric bill dropped to about $120 a month on the hottest days and that was with us running the temp at 74-76. In the winter, we had the electric bill below $60. Best money we ever spent. R

Good questions! It looks like it's adjustable, but I'll need to check. It's definitely tall enough for oil bottles, buehl - that's one of the reasons I'm interested in it. It's 20" tall. Mindstorm, I like the look of yours but wonder if it's tall enough for oil. It doesn't look like it to me but I could be wrong...I also like the narrowness of the one I'm looking at - it's only 6" wide. Buehl, you make a good point about refrigeration. Truth is, most of my oils are in the fridge, and my nuts and pt butter - I heard that olive oil is okay at room temp so have always stored it that way, but investigating that is probably not a bad idea...since that's mostly what i use for cooking...i would also use the pull out it for flavored vinegars, cooking wines and sherries, , soy sauce, etc...which don't need refrigeration and which are currently in a mess on the counter, or in the cabinet. Happy Holidays to all, thanks for your advice as always - I'm guessing this site will be kind of quiet this week...now that I have time off and can delve into kitchen-ing! momor

I like coconut oil to moisturize lips, skin, hair, stir fry veggies, make curries, and husband uses it to pop popcorn. From what I've read, the problematic fats are the ones which are partially hydrogenated (trans fats) and, according to medical research, cause all kinds of health issues. They were widely used in prepared foods, but the FDA banned them a few years ago and many companies have replaced them with other oils.

I'm also 75 and I also think how fortunate I am, especially when you pick up the paper and read the obits...... I have to laugh or wonder, when they advertise a treatment for getting rid of the double chin etc., and they have side by side pictures of the same woman...Of course in the before, the woman is shown, holding her head in such a way, she has a triple chin but in the after, there she is with a smile that looks like she's hurting from holding up that chin (that isn't supposed to be there any longer)...... I think at this age, I've earned every grey hair, the wrinkles and all the extra bumps.....I've been on a long trip and some of the roads weren't paved too well.......