It has been absolutely gloriously beautiful here in Portland, the last couple days. Yesterday got up to around 80 degrees (F) and was the first time this year I've had to turn on air conditioning in my car! Personally, I prefer temps to hover right around 70 (F) but it was so nice to see the sun and clear skies and be able to see Mount St. Helens, Mount Hood AND Mount Adams as I was driving into town. It's not terribly unusual to see St. Helens and Mt. Hood, but I think I've only seen Mount Adams from Portland one other time in my entire life, and that includes from lookout points around the area.

I just love this area of the country, primarily because of the scenery. I remember one of my grandmother's family members came to visit from Kansas many years ago and she was dismayed because the mountains got in the way of seeing ... seeing what? We were never quite sure, because Kansas is flat as a pancake. I think she was so used to being able to see for miles across the prairies that seeing a mountain on the horizon made her feel a bit uneasy. But for me, being able to see the mountains makes me feel secure and happy because, in this area, it is cloudy so much of the time that you can only see parts of the mountain for days and weeks at a time. I like to drive down the freeway on a clear day, see Mount Hood and declare, "the mountain's out today!" to no one in particular.

Anyway, so it was bright and clear enough that three mountains were out yesterday, and I had to go to the eye doctor and have my eyes dilated! I slept as late as I could and the eye exam, with dilation and etc, took about 35 minutes. At my request, they gave me a pair of those oh-so-fashionable dark plastic glasses, since I knew my sun glasses were not dark enough to do much in the way of keeping the light out. (You see, I've had my eyes dilated numerous times over the last four years - more than the average person, I'd guess - and learned the hard way that you cannot drive, even when it's cloudy, with dilated eyes and lightish-blue sunglasses. It is painful.)

I had a bit of time between my eye appointment and my appointment with my chiroquackter, so I stopped at Home Depot on my way home to price out some portable air conditioners. My dad bought one at Sears last year during that ridiculous heat wave in late July for about $500. I liked the one he got, mostly because it was easily moved. My stepfather gave me an in-window unit last year when I moved into my apartment and when I tried to remove it from the window last winter, I about broke my back. Plus, there was something wrong with it as it only went one speed, despite the fact that the unit had multiple speeds, etc.

Bottom line is, I need a new air conditioner. Home Depot had both 8000 and 10000 BTU units priced between $300 and $500. According to Sears' website, a 10000 BTU unit is $450. So I think I need to remeasure the rooms in my apartment and figure out what I need. Will need to be buying one between now and early July, methinks, in order to avert further MS relapses and general discomfort.