It’s no secret I’ve reached perimenopause.

With it comes hotflashes which randomly strike without any notice or provocation. There’s no hiding them either - my face turns beet red and I have to strip down at least one layer to cool off. And because of these, it’s hard to figure out what to wear on any given day. I’m hot; I’m cold; I’m comfortable. All within the space of a few minutes.

At home, I keep it pretty cool (considering its winter) - 65 degrees. And with my bedroom built into the side of a boulder, it’s probably more like 60. Still not cool enough. I’d keep it lower, but I have others in the house who aren’t currently as warmblooded as the perimenopausal woman. I walk outside in the brisk air and relish the cold.

At work though, I can’t turn off the baseboard heaters, and it’s so damned hot! I have an oscillating fan to try and cool the office sauna down, but it doesn’t help much. Just distributes the warm air instead. Were I not perimenopausal, I’d be loving the toastiness. Now, not so much.

I’ve been searching for a portable fan to carry around with me to help endure these hotflashes. Since they’re out of season, they’re hard to find. Last week in the city, I ended up with a paper variety that lasted half the night.

Well, the other night, I found one at WallyWorld (aka Wal-Mart). And wow! oh wow! It blows some really cold air - you’d think you were sitting in front of an air conditioner. Just the thing I need! wOOt!

Today, Gary found another one for me. Soon, I’ll probably have a veritable assortment of them - to keep when I’m home, at the office, or on the go. Guess I’d better stock up on batteries, too.

Yeah, it’s the simple things that make you smile.

If you have any suggestions on how to decrease the hotflashes - I’m all ears!