For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for January 03, 2019

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    Templo S.U.D.  almost 6 years ago

    that is a good question, Michael (and Elizabeth)

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    TexTech  almost 6 years ago

    That might get you to about 5 degrees C.

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    Argythree  almost 6 years ago

    Should have told them to quit standing in open doorways, letting cold air in…

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    rekam Premium Member almost 6 years ago

    Put on your flannel pajamas, climb into bed and pull the covers up. That’ll warm you a bit.

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    kfccanada  almost 6 years ago

    Maybe the kids should go spend their dollar in a very warm store and look at magazines for at least an hour. Perhaps the parents should develop a few stategies to help the kids stay warm when the weather is nasty. Buy them some of those knitted slippers…andplaid wool blankets with snaps on the edges to bundle themselves up when the thermometer is looooowwwwww. Have a heart, dad! They know nothing about the actual financial burden of operating a household.

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    fuzzbucket Premium Member almost 6 years ago

    That might buy you a sweater at the thrift shop.

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    gammaguy  almost 6 years ago

    Trying to buck the system, eh?

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    Sassy's Mom  almost 6 years ago

    Push her outside and close the door.

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    Linguist  almost 6 years ago

    I remember my grandmother’s house in Connecticut was one of those old millworkers homes built in the late 1800s and had no central heating. The only room in the house that had heat was the large kitchen that featured a kerosene stove. Life in her house centered around that kitchen – especially, in the winter.

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    samfran6-0  almost 6 years ago

    I have gone to friends houses and they have the heat on high and their kids running around in short sleeve shirts and barefooted. Then they complain when their high gas bill comes.

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    well-i-never  almost 6 years ago

    “Keep ’em coming every hour and you can have 72. How much have you got in your piggy bank?”

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    Bob Blumenfeld  almost 6 years ago

    Now, that’s where the learning comes in!

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    Jan C  almost 6 years ago

    We’ve had a relatively cold fall and winter here. My gas bill is almost 3 times what my electric bill is, but neither of them is over $100 per month.

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    summerdog  almost 6 years ago

    I thought a “buck” was a paper dollar bill? I wouldn’t credit coins that added up to a dollar, a “buck” in my book. But I’m old school and picky in my old age.

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    coffeeturtle  almost 6 years ago

    John should have explained how it affected the family budget and that monies would have to be redirected from their allowances.

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    Scoutmaster77  almost 6 years ago

    Put on a sweater or two! In all fairness, they do live in Canada.

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    howtheduck  almost 6 years ago

    $2000 just for winter heating? I think I pay that for electric and gas for a whole year combined. Assuming John is not exaggerating for effect, then the problem is not the kids but the house. John was talking about needing weather stripping yesterday, so I think he knows the house needs better insulation. Nevertheless, if the kids are uncomfortably cold to the point where they feel the need to play with the thermostat, maybe don’t blame the kids first. A kid twisting a thermostat is not going to cost you that much money.

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    rowena28 Premium Member almost 6 years ago

    People who make other people freeze in order to save money on their heating bill make me apoplectic with rage. No, will not bundle up indoors to try to stay warm. Kids are kind of stuck because they can’t override their parents but as an adult I won’t put up with it anywhere. No matter how broke I am, I will not tolerate my house being cold. When I was a kid, I lived in city apartments with radiators. There was no way to control the heat yourself & it was included in the rent. When I visited relatives with houses, I would secretly turn up the thermostat. When they turned it down, I turned it up again. Freezing is a discomfort I will not tolerate for a millisecond, under any circumstances. If I’d grown up in a house where you could control the heat & my parents kept turning it down & I kept turning it up it would probably have resulted in a battle of wills that would have permanently destroyed our relationship. I would never, ever have given in on that. Being cold is physically painful; it’s impossible to concentrate; it’s demotivating. I’ve never been able to do homework in a cold room, no way to focus when you are cold. All you can think about is how miserable you are. Can’t type with cold hands either. Sorry for rant, but the parents keeping the house cold theme comes up here, in Fox Trot, in Calvin, in so many cartoons with kids complaining and parents going on about the bills. It’s a major pet peeve of mine.

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    celtickat53  almost 6 years ago

    Oh, how well I remember the “Just you wait until your Father gets home” phrase!! Usually, he was tired from working all day and minor infractions were allowed to slide.

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