Monday, October 09, 2017

Autumn Can Wait

It's been a warm-ish fall here. Naturally, all last week the kids were subject to my repeated chant, "We will NOT turn on the AC in October." I mean, this is just ridiculous - fallen leaves are covering the sidewalks, yards are dotted with scarecrows and pumpkins, store shelves are laden with bags full of candy. This is not the time for AC - it's the time for digging out last year's sweaters and checking to see if we still own socks and wondering where the heavy down comforters are.

Someone forgot to notify Mother Nature, though, and it's been hot and yes, even a little humid. Nothing we couldn't handle, though. Certainly not enough to break down and turn on that AC. Because we do not use the AC in October.

And then, Sunday happened. It kept trying to rain, but didn't really. Temps weren't even that high - mid-70's, maybe? I ran around the house like a maniac in the morning, because a friend from out of town was planning to drop by around 9:30. Considering that most Sunday mornings I lie around for 2 hours and try to decide if I'm going to yoga class, I was pretty darn impressed with all I had accomplished: showering, neatening the house, vacuuming, laying out some nice food to nosh on:


Martha Stewart wishes she were me

But by 9:00, I was dripping sweat. I stepped outside for a few minutes to look for something in the backyard and noted it was, well, a little steamy. I stepped back inside and noted same.

Wait, did I say a little steamy? People, it was humid. Not garden-variety humid, but STANDING AT THE GATES OF HELL humid. And, unlike the dearly departed Tom Petty, when I am standing at the gates of Hell?

I back down.

"Close the windows!" I yelled to whichever children were in earshot. "It's time for AC!" I swear, it was like preparing for a submarine dive. All over the house I could hear my suffering crew springing into action, slamming down one window sash and running to the next one. AOOGHA! AOOGHA!

Those hatches were battened down in about 2 minutes flat, folks. My kids are well trained. Also? They were hot. Pleased with their teamwork, I flipped the blessed switch which would bring us life and we all collapsed on the couches and took deep gulps of dehumidified air. Gosh, I love modernity.

And yeah, Larry's been out of town. Otherwise, that AC would have been running a full 24 hours earlier. Because, unlike moi, he's not mired in ideological beliefs about what autumn should be like. That man's a realist, he is...








8 comments:

  1. Yup, we've had the AC running here too - despite the fact that it is officially fall.

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  2. Not that hot here. If i can get the fans going and windows open we do ok. But then I don't hesitate to flip that switch either!

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  3. Our A/C has been cranking since last spring. Right now it is 88 degrees outside. Tomorrow? More of the same. Cold weather can't come soon enough. And I am SICK of my spring/summer clothes.

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  4. I'd be quite willing to share our cooler weather with you. We've had frost a couple of nights so far, so I pulled all my plants from containers last weekend. The furnace kicks in frequently as daytime highs are no more than 15C (60'shF)

    If we could just share!

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  5. Oh, if only we could get a frost! The mosquitoes are still alive and kicking around here.

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  6. Okay, we turned on the AC in the bedroom a couple of nights this month. Because when fish start swimming by in the air, it's time to give in and use the AC...

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  7. Written like the Navy person you are (were). My husband turned on the furnace a few weeks ago. It's a little annoying to have warm air blowing on my feet in the bathroom, but when it's 38 degrees in the morning I suppose that is necessary.

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  8. My power bill has been so high from all our 100 degree days I'm turning into my father in law and counting how many light bulbs are on.

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