October 30th, 2018

It is absofreakinlutely gorgeous outside now!  Finally!  At Long Last!  After the longest summer in the history of Florida, finally we are having the weather that people move here for.

Sunday the high was 78 and so I opened windows all over the house.  The Official Opening of the Windows has arrived!!  Some of our windows open and close the standard up and down way.  Some open side to side and a couple of them have to be cranked open.  I do not care how they open.  What matters is, the windows are open.

It's a big deal.  And usually, once the windows are open, they do not close again until July when the AC comes back on. And I just love it.  That lovely fresh air sweeping the old stale air conditioned air out of the house and bringing in clean sea air and the fragrance of flowers and earth and green things. Yummy!

Of course, it's also letting in sound.  I had forgotten about that part.  Apparently, even those our windows are not the most up to date, latest and greatest in window innovation, they are pretty darned soundproof.  And I know this because Monday morning, I woke up like I was shot out of a cannon.  Mostly because for the first time in many months, I heard, through the open windows, the sounds of a garbage truck being loaded in front of the house which kind of sounds like a cannon.  Me Oh My that is loud.  And Early!

We can now also hear,  the horn on the north bridge blasting warning that the bridge is about to go up,  the lawn care guys from all over the neighborhood working,  every doggone bird on the island chirping it's fool heard off, the radios blasting in every car that drives by and more sirens that I would have thought for a small town.    There is a new house being built, where an old house used to be, just around the corner from us.  I know because every single solitary construction truck they use drives by our house, their brakes squeal like piggies  at the stop sign on the corner and then there is the sound of hammers and pnuematic nail guns ringing through the air.  Oh yeah, there is a lot going on here. It's a happenin' place.

But I will adjust.  Having open windows is worth dealing with the transition from suddenly hearing all this noise to it becoming just background white noise.  And then I won't notice it at all.

It's kind of silly what a big deal open windows are to me.  I mean, it's not like I'm trapped in a windowless space.  This house has LOADS of windows.  I can see out. And when I wash the windows I can see out even better :)  But like a cat who is never happy with a closed door, I am never totally happy with a closed window. 

I do the same thing in the car. Car AC is on when it's super hot of course, but when it's nice like this, oh baby, those windows are wide open as I'm driving down the road and I am gulping in that fresh air as if it were water and I was dehydrated. 

I've worked in those big 'climate controlled" buildings before.  Lots of windows, none of them open. They remain closed at all times.  The temperature is never right for everyone of course. No matter how carefully they they try, there is always someone who is too hot and someone who is too cold.  Dress accordingly!  And that's fine.  But I keep thinking about how we are just breathing effectively the same recirculated air over and over. How healthy can that be?  And the smell is always a little stale, even when it's been newly cleaned.

Same thing happens every time I fly.  Regardless of the weather outside, I cannot wait to get off the plane, out of the terminal and OUTSIDE to breath real air, even if it's just for a few minutes until we get in the car.  It's almost a feeling of claustrophobia.  Yeah, I know, I'm weird.

Other than the noise issue, to which I will soon adapt, there are other downsides of course to having open windows.   It could rain in if there was a sudden, unexpected shower and I wasn't home.  On a really windy day, there could be an extra layer of dust in the house.  On a super windy day, if the window blows hard enough the curtains try to fly and get tangled up a bit.    All minor inconveniences as far as I'm concerned.  I do not care. The windows are open and I'm happyhappy.   When the Florida version of winter rolls around it will be downright cold and I will put on a sweater but those windows will stay open!

Now that the windows are open again and fresh air fills the house, I am happier, I am sleeping better and oh my the house smells so good without even baking.

Yeah, this is good.