One interesting aspect of reading blogs written by people in many different places is reading about how different their climates are from our own. Aside from a brief foray in Kansas (where it was still warm at Halloween!), I have spent my life in the area roughly enclosed by Chicago, Detroit, and Indianapolis. In this area, the weather thaws in March, warms in April, and gets hot in June. The big cool-down comes a couple of weeks after the autumnal equinox, and by the end of October the kiddies usually have to wear sweatshirts or coats with their Halloween costumes (yes, that was a bitter disappointment to me, our first year after Kansas. I couldn’t believe it!) The first snows happen, almost like clockwork, over Christmas break.
So right now, we are in what I call the “armpit of the year”. It’s hot and sweaty, but it’s about to turn. Temperatures this week are in the 90s, and given that the equinox is Wednesday, the weather feels like a cruel joke. It does every year.
It’s good weather for hanging out in the media room, pictured above. This room is two steps down from the rest of the house, so the air conditioning settles here. The windows are small, so not too much solar energy comes in. It used to be the house’s garage, so the carpet is laid on top of a cement slab, which further cools it. And the dark, restful colors, and the dark, restful leather sofas… ahhhhh. I’ve always wanted to spend a sick day in this room.
