Dana, I don't know if I could move to Idaho, but also I don't have a spouse with a job offer, so.

I'm allergic to most kinds of pollen, dust, animal dander, *and my own dander*. Sneezing fits after every shampoo (no matter what product I use) and hair brushing. NC was a misery--149 identified plant and spore allergens, plus rapid growth in industrial air pollution. My hometown, Winston-Salem, is the home of RJ Reynolds (himself), and of both Winston and Salem cigarettes (there was one called 'Hyphen' but it never caught on). I grew up with tobacco factories running three shifts around the clock. There was also a not-Reynolds brand snuff factory, adding in essences of flowers and fruit to dip and chaw, so when students came from elsewhere, they wanted to know why the air always smelled so sick-y sweet. Normal, for me.

When H transferred from Temple to WFU, he had to stop wearing his athletic (scleral) contacts. The doctor he consulted told him his allergy to airborne tobacco particles was so bad his corneas had broken out in a rash. I don't think it ever cleared up, but he went to glasses at that point, so it was moot.

The first two or three years in PNW were heaven. We're slowly acclimatizing to local airborne allergens, though, and the climate is changing. There was winter snow, and early fall and late spring when we moved here. Now we rarely get snow in winter. Summer temps hit above 90F for two days our first year, and below 80 for all but a week or two in the summer. That period has increased every year, till we're dealing without AC and two months of high-80s to 90F every summer. The higher temps linger later every fall, and spring comes sooner every year. Rainy days give way to weeks of unremitting sun, and creeks and waterfalls that used to dry up in August are now bone dry in May.

But H's mom reports that Charlotte is roughly 20 degrees warmer than Bellingham from late March to early November, and humidity is as bad as ever. I can't imagine ever living in NC again--and visiting between April and October? Probably not.

I need to whine. The neighborhood association contracted arborists to identify trees that need felling, trimming, or bracing to prevent property damage during the high winds we often get here, which is a good thing. They arrived this morning and started on our street. After an all-too-brief break for lunch, the industrial grade woodchipper is parked right in front of my living room windows and it sounds like it's eating the world. WTF are my damn earplugs?

I'm allergic to ALL OF THAT. Plus probably other stuff as well.

Fistbump of solidarity, Tep.

I just called USPS and got a case number because the tracking on my package just stopped after it went to the local post office, so now they have to investigate what happened.

And now they're playing Star Wars clips.

I'm at the Fire Academy waiting for graduation to start. The Ex and his wife are here on the other side of the room. Haven't made eye contact, not planning on approaching them, and I'm totally irked that they are here. They have done NOTHING to support him with school other than showing up today. Please grant me the grace to get through this without going mama-bear.

Timelies all!

I prefer warm to cold, can tolerate hot and humid.(I'm still not sure how I survived two summers in Philadelphia with no central air, heck, no ac at all.)

I was surprised to find out just how effective ceiling fans are in the summer.

It was really brought home to me this weekend, when the B&B room I was staying in was still stuffy despite having a window AC unit set on 70° until I switched on the overhead fan, at which point everything felt perfect.

Central air is not optional.

I have no central air. I have a cunning arrangement of open window, ceiling fan, and box fan in the bedroom doorway in the depths of summer.