Am I Back in Houston??

This past weekend when Spike's parents came into town, we spent it walking around the Old Port of Portland. We saw the first cruise ship of the season, hundreds of tourists, ate some wicked good clam chowdah, and braved the heat and humidity. While a high in the upper 80s and around 80% humidity might sound like a breath of fresh air to some of you in Texas, a home on the second floor does not tend to agree. The air is stifling hot, there is no breeze to cool off the apartment, and surprisingly it feels better outside. I don't even bother to look at the thermostat on these kind of days because it only depresses me to know that the air inside my home is sometimes warmer than it is outside.

We took a trip to Wal-Mart because Spike needed a few things before he was leaving to go down to the Gulf Coast. Air conditioners were in the main isle near the check-outs just waiting to be snatched up by Mainers who'd held out as long as they could. I picked up our first window unit for $98. It's nothing special, but it helps cool the living room. And by that I mean that it makes the space tolerable. Not cold, but cooler.

We dealt with heat a few days like that about a month or so ago, but there was no humidity at the time. I consider that a joke now. Humidity just keeps the warm air warmer for longer making the joy of going to sleep a nightmare. I'm the type of person who likes to sleep under a sheet, cotton blanket, and the lightweight bedspread. I like the weight of the blankets on top of me. Not this past weekend. I went to sleep with not even a sheet covering me up. We opened one of the bedroom windows trying to get some sort of breeze coming in. That helped and I ended up under the sheet by the morning.

This type of weather reminds me of Houston. Except in Houston we have air conditioners. True, Mainers only need the a/c for about a month out of the year, but boy could I have used that central air over the weekend.