So I believe it’s officially winter in AZ. I know it’s not technically the winter season until late December, but I think “winter” is here. Other parts of the country are zipping up their coats and seeing snow on the ground, but I think we desert folk have also transitioned out of our almost-eternal summer. Yes, it was almost 90 degrees this past Sunday, and I was planning to lay out by the pool until a much needed nap on my bed distracted me. But now it is winter, and here is how I know:
1) For two days in a row, I have a worn a cardigan or a long sleeved shirt all day without removing them, even while walking in the sun across campus. It’s been in the low 70s here. The low 70s is basically Seattle’s warmest day of the year, now it’s my winter. I like that.
2) I wore dress SOCKS to school today. I have not worn socks, other than for running, probably since last May, but today my feet were so cold I had to bundle them up.
3) This is the most official reason it is now winter in Arizona. This morning I woke up cold. Our AC is technically still on auto and set at 82, but hasn’t turned on the past couple of days due to the lower temps. I put on a little sweater when I woke up, and after Micah left for work I settled down on the couch to do some reading, but it was just too cold. I decided I would try to turn on our heater. Our house was currently 68 degrees, so I put the heat on at 70 and returned to the couch to read my heart out. I was expecting the gross, burning smell that always accompanies a heater that hasn’t been turned on for six months (Washington readers probably don’t even know about this), but what happened was much more alarming. Yes, our smoke alarm went off! I jguess the smoky smell of most heaters doesn’t apply in Arizona, where heaters are used so infrequently that they actually produce smoke when turned on. I quickly turned the heat off, opened the front door, and waited about 30 seconds for the most obnoxious sound in world to cease. By the way, I HATE loud noises such as beeping, honking, and banging ESPECIALLY in the morning. I continued my reading, but I was still cold, so after another 15 minutes or so, I decided to give our heater another try, but not without caution. I turned our heat up to 70 again and spent the next five minutes waving a throw pillow in front of our smoke alarm to prevent it from going off again. It blinked red a couple of times, but my upper body workout totally paid off. No more alarm and I think we now have a funcitoning heater for this 70 degree Arizona paradise called “winter.”
