Pause Before the Heat Advisory

We're about to have another heat wave in the valley.  It's not my cup of tea, and it increases the chances of forest fires in the area, too.  Apparently, our weather is currently "patchy smoke," probably from a local field catching fire over the weekend; starting Monday afternoon there's a heat advisory out for about 36 hours.

Aside from the discomfort from the heat, other thing that bothers me about the hot months is that our fans (which I love for moving air around) make a lot of background buzzing, which, now that I've reached a certain age, makes it difficult to pick out conversations.  Sometimes in the mornings before it gets too hot I go around turning off all the fans and reveling in the stillness of the air and the quiet.  I stand near the center of the house and I can hear all the little sounds -- the movement of the leaves in a breeze, the 'fridge, the rustle of birds, neighbors walking their dogs.  

When the fans come back on, it's like living wrapped up in cotton -- useful for when you want to take a short nap, but it's the sonic equivalent of waking up in the middle of the night because one of your arms has fallen asleep and you have to physically move it with the other, all the while wondering if you're pulling a tendon the wrong way or twisting your arm out of its socket.

Oh well, off to fill a tub with cold water....