Island Weather

Weather has always fascinated me. I love thunderstorms. I loved when the meteorologists cut into the shows to give me the update and radar. (I say 'loved' because down here our 'local' news is out of NYC and, no offense, I just don't care about their weather.) I know- it's weird. I remember when I was little, my mom telling me a story of how it was raining in the front yard but not that back. That blew my 7-year old mind and, thinking it was the coolest story ever, told all my friends. They, as 7-year olds, also thought it was super cool. Something I've discovered on the island is this 'front yard, back yard' thing happens all the time!

The island is only 13 miles long by 4 miles wide yet the weather when I am at home can be totally different than the weather downtown. When I'm at work it'll be sunny but I look to the North side of the island and tell that it's pouring on Tim at work. It can be cloudy at my house but, as I look off the deck, completely sunny over on St. John. Totally bizarre to me that fronts can be that tiny! It is pretty cool to see them move across the ocean though.

Take as evidence these two pictures taken Monday from my deck. The first one is looking left and the other one is looking right. Drastic difference, right?

Now, all my friends dealing with winter weather and just wanting Spring to get here, please don't kill me when I say this. Sometimes I just want a stormy day! Maybe it's a day when I'm not feeling good or tired and don't want to feel bad if I skip doing something outside or maybe had a bit too much fun at a Princess Party the night before... Regardless, not having seasons is weird enough to me. Besides, rain = more water in my cistern which = a shower without turning the water on and off :)

Mold, Mold EVERYWHERE :(

We had been warned before moving here that living on the northside = a ridiculous amount of mold. I had NO idea what 'ridiculous amount' actually meant.

For an anal clean freak like me, using cleaning supplies and having the house smell bleachy-fresh is actually very soothing. Problem #1- because our septic tank has leeches in it we can not use bleach or any cleaning products containing bleach. Boo. So I went out and bought some Mr. Clean with Febreeze in it (smells AMAZING) and some of those 'natural' cleaners. Problem #2- none of those kill mold. I've gotten good with cleaning things with a toothbrush and good old fashioned elbow grease but it's certainly not very fun. And damn that mold grows quick!

This leads me to Problem #3- mold grows on EVERYTHING. About a month ago I pulled out a black purse that was now suddenly mutliple shades of black and green and white- I nearly fainted. Luckily, with some scrubbing and OxiClean it's back to it's old self... for now. A couple weeks ago I pulled out a pair of capris that must have been put back on the hanger damp as they now have stripes of mold down the front. I have yet to decide if it's better to throw these away. The day before Superbowl, as I was getting the house party-ready, I picked up Tim's hat that had fallen off the mirror. I only hope this picture can do it justice:



I have yet to actually get this one to come clean :(


So that's the latest island adventure for us: mold. If anyone has any non-bleach ideas I'd welcome them with open arms. And, mom, I know you are reading this and freaking out since I'm allergic to mold. Don't worry, my lungs haven't collasped... yet.