Open windows

We live with our windows open pretty much all the time. It is very uncommon in Brazil to have air-conditioning and/or heat. The good news is that we really don't need those items: the temperature is pretty livable all the time. The first week I was here, I was really worried because it was hot. Very hot. But since then it's ranged between 70 to 85 degrees F (21 to 29 C). There are many perks to the this arrangement: fresh air, lower utility costs, delicious aromas from neighbor's cooking, nice breezes blowing through the apartment. On the downside, there are bugs (but not near as many as I would have thought) and dust, because screens simply do not exist. I frequently wonder if other people in our apartment building shake their rugs out their windows because I keep finding strange things on the floor (a cigarette butt?!). But the open windows are a nice adjustment--as I write this there is a small spider running across my keyboard!!

Beatrice is chasing George around--poor kitty! And now she's hanging on my leg crying, "I'm hungry!" but she's already eaten three pieces of toast, yogurt, and watermelon. I think she's just bored. So off I go!