Over the past week, the temperature and humidity have both dropped to a very comfortable level. I appear to be in the minority with this thought as I watch locals pull out their winter woolies while I’m still out and about in summer gear with a cardigan at times.

Running in the mornings is substantially easier than what it has been. It’s getting out of bed that is now a little more difficult! We’ve finally been sleeping with neither the fan nor the air-conditioner on and have even used the doona a few nights. I’m a slave to this cozy feeling and if I don’t sit up as soon as the alarm rings, it has me trapped. This is no good for my fitness and our dog’s sanity so I fight off the overwhelming desire to stay put and get up anyway. At least the run is easier now and I’m faster than my usual pace.

I think I’ll miss my ugh boots when it gets cooler. I still don’t know how these became a fashion statement, able to be worn outside the house but I believe Pamela Anderson and Baywatch may have had something to do with it. For me, they are house shoes only. But I digress…

That has been the impact of the weather change on me. On others, it seems much more substantial. I’ve seen scarves and coats this week. Did I mention that it is about 22 degrees? I guess compared to what it has been it is quite cool but it does seem a bit odd to start smelling of mothballs this early in winter. This would be a better time to air the winter clothes so the smell could be avoided.

Interestingly in office buildings, shops and even in some houses, the air-conditioning temperature remains unchanged. The temperature is normally set to somewhere between 16-20 degrees yet when people arrive at work or enter shops, they take their layers of clothes off. The only explanation I have for taking off the winter gear when it is actually colder inside is to try on clothes. The rest of the time, I have no idea what is going on though I suspect I’ll probably be doing the same thing next year!

With the cooler weather, the winds have shifted again so the pollution has returned. There have been fewer clear skies this week. It’s been a shade of brown tinged with blue though I can still clearly see the outline of mountains through it. It was worse at the start of the year.

It’s been great to go outside and not break into an instant sweat – shame about the sky.

* Thanks to Simon & Garfunkel for the title to this post (also covered by The Bangles)