The average relative humidity in Taos is 50%. That's dry. It's too dry for dust mites, which suddenly seemed like important information to have after seeing Oprah yesterday. It was about what's lurking in our filthy houses... The world is a pretty disgusting place when you look at it through a microscope. Later in the evening we watched an old episode of Northern Exposure. Interestingly, there was a dust mite theme going on there too. Maggie was freaked out because her cabin was infested with the little creepies, but Chris was his usual cool self, philosophizing that we're all in this big dirty soup together, and it's never going to get any cleaner.

I guess my comfort zone is somewhere in the middle. I like a clean, uncluttered home. I like people to wash their hands after they pee, and especially before they make food. My family teases me about the hand washing thing, but hey - I was a dental assistant. What can I say... I also realize that dirt happens, that we live in a place where dust is part of the decor, and that food prepared with love is more likely to make you well than sick.

Circling back to this dry climate... Too dry for dust mites means dry skin for all of us. My son, Danny, sent me some terrific No-Crack Super Hand Cream from Restoration Hardware. I love it because he sent it to me, because it works, because it smells nice, and because it looks like cupcake frosting. I have the Grapefruit Ginger, and I think I also need the Lavender Rosemary and the Meyer Lemon. A day without dust mites, and with clean, soft, cupcakey hands is a good day in my book.