gray skies (what pollution does to a skyline)

This winter our AQI (air quality index) numbers are gross.  Just. plain. gross.  There are some days (many days?) when I wish I didn't know the number.  But it's not like the number is my only clue.  Anyone can look at this sky and realize that something is bad wrong with the air.

Grossly high AQI numbers make me grateful for our air purifiers.  At least we spend most of our time most of our days inside a home where the air is clean.  (Matt also runs a smaller unit in his office, and wears a mask when he bikes.  We haven't taken the plunge into masks for the kids.  yet.  but we do try to limit - somewhat - outdoor activity on bad days.)

On the worst days you can smell the air - it smells like burning chemicals!  (told you it was gross!)

This isn't the happiest post, but if this blog is a place where I record bits and pieces of our lives... well, this can't be left out.  It's not our favorite, but it's part of our reality.