Soggy Cookies and Wet Floors

"Mmmm, these are crunchy!" My six-year-old says to my friend's sister-in-law, who brought cookies to the pool recently.

I was impressed. "Our cookies and crackers seem to soften the second they come into our house."

"It's the humidity. An east coast thing," she said, knowing I was from the west. "Put put your stuff in plastic containers."

What? I thought. The humidity softens crackers? I was in unfamiliar territory again, a feeling I thought I was past, given that we've now lived a full year in New Jersey.

Then I recalled the conversation I had with my husband earlier this week, shortly after returning from vacation. "Do you remember turning on the humidifier in the basement and setting it on that rubbermaid lid before you left?" He said.

"Yes. I heard it would be humid," I replied.

"You were right. I went down there and water overflowed all over the floor."

"What? How much moisture can their be in the air?"

"Obviously more than you thought."

"On the new carpet?"

"No, just the concrete."

Unbelievable. The dehumidifier was left by the last homeowners. Clearly there was a reason for it.

Soggy cookies and wet floors. Who knew humidity was more than just extra heat in the air?

Not me. I've only lived here a year.