We just got back from a week of staying at my parents' vacation house up in the Southern Sierras. (swimming in the lake and the river, fishing for the first time, bird watching, kayaking, exploring a ghost town) Anytime the house is empty for a week or more, there's a stale, musty smell that seems to linger in air pockets here and there (and everywhere).
With no open windows and a handful of pets who have had the place entirely to themselves, it's really difficult to flush the house out. I'll open every single window and turn on both ceiling fans, but then I'll open the freezer and there it is... that smell. Open the dishwasher, there it is. Open the closet, there it is. Even just a draftless corner, and there it is.
But with every breath I take, each time I whisk from here to there emptying the contents of our bags and putting everything back in it's place I'm slowly getting that smell out of here. Whirl up the vacuum cleaner, wipe down the countertop, bring in a load of sweet smelling, clean laundry. By the next morning it will start smelling like home again. Hopefully. Maybe burning a cone of incense will help speed things along.
Regardless, it's always great to be back home.
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