Today is another delight. The sun is bright. There is no humidity and a slight breeze keeps the day cool. It is only 69˚ right now and won’t get any higher than 74˚. The low for the tonight will be 59˚. I will definitely have to find a blanket. Last night was chilly. I think the dogs huddled against me hoping to keep themselves warm. They woke up early so, consequently, did I. Now, keep in mind, early is a relative term. For me it was 9:45, but it was 3:30 when I went to bed. I just wasn’t tired until then.

I did a bit of cleaning yesterday. All of downstairs got vacuumed, and the den got polished and cleaned. Today I will wash the kitchen and hall floors. The kitchen is tile while the floor is wood. From the den to the back door is always the route the dogs take and is always where I find muddy paw prints and lot of balls of fur.

The dogs are having their morning naps. I almost want to keep jostling them awake in a weird sort of quid pro quo, but I’ll take the high road. I may also take a nap today, my Saturday nap just to distinguish it from my other naps, but it has been a while since I’ve napped.

When I was a kid, I would loved today’s weather. It calls for a long bike ride. I would have packed a lunch, and my mother, knowing I’d be gone most of the day, would usually would give me a nickel for a drink or a candy bar. I opted for the candy bar. Choking down my lunch was worth it. Besides, I knew where every bubbler in town was. My lunch was always bologna, from the roll you had to cut into slices, on white bread which is all my mother ever bought. I added cookies, usually Oreos which I could find in the full larder as my mother grocery shopped on Fridays. I’d throw my brown bag lunch into the bike basket and take off for most of the day. Most times I was by myself. I never minded but rather liked it as I could take a break when I wanted and could bike any route in town.

Now, what did I buy with my nickel? A corner store not so far away from where I lived always had Milky Way and Three Musketeers bars in the freezer section. I usually bought the Milky Way. I remember it broke off in chunks when I bit it. The chunks took a while to chew. That was the best part of a frozen Milky Way: how long it took to eat. I would’ve paid even a dime for such a delicacy, for such a treasure.

I have no excuse for the lateness of Coffee today. It was close to afternoon when I woke up. I took my time reading the Globe and savoring my two cups of coffee. I totally finished the crossword puzzle. I ate a really tasty banana and shared it with the dogs. I think banana is their favorite fruit. I still have the Cape Times to read.

Today is amazing. It is 79˚, today’s high. The low will be 58˚. I’m going to have to find a blanket just in case, but two dogs do keep me warm. An every now and then slight breeze cools the air. I don’t hear a sound. It is such a quiet day. I have the light on here in the den. It is dark for paper reading. The sun won’t appear until afternoon. The den windows face the north and west.

I chose home today. The dust is back, and the kitchen floor is disgustingly filled with paw prints. I held off washing it as rain was predicted yesterday. It did rain but while we were in bed and everything was dry when we woke up. I deem today tackle the downstairs day. I can take dust for only so long.

I picked up a few groceries yesterday. I bought a half papaya, the biggest one I’ve ever seen. I bought bananas, Klondike bars, bread, two dog biscuits and a blueberry turnover. I ate the turnover first. It was so good I was sorry I hadn’t bought the other, an apple turnover. I’ll know better next time.

When I was a kid, I don’t remember my mother cleaning the house. I remember her doing dishes and taking down and folding laundry off the lines in the back. She did all the rest while we were in school. I used to watch her make dinner. I’d be doing my homework at the kitchen table. She stood in front of the counter by the sink. It was the longest of short counters in our small kitchen. I remember the chopping sounds and the water running into metal pans. Sometimes we talked but mostly she cooked and I studied. My mother washed the dishes after dinner. She never made us do them. I did the clearing and the dish washing much later when I was an adult. She got to sit at the kitchen table and chat with me.