The weather is hot again. I am hiding behind closed doors with the AC blasting. The high will be 83°, and the added humidity will make it a miserable day. Yesterday we had spitting rain as my mother called it. I even had to use my wipers for a while, for a short while. The concert went on last night and the audience, under umbrellas, even sang along. The traffic, though, was horrific, worse than usual. It took me double time to get there. I cursed the two cars which cut me off, the car in front of me going 25 in a 40 zone, the two drivers who thought a left only arrow meant going straight and the car in the parking lot which tried to pass me on the right as I was parking. Staying inside seems the safest option.

If there was a medal for finishing household chores, I’d deserve one with a cluster. Those three loads of laundry including Christmas shirts, the ages of which were determined by carbon-14 dating, are put away. Yesterday, I filled my trunk with bags of trash and went to the dump. Some of the bags were so heavy I had to drag them to the car. I changed my bed and swept the kitchen floor, but despite this cleaning frenzy, I was able to ignore the paw prints on that floor. I saved them for another day, lucky me. I did a small bit of shopping after the concert. After I got home, I did nothing. I deserved it.

I still need two plants to replace the ones Nala stole from their pots, but I need to figure out how to protect them from her nefarious ways. She has also dug huge holes in the yard. I don’t go into the yard at night when I’m likely to step in one of those holes and break an ankle.

When I was a kid, I never minded days like today. Summer was hot, and there was nothing I could do about it except ignore it. My brother and I, despite the heat, used to walk to the zoo and stay all day. We brought our lunches. During one of our visits, we met one of the men who took care of the animals. He let us help. We used to go behind the cages and feed the small animals. I remember carrying bowls of cabbage, carrots and potatoes. We took turns. One of us would open the cage while the other fed the animals. That zoo back then had some wonderful animals like an elephant, sea lions and a giraffe. We got to feed the elephant, even to going into its exhibit. That was amazing. I have never forgotten the joy of getting up close to an elephant, to that most magnificent animal.

Today will be hot again with a high of 80°. Right now it is cloudy, dark, and breezy, even windy. I can feel the humidity rising though rain is not predicted.

This morning I am a question mark. My back is quite painful. I know why. The laundry is done. All three loads were washed, dried and hauled up two flights of stairs. I’m thinking the sore back is a warning that I should use the example of the Mad Hatter and just leave the laundry, move on and buy more. I even have a top hat I can wear.

I have a concert tonight in Hyannis. I hope my back will be okay by then.

My sister and I were talking about doing laundry, a scintillating topic. Our mother always did the laundry. I didn’t even know how to use the washing machine. When I was a freshman in college, I did my wash by myself for the first time. Yes, I’m slightly embarrassed to admit that. Anyway, moving on, I was in the middle of that agonizing process when the machine stopped and buzzed. I had no idea what was wrong. The clothes were soaking wet. I wrung them out by hand then threw them in the dryer. Later, I learned the wash was uneven in the tub and should have been rearranged. I don’t know why it didn’t come with directions.

When I was a kid, I had favorite foods. Hot dogs in a toasted roll topped the list. Hamburgers were right up there and if I added cheese, they became sublime. Peas and mashed potatoes were my favorite veggies. I didn’t have a favorite fruit. I ate them all.

It wasn’t until I went to Ghana that my palate expanded. Buying foreign foods was out of my budget so I ate what could be found in the market. Most days my meals were the same. Breakfast was eggs, toast and coffee. Lunch was cut up fruit: oranges, bananas, mango and pawpaw. I had never seen the last two before Ghana. I loved pawpaw (papaya) right away, but the mango took a little more time. Dinner was usually sliced beef in a sauce with tomatoes and with yams on the side, usually mashed. The sauce tenderized the beef as it boiled. Sometimes I had chicken, even my own chickens. I had no attachment to them. They were eggs for breakfast and meat for dinner. Sometimes I had plantain and garden eggs as part of dinner. I love plantain.

I need dry dog food, batteries, something sweet and something salty. I’m thinking delivery.