When we woke up this morning or rather closer to this afternoon, it was cloudy and cold, 64˚ cold, and the day won’t get any better. It will stay cloudy and dark and cold with a low of 60˚and a high of 69˚. A strong wind is swaying the pine tree branches. A flood watch is in effect. It is an ugly day.

Yesterday was an odd, as in unusual, sort of day. It started in the morning when a vase fell over after the flowers shifted. The water from the vase fell all over the kitchen floor under and over cans and bottles of food. I started picking up the wet stuff including a bag of dog food which had been folded over the top to keep Nala from snacking. I failed fold. The dog food fell out of the bag all over the wet floor. Nala thought she was in heaven when she saw the food. I thought I was in hell. The cleanup took a while.

Rain started slowly yesterday in the early evening. I could hear the drops on the leaves from the open window behind me. Not long after, the deluge began. The thunder came first. It was so loud Nala raised her head each time. Henry slept through. A couple of lightning bolts were next. They lit up my den window. The rain kept falling. At one point there was a lull, and I thought the storm was over despite the weather predictions. I was wrong. The most rain fell after ten. There were tornado warnings for Barnstable county. I watched the tracks of those tornados on TV. The first warning was until 12:45 then it was changed to 1:45. The rain was still falling as heavily as it had been. Around three there was a lull in the rain. I let both dogs out for the last time before we went to bed. The amount of rain which soaked us was around 3 or 4 inches but not enough to get us out of drought conditions.

My laundry has made it to this floor. The two bags are stacked in the hall. One bag was so heavy it fell down the stairs and sent Nala scurrying. I need to do a few household chores including changing my bed. Despite the damp, I did run over the kitchen floor with a wet mop. I know they’ll be tons of new paw prints today, but I couldn’t take the dirty floor anymore. I’d have to close my eyes every time I went into the kitchen.

I do need to go out today. I wish I didn’t. Nothing about today makes me want to be out and about. I’ll need a sweatshirt.

Today is cloudy, hot and humid. It will be in the mid 80’s but will drop to the 60’s tonight. The rain, a remnant from Ida, will be here on Thursday. The winds could gust up to 40 mph, and the storm could drop 3 inches or 4 inches of rain. That’s another reason (think excuse) not to wash the kitchen floor: more dog paw prints from the upcoming rain. I’m glad I grocery shopped yesterday.

Today I have a malaise. My stomach is bitterly complaining about something. It can’t be dinner as I actually had a salad. Last night was an unquiet sleep, a portend of this morning. I’m wearing track shoes (symbolism here) so I can sprint to the bathroom. The dogs watch me from the hall. That too is unsettling.

On the shoe/slipper front, I didn’t find it, but I haven’t yet checked through the brush in the backyard. I’m really missing my slipper.

I did go to the dump yesterday as I didn’t want the trash to sit in my car until Thursday, the next time the dump is open. A nice man helped me lug the heavy litter bags from the car to the big receptacle.

Nala chewed on my back scratcher. The five teeth have become three with spaces between them where there were no spaces. The scratcher was in one of the baskets under the den table top. Nala finds the three baskets under the table a rich hunting ground.

When I was a kid, Duke, our boxer, chewed a few things during his puppy days. Those few things included the upholstery over the windows of my father’s car and a roast beef though my brother and I managed to save it, and nobody noticed the teeth marks. Nala has no preference and no standards for stolen goods. Paper, cans, newspapers and so many more strange items are among the missing. I know she’s taken something when she rushes out the dog door and ignores my call.

My plans for today are simple: sit around, watch a little TV, read a bit and nap.