The windows and doors are all open to the fresh air. It is down to 77˚ and is far less humid. A breeze is coming from the north. It is a good day to be out, and I have to go out to get food for all the critters. They keep insisting on eating every day.

I just ordered grocery pick-up but not for me. It is from Agway for the beasties. I won’t have to leave my car so I won’t have to get dressed. I’m happy.

When I was a kid, Duke ate two cans of dog food every day. I hated to feed him because the food had a gross smell. Back then the cans held horse meat. Duke ate fast and furiously. Nala and Henry eat only the best. Their food has meat, potatoes, veggies and gravy. Some cans have green beans while others have carrots and peas. Both dogs eat healthier than I do.

Nala has turned her attention to other toys, that would be toys by her definition, not mine. The food is hidden so she snoops everywhere for whatever she can find. Last night she ran out the dog door. That is her tell. She steals something and runs out the door as quickly as she can. I have learned not to chase her, not to engage in the game. She is far faster than I have ever been. Last night I waited a bit and called her in for a treat. While she was munching, I investigated. Two orange bulbs, Christmas light bulbs, were on the deck. Nala was munching on the plastic container. I have no idea where she found the bulbs. She had one more she was playing with this morning. I heard it hitting the floor. Nala is amazing. She has mad skills.

I don’t have much ambition to do anything except turn a page or change a channel, but the other day I bit the bullet and vacuumed, and I need to vacuum again. I’ll do it later. It is an easy way to have a sense of accomplishment and a clean floor, of sorts.

Yesterday was close to a perfect day. My house was cool all day. I whiled away the afternoon watching Chris Sale and the Sox win. I ate Ben and Jerry’s Coffee Coffee BuzzBuzzBuzz! with hot fudge sauce. I was in heaven.

When I woke up, a bit ago, it was sunny, hot and humid, the sort of humidity you can see in the air. The sun disappeared then reappeared, only to disappear again where we are now. The heat and the thick humidity stay behind. The forecast is for clouds and maybe even a thunder shower. I’ll be just fine staying nice and cool inside the house. Even the dogs are out and back quickly.

The wind is picking up now and blowing the top branches and leaves of the trees in the backyard, even the biggest trees. The sky is cloudy, a milky white cloud. All of a sudden, the darkness is a bit ominous.

I finished some of my chores yesterday; however, the kitchen floor is still filled with paw prints. I vacuumed all of downstairs, and I cleaned the kitchen counters and the appliances yesterday. Neither chore was on my list. Why I keep a list is at issue, moot.

My main chore today is the kitchen floor. It is in such dire of attention I don’t even look down when I walk through. Besides, I figured I’d run out of excuses but, today’s prediction, the possibility of rain, gives me pause (paws?, sorry).

Nala continues her thieving ways and is getting even more brazen. When I was reading the newspaper, she checked out the paper recycle bag and stole a flat box, totally missing the irony. That I was watching her made no never-mind. She took off down the hall to the back door. She trotted with that boxer pride in her steps, her head held high, ill-gotten gains in her mouth as she went outside. I waited and checked on her. She was tearing the box apart, and I also noticed a hole, a freshly dug hole. Nala is a busy girl.

When I was a kid, Duke, our boxer, drove my father crazy. Duke would take off in the morning and follow kids to school. My dad would yell. Duke would hear his name, turn around and look then turn back around and take off. My dad would jump into the car and give chase. By then, my father was apoplectic and screaming Duke’s name as Duke trotted away. Sometimes Duke got caught. Other times my father had to stop the hunt and leave for work. Later, once the kids were in school, Duke would arrive home, none the worse for the chase. He was, after all, triumphant.