Yesterday and this morning were busy times, busy enough to keep me in sloth mode for the rest of the week. Yesterday I had an appointment in Hyannis then I shopped for dog food, two bags full, heavy bags full so I left one bag in the car. A repair man came yesterday afternoon and fixed my washer. He also checked the dryer which strangely enough worked for him. Once he was done and gone, I started doing the laundry which was piled in giant heaps on the cellar floor. One heap was from a couple of weeks ago and another from last week. The final heap, the smallest, was the afghan and a couple of  blankets from a few weeks ago which had had no immediacy so I let them sit on the floor a while. Once each heap was washed and dried, I carried it upstairs to this floor thinking to save my back but that made no difference. I killed my back anyway. It was so bad, I could have played Igor in Young Frankenstein. The laundry still sits on the chair in the living room waiting to be brought upstairs. It will be a long wait.

This morning Gracie woke me up early. She was restless and moving around on the couch cushion so I figured it was time for her to go out. Maddie was meowing just for the joy of it. She needed nothing. She was just being a cat. Gracie and I went out, and after Gracie was done, I went to get my mail from the box across the street. Gracie followed me. All of a sudden the hair on her back went up and she was growling. A lady was walking her dog, and Gracie hates other dogs so she went after this one. My arms were filled with mail, but I still tried too grab her halter. Gracie was moving better than she has in weeks. The other dog kept trying to get Gracie, but the lady walking her dog was wonderful. As we were both grappling, I told her Gracie has trouble walking so she held her dog with one hand and grabbed Gracie with other then transferred Gracie to me. There I was carrying the mail in one hand and bending over to hold Gracie’s halter with the other. When I got inside the house, I immediately sat on the stairs as I couldn’t move any further because of my back. I sat there a while and Gracie, looking a bit bewildered, watched me sit.

Here I am now, a few aspirins later, with a better back for the meanwhile. I will lift nothing heavier than a cup of coffee. The laundry can sit. I have no guilt leaving it there. That I did three heaps of laundry in one day is a new record for me, one I am quite proud for achieving.