The reason for my tardiness is I spend Mondays with my neighbor. She is the neighbor who just became a citizen. We used to go over the citizenship questions, but mow we sit and talk just so she can practice her English. Usually I stay an hour or an hour and a half. Today we lost track of the time, and it was two and a half hours.

The day is just about perfect. All that’s missing is the sun, and I’m just fine with that. There is nice breeze keeping the house cool, the birds are singing loudly and the kids are quiet. I have nothing to do today. I was going to water the outside plants, but it rained last night. I don’t know how much or how long it rained as I slept through it. The wet deck was the only evidence.

The cat, Fern, woke me up the other night. She nipped my elbow. That was the first time in nearly 18 years she has ever nipped me. I woke up with a start. She was purring and then ran her head under my hand. She had woken me up because I was ignoring her need to be patted. After I had finished, she let me sleep.

The other day I bought cat food, dog food and dog treats. The treats are dried chicken strips. I put the bag on the floor as I was carrying so much, and that bag was quite heavy with all the cans. Later that night, Gracie was in the den, with me. She was scratching at the rug. I figured one of her toys must be under that rug so I got up to retrieve it. Well, it wasn’t a toy. It was the bag of treats. Gracie had gone into the bag, moved a couple of dog food cans out of the way and grabbed the treat bag in her mouth. That was the first time Gracie has ever done that.

My animals are getting brazen as they age. Gracie is nearly 12. Fern has been so sick I have been babying her so she must think I have given tacit permission to be harassed.

My father once said he would love to come back as a pet in any of our houses. Mine would be a great choice. He’d get the best dog food, canned and dried, the best dog treats and a couch to sleep on during the day and a bed at night. If a cat, my dad would get canned and dry food, pine litter instead of that awful clay and cat treats, mostly Temptations. He would be able to sleep on any couch, chair or bed. The only drawback would be those trips to the vets. My father always hated having to go to the doctor’s.