Blazing

Quote of the day:
"I dearly love the state of Texas, but I consider that a harmless perversion on my part, and discuss it only with consenting adults."
--Molly Ivins

It’s a blazing Saturday morning, and it’s getting hotter. Conditions are unusually tropical for San Diego, which is a desert.

Our poor indoor plants that we moved outside for the remodel are really suffering in the heat. They look how I feel--a little tired, wilted and brown.

We know we’re supposed to be conserving water, but we give our small yard and plants an extra drink. The insects, birds and animals enjoy it.

Sophie is doing amazingly well being cooped up, out of the heat. Maybe she’s just so pleased that Merrie’s home that nothing else matters. Except treats, of course. As a German Shepherd mix, I know my priorities.

She is positively glued to Merrie. There’s no separating them.

Junior, our 11-year-old black-and-white cat, is shedding prodigious amounts of his thick fur. I comb about a pound of it off him during the day.

Rocco, our 4-year-old Tonkinese, spends his usual 2 daily hours prowlin’ and yowlin’, 2 hours socializing with all of us other animals, and 20 hours in deep reclusive hibernation.

Merrie is up for an outing, so we head out for late-afternoon pancakes at IHOP. They’re vacuuming the floor when we get there. The whole-grain pancakes and egg-beater scramble taste great.

Energized, we head to Bed, Bath and Beyond to buy a small griddle to use while we’re kitchen-less. A trip like this is a big deal right now.