You Don't Know What You've Got....Until It's Gone...

So, it’s come to my attention after now whining in my last two blogs about my lack of air conditioning that I may be a wee bit spoiled.

After all, when I was growing up in the UK, we didn’t have air conditioning. I don’t think I even remember knowing what air conditioning was. During the English summer, in my area at least, we would have a few really hot days in the summer where it went up over 80. Of course, being a little island, that means it was 80 degrees with a lot of humidity. Mostly, though, summer days weren’t intolerable. We expected it to be warm but not too hot, most of the time, at least. Since we moved to the U.S., it seems global warming has affected the UK and they do have a lot more heat over there. My relatives and British friends are always talking about how hot it gets. I’m not sure what the status of air conditioning is over in the UK but I venture to guess it’s still not as prominent over there as it is here in the U.S.

In fact, my very first memory of arriving in the U.S. was in August. When we got off the plane, we were met with a wall of heat that seemed so thick, it was difficult to breathe. When we went into the airport, it was freezing. The air felt…weird. It took me a while to get used to air conditioning though it didn’t take too long for me to appreciate it. The house we moved into was an old farmhouse and it didn’t have air conditioning. In the summer, we sweated and roasted and would find ways to cool down- going to shopping malls, going to the pool, etc. The nights were hot and sticky. I would lie in my room, too hot to sleep and listen to the honk of the Canadian geese that were swimming in our neighbours ponds over the road. I remember those nights well. There was the sound of cicadas, of crickets, of the odd bird chirping, all intertwined with the honking of those geese.

When the sun rose and we’d get up the next morning, I remember getting up earlier than I did during less hot days. The mornings were cooler and I’d go outside to appreciate the fresher air than was in the house. As the day went on, the heat increased but there gets to a point in the house where it can’t get that much hotter- it’s just plain…hot.

After a few years of this, my dad caved and bought one of those window air conditioners. We’d gather in the living room where it was situated and breathe a sigh of relief. It did little for the hot nights, particularly for my sister, brother and I who all slept upstairs, but it was a pleasant relief in the evenings before bed.

Naturally, after I went to college, my parents had central air installed. For the summers I was home, it was a nice change from the hot nights. They also moved my bedroom downstairs and I could no longer hear the sound of the honking geese, nor any other night sounds since I now slept with the windows closed.

Ironically, nowadays, when I visit my parents, I stay in my first room- the upstairs one. The air conditioning sort of reaches up there but doesn’t keep it too cool so I use a fan. I also sleep with the window open and get to hear the sounds of the summer night again. I like that.

What my point comes down to is that I managed to survive years without air conditioning. Nowadays, if it breaks, I have a little whine and moan and act like it’s the end of the world. Granted, it did go out at the worst time- the night prior to taking the puppies in to get spayed and two days after when it was important to keep the pups comfortable- but…still. I acted like a prima donna, like it was my divine right to have working air conditioning.
Of course, my whining was probably influenced by the fact that I was covered with a layer of sweat, had two panting puppies at my feet and only warm, sultry air flowing through the house with no cooling, comfortable breeze to make it tolerable.

I’m obviously conflicted. I know it’s possible to live without air conditioning but since I’ve experienced life without it- both recently and in the past- I don’t want to live without it. This of course makes me sound a bit like an awful human being- after all, lots of people don’t have AC- the starving children in Africa, the third world countries and lots of people in Europe.

In my guilt at feeling like a spoiled whiner, I did some searching on the internet about how people lived without air conditioning. I came across a blog post by a lady who offered tips based on how she lives without air conditioning. She wants to save the money it costs over a summer to run the AC. Her tips included making sure you don’t go into any place that has AC: You don’t know what you’re missing until you experience it. Also, she doesn’t cook indoors but grills out every day, using picnic-style foods to feed her family. Also, the coolest room in the house is the living room so she and her kids camp out in the living room over the summer months.

Now, while I salute her attempts to save a few dollars, I can’t help wonder how her kids feel. My guess is that they go to their friends a lot. They can’t have much company in their house because they obviously have a bit of a muddle in their living room due to the ‘campout’ situation. Also, as a guest, it can’t be too comfortable in a humid, hot house. Also, while I’m quite fond of grilled foods, I couldn’t eat them everyday. There’s only so many sandwiches and salads you can eat before you start wanting a nice, non-grilled, homecooked meal

My guess is that when they get older, that lady’s kids are going to be the ones who crank their air conditioning up so it’s only 60 degrees in their houses. I’ve met a few of these people and when you find yourself wishing for winter woolies while visiting them in August…you know they HAD to have grown up without AC.

I suppose my point is that, as humans, once you get used to something, it’s hard to lose it. It can be a relationship, a pair of comfy socks, Cost Plus World Market (at least in this area), a chocolate bar you were craving, only to discover it’s a melted, inedible mess….the list is endless.

You just don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Especially when it’s air conditioning.
Happy Tuesday!

In Which I Decided to Divorce Walmart...

I have to say, my weekend started better than it ended.

On Friday evening, I had once-more working air conditioning and two rather subdued but healthy puppies back from the vet after their spay. I decided that this would be a weekend of just staying at home, relaxing and keeping an eye on the puppies.

Saturday was nice. The only thing I had to do was go grocery shopping and so I went to Kroger and Walmart to get that done.

I've decided that it's time for me to officially divorce Walmart, by the way. Back when Walmart was just...Walmart- before it became Walmart Super Center- Walmart was fun. It was a little messy but it felt comfortable. The prices were lower and it was fun to go there and see what they had.

I enjoyed my relationship with Walmart. Truth-be-told, when I first moved to California, one of my favourite things to do when I came home was go to Walmart because they're a little harder to find in L.A.

Then, as time passed, Walmart stopped being so convenient, their prices went up...and then they remodeled. Their stores now have a warehouse feel and it's just not appealing- well, not to me, at least.

Every time I go in Walmart, I walk around, annoyed that they don't have what I'm looking for. When they do have it, I usually get a choice of the Walmart generic brand and the most expensive name brand. There's not much inbetween. I find myself more and more leaving Walmart, disgusted at how, once again, the store has failed me and rather than continue shopping for other things I need, I'd rather go to Kroger to do my shopping.

Thus, the bloom is now off the rose. As of Saturday when i still believed Walmart had lower prices on some stuff and carried things I couldn't necessarily find at Kroger...I'm officially ending the relationship with Walmart. We had our good times. We had fun together. But as we've grown older, we've become strangers. If it were really a marriage, this would probably be the stage where I'd lie in bed with my husband and start envisioning mean things I could do to him. If you've ever read Roald Dahl's book, The Twits- that's how I'm feeling towards Walmart. It's about a horrible husband and wife who try to do the cruelest things they can think of to each other because they dislike each other. At least, that's the way I remember it.

Anyway, I'm fed up of going to Walmart, hopeful that I'll get everything on my shopping list and finding that I'm always having to compromise or, worse, do without. So, bye Walmart- if I have to go into your walls, I'll be cordial but I don't expect anything anymore and I'd prefer that we remain strangers. It's not me...it's you.

So, aside from Walmart and Kroger- a store which continues to meet my expectations- I spent much of the day with the puppies. I had to do a bit of stern mothering when they tried to play like they normally did but, for the most part, I kept them calm.

Of course, the Dog Whisperer didn't help much with that. Ironically, I'd run into him at the vets. This was not too much of a coincidence since I got the referral for the vet from Wife of Dog Whisperer. However, this means that Dog Whisperer was fully away my pups had just been spayed and that maybe, just maybe, they would want a bit of peace. Or, at the very least, I might want them to have a little peace.

Alas, this was not meant to be since he let his yappy beasts out every single time I went out with the puppies. Now, normally, I leave the back door open a crack to let the puppies go in and out how they want. While it doesn't excuse the barking of Dog Whisperer's pets, it means that by allowing the puppies to run freely and knowing that their mere presence sets off the yaps, I do have a little responsibility there. Not much, but a little.

Of course, if I had my way about it and wanted to be completely mean, I'd be honest and say that yes, my puppies make his dogs bark but, really, his dogs shouldn't be barking like that in the first place. What is interesting is that on one of my recent vet visits, I tactfully asked the vet for suggestions on how to handle it. I figured that since she was their vet too, she knew they were yappy and may have some suggestions. She suggested a privacy fence and said it would go a long way to, "alleviate the tension that exists between you and your neighbours."

Now, call me paranoid but well, since I hadn't expressed any tension but merely asked for advice, I can't help but wonder if Dog Whisperer has mentioned some tension. Given that he no longer makes any effort whatsoever to control his dogs' barking, I can't help but wonder. I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt but, well, I'm finding it hard. Also, now I've realized how pricey a privacy fence is to build (over $1000), I'm finding it hard to feel like I should be the one to construct the fence.

Back to my original point- he let the dogs out every single time I was out with the girls. We went out once every couple of hours. Most of the day, the girl's slept. It's not that hard to look over and see if someone's in the yard next door before you let the dogs out. I do it all the time with the yappy beasts. I did it on Saturday, as a matter of fact so I knew when it would be a good time to take the girls out so they didn't start running around because of the barking next door. All my efforts to make sure the coast was clear went out the window when he let his dogs out anyway.

What made it worse was he came to fence to encourage my puppies to run and play. The puppies didn't know any better. They were probably sore and a little tired from their surgery but their first instinct is to be a puppy, not lie down and relax.

Needless to say, I made sure we went inside and I told the Dog Whisperer it would be better if the girls didn't get too excited. He did what he usually did- gave me a blank look and stood up. He doesn't talk much to me. Sometimes I wonder if he can't understand what I'm saying because he rarely responds to my questions or comments. It's a bit odd.

So, all in all, Saturday wasn't bad. It was nice and lazy.

Then I woke up on Sunday and realized my air conditioner wasn't working. Again. The technician on Friday had told me my 'high pressure switch had reset itself.' He reset it for me and it started working. He didn't know why it reset itself. This time, it seems to be the same problem.

It's not as hot as it was the last time the air conditioning broke but it's still hot. The worst part is trying to keep the puppies cool. I'm really hoping that the air conditioning repair company doesn't try to charge me for a second visit because really, I called them to fix it in the first place. Since they didn't really fix anything, I think that deserves another visit for free...right?

So, all in all, I decided that today was going to be a lazy day. I've done very little but watch Spain beat the Netherlands in the World Cup final match. I've been watching episodes of Top Chef and I've been making sure the puppies stay cool and not too hot. I think sometimes, when life doesn't go the way you plan or the way you want, it's best to just sit back and relax rather than stress about it. Or, at least stress while you're doing something fun.

I'm really hoping that someone will come and fix the air conditioner tomorrow but, in the meantime, we're in for another hot night.

If this continues, I might have to change my name to Captain Crankypants.

I apologize for being crotchety. I blame the heat. And the Dog Whisperer.

Happy Monday!

Dear Weather: Please Cool Down!

Last night, the weather reports said that today was likely to be the hottest day of the year so far. When I got up, my house was warm but not hot. Outside, at 6:10 a.m., it was already 72 degrees.
When I came home for lunch, I noticed that the house was beyond warm...it was hot. My air conditioning unit sounded like it was still running. Upon investigation, however, I discovered that, naturally, on the hottest day of the year so far, my outside air conditioning had stopped working. After some research on the internet this afternoon at work, I found out a few things I could try on the off-chance it was something minor.

So, when I got home, I checked to see if the circuit had tripped. Alas, it hadn't. I checked the circuit on the air conditioner itself. I don't think it's tripped. Since the furnace was still blowing the air out, it was easy to narrow down that it was the air-conditioning unit. So, realizing I probably had a big problem, I did the best thing I could think of at the time.

I called my dad.

My dad is rather good at telling me what he thinks is the problem. In this case, he was certain that my air conditioner was out of Freon and needed to be recharged. This would warrant a call to an air conditioning repair company. So, I hung up and made an appointment for tomorrow.

In the meantime, my house is nothing short of hot. My thermostat only goes up to 85 degrees and the needle is on the very edge of that. The puppies are panting and I am sweating. I made an emergency trip to Lowes to buy a couple of fans but even though they're in the window, there's really only warm air to blow around since it's just as hot outside.

Still, for a while there, it looked like we were going to have a storm and so I sat outside with the puppies. The wind started to blow and a heavenly breeze started up. I cooled down, hoping this would be a storm to cool the world down.

The storm, alas, did blow over. I took a cold shower but I'm still hot. I keep giving the puppies ice to chew but they're still hot. I think unless we have a lovely cooling storm, it's going to be a hot, sticky night in the Monkeypants household.

To top it all off, the puppies are getting spayed tomorrow. I'm a little nervous about this even though I had a neurotic-pet-parent consult with the vet last week and she assured me it would be a routine procedure and she'd take care of my puppies. I get to drop them off before work and pick them up afterwards. I'm hoping they'll be fine but since I'm neurotic and a worrier to begin with, the worst case scenerios keep popping into my mind.

I was hoping to have a nice relaxing evening with them but it's a little hard to relax when the mere act of sitting still and doing very little makes you sweaty. Hopefully when night falls, the air will cool and it would gently waft into the living room with the aid of two box fans.

Still, it's one of the side effects of being a homeowner, I suppose. It's been an expensive couple of months what with ceiling fans needing to be replaced, leaking faucets that lead to new sinks and now having to call the air conditioning repair people. But, into every life a little rain must fall although in Sookie, Rory and my case, no literal rain is falling and I rather wish it would. Instead, a watery sun is attempting to come out which is causing more heat on top of the already baking world.

Nevertheless, tomorrow is Friday. Hopefully, the AC will be fixed by tomorrow and the puppies can rest in a cool house after what I'm sure isn't going to be a pleasant day. If not, well, we'll just continue to sweat and hope that Mr. Fox 19 Stormtracker Weather is right when he says it will cool down.

Wish us luck!

Happy Friday, have a great weekend and stay cool!

Hot Days and Swimming Pools....

Short weeks at work are nice. It means that today is the middle of the week instead of only being Tuesday. It's shaping up to be one of those weeks where I just feel frustrated with my job and am starting to get the itch to look elsewhere again.

It's not that I don't like the work. I'm just frustrated with the politics. No matter what I do or what I say, I end up playing second fiddle to my coworker who seems to be able to do no wrong.

She mostly doesn't do wrong although she's a little bored at work at the moment. Thus, she goes to 'talk business' with her friends and disappears for hour-long stretches at a time. My boss doesn't notice. I know that sometimes she does talk shop but, mostly, she disappears and starts whispering with one of her friends.

I hate whispering in the office. I think it's quite unnecessary. There are enough locations throughout where people can go inside, shut the door and talk properly. Whispering incites gossip and I get fed up with that.

Still, it's not all bad. I've been busy lately which has made the days go fast. Also, it's been so hot outside that going to the office isn't so bad. It's very cool in our building on hot days where the heat index is above 100 degrees, it's nice to be in the air-conditioning, looking out on the hazy day.

It's so hot out there that it feels as there's no air moving at all. It feels like a classic summer day where all you want to do is lie on a raft in a swimming pool and float the day away. I've done that before and it's one of the pure joys of hot days. You lie on the raft, listening to the gentle lap of the water as it brushes the sides of the pool and the edges of the raft. Chances are, you got in the pool to get on the raft and so your swimsuit is wet and the last drips are evaporating on your skin. You start to get warm as you dry, the hot sun beating down on you and, just when it gets to be so hot that you're going to start sweating...plop! You roll into the pool and begin the whole process again.

When I was younger, my parents got us one of those inexpensive above-ground pools. It was somewhat flimsier than the more 'permanent' models but it held water and was deep enough for us to float. My younger brother and I were the primary users of the pool, playing and floating on a Little Mermaid raft that provided endless hours of amusement. Summers later, the pool began to leak and we got rid of it.

Sometimes, I think it would be nice to have one of those pools in my back yard now I have one of my own. Unfortunately, my back yard isn't nearly as big as my parents' and a pool would take up most of the grass. Also, I'm afraid if I did get one, the summer's day peace would be interrupted by the yapping of the Dog Whisperer's beasts.

The closest pool is just down the street at the community center. It requires a membership to use and, given that it's summer, its primary users are children. This means that it would be hard to peacefully float on a raft because if there's even enough room for a raft, it would probably be jostled and splashed by kids doing cannonballs and learning to swim.

The best floating I ever did was at a spa in California with one of my best friends. It's a wonderful place, that spa. You pay an entrance fee and you have access to their multiple pools which include saltwater, sulfer, hot springs and other spa-oriented pools and you can also get a mud treatment. My friend and I floated for hours in the pool that allows rafts, slowly getting punchier and sillier as we floated and we relaxed more than more. That was a hot summer day where it felt good to get wet and let the sun dry away the water.

Since I don't have a pool now, I can only close my eyes and imagine I'm floating. The closest I've come is accidentally soaking myself with the hose while trying to screw it to the tap a little tighter. The cold water felt good on my skin, even though it soaked my clothes. I let myself dry in the sun and the sensation was very nice and cooling. It's not a pool but it did the trick.

Sometimes, we just have to improvise. Especially on hot summer days.

Happy Thursday and stay cool!

You've Got (Fan) Mail!

Today started with a bumblebee.

I got to the office at my usual around-7 a.m. time. Today, someone else beat me in though I'm often the first. As I crossed from the stairway to my cubicle, something big and fuzzy caught my glance from the corner of my eye.

Upon further examination, I realized it was a rather large bumblebee. How it got into our building and up to the second floor, I'm not entirely sure. Bumblebees don't seem to wander into buildings as often as flies, mosquitoes and wasps.

I admit, it took me a little by surprise because I wasn't expecting it. Nevertheless, I decided that though the poor thing seemed sluggish and unable to fly, it shouldn't be trapped in our office. So I did the decent thing- I gave it a ride in my Phantom of the Opera mug downstairs and, when outside, I released it onto the ground. Even if it died not long after, at least it died outside with nature and didn't make its tomb our cold and slightly stuffy air-conditioned building. I have a silly soft spot for creatures that get trapped inside. Last week, there was a rather large spider hanging from the ceiling behind my cubicle. Though it sort of made me a little creeped out, I managed to scoop that spider up in my plastic water cup and put it outside where it belonged. I suppose it would have been easier to kill it since there's a lot of spider-phobic folks in our office. However, as I always say, it's not the spider's fault it's a spider and naturally creepy to many people.

Anyway, after the bumblebee, I settled down to work. Then I realized it had been a while since I checked the email on my author website that I created when I published The Reluctant Demon. Lo and behold! I had mail. Better yet, I had fan mail! Four pieces of it, to be exact.

I suppose to some authors, that's not really much fan mail. To me, it was one of the best feelings ever. All of the writers had nothing but kind, sweet things to say about my book. One of them said it was her new favourite book. Another wanted me to know how much fun she had reading it.

I have to confess, I felt like I was on cloud 9. It's my first fan mail ever and it really, really made me feel like a real author. One of the emails had a request to review my book to post on her website and, if possible, to receive and advance copy of my sequel, Emmy Goes to Hell (tentative title), in order to review that. Of course I said yes because, well, that's just a lovely request. Even better, she wrote the kindest, nicest review of my book on her rather nice blog "Fangs, Wands and Fairy Dust." If you want to read it, you can check it out here: http://fangswandsandfairydust.blogspot.com/2010/05/reluctant-demon.html

Her blog is fun and if you're a fan of the paranormal, it's definitely worth checking out. She has a lot of followers so I'm hoping it gets me a few more readers. I'll be sending some materials to Comic Con this year with a friend. I won't be attending, alas. It's a fun adventure but having gone for the past three years, my finances and my sanity need a break. One day, it'd be cool to be a 'professional' there but, for now, I'll live vicariously through my friend who is kind enough to let me send materials to the 'amateur crap' table, as I call it. The 'amateur crap' table isn't really, well, crap but it's the place for writers, comic-book illustrators/writers, poets, filmmakers, etc. to put advertising materials. Generally, when you go to Comic Con, you grab a free bag from one of the many booths giving them away and you just put as much...crap...into it as possible. This includes a sweep of the 'amateur crap' table. I figure if I send some postcards, there will have to be a few people who pick it up and think, "Hey, I'd like to read this."

Still, even with my publicity and promotion, I know I still have a long way to go. For one thing, I really need to get the sequel to my novel written. It's coming along nicely but not as quick as the last one to write just because I seem to have less time. It's much easier to write in the winter since staying inside is the best option. In the summer, there's always something that needs to be done, particularly if you're a hopeful gardener like me.

I also need to keep trying to get my name out there, to get more people to read my book. The fan mail today was wonderful; it made me realize that it's ok to have put my book out there and to let people read it because that's what being an author is all about. It's a nice thing to know that people are reading my book which, really, is why I published in the first place. It's even nicer to know they're enjoying it.

As always, thanks for reading and Happy Wednesday!

Lazy Days of Summer

Mondays can be nice, I think. They're especially nice when you don't have to work. Since it was Independence Day yesterday, we were lucky enough to get today off. It's a lovely feeling to know that it's a Monday morning and you don't have to get up. Extra long weekends are wonderful things. I only wish we could have them more frequently.

Still, it's best not to be greedy, especially when the past extra long weekend was so nice. It was a perfect 4th of July weekend, weatherwise. It was breezy and cool-ish on Saturday; tolerable, even in the sun. Sunday, being Independence Day itself, was very hot. The coolness faded, replaced by a warm, sultry breeze that was only slightly refreshing. Even though my family is British and thus really don't celebrate July 4th, we decided to do a traditional thing and have a family barbecue.

It was my dad's idea and so he was in charge of the grill. The thing with my dad is that I think he secretely likes to compete with mine and my mum's new love of cooking. Thus, instead of just having hot dogs and hamburgers, he decided to also make marinaded steak and salmon steaks. The salmon steaks were grilled in a sauce that was Asian-inspired. He put me in charge of potato salad and guacamole.

Mostly, the food turned out ok. The salmon, I admit, was not to my taste and I think we would have been better served to keep things a bit simpler because only half the food was ready at the same time. This meant my sister, the lone vegetarian in the family, didn't get her protein- the salmon- until long after the rest of the meat was ready and she'd had time to eat all the sides.

Still, for the most part, it wasn't bad. There were a few slight annoyances. For example, my mum and I spent quite a lot of time getting the patio furniture set up so that everyone had a place to sit on the deck which was very pleasant since it's under trees and always has a pleasant breeze. It didn't just entail moving the patio furniture but meant we had to get it out of the storage shed which has a door that doesn't open. After much effort, we got the door open wide enough to get the furniture out and set it up so that all 14 people who would be at the barbecue would have a nice outdoor place to sit and eat.

We tried to tell everyone that we'd be eating outside but, alas, for the most part, everyone wanted to stay in the air conditioned house. Thus, only my older brother's family, my mother and I sat outside. I get that it was cooler inside but it was a barbecue and, well, isn't the point of a barbecue to eat outside?

Nevertheless, it was a pretty pleasant evening. My mum and I cleaned up. We don't have the type of family where people say, "I'll clean up." No, everyone sort of just...left when it came time to clean up. They actually went to sit outside.

Yes, I groaned.

Still, it was a fun, very traditional July 4th for the "American" members of our family and it's the first time we've all been together since Christmas. It's nice to see how the children play together. It's also sort of interesting to watch them fight because it makes me look back on how my siblings and I must have acted when we were young. We were always bickering as siblings. We still bicker as adults but we no longer are able to scratch or bite one another the way little children seem to do so freely. Sometimes, I think that might be best- we'd get it out of our systems instead of silently sulking and harboring resentment for something that ends up being rather silly but seems significant enough at the time it upsets us. I do think my sister would look twice if I reached over and poked her repeatedly with a sharp pointy straw the way my nephew did to his older sister though.

I did end up watching fireworks with my sister and her husband and brother and his wife. I'm the lone unmarried in my family which bothers me at times but no so much at others. Thanks to the magical Off Mosquito Fan, I didn't get bit whereas my siblings did. Yes, I was a little smug about it.

The fireworks were pretty but never seem as exciting when you're watching them as you think they're going to be. It didn't help that we had a surprise rainstorm about ten minutes before the city fireworks were supposed to start and the rain came down hard and heavy enough to flood the streets for a few minutes.

In the end, it turned out to be a pretty good holiday, even though it was hot and humid. Today was also hot but it was one of those 'lazy hazy days of summer' where it was hard to find the energy to do anything but sit outside and enjoy the breeze. My mother and I made a point of sitting on the patio furniture that we dragged out yesterday.

All in all, it as a lovely long weekend. It also is lovely because it means it's a short work week this week and another weekend isn't too far away. It's supposed to be hot again but given that it is summer, that's not wholly unexpected. It's not really unwelcomed either, despite the fact that it's not always comfortable out there.

After all, what would summer be without a little heat?

Happy Tuesday!

Summer Evening Observations

I'm currently sitting outside as I write this on my little netbook. It's another beautiful evening. The air is cooling slowly around me as the sun sinks lower into the sky. It smells like evening; the grass smells just a little damper, a slightly musty earthiness is in the air.

The puppies are calmly chewing on a stick that Rory procured from...somewhere. I love watching the puppies when they're like this. They're sitting side-by-side on the grass, both have an end of the stick and they're chomping quite peacefully. They do that a lot with toys as well. They each take one end of a toy and together, in perfect synchronicity, they march off, heads held aloft as they proudly take their toy to a new place to chew.

Of course, my perfect moment of peace has been temporarily broken. The Dog Whisperer has just emerged from his house shirtless to pet the puppies. No, I am not joking. The puppies just decided that their peaceful stick-chomping time was over and ran over to the fence to chase a bird. Dog Whisperer's wife was taking out the rubbish and she came to say hi to the pups. Soon enough, out swoops Dog Whisperer. I really wish he'd put on a shirt. He has a sizable pauch and he's just...not nice to look at.

Still, now he's going inside and I can go back to my peaceful observations. I have my mosquito fan clipped to my trousers and it's keeping the bugs at pay. The fireflies are starting to come out too. I love fireflies. I think they're one of the most amazing things. I can watch them for hours as they glow at one another in their oddly beautiful mating ritual. It's one of the things I love about Midwestern summer nights.

The nice thing about tonight is that I don't have to work tomorrow. Since I have a doctor's appointment in the morning, I decided it would be nice to have a whole day off to make my weekend four days instead of three. I'm also taking the pups to the vet to talk about getting them spayed. It's a tough decision. On one hand, I know it's the responsible thing to do. With the Dog Whisperer's male dogs and the other neighbour's male dogs, I don't want to see what happens when my girls go into heat. On the other hand, they're my babies and the idea of them having surgery is a little scary. Hopefully the vet can talk us through it and help me know that it's the right thing to do.

There are clouds of gnats out in my garden. They're odd things, gnats. They hover, thousands deep, in a cloud above some mystery point on the ground and just gather. They're horrible when you walk into them but you mostly don't see them until it's too late. I like the fireflies a lot more. They add an accent to the evening that's just...pretty.

I keep waiting for the rabbit to emerge. I noticed little bite marks in the lone cucumber that's growing on my vines. I think the vines are dying because of the flooding in the garden- they've gone all yellow and yucky looking. But this cucumber has persevered and it's still growing. I just hope the rabbit doesn't get it. Maybe I should take a cue from Larry the Possible Serial Killer and use human hair as a deterrent. Unfortunately, I don't think I can do it though. It's just too creepy. I could use bloodroot, as my mother suggested but it can be harmful to animals and I don't want to risk that.

Still, there's no sign of the bunny tonight. Just bugs of all shapes and sizes. It's a peaceful evening in my little garden, not even the Dog Whisperer's beasts are out to make any noise. It's the type of evening that makes me happy I moved back to the Midwest because here, I can just sit, blog and enjoy a cool, summer's night in my own back garden. It's strange how comfortable it feels but I suppose that's why a home is a home and not just a house.

I suppose I'm just feeling lyrical tonight. I hope you don't mind. Thanks for joining me on this summer night in Ohio. Close your eyes, smell the grass and picture some fireflies and you'll be there in spirit with me, Sookie and Rory. We'll save a glass of wine for you.

Happy Friday!