I had a revelation regarding cleaning out the house: this is not maintenance, this not ongoing drudgery, this is one-and-done, with clear space left behind that makes me happy to look at. Plus I'm finding cool stuff: SCA garb I never got to wear because of stuff and which will be perfect for an event later this year that I wasn't sure I'd have presentable garb for, my Perky Goth t-shirt, books I was thinking I'd need to re-buy, tens of dollars in change (he liked just emptying his pockets and seeing where it landed).

I caught myself looking forward to an hour of digging into the bottom of the closet.

I really hate flying west-to-east. It seems to eat up the whole day. Whereas, flying east to west, sometimes it feels like you land earlier than you took off!

I have done nothing today--well besides download and sort fic, flump on the couch, and plan our afternoon drive to escape heat buildup in the house this afternoon. Temps are supposed to drop ten degrees tomorrow, then all week. That'll be nice.

I haven't seen a fly in 30 minutes...

God, it's stupid hot and muggy out here too.

I have vacuumed or smashed so many flies, it is creeping me out.

Definitely fruit fly season here. I put out a cup with a few inches of vinegar in it, cover it with plastic wrap into which I poke a few holes. That seems to work pretty well although I keep catching myself wondering why it smells like vinegar in here!

I've done a couple of online tasks and walked to feed my friend's cats at the other end of the neighborhood. And got a hibiscus iced tea. That's about it.

Took the Diva for a long hike in the hills this morning: she came back covered in burrs, which are hard to get out of a golden's coat. Done laundry. Now I need to do some banking and straighten a little, and maybe make biscuits. I'm having Dad & my brother over for dinner.

And I over-indulged on half of a buttermilk bar I found in the freezer. Woops.

My CSA delivers Tues night/Wed morning, and the timing is not super convenient, but I've pretty much gotten used to it. 5 years in.

I swapped the fountain in my container water garden, made an attempt to fix its intermittent leak, and started another try at flan. I will conquer you, custard! Trying to get my meal planning done while catching up on LTiH, sort of productive.

I'm having Dad & my brother over for dinner.

Wait. How? At your sister's? Because you don't gots a kitchen right now!

Hah, that was my reaction too, Nanita--"Wait, is your kitchen done ALREADY???"

Yup, at my sister's house. She's in the mountains with her family and I'm camped out here for the duration.

Oh, here's a story: I accidentally trapped a cat in my shed last week! I feel bad, but I think it's okay. I had left the door open accidentally, and then when my contractor was over I was showing him around and he said he saw something move in there, probably a rat, I should get a trap. There's definitely room for a rat or mouse to get in there and hide behind the hot water heater.

Then last weekend I kept hearing a kitten crying somewhere outside, but I couldn't find it, figured it was in the neighbor's yard. Then yesterday I opened the shed door and saw the cat! It hid behind the hot water heater, and I wasn't going to reach in to grab it, since I think it's feral, so I just left the door open, and when I came back later it was gone. Sheesh, I will definitely keep the shed door closed from now on! Poor cat.

Went out to breakfast with former assistant at historic deli, Canter's, and then to the Melrose Trading post (a great Hollywood Flea Market). It was crowded and full of cool stuff, but SOOOOOO hot. She moved here from Chicago and has been here several months and lives only a few blocks from both these places, so it is about time that she visited both of them.