Holly Doyne

I don’t know about you, but doing laundry is one of those basic tasks that feels like “a gift that keeps on giving.” it doesn’t seem to matter if I do a load every couple of days organize it for once a week, or let things pile up till there is an acute shortage of critical clothing items.

Today was that day. Hauling everything to the laundry room and sorting out the fabrics by color and weight, it appeared to be about five loads. More than the average, but considering I am not sure exactly when I did laundry prior to today….. I have a system down pat which involves essentially running the loads first which take the least amount of time to dry and leaving towels/jeans for the final load. Since we renovated and the laundry is down stairs, I am less likely to take it out side and hang to dry. It also might have something to do with the frequency that we get deer in the yard…

anyway – five loads later with cat supervised assistance –

I finished up and started hauling everything back upstairs. 

And very likely next week I will do this all again….

I had no intentions of getting up early. In fact, I had planned on taking the opportunity to sleep in. The cat had other ideas. He started his Siamese howl shortly after 0400 otherwise known as 0dark o’clock. Even at this point in the summer it is dark out. A few birds providing commentary, but really quite. No traffic on the road, no dogs barking. Even the deer seem to be absent.

And here I am, awake, up and figuring out which things on my task list will be accomplished today. All because of a cat howling starting shortly after 0400. As it turns out, he had a dish of food, he just didn’t eat it. I squished the soft pellets. He ate them along with a bit more from a different bag.  Now finished with his breakfast, he has climbed into my arms and is purring. Since there was coffee left from yesterday which I could heat. up in the microwave, I am letting him live.

I think I have mentioned before that it seems that whenever I am home and leave my comfortable chair in the living room for more than a few minutes – come back to find this –

my chair has been taken over and he seems to be more than comfortable.

And, just in case I didn’t get the point …

In the house,

Dropped off to friends & neighbors

And on our tree. Several dozen in fact still at the partly green stage.

I have been watching the price/ear for a while. Let me just leave it with – it hasn’t been what I would call affordable. Up to $1US/ear just doesn’t make sense to me. Or packages of shucked corn which were 6ears/$5. But then we went to Safeway this evening. Walking in the front, there was a package of 8 ears – shucked – for $6. Still too much. But part way down the fruit/vegetable section was a sign – 8 ears for $1. Limit 8 ears.  I read it twice. The number and amount didn’t change. I grabbed a bag, stuffed in 8 ears and went on with shopping. 

Once we were home, I shucked an ear, then nuked it in the microwave. I have it down pat. And it tasted delicious. 

and rather shocked to see me coming up the stairs toward the front door. Being disturbed wasn’t in her plans.

According to the calendar – it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere. In fact, we are beyond the solstice. So why is it below 15*C here and I have out my flannel pjs?

It is not that I want to be out baking in the sun, getting sweaty and burned, it is just that much of the rest of the US and a portion of Canada is suffering under a heat wave while it feels like my area has sucked all the coolness from other regions and are keeping it to ourselves.

It means that having a cat on the lap almost continuously (he takes a break for meal times) is not uncomfortable. At least in regards to warmth, being pinned down, looked at with disgust should I venture out of the chair? Disturbing his highness is not apparently all that acceptable.

So no errands for me today. Perhaps a soccer game on the screen. And stitching.

are by far and away my favorite fruit. Which means that I really only indulge for a few weeks every May/June when the orchards in Washington State and British Columbia are in full production.

We don’t have our own tree. After the disastrous attempt at planting fruit trees – immediately eaten by the deer, we only have the Meyer Lemon tree as a fruit producer. It is years old and still providing crops of lemons for a good portion of the year.

And I haven’t seen any cherry trees around here. Not so in the neighborhood where our eldest lines with her two boys. There are cherry trees, the occasional fallen fruit –

which can be picked up. But mostly it is sidewalks splattered and stained with the remains of fruit which over ripe and no longer able to hang out, splatted down.  I’m not finding intact fruit anymore, so I think it will be off to the market for more tasty cherries.

and sidewalks splattered