The End

Today was supposed to be an all-gardening day. We planned to maximize the day off from dance class (no drive to Madison, yay!), so we got all the plants for our containers yesterday after we finished chores. I got my inside chores done, and it was already over 90--way too hot for the queen of hot flashes to be outside! I was already drenched--completely wet t-shirt, sweat dripping off my face and arms--just from vaccuuming and cleaning the house this morning. We have the central air on, too. Mark gave up after a short lawn mowing session, saying it was too hot. Considering that my "too hot" is about 20 degrees cooler than his, I didn't even entertain the idea of trying to plant. I will have to work on it evenings this week.

I'm enjoying a short break before I have to get the daily herbivore room cleaning and feedings done. Then our dinner will be ready. Then it will be 6:00, and I will start my 24 hours of LOST. Poor Dej was so upset she had to work tonight! She's coming over tomorrow to watch it with me.

I saw this red bowl at the AFA's silent auction last week at the Fiesta and loved it. I thought of all kinds of wonderful things I could put in that bowl. It was donated by SERVV International, and I definitely prefer to buy fair-trade and handmade whenever possible, so I had to bid on it and was lucky enough to win! It was made in Uganda. I knew that all of the pretty little vignettes I had mentally created for the bowl would not be reality, because I know my Lila. She takes over anything basket-like and cozy looking, and there was absolutely no way that cat would allow me to use that basket. When she was just a tiny kitten, she and her brother would snuggle in one of several wicker baskets, and she's always been drawn to them since. I decided to just cut out the frustration of me trying to use the bowl for something other than Lila and just put it down empty. She immediately stepped in and took a nap.

She uses it most often, though some of the other cats love it, too. Tica naps in there sometimes, and we caught a picture of Ivan relaxing in it, too. It's a well-used and well-loved bowl!