I guess I'd be worrying about a kid in the dark on the road waiting for a friend. Any way to offer him a spot to wait safely?

Jon, ladders left in place without supervision disappear quickly around here.

We're close to finally getting some rain here so I didn't water the garden yesterday, but if it doesn't happen today I'll surreptitiously run the hose and sprinkler over after dark (my watering days are Wednesday and Saturday) and give them a drink.

My distracting myself from wanting a glass of wine for a couple of evenings usually involves chocolate, and then I spent a couple of more days distracting myself from chocolate (it's all sugar). I've pulled out my decaff Market Spice Tea (I order it from them in Seattle, the listings on Amazon are way overpriced - this a cinnamon/orange tea with or without caffeine, and it is the only really good decaff I've ever found) and will be drinking a cup in the evenings.

Time to sweep the forest floor in the den and be ready for muddy footprints. I need to get a couple of extra large mats to put by the door, heavy enough that Cookie doesn't try to drag them out through the dog door. The one mat I have is situated so Zeke doesn't slip around on the tile while he stands and eats.

Laundry is running, and I'm to the point where I drew down most of the liquid (Arm & Hammer) detergent and have started using the sheets of detergent that come in an envelope—it's a half-sheet for a small load, full sheet for large, etc. I bought the unscented, but I may try the scented one also and mix the two to keep it to a small amount of fragrance. (Same thing I do with the liquid soap). I'm also going to later set the washer to fill for the largest load and add several cups of vinegar because I haven't done that in forever and it probably needs some of the calcium scale cleared out.

The guest room sheets are in the laundry hamper and I'll cover the mattress and pillows with a blanket till the next visitor arrives. This keeps the sheets on the bed from getting dusty if there is a long space of time between visitors. I see in the laundry that one of my new t-shirts accidentally settled over the agitator through the neck hole - that didn't do it any good. Note to self: the next washer won't have an agitator. They are more trouble than they're worth.

Okra is picked (production is slowing down) and I pulled a few more of the basil plants, rinsed and hung them to dry in the laundry room. It's time to put some cilantro seed into a couple of pots (around here it's a cool-season herb).