A lovely day, holed up in our comfortable home, just the four of us. I got to sleep almost a half hour later than usual until I heard Miss Roxie calling quite instantly from the hallway. I always close the door after I take Chelsea out for her mid night walk.

It was just beautiful when Chelsea and I went for her long walk this morning. She is such a happy girl on those walks. You would never guess how tired she is so much of the time. She is coughing a lot lately. She is due for her checkup late nest month.

After our breakfast, Dick went down for a nap, so I spent the morning cleaning and sending out cards and practicing for tomorrow's Mass. There was one song that I was really having trouble getting the alto part down. I think I have it now but of course have to be able to do it with all the other parts singing along and against the melody.

I dusted downstairs too so I am now ready for the music workshop next Thursday. The cleaning company is starting next Thursday, so I did not worry about the floors down there.

I can't figure out why my knee seems more sore the past couple of days and my hips ache so much.

We ate leftovers all day today but I did make a fruit salad and a jello salad to accompany them. The fruit this year is just wonderful and is staying that way. We have been so enjoying the salads.

Roxie and I had the nicest nap this afternoon. I hated to get up. I spent about an hour out on the deck after that reading and enjoying a glass of wine in this most beautiful of days. The deck is shaded in the late afternoon, so even if the sun is hot it is always pleasant with a nice gentle breeze coming through the trees. Mosquitoes don't seem to come up there either.

I drove past the home I grew up in the other day. It is for sale again and is really looking run down. So sad. I am surprised that none of the owners in the past years didn't side it with aluminum or something. It is still wood frame and badly in need of paint. We had such good memories in that house. As George titled his book of poems, Old Red House. Mom and Dad started painting it red when I was very young. A Nice barn red. When I was VERY little we did not have an indoor bathroom. The outhouse was in the back yard. When I was in kindergarten, Dad and our neighbor, Mr. Roe, put the bathroom in upstairs. They took part of a bedroom to do it. People find it hard to believe that 11 people lived in that house with only one bathroom. We didn't think it a problem because we did not know any better and it worked out just fine as long as nobody overslept. Eventually, Dad put just a toilet down in the basement but that was after several of us had gone on our merry ways. Happy house, so sad to see it lonely and neglected.

Mary