Wednesday 1st August 2018

It is getting hotter. Again.

There are only so many times I can tell you about the summer mornings, getting ready for work, breakfast, and enjoying the cool of the morning, as the sun rises slightly later each day, and sunrise moving to the south a degree or two at a time.

I suppose now I have to break the news about Molly, as it will be the main subject these next few days: A couple of week ago, her right eye began to weep. We were given pills and cream, and we were hopeful. But it got worse, and soon the eye failed to adjust to changes in light, so that it is now permanently dilated, leaving her squinting and almost blind on that side. She has become withdrawn, and after breakfast vanishes for twelve hours or more, which causes us even more distress.

So it was that she failed to come in for breakfast right away, but did in the end, but could not jump up onto the work surface in the utility room, so we have now taken to lift her up. It seems serious.

Jools leaves for work, and I am left alone, as the cats soon all go to find somewhere to settle down for the night so to avoid the heat of the day.

After breakfast and another coffee, it is time for work, powering up the laptop and opening Outlook.

So, the day progresses.

At some point I make some pasta salad, have lunch, and sit on the sofa to watch so I can watch some more episodes of American Pickers.

At least it isn't too warm as yet, warm enough mind, and sunny. And bone dry.

It is the new month of course, and turning over the page in the calendar, I see Jools' sot of the eclipse from last August. So my mind ges back to the preparations we had for that trip this time last year. All the things we hoped to see and do, and we did all that and more. And saw the eclipse from the high desert in Wyoming.

Outside there are a few butterflies on the wing, but after lunch it is pretty much too hot for anything to be too busy.

The day passes its hottest part, and the shadows lengthen. Before five the cats emerge and demand food, and once having fed them, I set about the two small aubergines that we were having for dinner.

So, pasta salade, pan-ried aubergine and red plonk de plonk, a meal that really says summer to me.

Once we have eaten and tidied up, we watch something on TV, and before you know it, its nearly dark at nine, and your brain is saying, we really should be making tracks for bed. And in this way, the calendar moves on.