No,it’s not some kind of deranged form of golf, it actually is the Dutch word for heatwave. I suppose it started yesterday and it is planned through the weekend. It is not unpleasant. However, you do work up a sweat on the bike and it makes me reluctant to greet people with the Left Right Left kisses when everyone is sweaty. I hope that the uptick in temperature will finally set my zucchini plants to blooming. So far, they are growing up and out but not blooming.

The warm weather is bringing out the weirds. Yesterday, while I was busy cooking their sweet potato pieces for their dinner over a hot gas stove in the heat, George decides that he’s not going to wait and proceeds to get his bag of dry dog food out and spill it across the floor so he and his brother can have a kibble party. Of course, George should have been named Eureka for the speed at which he inhales, I mean eats. In the midst of turning to get as much food off the floor as possible, I splashed a lot of boiling water down my leg. So now I am also trying not to yell “Shit. Shit. Shit” because it hurts and not spill water on the dogs or anymore on myself and still try to salvage some of the spilled dog food. Of course, the day started with George peeing on the laundry basket twice even after he had been outside. As Eliza puts it “George is in disgrace”.

To be fair to my wretched little George, I think he knows something is up and it is making him uncertain. Or perhaps that’s just my wishful thinking. As I sit here typing this to you, Henry has his head inside a folded fleece blanket, rest of his body sticking out and George is curled up on top of another fleece blanket. And it is probably 85 degrees. I think Henry is hiding himself from the disgrace label.

Monday it is off to Atlanta for the week and then on to Seattle. It will be strange to be gone from home for two weeks. I will be without my favorite mode of transportation. My banjo playing will definitely suffer. I will miss the pets. Yes, really. I will miss my Nespresso and small cups of coffee rather than tall drinks. I will miss fresh bread and going grocery shopping every other day or so.

What will I look forward to? Seeing friends, eating pizza, having really good Mexican or Southwest food, getting pedicures (the Dutch look at as mostly a medical procedure for diabetics so you can imagine it is not very relaxing), climbing hills and being above sea level.

See you soon 🙂