Another Monday and we’re almost mid-August. Days are getting a little shorter. School starts this week. We’re still sleep deprived and wondering if we’ve lost our collective minds or if they just wandered away for a short adventure.

Speaking of adventures, last week was a whirlwind of them as you know if you read my Friday post. There have been a few improvements, some status quos, and lots of coffee.

Woke up Sunday morning to the debris of a small tornado, ie. Toby. He shredded the pillow Pete naps on when he’s not napping on the bed. It sat on my antique cedar chest and Pete had the stuffings arranged just the way he wanted them. That’s been his go-to spot for a couple of years. I’d caught Toby lying on it the other night, took it away, told him “NO!” in no uncertain terms and put it back where it belonged. Yeah, well. I know better now. He seems obsessed with Pete’s scent. On the flip side, Pete is all attitude now. He’s figured out that Toby doesn’t quit know what to do with him when he stands his ground. Pete gets a smug look when he sits blocking a doorway and Toby just sort of stands there making little whiny noises.

Sadly, Loki is still mostly in the witness protection program. He did come out yesterday morning for a bit while both dogs were outside. Toby has tried to get into Loki’s secret hiding places under the table and bed in Jake’s room (aka the guest room) whick Loki considers to be his room too. I’m fairly confident they will work it out. Loki needs to just stop and stare at Toby like Pete does in stead of running away. When he runs, Toby thinks it’s a game.

Saturday night, I tried a different tactic for the Midnight Barking. Pete was still out in the garage so I invited Toby to get on the bed thinking he was just missing warm-blooded contact. Oh. My. God! It was like trying to sleep with a toddler who’d just eaten a whole chocolate cake and was jonesing for a can of Redi-Whip. Not my brightest idea even if it made me remember back to the days when Only would sleep with us upon occasion.

I did manage a little bit of writing. I really wish this dang book would write itself. I’d tell it to take it’s place on the back burner for lack of cooperation but no other characters/plots have stepped up to pinch hit. I’m about 23K words in. I know the story and have a good sense of the characters now but the words I write really are blah. So I write over them. Around them. Under them. Then I erase them and start over. Rinse and repeat until I get fed up and say, “I’ll fixe the damn think later, move on!”

It’s hot. We’ve only hit 3 digits once so far but we’ve pushed that mark a lot with high enough humidity to make being outside miserable. I will say that the wind this morning held a hint of cool even though it was 79 at 7 a.m. We’re supposed to get a break for a few days starting tomorrow. The good news is, the days ARE getting shorter. As I mentioned to begin this post.

On that note, I need to start the laundry, drink some more coffee, try to figure out how to train a stubborn dog–I mean seriously!! Toby is a toddler in the terrible twos. You say “No!” and he stares right back and mimics with a “BarkNo!” 🙄 How was your weekend? Also, have a great week! May we all be productive.