It rained hard last night, so this afternoon when the sun came out and the air was clean, it was the perfect chance to throw open the windows and do some spring cleaning. We spent most of the time outside on the patio, me and my helper. We cleaned the teak patio furniture and rubbed some olive oil into it. We washed the dirt from the siding and windows with a bucket of sudsy water. I put some things out to dry on the clothesline.

The neighbor’s puppy came over for some company and then carried away my stuff. He has a growing collection of flip flops that he’s taken from other neighbors. He tries to sneak in my back door, but he doesn’t know Sophie the cat is waiting for him, and she doesn’t put up with that.