Today is a fall day, a pretty fall day. The temperature is in the low 60's, but it will get warmer. I am going out and about today, down Cape to Orleans. I don't go that direction often.

Dinner last night was great fun. After dinner, one of my guests cleaned everything while my other guest and I chatted at the table. Nala was welcoming, overly welcoming at times. She is a boxer and jumping is a boxer thing. Henry was standoffish but only for a little while. He sniffed, his understated way of saying hello. The food was good. We had shrimp fettuccine Alfredo, a salad and garlic bread. Dessert was a blueberry pie, brought by my friend. The meal, the company and the evening was a delight.

When I was growing up, we visited my grandparents in East Boston often. Those visits may have germinated my love of cities, not for living but exploring. I remember a lady selling Italian ice out her front window. She had to lean over to hand it to us. I loved the pizza squares from the bakery. The flat pans were huge and were in the bakery case. The squares were sold at room temperature. I never knew bakeries made pizza. I remember the truck which stopped on the street and offered carousel rides. On the back of the truck was a tiny carousel with about four horses. It was for little kids. I was a bit envious. It was at my grandmother's where I first saw cheese in a chunk, Romano cheese, to use on the spaghetti, always on the stove, in a pot which never emptied. It was fun to grate. I always grate my own cheese now.

The worst Nala disaster happened yesterday. I was in a make dinner frenzy and didn't notice the beastie. Earlier in the day, I had changed the litter and brought the bag down. I didn't put it outside but by the door. I walked into the living room for something. I forget what. That was when I saw it, the pile of cat litter out of the bag on the floor. I screamed. It took a while to finish clean up. The end was the floor washing. Never in my wildest imagination did I think Nala, the marauder, would be interested in used kitty litter. It was a gross job. I have learned that nothing is safe from Nala. I put things away I think she'd love to chew or eat or just tear into pieces. The only problem is I forget where I put them.