Due to the cool and moist comfort of a wet blanket, or rather a pretty silk cloth draped over me, I slept several hours in a row, a first in a while due to the discomfort of intense smoke inside my home, especially late nights and early mornings. Earlier I had been told how folks in Kansas, where temperatures can soar (no wonder Alice took off to Wonderland) coped: They hung wet linens in their doors and laid out wet blankets on the ground to sleep on. For me the moisture lasted about an hour and a half, but the coolness stayed on longer. Pulling the wet cloth over my face I actually was able breath! Why were we not told a month ago?
I also discovered that mist from a water bottle sprayed toward a fan will redirect delicious moisture all over me if I place my body right in front of it. But for some reason around midnight the smoke gets so intense, the particles will hit my eyes and skin and the fanned air no longer offers any relief. I am starting to wonder if smoke seeps in through cracks, maybe vents or why this is possible with all doors and windows closed for hours?
Meanwhile there is hope! I had almost given up, but today I witnessed one woman right at the check out counter near mine at Trader Joe's explode in to happiness because she had become the winner of the week. I am sure you know what the winning is about? It is to reward us green shoppers for bringing along our bags and/or baskets so as to assure that we have no need for brand new grocery bags, especially those made from live, precious trees. I had suspiscions that their game was a gimmick, a ruse, to keep those addicts hooked on excitement and gambling coming back to improve their chances of winnng. But I am happy to report that there are winners out there in this world of our.
It so happened that I read recently of studies that have shown monkeys at their happiest in the anticipation of something good coming their way. Their oxytocin levels were highest in expectation of their reward. Hard to believe when I watch my Isabell-girl, now a days as a grown adult dog that no longer shows any excitement about going out, because she has learned from experience that it takes me a good long while to get ready for real. I may wear my shoes, my hat, hold lead in hand, but she knows better then to expect that out the door we go. There are keys and money and shopping bags and sunscreen and decisions to wear a hat or not and on and on it goes. My Isabella is a smart girl.
Personally, as a toddler I never liked dwelling in the anticipation of my mother's return. Instead of finding it stimulating and exciting, I found it deadening. Nevertheless, scientists tell us to create anticipation in our pets if we want their levels of happiness to go up. Since life seems to run in circles infusing pets with happiness surely ads to our own I can attest to such with each walk at the dog park.
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