My dog is so glad I'm home tonight that she is not even Guarding, but is, instead, sacked out on the floor next to me.

I don't have the heart to get up and go into the kitchen to make dinner, as that will wake her up. And then I'll have to once again have the conversation about why human food is not for dogs, especially food with chili oil in it. Which, after 13.5 years, you'd think she would remember, but eternal optimism is something dogs possess in endless abundance.

The days are getting so short now that it's not only dark when I get up for work (4:30 a.m. is dark, no matter the time of year), but dawn is just breaking as I get into the office, at 7. It's dark when I walk out of the office at 5, and the holiday traffic in LA means it's rare to get home before 7:45. It's a grueling schedule, even in summer, but with so little daylight, it feels as if I've been robbed of any time to do what I want with my day.

My cat has decided that my lap needs warming, which woke the dog. Eternally optimistic, they both want food, and warm places to sit, and scritches. Don't we all?

The Furry Minions need tending. And I need to eat, and then go to bed, and get up in eight hours, to do it all over again. Onward.

And, apparently, I also need to get the dog off my favorite blanket before it becomes hers.

Technorati Tags: cat, cat, dog, eternal optimism of dogs when it comes to food, Furry Minions