Things that make me smile:

• Watching Max gingerly explore the still-damp shower, precariously attempting to keep as many paws as possible off the wet surface and shaking them repeatedly in turn.
  
  
• The way Bamf sits on his haunches and looks straight up at me, purring like an outboard motor.
  
  
• Tia's ecstatic communion with her brush (although it's sometimes a challenge trying to brush her back when she insists on rubbing her face all over it -- the brush, not her back; she only gets an extendo-neck if Shawn's eating fake crab snacks.)
  
  
• Shawn's ability to seduce Starlight into tummy rubs. One moment, she'll be standing on the bed, squawking at him, and the next, she'll be sprawled in wild abandon as he gently runs his fingers through the soft fur on her stomach (lucky kitty! not that I have fur on my stomach....)
  

And it doesn't hurt that the-phone-book.com accepted one of my flash pieces, which should be up as of September 1st.

All in all, not a bad life.

---

QotD

Yes, in the poor man’s garden grow
   Far more than herbs and flowers—
Kind thoughts, contentment, peace of mind,
   And joy for weary hours.
-- Mary Howitt (1804-1888)