My rug was delivered this morning. With it, I got a hard sell for a new pad. Actually, what the guy was saying made sense. I do not have the right kind of pad for an area rug; it is carpet padding, and it's too thick and it makes the rug a hazard to trip over. It also doesn't grip the wood floor the way an area rug pad would. Nevertheless, I don't have the money for it now. I told him I would get a new pad when I send the other rugs in for cleaning. And that won't be for a while, because I won't send the rug in until I have the dining room table picked up for refinishing. And I don't have the money for that yet.

This is going to be the year of home maintenance and renovation, I can see it now.

The rug looks great; perfect. I have sworn to myself that I will not ever again eat in the living room. The only exceptions will be coffee in the morning, and popcorn when I'm watching a movie. I can't do either of those at the kitchen table.

I'm frying up some peppers and onions for chicken fajitas. I still have two peppers and four tomatoes to use up, as well as most of a head of lettuce. Fresh produce on hand always makes me nervous! I feel such urgency to use it before it spoils.

BFF, it turns out, has found a local friend to stay with her a couple of days following surgery. That is a relief. I don't mind making the trip, and I would love to spend the time with her, but now I won't have to get a COVID test -- and I won't have to leave Iggy, which is always difficult now that he is aging and has unpredictable episodes of -- shall we say -- intestinal discomfort? We do plan to meet for lunch again on October 2.