Cocktail Hour

5:21 p.m.

I have cleaned the house - some rooms twice. I have fed the chickens, pulled some carrots, spread some grass seed and watered the nasturtiums.

I have spent the day fighting the entity known as Monkey the Destroyer of Worlds AKA Spawn of Big Daddy. She managed to paint the screened porch with her little kiddie paint brush and a forgotten yogurt tub of latex paint while I mopped the kitchen floor. Her evil genius knows no bounds. Please feel free to apply for the nanny position.

Big Daddy is still at his television gig. It's after 5:00. I think it's time to pop open a bottle of Highland Gaelic Ale, kick back and enjoy the view. Maybe if I drink enough of them I won't notice the nuclear bomb Monkey is constructing with her garden tools, a roll of duct tape and a couple of bungee cords in the garage.