Greetings, HaQ readers. I hope this day finds you in a good spot. It’s Sunday morning here and this is how Sunday mornings go in the heresaquarter quarters:

The younger cat wakes me at an hour I don’t recognize because I can’t even read the phone. I stumble out to the front, carrying the older cat because she was asleep on my legs and is annoyed. Appeasement is required. I put her down, let the dogs out because they’re now bouncing around. The clock I can finally read starts with a number below 5. Eeesh. I go into the kitchen, give the cats a little bit of food, then let the dogs back in, and flop on the living room couch. I wake up two hours later, when it is genuinely morning, with the small dog burrowed next to me, the younger cat asleep on my lap, and the other two splayed across the multitude of dog beds I seem to have accumulated. We’re all in a much better mood.

I feed all the fur people, dole out a few extras as needed, and then decide I am due for a little extra myself. I get out a box of lovely scone mix I stashed in the pantry and go to work. I crumble butter into the dry ingredients while the oven heats. I stir in the milk and egg, get my fingers sticky portioning the scones onto a baking sheet lined with parchment, and get them in the oven. While they bake I wash up the bowl and tools and then make myself a pressed pot of fresh ground coffee (Sumatra – dark and smoky). The scones and the coffee come out at about the same time. I inhale the lovely warm scents and begin to fully revive. Sunday is on deck.

I pour of cup of my caffeine redeemer and layer some butter to melt over the top of a warm scone. I carry it all into the office and (with the coffee carefully corralled AWAY from the keyboard) I read the morning news while warm buttery crumbles of cranberry orange goodness restore me. The small dog jumps into my lap and then snuggles in behind me, her favorite spot, where she naps and slowly pushes me out of my own chair.

There is other stuff that will happen today. The errands and the laundry. My floors need attention because everyone else around here seems to be preparing for the Olympic shedding trials. I will need to do some preparation for the work week. The dogs will get a nice walk once the afternoon sun is high enough for the chill to moderate. For the moment, the last taste of scone, a sip of good coffee, and a cheerful phone chat with my mom is enough to start the day in a sweet spot. And that is sweet enough.

Hope your day is sweet, however you start it.

You’ve probably noticed that my pets play a huge part in my life – Truth! They are such a great part of my real life, I can’t imagine life without them. And they are pretty prominent in my life of imagination, too: there are critters in nearly all of my writing: essays, fiction, even poetry. Here’s the secret I’ve been harboring: I have just completed a collection of short stories, every single one of which features at least one fur-hero. Publication details will come soon. I can’t wait to share it with you. ♥

Stay tuned for more on the Here’s a Quarter blog next week! As always, your thoughts and comments are always welcome – they are moderated (I know – adulting again), so they may take a little while to appear, but I read them all and appreciate that you were here. Thank you!