Brownie rode shotgun on the way to the airport this morning, then kept me company in the cellphone lot for the hour that we waited (because the flight was a little late, and then Alex had to wait for his bag.)  I spent my time listening to my current book.

The Terror is a 2007 novel by American author Dan Simmons. It is a fictionalized account of Captain Sir John Franklin's lost expedition on HMS Erebus and HMS Terror, to the Arctic, in 1845–1848, to locate the Northwest Passage. In the novel, while Franklin and his crew are plagued by starvation and illness, and forced to contend with mutiny and cannibalism, they are stalked across the bleak Arctic landscape by a monster.

Most of the characters featured in The Terror are actual members of Franklin's crew, whose unexplained disappearance has warranted a great deal of speculation. The main characters in the novel include Captain Sir John Franklin,  commander of the expedition and captain of Erebus; Captain Francis Crozier,  captain of Terror; Dr. Harry D. S. Goodsir; and Commander James Fitzjames. 

Since I got back home more than an hour later than expected, it was a very good thing Tom was home to let in the house cleaners.

On the drive to the airport Brownie kept opening the back window (and I kept rolling it back up.)  On the drive home Alex watched him do it on purpose (not able to watch Brownie while I'm driving I was never quite sure if he 'knew' what he was doing) and then activated the child lock.  That certainly seemed to confuse Brownie!

It was nice and cool here today (though we do expect to see triple digits on Tuesday) so Tom took  advantage of the break in the weather to mow the property.  The yards definitely look much nicer - at least for a few days, until the mega growth sprouts again.

Alex was extremely happy to discover he has new appliances ~ 

and already ran a first load of laundry.

He also gave me tutorial on FaceTime, so now (in theory...!) whenever I run into an issue with my iPhone I will be able share a screen shot with him wherever he is.  Which, of course, will make it that much easier for him to figure out my problem and help me correct it.

I have been adding appointments to my phone calendar, which naturally will make it easier to schedule things when I'm out and about.  And I was proud of myself that I was able to add standing appointments (like every Tuesday and Friday at the gym) in one fell swoop.