The alarm chimes in my ear, jolting me awake. It’s 6am, time to get up and walk the dog.
In my comatose state I put on my clothes, remembering to shake them out first. In the lounge the cat is saying hello. It’s not a meow, he is actually talking, a clear and precise hello.
The air conditioning has been running all night and the house is cool, verging on cold. But as I step outside the heat hits, wrapping itself around me, seeping into every pore, and it’s not even daylight yet!
The angry dogs at the end of our driveway await. My chest tightens as I wonder if this will be the day the brown dog breaks through the fence and comes for us. It’s happened before, it’s only a matter of time before it happens again. And sometimes the owners get sloppy and leave the gate open.
But this time, we’re ready. Armed with pepper spray, air spray, a hooter and an umbrella we walk towards them, quietly so as not to alert them to our presence.
But it’s no use. The brown dog is already barking angrily at us. Mike has Tootsie on a lead, and walks her quickly past. Once we’re past their section, we know the dog won’t try to escape, so we feel safe… for now. We still have to walk back past them.
It’s random which dogs decide to join us for our morning walk. The last few mornings, the husky has been joining us. I don’t like him to come near me because he’s always itching and scratching. Apart from his evil eyes and annoying habits, he seems like a pleasant chap. But he didn’t join us today, but the little terrier did.
We have contacted another auto shop about Rodger’s air conditioning and he has managed to source a part for us. Assuming it fits okay, he will install it for us next week. I’ve always thought Americans were lazy for driving everywhere, but I’ve figured out it’s just too hot to walk anywhere. It has been 40 degrees and humid during the day, and not dropping below 30 degrees at night, so crazy weather. And this is why we’ve decided to get our air conditioning fixed.
We went into Austin on Sunday, and it’s a nice city, modern, but not too big. We drove past the sleek skyline and into the centre, thankful there was no traffic on a Sunday morning. We parked right opposite the Capitol building (free to park on Sundays) and had a look inside.
The large domed building loomed in front of us and I snapped a few photos. It was free to visit, but they scanned all our stuff on the way in, and it was like going through security in an airport. We had a browse around, impressed as I’d never been in a Capitol building before. But you’ll see it when the video comes out.
Austin looks like a very livable city, reminding me of Melbourne. We headed to the shops and restaurants in SOCO, short for South Congress. We had tacos for brunch, but neither of us were impressed, which is a shame as Texas is known for their Mexican food. We must have chosen the wrong place. But the place had a cool vibe so that was something.
We’ve had a steady stream of stuff arriving from Amazon. Mike has ordered solar panels and is in the process of wiring them up ready to mount on the roof. But it’s so frikking hot, he really can’t work for too long out there. I’m still trawling through footage and putting videos together.
At 9pm, we take Tootsie out for her final wee of the day and the fireflies are always out at this time. They’re like little sparks of light, flittering about the garden. They are really neat.