Sunpuppies

Although winters in California are mild, we take every opportunity to follow the sun. No, we’re not sunbathers—at least not in the traditional sense. We just find the place in the house where the sun washes across the floor and onto a sofa, or a bed, or across a table. In our endless pursuit of sunshine, we’re hardly ever alone. As soon as we discover a sun patch, we are joined by Abby, Izzi, and Tuesday—the original sunpuppies.

Abby getting sleepy

In the mornings, sunshine washes across the guest room, spreading warmth from the windows to the opposite wall. Tuesday can often be found ON the bed, lounging in that sunshine. It makes her moany and weak. If disturbed, she can barely lift her head to acknowledge an intruder. Her facial expression is, “Oh, it’s you—please try to be quiet.” She then plops her head back down and resumes meditating.

Sunny lunch

Early afternoon finds the front space of the living room bright with sunlight. It’s really too cool to sit outside, so we carry our lunch on trays into the living room and place them gently atop the puzzle pieces that live there. Then for the next half hour or so, we eat. Lunch is tastier with a mouthful of sunshine before each bite. The only consideration is that we have to place our yogurt in shadows to keep it cool. Sunlight reflecting through a tall glass of water and a shiny, glistening apple are especially inviting.

The sun room is ready!

After lunch and a short “outdoor opportunity” with the girls, we anticipate that the sun has reached maximum warmth across the upstairs carpet and maybe even onto the bed. Tuesday usually makes this discovery first. Then Abby makes her way to the sun porch, where her steps become labored and she finally drops to her little doxie knees before her tummy touches the carpet. Her eyes relinquish any attempt to stay open and she begins to snore. Izzi is head to  tail, reconfiguring her little black and tan body into a doxie doughnut. She’s fast asleep—with her eyes wide open, which is a bit creepy. She’s always done it, but it never fails to ook us out a little bit.

Siesta time

We conform to their bodies, trying to capture stray splashes of sunshine that they haven’t already absorbed. For 15 minutes or so, we all enjoy this little after lunch digestivo, digestive as Italians say. Surely the sun optimizes the benefits of the wonderful lunch we’ve just eaten.