H-O-T

it's not hot... it's sweltering. the last time i remember it being this hot was my very first summer in italy (2003). we have two big problems regarding the heat: 1) it's really, really humid here and 2) a/c (for the most part) just doesn't exist. i can't tell you just how happy i am to have a/c in my smart... today i went to la spezia not because i really needed to but because i knew i'd get to spend more time in my air conditioned car. ha!

penelope & gustavo are coping with the heat but most of their time is spent sprawled on the tiled floors (at least we don't have carpet here or it would be even worse!).

here are a couple of photos i took of penelope & gustavo yesterday. they've learned this new trick to burrow into francesco's part of the closet where he keeps his sweatshirts and fleeces and they cozy up in there. it's like a "where's waldo?"... can you spot gustavo? heeheehee! i think they're crazy because it's hot enough as it is...

and just in case you couldn't spot him before, here's a closeup...

here's a photo of penelope that i snapped last week:

isn't she a princess? sheesh. in italian they have a saying vita da cane (a dog's life) which implies that life is tough. not so in 2009 i'd say... (wink, wink)

now i'm off to take penelope to the vet because a few days ago she scratched her cornea (i'm assuming with her dewclaw?). let me just tell you that she does NOT like to have her eyedrops or her eyes checked by anyone (especially the vet!). it's quite an endeavor. we've been having to give her drops 5x a day and it has been a nightmare.

on the way home from the vet i'm picking up pizzas in la spezia and we're having dinner with francesco's cousin (sara) & her boyfriend (giancarlo... he works for the fiscal police which is italy's version of the IRS with guns... YIKES!). should be fun...