Vacation Retrospective

I'm back home in hot hot Phoenix after three weeks in Southern California - too long to be a house guest!! San Clemente was cool and lovely but my 67-year-old hostess/friend is too set in her single ways and her house was too small for me and my standard poodle Fancy!And I'm too accustomed to a conflict-free life to be a house guest for more than 2 days! My San Clemente hostess has sleep issues;all noise prevents her from sleeping. She goes to bed at 9:00 and gets up at 5:30 or earlier. I like to watch a little David Letterman and wake up about 8:00 the next morning, have a peaceful quiet cup of coffee as I ease into the day. But the post- nine o'clock PM TV bothered my host. My dog's nails clicking on her hardwood floors after 9 PM bothered my host. Me sloughing back and forth from the living room to the kitchen or bathroom on tip toes in my bedroom slippers bothered my host. Flushing the toilet after 9:00 bothered my host.Leaving toast crumbs on the counter top until after I finished breakfast bothered my host. Not cleaning up the dog poop until after I had finished my breakfast bothered my host. So after two days I left San Clemente! I stayed 2 days with my friend in Santa Monica who believes dogs belong outdoors. This posed a problem on two fronts as the neighbor dogs were so excited about Fancy being in the yard that they broke down my friend's fence and trampled the herb garden in the process of sniffing out my visiting dog. It was the utmost epitome of graciousness that my Santa Monica friend allowed Fancy in the house on the marble floors. The next leg of my visit was my longtime gal pal in West Covina who is dog-friendly, thank God. We shopped 'til we dropped. Fancy was a hit on Rodeo Drive, The Grove, Mirabelle's on Sunset Boulevard, The Formosa Cafe in Hollywood, and the Fairfax Flea Market. The last stop was San Diego at my friend Julie's. Her three children and their dog Joey loved Fancy. I had an expensive brake job done on the Jag while I was there and had Julie's furrier alter my mink to accomodate my swollen right arm/shoulder. School starts this Thursday.