While S is gone I am like a clean freak on speed. Can't help it, and the house looks much more presentable.

I even washed the dogs. Or rather, I especially washed the dogs. It had been 5 months since last I bathed them, & then it was with a hose, which they hate. The word "hose-bath" inspires enough terror in their little doggy hearts to serve as a truly effective control, but is only used as a last resort, when they do something very bad like running out in the street or barking at little wizened Ines as she walks down the street. "Hose-bath" certainly is much more effective than yelling, which they ignore, or a scruffed neck, which they shake off, or a quick swat on the ass, which is insulting but rarely has any effect. So after 5 months of being dogs, they got a true bath in the shower and are shiny and clean and I scrubbed them good with a eucalyptus-based medicated shampoo. Boy dog seemed to enjoy it much more than the last hose-bath, during which he tried to choke himself and rolled the whites of his eyes at me. At one point during the scrubbing today he even wagged his tail.

The bathroom is much cleaner, too, because when they jump out of the tub they shake, which means I then get to wash the walls. Since S is gone and I have nothing better to do and I was on a roll, I even washed the ceiling.
And doggies are happy and clean, no more itchies, and the white on their coats is actually white.
They are soft and nice to pet.

I am going to go eat, which will no doubt result in a very clean kitchen.