Keep the Coffee Comimg

The morning right now is cloudy, but the sun pokes out every now and then so I guess partly cloudy is the official forecast. As for me, I always want to say partly sunny instead. A bit of optimism always helps. It is warm at 64° and will get warmer.

I have a few chores to do today, the usual like sweeping dog hair and watering the plants. I have nowhere I need to go until Wednesday so cozies will rule the days. When I finish my chores, I’ll honor the sloth in me. Sloths move only 41 yards a day and only climb down from their trees once a week to go to the bathroom. I totally can adopt the sloth life-style.

Getting old takes a lot of adjustments, a lowering of expectations. I have had to accept my body is one thing and my mind is another. My body has aches and pains. Some are old and some are new, unexpected. I limp sometimes and moan and groan a lot. That surprises me because my sense of self is far younger. I think I can do almost anything. My eyes still recognize a world filled with possibilities. I can think of no better way to live.

When I was a kid, I’d have already chosen my Halloween costume by now and tried it on a few times. It was always home-made, mother inspired. The only thing we’d buy would be a mask, a Lone Ranger type of mask from Woolworth’s. It was black plastic with a white rubber sort of band around it to hold it to my head. That band often broke. It snapped. I remember some costumes over the years like when I was a cowgirl, a hobo, a ghost and a witch. I’d carry a strong bag to hold my loot. I’d branch out beyond my neighborhood, sometimes even to the other side of town. I remember the sound of my footsteps on the sidewalk as I walked home, the lights from front windows shining in the darkness and the circles of light under the street lights. I was one of the last trick or treaters.

I am going to start my Halloween movie fest today. I’ll start with the old black and white movies. Dracula and The Mummy are my favorites followed by The Invisible Man. I am not a fan of recent slasher movies, but I think watching Halloween is a must. I’ll pop some corn, lower the lights and strew lit candles about the den, the perfect movie food and ambience for a bit of movie fright.

The early morning was chilly, a left over temperature from last night’s 36°. It is now 52°, the high for today. Tonight will get cold again, back down to 36 °. That has become the pattern, a warmish day and a chilly night.

It is a pretty morning. The sun is brightly shining framed by a blue sky. Leaves are dropping in the breeze, some still have color. The dogs wander the backyard. Nala is looking for branches. She brought in a long one yesterday. She had to turn her body to get it through the dog door. The other day she brought in a shorter branch covered in brown, dead leaves. She carried it to the couch, got comfortable and then chewed off the leaves. I was her lackey and cleaned up after her.

When the penny disappears, a part of my childhood will disappear with it. When I was a kid, the penny had value. All the corner stores had penny candy in display cases, rows of choices. The ladies in the white store were patient. They let us take our time deciding how to spend our pennies. Sometimes I wanted chewy candy which lasted a long time, candy like Banana Splits, a yellow hard candy, Mary Janes, a peanut butter molasses candy, Tootsie Rolls, Fire Balls and green Mint Julep candy. Fire Balls were a bit of a challenge. We’d sometimes have a contest to see who could suck on the hot candy the longest. As for soft penny candy, I loved Bull’s Eyes. They are a round caramel candy with a white creamy center. I’d save the center for last. Pink and white coconut candy was also a favorite. The weirdest penny candy was a sheet of candy buttons. You had to chew off the colored buttons, and each button always came with a bit of the paper. More weird candies included red wax lips and black wax mustaches. You just chewed those like gum. Wax bottles had colored liquid inside which squirted in your mouth when you chewed it. Every color liquid tasted the same. Nickel candy comes next but that is for another post.

I remember one corner store had a freezer in the back which held frozen Milky Ways, Snickers and Charleston Chews. The nuts in the Snickers made it the hardest to eat. The Charleston Chew was the easiest as I’d smash the bar on the table to break it into smaller pieces. I still freeze Snickers and Milky Ways.

Compared to last week, this will be a busy week. My dance card has four uke events starting tonight. Our music for the month is cowboy songs. Git along, little dogies.