Mother Nature has done a 180° from the weather which had started Friday night and lasted all day yesterday. The rain is gone. The clouds have disappeared. The sun is bright, but it is still a bit chilly at 61°. According to the weather report, light rain is predicted for later with a low of 49° tonight.

I was going to the dump today, but I decided I don’t want to haul trash bags from the deck to the car. I did enough hauling the other day. Today might just be a repeat of yesterday’s sloth day when I read and worked on my puzzle, a fruit platter. I got some of the middle done. Once I start a jigsaw puzzle I get obsessed.

In Bolgatanga, my Ghanaian home, the rainy season has started. The millet is already planted. Maize, groundnuts and yams are probably already planted as well. During the dry season, the fields are empty, and it seems as if you can see for miles. During the rainy season everything is hidden behind the tall millet. Only the dirt road between the fields is visible ahead and behind. It rains pretty much every day once the season is in full swing, usually by July. I learned to appreciate rain.

Peace Corps gave us a monthly living allowance to cover all our needs. We got American dollars for traveling. When I went to Accra, the capital, I stayed at the Peace Corps hostel for 50 pesewas a night, about 50 cents, including breakfast. I usually saw a movie or two. I ate cheaply at mostly Lebanese restaurants, but on every trip, I ate at the only Chinese restaurant in the city. It was a treat. We always ate outside.

I had one experience still bright in my memory drawers. I have mentioned this before, but today it is close again. In my Ghanaian days, old hotels still existed, the sort of places where rich expats stayed. A few friends and I decided to say goodbye to a friend leaving early. We went to one of those hotels, to the bar. I remember the room where we sat and drank, real drinks, not hot Coke. Fans turned overhead. The room was filled with tall windows. The chairs and couch cushions were soft and covered with cloth of bright flowered patterns. Palm plants were strewn about the room, mostly in corners. I had the oddest sense as if I had gone back in time to the 50’s or even the 40’s. I could see white couples sitting and drinking, the women wearing light, short sleeve dresses and wide brim hats, the men in white suits. It was easy to imagine.

Around 2:30 this morning the thunder started. It surprised all of us. Nala looked up at the ceiling and Henry just looked around. The rumbles lasted on and off for a while. The dogs lost interest and fell back to sleep. Next, the rain started, heavy drops. It was loud. In a bit, the rain softened but lasted for quite a time. It was still raining when I finally went to bed.

We are back to sweatshirt weather. The house is chilly. Earlier, the air was still, but the wind has since started. It will rain all day, a perfect stay at home day. Yesterday I cleaned. Today my sloth reigns supreme. I have a book and a new jigsaw puzzle.

Each day, the traffic on Coffee is analyzed on the home page by number and location. As you would expect, the highest traffic comes from the United States. What I find unexpected is that the next highest number is from Hong Kong then in order Singapore and Belgium.

When I was a kid, a rainy Saturday meant hanging around the house. I’d sometimes stay in my room, my quiet place, and read. Other times, I’d sit in front of the TV and watch all the Saturday morning programs. I always watched Creature Double Feature in the afternoon. I got to see all the classics, both American and Japanese. That’s where my love for those movies began. Last night I watched Atomic Age Vampire and The Day Mars Invaded Earth. I even ate some popcorn generously buttered.

We had an operator who connected phone calls. The upgrade was a dial phone. Our TV was black and white, but everyones’ were black and white. Most of the movies I watched on Saturdays were made in black and white anyway. The milk man delivered each week. I remember the rattle of the bottles in his wire container as he walked to the back steps. The trash track had men who rode on the back. They jumped off to empty the barrels lined up on the street and the garbage in the below ground container with a pedal on the top to open it. Clothes dried on the backyard lines. My sheets always had the best smell. The ice cream man, Johnny, came most late afternoons. The truck bell announced his arrival. His truck was white with a small door halfway up the back of the truck. The ragman came on his horse and wagon. The knife sharpener man rode his bike with the grinding tool attached.

Life when I was a kid was more colorful, filled with characters. It was simple. It was a great life.