Today is perfectly lovely. It is a day to sit outside and bask in the warmth of the sun. We have already hit 64°. A slight breeze is ruffling the oak leaves. The blue sky is striking. I think I need a bit of deck time.

When I came downstairs this morning, I noticed I had forgotten to shut the back door. I’ve done that before so it is not an indicator of creeping dementia. The last time I did Henry went out and didn’t come in because for him the dog door is only one way, out. That time his barking woke me up so I went downstairs to let him back into the house. This time he stayed put.

Things seem to carry with us the whole of our lives. When I was a kid, I read all the science fiction books in the town library. They were on a tall, narrow shelf on the wall behind the librarian’s desk. There weren’t so many of them so it was easy to read them all. I still read science fiction. I loved the classic monster movies like Dracula and The Mummy. Every Halloween now I watch one or two of them. I alternate. When I was 11, I vowed I would travel. I would see the world. It is a vow I have kept the whole of my life. The sights I have seen amaze me, tickle me. It was when I was in the eighth grade that President Kennedy started the Peace Corps. I knew I’d serve some day. I held on to that dream, maybe even that expectation, through high school and college. I still remember the joy I felt when I received my acceptance letter. I was going to Africa, a place I hadn’t imagined.

As for the more mundane hanging around after all these years, I have always hated beans of any sort but especially baked beans. I find them disgusting looking. I liked cream corn but hated to look at it and didn’t want it to slide into any other food on my plate. I feel the same about oozing cream corn. When I was young, people served Jello with fruits suspended inside. I didn’t like Jello anyway, and, when served with the fruit, it looked almost alien. I could imagine the fruit having huge teeth and chomping on the spoon. I have never eaten Jello.

I have a to do list for today including a trip to the dump. I want to polish the living room furniture with a real cloth instead of my sweatshirt sleeve. I’ll vacuum the dog hair balls in the hall. They mar my sensibilities. I’ll water the plants.

I may not have time tomorrow to write and publish Coffee. I have an early concert and will be leaving home around 10:40. It is our first outdoor concert, and the weather will be perfect, in the 70’s, yup, the 70’s.

Today is an ugly day. It is cloudy and cold, at 56°. It is a hold your cup between your hands to keep your hands warm day. The dogs stay in and sleep on the couch. They are into comfort. They are my role models.

When I was a kid, I never thought about really getting old. I couldn’t wait until I was a teenager then I wanted to be the magic age of twenty one which brought voting and drinking legally. My first presidential election was between Humphrey-Nixon. My choice lost though later I felt vindicated. When I was in Washington the summer of Watergate, I saw Senator Humphrey and had him sign the book I was reading, Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. Somehow it seemed the perfect book for him. I still have the book and have flagged it as a keeper on my bookshelf. My next milestone was turning thirty, the mantra of never trusting anyone over thirty in my head. After that, celebrations on my birthdays got sketchy. I remember 50 and 70 as special. I figure the next special will be 80.

I see the world through young eyes in an old body. It has been a while, but I’m still adjusting. I keep thinking I can do what I can no longer do. I can’t, but I keep trying. The problem will be solved if I get a Sherpa, a handyman, a house cleaner and a lady’s maid. Maybe I should take out some ads!

I love roosters welcoming the morning. It is like they know how good a new day is every day. I had a rooster in Ghana. He was brown. He was loud. He was still around when I left. When I went back for the first time, a rooster crowing outside my window woke me up. I listened for a while then fell back to sleep. I was happy to hear the rooster. He made me smile.

I have an Alexa and a Google. I favor the Alexa. The Google is ridiculous at times. Yesterday I asked my Google how far it is between the Hawaiian Islands and California. He told me he couldn’t find driving instructions. I reframed the question, necessary for using Google, and asked again, same answer, common for Google. I asked my Alexa the exact same first question. She told me 2400 miles. Sometimes my idiot Google doesn’t give an answer but says something nonsensical. I’ve decided to switch the kitchen Alexa for the frustrating den Google. I’m hoping Google can figure out kitchen equivalents. Alexa surely could.

On my dance card, tomorrow is my household work day. I want to dust and water plants and maybe do a dump run as I can’t on Sunday as I have my first outdoor concert of the season. It is supposed to be the warmest day so far this spring, 68°, so I’m looking forward to lots of sun and strumming.