This time the lateness of the hour isn’t my fault. My iPad did not charge last night so I have been waiting patiently by the plug. Okay, I admit it was impatiently waiting. I was a bit unnerved when I saw what had happened. My iPad is my only link to the cyber world so losing it would be beyond tragic. I don’t have the resources to buy a replacement. It is usable now, but I am on edge.

At 9:30 every morning, my Alexa wakes up, tells me the date, the time and the weather. Sometimes I hear her but most times she is a background hum of sorts. This morning I heard her 9:30 report. She predicted rain would start in a half hour. That is accu-weather at its most brazen. I fell back to sleep and woke up at 10:15. It was raining. Way to go, Alexa. It is still raining. I can hear the drops. The house is rainy day dark so I have lit all the twinkling lights in the living room and the pepper lights in the kitchen. They are perfect to light a rainy day.

Last night I saw my sloth walking down the driveway with a battered brown suitcase in his paw. He was wearing a brown vest and a jaunty hat. He looked over his shoulder at the house as he left the yard. I was heartbroken, but I knew the reason. Yesterday I cleaned the dining room. I’m talking dusting or polishing everything. I’m talking clearing shelves to clean all the glassware. The spiders’ webs which numbered in the thousands are gone, but the spiders have been left to build again. The tablecloth has been changed. Now a fall runner decorates the table. All the dog hair tumbleweeds have been vacuumed. I’m sure it is no surprise that I took a nap yesterday afternoon.

When I was a kid, my mother did all the house chores. The bed was made, the laundry done, the dishes washed, and the house dusted and vacuumed. She made every meal. I didn’t even know how to work a washing machine. Once, when I did a load of layndry, the machine started buzzing, I didn’t know what that meant. I took out every piece of laundry and wrung it then put it all in the dryer. Later, I asked what had happened and was told the load was unbalanced. I felt silly and a bit stupid. In Ghana I paid for my laundry to be done. All of it, except for my unmentionables, was washed by hand and hung on lines to dry by Thomas. The unmentionables were my responsibility.

Today I rest.

The weather is fall perfect. It is 72° and beautifully sunny. The light glints through the still green leaves. A slight breeze blows the smallest branches. My house is chilly. It holds the cool air from the nighttime when the temperature goes down to the mid or low 60’s. I do have two dogs with me in bed every night who keep me warm, but I pay for that. They take up most of the room.

This morning I spent some time on the Coffee dashboard. I checked the map to see which countries had the most viewers. I was astonished to find number one is China by a wide margin. The US is second. India had one viewer.

Saturday has always been my favorite day. When I was a kid, Saturday had a pattern. I was up early, filled my bowl with milk and cereal, usually Rice Krispies, then I’d plunk down in front of the TV to watch cartoons and TV shows like Fury, Sky King, Sergeant Preston, Howdy Doody and Kukla, Fran and Ollie. I’d watch a while then grab my bike to start an adventure. I never had a plan. I just rode. If something caught my eye, I’d stop. I’d eat lunch on the road. Sometimes I went to the library. When the weather changed and fall fell into winter, I’d go to the matinee or ice skate or go sledding if we had snow. I filled my Saturdays. I loved Saturday nights as we got to stay up later. When I was older, I’d sleep in on Saturdays. In the afternoon, I’d sometimes meet friends. On Saturday nights we’d get together often at one of our houses. We had fun being together.

In Ghana, Saturday started slowly. I’d have my breakfast then maybe read a little or write letters home. I’d go into town. If it was market day, I’d shop the tables. I’d bring my stretchy shepherd’s bag and fill it with fruit, tomatoes and onions and beef from the meat market. The bag got bottom heavy. Before I got my motor cycle, I’d start walking home. Someone always stopped and gave me a ride. Saturday nights were my favorite nights. It was a fun night. One Saturday night might have tribal dancing. Each tribe would have its own spot for their tribal dancing. I’d wander the school grounds and watch. Once in a while they’d be a movie compliments of the USAID guy who would periodically drop by my town. I remember the movie that showed flies walking in poop then walking on food. It was a cartoon. My students loved it. Another night was in the dining room with all the tables and chairs moved out. It was a dance night. Music boomed, and my students, all females, danced with each other. They sang along loudly. I remember them singing at the tops of their voice, “Say it loud. I’m black and proud.”

I’ll stop here, and keep you on the edges of your seats as to the Saturdays when I was older. I will admit I now enjoy a nap on Saturday afternoons.