“Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a bike.”
When I woke up, I noticed the sun, subdued and wan. I figured it had been so long since the sun last shined it had forgotten how to wow us, to make us squint in the light. The streets were still wet and were waiting for a bit of warmth to dry three days of rain, and I was hopeful the sun could finally hold sway. After getting the papers, I stood outside to check my garden. Green shoots are everywhere. They are the start of my spring bulbs finally growing and budding. Gracie has been in the yard most of the morning. She is my barometer. The warmer the weather the longer she is out.
When I was a kid, this was a bicycle day, a spring jacket sort of day. It was freedom from layers of clothing and from looking wistfully out the picture window. It was time to fly my bike down the hill with my hair blowing and my arms raised in a funny sort of triumph. It was time to pedal as fast as I could hoping to leave winter behind me.
I loved riding all over town on a sunny Saturday. Sometimes I’d bring lunch and put it in my bike’s big front basket. Once in a while I’d hit a bump and my lunch bag would bounce in the basket. Sometimes it bounced out. I usually brought Oreos for dessert. They were the cookies of choice for all of us. I remember my sisters would eat the middle and give the dog the rest. My method was a bit different. I’d open the Oreo, eat the plain side then the filling then the other side with streaks of filling still left.
Last night I watched the Sox beat the Yankees in a game which seemed interminable. It lasted 19 innings, 6 hours and 49 minutes, and is now the longest game in Red Sox history. I’d tell myself I’m going to bed after this inning, but I just couldn’t bring myself to turn off the TV. What if I miss the winning run after all this time? Both teams were horrible last year. The Yanks didn’t make the playoffs and the Sox were last, but they seem to play each other as if a championship is on the line. During extra innings, when a Sox player got on base, I’d beg for someone to hit him in so I could go to bed. Finally a Mookie Betts sacrifice fly knocked in the winning run. I cheered then held my breath during the bottom half of the inning. The Yanks didn’t score so I let the dog out, waited for her to come in, turned off the lights and went to bed.
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This entry was posted on April 11, 2015 at 11:49 am and is filed under Musings. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.
Tags: 19 innings, 6 hours, barometer, dry air, green shoots front garden, longest game, lunch bag, oreos, Red Sox, riding all over town, sandwich, spring bulbs, spring jacket day, sun, three days of rain, wet streets, Yankees
Both comments and pings are currently closed.25 Comments on ““Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a bike.””
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
April 11, 2015 at 1:18 pm
When I was in high school my cousin and I attended a Sunday double header between the NY Mets and the SF Giants. The game was played on May 31, 1964. After about the fifth inning of the second game we headed home on the subway because we had school the next day. When we got home the game was still being played into extra innings. The Giants won in 23 innings. Had we stayed for the entire second game we would have gotten our money’s worth. I think general admission was $2.50 in those days. 🙂
April 11, 2015 at 1:34 pm
Bob,
That was the longest double header in baseball history! The total was 32 innings!
April 11, 2015 at 1:58 pm
We reached 72F today 🙂 There were thin clouds between us and the sun all day so I wonder how warm it could have been if it had been cloud free. At first they said we would get much the same weather tomorrow but the predictions have changed and now they say it will be a lot colder and some rain too. Too bad I can’t mow the lawn then 🙂 🙂 🙂
Yes this would have been a bike day and I would probably have headed down to the harbour to fish, I rarely got anything, I just loved sitting there in the sun smelling all the scents.
I’ve just watched Grimm and today Juliette showed Nick that she has become a hexenbiest 🙂 It’s just getting better and better 🙂
Yesterday I watched Interstellar and I normally don’t like Matthew McConaughey but he was quite ok in this movie. It was prehaps a bit slow in the beginning but I have to say I liked it a lot. Tonight I think I’ll watch Gravity or perhaps the latest Hungergames movie, The Mockingjay 1. I think both will be good so I haven’t decided yet 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
April 11, 2015 at 5:55 pm
Christer,
It is 5:30, and the day is still lovely. Gracie is still going in and out enjoying the day.
We are cooler than you, but I’m still happy at the sort of day we had. I filled all the bird feeders and many different have dropped by but not the spawn yet.
You are only a few Grimm behind me now. I think Juliette is one ugly Hexenbeast. She is most decidedly unhappy!!
I am generally not a Matthew fan. I even mute his car commercials. I did like him in Sahara but not much else.
I liked Gravity and Mockingjay. Either is a good choice.
Have a good evening!
April 11, 2015 at 2:15 pm
Hi Kat,
Hydrox. Much better. But I ate them the same way as you did Oreos.
Today was an early start. I book a Peapod delivery for the 6AM to 8AM window. I was up, dressed and out the door with the dogs at 5:45AM, keeping an eye out for coyotes as we walked. Peapod showed up at 7.
The weather looked promising with a blue sky and bright sun. Then a strong wind came howling out of the northwest and took a lot of the warmth away. My dogs’ ears were being blown straight out behind them as they walked. 🙂
Enjoy the day.
April 11, 2015 at 6:01 pm
I beg to differ. Hydrox were just a cheaper knock off. When my mother bought them I wouldn’t eat them. I don’t like them to this day. Tomorrow I will turn 68 and still won’t eat a Hydrox cookie. Give me a package of Oreos, the regular kind, and they will be gone before Monday.
April 11, 2015 at 6:13 pm
Bob,
Individual tastes do vary. My dad was always Hydrox, but I was Oreos until I was an adult though I do admit that even now double stuffed are hard to turn down. I never did like the filling like red for Valentine’s Day. It seemed a sacrilege.
Hydrox is gone.
April 11, 2015 at 6:52 pm
Bob,
That’s precisely why my mother bought Hydrox. I still preferred them because the cookie part was not so sweet and had more cocoa flavor than Oreo.
But Hydrox is long gone and Oreo wins.
Admittedly, a fudge covered Oreo is darn near impossible to pass up.
Early Happy Birthday wishes to you.
April 11, 2015 at 8:10 pm
Bob,
Happy Birthday tomorrow! Whoop it up! Have a great day!!
April 12, 2015 at 7:39 am
Bob,
Happy Birthday to you and your daughter! Have a great day!
April 11, 2015 at 6:02 pm
Hi Caryn,
I became a Hydrox fan when I got older. They were also my father’s favorite. I hated when they disappeared.
You are quite the inspiration! It took most of the day but I did get stuff done including my taxes. Not much of a return but just about what I’ve been getting the last few years.
We had sun all day long and didn’t get that wind. My sister mentioned the wind, and I was surprised as everything was quiet and still here.
Gracie has been out most of the day-she’s loving the warmer weather.
Have a great evening. You have inspired me to do Peapod just after this!
April 11, 2015 at 11:09 pm
I didn’t know that Hydrox cookies are gone. RIP Hydrox. 🙂
April 11, 2015 at 11:56 pm
Bob,
They took Hydrox out of production. It is sad.
April 11, 2015 at 2:54 pm
Scalloped Apples With Raisins
Ingredients
2 Cans Apple Slices — (20 Oz) Drained
1/4 Cup Raisins
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, Packed
2 Tbsp Flour
1/8 Tsp Salt
1/4 Tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/3 Tsp Ground Cloves
3 Tbsp Chilled Butter — Cut In Small Pieces
Vanilla Ice Cream — Optional
Instructions
Prepare a medium fire in the barbeque.
In a large bowl,toss apples with raisins and lemon juice.
Place apple slices on a double thickness of 18-inch square heay duty aluminum foil.
In a small bowl,combine brown sugar,flour,salt,cinnamon,cloves and butter;
sprinkle over apple mixture.fold edges over and crimp to seal.
Place foil package on a grill set 4 to 6 inches from coals.
Cook,turning over once or twice, until heated througho, about 20 to 30 minutes.
Serve over ice cream if desired.
This is delicious over ice cream or simply served on its own.
Yield: 6 servings
April 11, 2015 at 6:05 pm
Morpfy,
This is now in my barbecue file.
I like the recipe as I can prepare it ahead of time and put it in the foil then just put it on the BBQ. Easy-peasy!
April 11, 2015 at 2:55 pm
BBQ Meatloaf Aussie Style
Ingredients
Meatloaf:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 pound sausage, casings removed
1 cup fine breadcrumbs
2 medium onions, chopped fine
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 egg, beaten
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Sauce:
1 onion, chopped very fine
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup dry red wine OR beef stock
1/4 cup Lea & Perrins worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp instant coffee
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 ounce margarine
2 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
Loaf:
Combine meats,breadcrumbs,onions,salt,pepper,garlic,parsley,curry and egg in large bowl.
Mix well.
Mix milk and water and add to meat mixture a little at a time until smooth but firm.
Shape into loaf and put into greased baking pan.
Bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees F.
Sauce:
Saute onions in margarine until golden and add all other ingredients.
Bring slowly to a boil,lower heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. (great with ribs or chicken).
After loaf has cooked for 30 minutes,
pour half of the sauce over the meat,
return to oven and bake 45 minutes more,basting often with remaining sauce.
Serve loaf hot in thick slices with remaining sauce.
Also makes great sandwiches.
Yield: 8 servings
April 11, 2015 at 6:07 pm
morpfy,
I love meatloaf. Many times I just see whatever is in the fridge like leftover veggies or even cheese. The curry in this had my mouth watering asI love the taste of curry.
Yup, filed!
April 11, 2015 at 7:45 pm
🙂
April 11, 2015 at 8:09 pm
Indeed, Morpfy, indeed!
April 11, 2015 at 4:08 pm
Kat, I sincerely hope that you are saving each and every text entry of Keep The Coffee… ON PAPER. Your entries – about life on the Cape, your own past and the all-points rumination on life and whatever comes with it – are too good to take for granted. I can only think of one other blog I’ve encountered during the past decade + of subscribing to such things that I’ve enjoyed as much as KTCC. That blog was written by a mom during the first eight or so years of her daughter’s existence. Once that daughter began to assert herself as an independent spirit, the blog became moribund, with Facebook posts taking its place. When its author returned to reminisce over her earlier entries, she found that it had disappeared, with only one or two complete posts saved in the woefully inadequate Internet Archive. I was schooled as a historian and a preservationist, so I tend to prioritize such matters. But I’d say the same thing about KTCC regardless of my education, as I enjoy your writing so. Were these daily missives collated between covers, I’d gladly buy that book.
April 11, 2015 at 6:11 pm
Wow, countertrade, you made my day with this comment.
I learned the hard way to save what I’ve written as Blogger erased my first blog because of song copyright problems. I was devastated but decided just to start over as I really enjoy writing and I so much enjoy the people who are my Coffee family.
It is amazing how many of us shared the same experiences while growing up. The where and went didn’t matter.
I have fun delving in the deep recesses of my memory drawers!
April 17, 2015 at 10:24 pm
I agree with countertrade.
Put the words between the covers.
I’d buy your book.
April 17, 2015 at 10:31 pm
Thanks, t
Sometimes I’m tempted to do that. I don’t know what stops me.
April 11, 2015 at 8:03 pm
I watched it till the end here. But it was only 11:15. 😀
No way I would have stayed up till 2:15 to watch it.
s
April 11, 2015 at 8:07 pm
S,
I went beyond tired so that I even couldn’t get to sleep when I went to bed. I figured I’d invested so much time I should see it through.