“To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you, and hold intimate converse with men of unseen generations — such is a pleasure beyond compare.”
The rain fell and kept falling. It rained all day and most of the night. The morning is dark and has that damp chill which sometimes follows rain. The day is uninviting. Everything is still wet. The breeze is enough to blow the branches on the oak trees, and once in a while I can hear the swishing sound leaves make. Other than that the day is quiet.
In school, on days like today, the room was especially quiet. It was as if the darkness had spread a pall on all of us. I remember the sounds of papers being passed up and down rows. I remember heads bent over worksheets and the sounds of our pencils scratching across the papers and up and down. The nun used to sit at her desk sometimes working, sometimes just staring, maybe even daydreaming. None of us even whispered. We didn’t want to disturb the day.
When I got home from school, I had to change out of my school clothes. Most times I’d wear my play clothes, but on days like today I’d put on my pajamas and lie in bed and read. That last one was my favorite. I would grab my latest book, my Nancy or my Trixie Belden, and get comfy under the covers. The lamp on my headboard was the only light and it shined directly on the page. It was wonderfully cozy.
There is still a lamp on my headboard, but it took me a while to find one. When I was a kid, the lamps were plastic and pink. Mine used to melt when I read under the covers. The one I have now is white and the plastic is covered by fabric. It has a Victorian look about it.
I keep a stack of books by my bed because I still love getting cozy under the covers. Most times I read myself to sleep.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: breezy, chilly, damp, headboard lamp, Nancy Drew, pall, papers, pencils, play clothes, quiet classroom, rain, reading in bed, school clothes, Trixie Belden, uninviting, worksheets
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
September 11, 2015 at 5:49 pm
Hi Kat,
It was a day for random musings. My weather was pretty much like yours. Finally, around 1PM I decided I’d had enough of musing, loaded the dogs in the car and drove to Plum Island. It was just as dark and damp there but different.
The dogs had a good time plowing through the marsh grass and the marsh mud. I did some photography. At some point the sun began to poke through the overcast. By the time we were headed home it was winning more sky from the clouds and I had the AC on in the car.
I also had barbecued chicken from Tendercrop which I shared with Rocky and Piki Dog. A good day indeed.
I still do the pajamas and a book (well, Kindle) on rainy, cool days. 🙂
Enjoy the evening.
September 11, 2015 at 5:59 pm
Hi Caryn,
The sun never made it here.
I did have to go out to buy coffee. I was at the store yesterday but forgot grrrrr. Gracie, though, was glad as it was cool enough to bring her. While I was there, I bought dinner: Mac and cheese and some cookies for dessert.
I go to a specialty store for my coffee and always get sucked into buying more than I ever thought like their ready made food and desserts.
It is now time to get back into my cozies.
Have a great evening!
September 11, 2015 at 9:38 pm
Today is the 14th anniversary of 9/11. The world didn’t change as much as we in the western world woke up and realized that the bad guys would stop at nothing to wreck our way of life. Since then we invaded Afghanistan looking to kill Osama Ben Laden and we found him in Pakistan our ally in the war on terrorism (Thank you President Obama). We invaded Iraq for no real reason and captured Sadam which unleashed sectarian violence leading to the rise of ISEL (Thank you George Bush). We should all stop and remember the victims on that day who did nothing but to go to the office, or the Fire House, or board an airplane for the West Coast.
The really sad part was that the CIA, the FBI and the NSA knew there was something in the works but they never shared information. The bad guys had attempted to blow up the World Trade Center and blew up our embassy in Kenya.
Otherwise, the cold front has passed North Texas bringing cooler weather highs in the low nineties.
September 11, 2015 at 9:52 pm
Bob,
I am watching a program now on the History Channel called 102 Minutes which Changed America. I really didn’t ned to watch this. Totally remember all the events of that day. One of the teachers had to be told her husband’s plane had been flown in to the World Trade Center. I could hear her wail when she was told.
Chilly night here.