Today is rainy but warm, nearly 60°, but it looks like a November day, a dreary November day. Yesterday’s wind blew leaves at an angle, slanted sideways. Everything is now covered in the brown, dead leaves. My deck has disappeared under oak leaves. I hadn’t covered the deck table but the time has come.

I am watching a parade from Plymouth. I love parades, the colors, the floats and the bands. When I was a kid, I marched with the drill team in all sorts of parades. I have vivid memories of those parades, some great, some not so great. The worst parade was the Halloween parade. Eggs were thrown, and I remember one slid down my leg into my boot. I marched on egg shells. I could hear the crunch until the shells were pulverized. St. Patrick’s Day was another parade we dreaded. It was cold and the partakers of green brew tried to march with us. My favorite parade was July 4th. People set up their chairs in the morning along the parade route to reserve the best spots for watching. My family always went to my father’s friend’s house along the parade route. Everyone at the party watched from the porch. As we marched by, they started yelling my name over and over. I was both embarrassed and pleased. They used to make us march in the parish May procession. We were almost last. Behind us was only whoever was crowning the statue of Mary. We were told the parish supported us and marching was the least we could do.

A quiet week is coming. I have uke practice on Tuesday, the Christmas book. The big event is, of course, Thanksgiving. I’ve ordered a turkey dinner with all the fixings. I’ll watch the parade just as I did every year when I was a kid. I’ll even buy the same parade snacks, but I’ll skip the mixed nuts even though I have an old wooden bowl with the silver nutcrackers. I’ll have a few tangerines and definitely M&M’s. I’ll wear my pajamas, but I won’t sit on the floor in front of the TV. I’d never get back up.

Coffee is takin a brief hiatus today. I don’t have the time to write it, at least this morning. I have to leave shortly for my uke concert. If I get home early enough, I’ll give Coffee a go.

If you checked the dictionary for fall, you’d see a picture of today. It is a delight. The very bright sun shines through and highlights the leaves still hanging off the oak tree branches. It is nearly 60°. I had to check the dogs as they were outside for so long. Both came running when they saw me on the deck, but they stayed outside. Today is the perfect day to string the new white lights on the deck rail. I’m sure the spawns of Satan will be excited to have new wires to chew.

When I was a kid, I never made lists. My life wasn’t at all complicated. It followed the same pattern every day: wake up, eat breakfast, dress for school, head off walking to school and stay there most of the day. When I got home, I played outside as long as I could. This time of year it wasn’t very long. I always did my homework before supper. The evenings too were the same: eat dinner, watch TV, read a bit before bed then go to bed early. As my mother always reminded us, “It’s a school night.”

I make lists now. I have found that I forget things, hence the lists. They are taped on my table so I can add to them. One list is my grocery list for the big shopping I do every month. This list is for December. If I need anything in between, I stop at Ring’s, my favorite store. My dance card is also taped to the table. I have only one entry left for this week, a concert tomorrow in Mashpee. My to do list is front and center on the table. I put no date on the list. I’ll get to it when I get to it. There is no hurry. The list has only two items: water my plants and change my bed. Maybe Ill finish today but maybe not.

I remember walking home from my aunt’s house one day. She lived only a few blocks away. Sometimes I took the road, but mostly I took a short cut. It was along a metal fence without a gate so I’d have to jump the fence. The jumping spot was just up the hill from my house. I remember walking home one day along the fence and wishing I could buy a new book, but I’d ready spent my 50¢ allowance. I stopped for a bit of a rest and right at my feet I found a 50¢ piece. I couldn’t believe it. I thought it was magic. I bought a new Trixie Belden book.

I never questioned the magic.