Keep the Coffee Comimg

Fair Warning! The faint of heart and weak of stomach should not continue reading.

Yesterday, Nala was out a long while. I assumed she was playing with her dead possum, but I decided to to check on her but then I heard her come inside. I got up to pat the lovely Miss Nala. The dead possum was on the hall floor beside the dogs’ toy box. I made sounds of disgust, eww, eww, eww over and over. My face reflected the sound. I had to keep Nala away while I figured out how to get the possum out of the house. I grabbed a brown bag and a plastic bag. I used the plastic to push the possum into the brown bag. Nala wanted the bag so I held it high as I carried it outside. That totally grossed me out, and I eww’ed to the front door. Nala was right beside me. I took the bag outside to the front yard where Nala never goes. I went to toss the possum, but it fell out of the bag and slid down the small hill beside my house. I left it there in quiet repose. I’ll move it away from the house later.

Today will stay partly cloudy with a high of 39˚. The morning air is filled with the songs of birds, a welcome sign spring is coming. When the wind blows, I can hear the sweet sounds of the chimes hanging from a tree in the backyard. The morning is a delight for eyes and ears.

I went outside with Nala, the consummate thief, and saved some of the things she has stolen and picked up a handful of her trash. I’ll make another run on the trash later.

The dogs stay out a long time. Nala looks for trouble. Henry wanders the yard and sniffs the ground. Henry no longer whacks the dog door for me to come and let him in. He comes in on his own every time. In regard to the dog door, and only the dog door, Nala has been a good influence.

I have a chore list with only a couple of items. Any more, and I’d set myself up to fail. The kitchen floor, which I think is still there under the dog paw prints, needs to be washed. It is atop the list. My bed too is on that list but with parenthesis around it, a notation that means maybe. I have been dusting with my sweatshirt sleeve. It works the best.

I’m going out today. I’ll have to shield my eyes from the light. Other than the quick possum fiasco, I have been inside a long time.

The cold is still here. It is only 26˚. Again, the view from my window belies the temperature. The sun is squint your eyes bright. The sky is blue and cloudless. The day has nary a breeze. The dogs love this weather. They are out for the longest time, even Henry the sloth. As for the disposition of the possum, it will leave my yard today. Nala won’t care. She has lost interest.

When I was a kid, I never saw much wildlife. There were spawns of Satan everywhere. Once in a while a skunk waddled by. We ran in the other direction. I remember on a family Sunday drive to nowhere we all yelled when we saw deer in a field. My father stopped the car so we could watch. Even grazing cows rated a yelp. I remember hawks on the hunt riding the thermals and whirling in the sky.

Here on the cape, wild life abounds. Coyotes are common as are wild turkeys. I have seen as many as twelve or more in a single raptor. They wander up my street noshing as they go. One night a deer stopped in the road in front of me when it saw my car. I slammed on my brakes and slid a bit sideways to avoid hitting it. I saw the scared look of a deer in the headlights. I suspect the deer saw the same look on face. Foxes too are common. They trot along the sides of the roads. I saw a hawk dine on a spawn it had caught. That hawk was right out the window of the cafeteria during lunch. The kids didn’t care. They watched while they ate lunch.

My favorite sighting was in Ghana. I was riding my moto, as they call it in Ghana, on a bush dirt road on the way to visit a friend. The road was remote and only led to her village. A car driven by a white person stopped by my moto to ask if I was lost as that road didn’t get much traffic. Anyway, a bit further on, I could see what looked like hairy men on one side of the road. I stopped and watched. They were baboons, about five of them. One stopped in the middle of the road to look at me. I stood statue still. It decided I was no threat and took off with its gorilla pals. I breathed the biggest sigh of relief.

Looking out my den window, I can see a windy, sunny day with a cloud pocked sky. It is lovely day if you stay inside the house. It is cold, only 38˚, and the wind makes it feel even colder. We had rain last night so everything is still wet.

I did a couple of errands yesterday and took Nala with me. She likes the car. I wish Henry did.

My bedtime is late or early depending on your viewpoint. Last night, or this morning, it was three AM. The dogs joined me. Nala woke me up at 8:30. I tried to stay in bed, but she would have none of it and whacked me a few times then she cried and cried. I figured she needed to go out so I got up. Now, the dogs are napping, and I am jealous.

Tuesday I lived a nightmare. I put the dogs out before we went to bed. Nala was out for the longest time so I went looking for her. My head said she can’t get out, but Gracie did by hopping the six foot fence so I was worried. I looked over the back rail of the deck and saw her. Nala had something in her mouth. I went into the yard. Nala had a dead possum, a frozen dead possum, in her mouth. I wondered how the possum died. I knew it wasn’t Nala. It was a found treasure. I chased that dog, and every time I got close to her Nala ran with the possum. I threw a can close to her. She was surprised, jumped into the air and dropped the possum, but she picked it up again when I got really close. I tripped over a root and fell on my butt. The back of my pants got soak, but I got up and tried again. Nala ran again. I decided I was too cold and I was too wet so I gave up the chase and went inside. Nala came in on her own, possum less.

Yesterday morning I looked over the yard and couldn’t see the possum so I let Nala out. She found the possum. I didn’t chase her. She came back inside without the possum. This morning I looked, and the poor possum is still in the yard and needs to be buried, but I haven’t a shovel. I think a huge spoon will take a while to dig a big enough hole. It’s on my to-do list.

Today feels warm. It is 37˚. The sun has disappeared and been replaced by whitish grey clouds. A slight wind blows the smaller branches. The dogs have been in and out all morning. I went on the porch while they were out and checked the yard. I saw a couple of cans stolen from the trash, two dog toys and an unknown red object. Nala brought the toys inside. Sometimes she does. Sometimes she doesn’t.

The languor of the last few months disappeared yesterday and has given way to a kind of frenzy. It all started with a snow globe covered in dust. I swiped it with my sweatshirt, my usual cleaning cloth. The snow globe looked so good I ended up cleaning all of the snow globes then I moved on with a duster and wet wipes to the rest of the wooden boxes. All of the items in each of the boxes are now clear of dust. This morning, when I went to get the cream from the fridge, I noticed some of the fridge shelves needed cleaning. I cleaned right then as if I had been possessed by a monster with a fearful face dressed in an apron, a house dress and slippers and carrying a whip and a broom. The coffee got cold. The top of my desk was next. I organized it, but the wind up toys on the desk shelf still need cleaning. They are next. I have decided my only way out of this is either to roam the house blindly or go out to do a couple of errands. I’m thinking the latter.

In my travels I have eaten strange things. In Ghana, I always bought bushmeat on the train. The meat came on a skewer, and there was so much hot pepper on the meat you had to wrap it in bread to eat it. I never thought about the source of the meat. I don’t think I wanted to know. Much later I found out it was any wild meat. I’m glad I didn’t know.

I ate Guinea pig or Cuy as it is called in South America, a local delicacy in Ecuador. I remember the restaurant was a small, local spot with Guinea pigs running around. The Guinea pig was roasted and came whole with a bunch of side dishes. I remember the potatoes were delicious.

I had reindeer in Finnish Lapland. Sometimes I’m asked how it tasted. I always say it was delicious except I found the blinking red light a distraction.

Chicken feet taste better than you’d expect but eating them takes work with all the bones. I ate wild bird in Iceland. The ptarmigan is the only one I remember on the plate. I tried frog legs and found them far better tasting than I expected. I’d order them again.

In this country I’ve eaten Rocky Mountain oysters, but I didn’t know what I was eating. I think I would have gagged to find out they are bull testicles. I’ve had eel which is pretty good. I ate gross jello salad when I was young. I don’t even like Jello. I used to eat Spam, the unknown meat, but only when it was fried.

I am still ever ready to taste the oddities. I just don’t want to know what I’m eating.

The spring equinox falls on March 20th, a mere 20 days from today. When I look out my den window, I see a deceptively lovely day, maybe even a spring-like day. The sun is blindingly bright. The sky is a deep blue. In Crayola speak it is cornflower blue. The air is calm. But, it is cold, really cold. The high today will be 27˚. Winter still holds sway.

When I was in the eighth grade, my class from my elementary school, the graduating class, had a class trip to Paragon Park in Hull. Before the big day, my mother took me shopping for a new outfit. I chose clamdiggers which more sophisticated people called capri pants. My blouse was white and sleeveless. I wore a white hat with a visor and new white sneakers. My mother went as one of the chaperons. I remember ride after ride on the wooden roller-coaster called the Giant Coaster, my favorite of all the rides. It rattled on the tracks and tossed us against the sides of the car on the sharp turns. We held on for dear life. A simple seat belt was the only restraint keeping us inside the cars. We did a few of the other rides. My second favorite ride was the Wild Mouse, a small roller coaster with two people cars. It twisted and turned and went up and down. We were flung from side to side at the sharp turns. We loved another ride, but I forget its name. It was a big circle, a cylinder. We leaned against the wall when the circle began to spin. It went faster and faster and pinned us against the wall. We couldn’t move. The floor disappeared. We kept spinning. It was exciting, and it was scary.

We never played any of the games. We just wanted rides and food. I bought a hot dog and some fries and later an ice cream cone and popcorn.

At the end of the afternoon, my classmates offered us, my friend Jimmy and me, their tickets. We took them and went on the roller-coaster a few more times. What we didn’t realize was we got the tickets because it was time to leave, and my classmates were headed to the buses. We were hunted down by the chaperons, including my own mother, because we were the last of us in the park, and the buses were waiting on us so they could leave. We got on board and off we went. We only had to endure a reprimand or two.

Before the park closed in 1984, a couple of friends and I decided to visit the park one last time to ride the coaster. It had been sold and was going to be moved. One of my friends was afraid of the ride. She smashed again me at the turns and screamed the entire time. I think I rode the coaster four or five times. I wanted to remember every twist and turn.

Today will be almost tropical with a high of 38˚. The sky is a brilliant blue. The sun is winter bright. When I went to get the paper, the glint of the sun on the snow was so bright I couldn’t see for a bit. Everything is frozen again. My windshield has a layer of what is now hard-packed snow. The rest of the windows are clear. Later, I’ll tackle the windshield.

When I was a kid, Sunday was my least favorite day. I had to go to mass. Usually I walked. Because I had to wear a skirt or a dress, it was a cold walk even if I was layered and wearing knee socks. The warmth of the church after the cold was welcomed. Before mass, the church was mostly a quiet place. People whispered. The pews creaked when people moved. I could hear the hiss of the radiators. When the mass started, the priest’s voice was loud. People muttered their responses. I could barely wait for the priest to say, “The mass is over. Go in peace.” I sprinted for the door.

I always enjoyed Sunday dinner. We ate it together. I knew they’d be mashed potatoes, a couple of veggies, gravy and a roast of some sort. It was our fanciest dinner of the week.

The dog barking on TV put Henry on alert. He is now barking a warning. I don’t think the dog heard him. Henry had another milestone yesterday. He always licks my hands, but yesterday he gave my cheek a lick, a first. Also, Henry now comes in the dog door all the time. I have Nala to thank for that.

Speaking of the dog door, the other day the dogs perfectly executed a comedy movie bit. They both tried to go out the door at the same time and they were stuck for a few seconds until Henry broke free.

Nala has an accurate internal alarm. Today she woke me up at eight. Yesterday and the day before, it was 8:04 exactly on both days. She is not gentle about waking me. She whacks me a few times. This morning she even whacked the barrier. That’s when I figured she really needed out. I let both dogs out and went back to bed, but I was done sleeping.

Today I will do my laundry. I’m tired of the laundry basket in the hall. It has been weeks.

Yesterday, when I woke up, it was snowing. About an inch or two was on the ground. With so little snow, I could still see the underbrush in the backyard. I got my paper and settled with it and my coffee. Shortly after, I could hear sleet banging against the windows and doors. The sleet fell sideways. After a while, nothing fell, but it was bitterly cold. I stayed inside until I noticed Nala had a bag of pasta in her mouth. I went to get it, but she ran outside. I ran after her and got the pasta. She followed me back into the toasty, warm house. She went to sleep, and I got more coffee. The rain came next then the snow started again. The weather had gone full circle.

The walkway is hidden. My car is encased by icy snow. I have decided to hibernate until spring or until all that snow melts on its own. I don’t have a shovel. I do have a scraper, but I’m not in a scraping mood. It is too cold.

The day is deceptively pretty with a blue sky, white fluffy clouds and lots of sun but it is only 28˚. The high will be 31˚, but in whose world is that a high?

I am watching a black and white science fiction movie from 1953, The Magnetic Monster. I am ten again, and I’m sitting on the living room rug watching Creature Double Feature. Being young, I still have a natural suspension of disbelief.

I saw paw prints going into and out of the front yard. I didn’t recognize the pattern, and I couldn’t find the specific prints on line. Whatever made those prints was free range as I didn’t see boot or shoe prints along side the paw prints. The creature was alone.

When I was a kid, I preferred mittens. They kept my fingers warmer than gloves, and when I was really young, they were easy to put on. Gloves, on the other hand (sorry!), meant trying to get the right fingers in the right spots, and I wasn’t aways successful. I did buttons but had trouble with zippers. I couldn’t always get the two sides of my coat together. Boots were easy. The shoes were the key. I discovered that putting my shoes into my boots without my feet in them made it easy to put my boots back on at school. To my mother’s consternation, I didn’t always wear my hat.

I have nothing planned for the weekend. I can loll. I can have a sloth day.

“The weather outside is frightful.” We had maybe two inches of snow before the sleet started. I got pelted when I went to get the paper. The dogs, though, don’t seem to mind. They have been in and out a few times already. Nala ran the yard and came in with her tongue hanging. Both dogs are having their morning naps. Henry has his side of the couch while Nala is beside me curled in a ball and resting her head on my back. She is snoring. She does that.

My house is cozy and warm. I’m in my usual winter garb, my cozies: slippers, a sweatshirt and flannel pants. I did wear my boots outside, but I could have worn my slippers as the snow isn’t so high.

Today is a day to stay inside, to stay off the roads yet to be plowed. It is cold, 34˚, but the wind, a slight wind, makes it feel colder. Even when I was a kid, I would have stayed inside today. Sleet is uninviting.

I read all the classics when I was young. The saddest was Black Beauty. I only read it once. I got Little Women as a Christmas gift when I was in the fourth grade. I read Heidi and can still see the book cover in my mind’s eye. A little girl is wearing what I thought was an apron but I found out later it was a dirndl. She is standing in a green field framed by snow capped mountains, the Alps. I read all the Doctor Dolittle books. I hated Long John Silver for his duplicity. My favorite was The Wind in the Willows.

As I got older, I started reading mysteries and science fiction. The girl detectives were my favorites. The science fiction books back then had no aliens. They were mostly space ships and journeys to the stars. My imagination ran wild. I dreamed of being in space and seeing millions of bright stars.

I have no lists today, no events and no chores. My larder is filled. I have almost everything I need to survive winter’s onslaught, but a few chocolate chip cookies wouldn’t hurt.

When I woke up this morning, it was sunny but cold. Now, the sun has disappeared and it is only 29°. We are under a winter storm watch. The snow prediction for Cape Cod is 3 to 6 inches, but the snow is expected to change to rain and sleet.

I have no plans for today. Yesterday I was all over the place, five different stops. I even went to the dump with an almost empty trunk, so unlike me, but not to fear, the laundry is still in the hall so all is well with my world.

I didn’t have my first plane ride until I was in college. It was a flight from Hyannis to Boston in a prop, an Easter gift from the Easter Bunny. That single ride started it all.

I have ridden in a hot air balloon, an untethered balloon. It was a magnificent ride. We were one among several balloons taking advantage of the last of the good fall days. The ride had been postponed a couple of times because of the wind. It was a glorious morning. People still in their pajamas and robes rushed out to see us. My favorite view was of the pig farm and the scurrying pigs. We landed perfectly, basket upright. We had breakfast and toasted our perfect ride with glasses of champagne. In each glass was a pin, a replica of the balloon.

My helicopter ride was from LaGuardia to J.F.K. The copter took off straight up then whirred across the city. There was even a stewardess whose only responsibility was to make sure we were buckled. It was an amazing ride with the city close below us, but what was even more amazing was my luggage made it from Boston to LaGuardia to JFK to Ghana despite being out of my sight for an entire day.

My glider ride was out of Plymouth. The day was perfect with the brightest sun and the bluest sky. We were towed into the air by a powered plane connected to us by a rope. When we were high enough, the pilot of my glider had me release the tow rope. We soared over the ocean catching thermals. The view seemed endless. I could even see the skyline of Boston. The only sound was of the wind.

When I woke up this morning, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. I asked Google about the weather and was told it would be cloudy and rainy. Within the next ten minutes the sun disappeared, and darkening clouds covered the sky. Google was right for the meanwhile. Twenty minutes later the blue was back, and the sun was shining, but some clouds are still hanging around just to remind us of the weather prediction.

It is a warm day and already 50˚. We are on a weather seesaw. Tomorrow will be similar to today, but Thursday the temperature will drop to 33˚, and on Friday we’ll have rain and snow.

Nala watches YouTube but only boxer videos. At first I wasn’t sure, but this morning it was obvious. She was right beside me and watched boxers running and gamboling. When the scene switched, she stopped watching until the boxers came back. She doesn’t seem to enjoy Space Force so she’s napping.

Both dogs are on the couch with me. They are sleeping, one on each side of me. When I was a kid, Duke wasn’t allowed on beds or on the furniture. He was a rug dog when we were looking, but he sneaked on the couch late at night while we were all abed. Duke was a tricky dog. As for my animals, they always sleep on couches or beds. They scoff at rugs. They feel entitled.

When I was a kid, my parents told us Chinese was not for kids. We believed them. The only exotic food we ate was spaghetti, I-talian food, with the I long and emphasized. It wasn’t until we were bit older, but still kids, that we tasted Chinese. Nothing happened. I don’t know what I expected, but I didn’t expect to realize my parents told us lies so they didn’t have to share.

We ate steamers. We ate sardines. Both just seemed to be ordinary foods for us. I still like steamers, but the idea of eating sardines gives my taste buds pause, even makes me gag a bit.