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My kitchen floor is covered in muddy dog prints. It has been raining since late last night. The forecast is for rain today and the next three days. My floor will disappear under the mud.

My house was cold again this morning, down to 64˚. Coupled with that, I didn’t sleep well last night. Nala took so much of my side of the bed my feet kept falling off the mattress and waking me up. I moved her, not an easy task, but she moved back. My feet fell off again. I got out of bed and moved her to the other side of the mattress. She fell asleep and so did I.

Henry has a couple of new tricks. He scratches the den rug then stares at me. I asked if Timmy was in the well, and he scratched the rug again then went to the hall and looked back at me. I followed him. The dog door wasn’t on the magnet. It was a bit scrunched so Henry wouldn’t go through to go outside. I was going to straighten it, but Nala went through and the door was straightened so Henry went out. The second trick is when he wants into the bedroom. He scratches the barricade twice. That paw of his is getting to be annoying.

When I was a kid, our dog Duke, a boxer, and his son Sam, my aunt’s dog, used to travel together. Sam lived about three blocks away. Sam smiled. I’m not kidding. He had a broad grin. He was a silly, lovable dog. Duke was his protector. I remember my father getting a phone call from a neighbor. Both dogs were in her front yard and wouldn’t move. She was afraid to leave the house, but the dogs weren’t interested in her but her female dog in heat. My father had to go get them. Sam was a big boxer but not so good in a fight. Duke would watch then step in to save Sam. Both dogs were notorious.

We got our first cat when I was a junior in high school. My father hated cats and wanted it gone before he got home for the weekend. At that time he had been transferred to Maine and only came home on the weekends. We were waiting for the end of the school year to move. We kept the kitten. My father wasn’t happy, but that kitten knew what to do. He snuggled on my father’s neck to get warm. He fell asleep. My father was smitten. After that my parents always had cats.

The morning is cold. Even the cats’ fur is cold. It is 48˚. The heat is on and so is my sweatshirt. Outside is a pretty day with sun and blue skies, but only 59˚ will be the high. I could go to the dump, but I can wait until Wednesday. The trunk has only a couple of bags of used cat litter.

Jack is venturing closer and closer to downstairs. He stays about midway down and meows for pats and scratches, but that alerts Nala who chases him up the stairs. She cries at the gate to the cats’ room. Gwen is not eating her special food. I worry. She goes in for the same tests this week as she had last week. I get a shingles shot this week.

Nala brought in a semi-deflated basketball she found in the yard. It used to be Gracie’s. I never heard Nala bring it through the dog door. She also brought in pine branches but a small pine branches. She loves to chew. I never think to watch her come in through the dog. I’m just glad she does.

When I was a kid, the future was tomorrow except during holiday season. We counted down the days until Halloween then the days until Christmas. Thanksgiving was in the middle, but it never rated a countdown.

I loved twilight in October even though it meant early street lights. The late afternoons got chilly. We were inside early usually doing homework then watching TV. My mother was in the kitchen making dinner. My father seldom made it home from work by dinner time. I remember him coming in the front door wearing his black overcoat and his grey fedora. He always wore a suit and tie to work. My father used a Windsor knot for his tie.

For meals, the four of us sat at the kitchen table. My mother ate standing up at the counter. The kitchen table just fit its space, a small space in the back of the kitchen, and it just fit the four of us. Dinner was always meat, potatoes and a veggie. My favorite dinner was meatloaf, mashed potatoes and peas with niblet corn a close second. Before she put the meat in the oven, my mother spread ketchup on top then added bacon. I used to try to steal the crisp bacon. Dessert was usually cookies, Oreos or chocolate chip. After dinner we watched TV, usually westerns.

Weeknights, except for Friday, meant early to bed. My mother would say it’s a school night as if we didn’t know. I swear she always said with a smile on her face.

The morning is partly sunny but cooler than it has been. The high will only be 60˚. It’s a stay at home and enjoy doing nothing day. Yesterday I potted the succulents, made my bed and vacuumed the hall and kitchen. I felt accomplished again. Sadly, though, the laundry still haunts me.

Last night the white lights on my fence were not lit. That used to happen often when the spawns ate the wires. I went out to check and none were eaten. I then noticed the extension cord was missing. Immediately I knew who took it. That would be the marauder Nala. Why I have no idea. I guess it is like mountain climbing, because it was there. I looked and saw the cord on the driveway below my deck. It was intact so I connected the lights.

I am watching classic horror movies. First it was The Mummy’s Ghost from 1944 and now Werewolf of London from 1935. I have a whole day of black and white horror movies to watch, and I have plenty of popcorn.

When I was a kid, Saturday was the best day. In the winter I went to the matinee. The rest of the year I explored all over town on foot or on my bike. Riding my bike gave me free range. Walking led me to trails and my favorite, the railroad tracks.

The train ran when I was young. My grandparents’ house was down the road from the tracks. I used to stand on their front steps to watch the train. The terminus for the railroad was a shortish walk from my house and just beyond the station, built in 1895 which still stands on its original spot. Across the street from the station were four or five tracks side by side, just ending and heading nowhere. I used the tracks as shortcuts. I remember a clear stream flowing from a grassy hill where I’d stop to take a drink. We always jumped the double OO railroad ties to protect my mother’s back. I never rode on that train. In my lifetime it didn’t carry passengers, only freight. All of that is gone now except for the station at the terminus and the station master’s house up the street from my grandparents where the tracks used to be.

The only train I ever rode when I was growing up was the subway out of Sullivan Square. In Ghana I rode the train usually from Accra to Kumasi or down the coast toward Takoradi. I loved that train. First class was right out of Agatha Christie. There were comfy leather chairs and doors to shut for a bit of privacy. Think Harry Potter’s train to Hogwarts. In Europe I often rode trains. My favorite was the train from Helsinki to Leningrad. At the border between the two countries, the passenger car I was in was attached to a Russian train. My friend and I and an African studying in Russia were the only passengers in that car. There was a burly attendant who plied us with tea.

If I were rich, I would take the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express as far as I could. That would be the ultimate train ride.

The morning is a delight, alternating between warm and sunny and partly cloudy. The high today will be over 70˚. The breeze is every now and then, a strong breeze which whips the leaves back and forth. The oak leaves in my backyard have started to turn reddish brown. The deck is covered in leaves, and Nala has added sticks chewed at the top and missing their bark. Yesterday I found some torn cardboard on the deck, compliments of Nala the destroyer.

Henry has been barking willy-nilly. He barks at people walking by, vehicles stopped on the street and ghosts only he can hear. Nala seldom barks. The last time she did it was at me. I don’t know what I did to offend her.

My dance card is empty until Tuesday. I will be the consummate sloth. Yesterday I did all my errands: got gas, went to the dump, had the car’s oiled changed, tires inflated, filters replaced and new wipers put on. My last errand of the day was a routine blood test. When I got home, I changed my bed and put on the new spread I bought months ago. All in all, I felt accomplished.

The few chores left on that long to do list are potting the succulents I bought and doing the laundry. That last one is my bugaboo. I always figure if I have clothes left I don’t need to do laundry.

This morning, when I went to give Gwen her shot, she had already gone under a bed to sleep, but she tricked me. She was under the other bed. I had to move everything to get her. It wasn’t easy. I have to remember to go to her first thing before I go downstairs, but this morning Nala was whining so I figured she needed out. She did. That gave Gwen the opportunity to elude me.

When I was a kid, I loved to collect the fall leaves. My favorites were the bright yellows and the deep reds. We’d put the most beautiful, the most brightly colored, in wax paper, iron the paper and save the leaves.

I remember walking to school and shuffling on the sidewalk covered with fallen leaves. We’d make a path which would have disappeared by the time we walked home. Sometimes we’d walk in the gutter and kick the leaves. The only drawback was from time to time the leaves on the bottom were soaking wet and clinging together.

Right now my house is absolutely quiet. The sun has returned. I have a cup of fresh coffee. This is heaven.

Today will be another lovely day. The sun is a bit subdued but will brighter as the day grows older. The air is still and morning cool. It will get over 70˚ today. We’re back to short sleeve weather. I have to go down cape, and I’m looking forward to the trip. I also have to go to the dump. I’m not looking forward to that trip. Yesterday at the vet’s, Gwen had glucose testing after which I was told to up her insulin. She got the first higher dose last night. She needs to be tested next week again to the tune of $185.00 each time. I may have to get a job just to pay vet bills. Imagine the vet bills for that ark.

I have a pair of saddle shoes I bought for a costume party. They go with the poodle skirt bought for the same party. That was the first and last time I wore that outfit. I’m figuring I’ll hunt out the shoes in my closet and start wearing them as my throwback fashion statement. Next I’ll look for fringe.

I am not a Hawaiian pizza person. I think it an abomination. The furthest I go off the deep end is barbecue chicken pizza with a thin crust.

After today, I can don my sloth persona. My dance card is empty until Tuesday. I may do laundry, but I don’t want to go hog wild. I have low expectations to maintain.

Wonder of wonder!! Two things happened this morning. The first was amazing. Jack came downstairs. He has been sitting on the stairs getting closer and closer to the bottom and today he ventured. It was no coincidence Nala was outside. The second wonder was the brilliant light in my bedroom which was neither a heavenly nor even an earthly wonder. It was electrical. The light over my bed and my Alexa had stopped working. It was the outlet. I went down to the box and flipped switches, ran upstairs to check then ran back down the cellar to try again. I still didn’t get light. I have an electrician friend, but this seemed silly so I didn’t call him. I plugged Alexa into another room with an extension cord and used a different light socket in my bedroom. This morning the light shined on my face, and I immediately checked to make sure I was still alive. I am.

Some time during the night I woke up because I was cold. I threw on a sweatshirt, added a blanket and snuggled underneath it. When I came downstairs, my house was only 63˚. I turned on the heat. Now the house is cozy.

My cleaning lady came yesterday for the second time. Nala was excited. Henry was standoffish, but she kept trying to pat him. I’m loving my clean house and alI did was write the check. Nala got a flu booster shot this morning. Gwen goes in tomorrow for testing. My car is getting an oil change tomorrow. I have to go to the dump tomorrow because I forgot the dump is closed Monday and Tuesday. I also have to yard pick. I can see Nala’s trash from the deck. My to do list is down to three items, the worst being the laundry. I hate to do laundry. I’m thinking I’ll save that for the end. I have lots of clothes left.

Today I am going to pot some succulents I bought recently. Nala has pulled out several of my house plants so I have empty pots. The only other chore for the day is to change my bed after which I can resume my sloth status. Tonight is uke practice night.

When I was a kid, I only read the funnies in the newspaper. I’d turn the pages, and my fingertips would get black from ink. Only the Sunday funnies were in color. Most of those funnies are gone now. I remember Barney Google, Blondie, Lil Abner, Maggie and Jiggs, Orphan Annie with no eye balls, Andy Capp and Dondi though I have idea why I remember that one. One of my favorites was The Phantom.

My father loved his newspapers. When we traveled, he always bought the international USA Today. He got the Globe for a long time until he decided he was really a republican, and the Globe was too liberal so he started reading the Herald. We used to call it the rag. He never appreciated our nickname for his paper. After my father retired, during warm weather, he’d sit on the front steps with his coffee and paper. The whole neighborhood greeted my dad. Cars would honk hello, and he’d wave.

I get two print newspapers: the Boston Globe and the Cape Cod Times. I love reading my papers and turning real pages. I drink a cup of coffee with each paper. My mornings are filled with ritual.

Today is a delight, the perfect fall on Cape Cod day. The sun is hot, but away from the sun the air is breezy and a bit cooler. It is flannel shirt weather at 66˚.

We had quite the audience in Hyannis. Many of them stayed the whole concert, the whole hour. I had a great time. Our chairs were in the sun and the warmth was wonderful. The crowd clapped after every song, and many of them took videos. I felt like a musician.

The Sox were unbelievable last night with two grand slams and another homer just for added effect. The next game is tomorrow. I figure poor Nala will have to wear her neckerchief again. She actually wore it until the end of the game.

When I was a kid, girls’ sports were almost non-existent. I played softball summers at the park where I pitched and played first base. When I was in the seventh grade, I played CYO basketball. I was a guard. In those days, guards couldn’t go beyond half-court and couldn’t shoot for baskets. I used to throw the ball inbound across most of the court and close to our basket no matter where I stood at half-court. The other team was usually taken by surprise. It was fun.

When I was 10, I joined the junior drill team. We practiced Saturday mornings at the armory. I loved that building. It had wooden staircases and lots of wood in all the rooms. There were flags everywhere. Upstairs there was a huge hall like room where we practiced. I remember the floor was always dusty. The junior drill team was a feeder unit for the senior drill team, St. Patrick’s Shamrocks. I had two aunts who marched in the early days so it became a family tradition. When I joined the senior drill team, I was eleven. Many of the other members were much older, 18 and above. I remember the bus rides to competitions. I didn’t know any of the songs at first. I have no idea why, but the one song I remember is called Junior Birdman. My favorite lyric was, ” For it takes: 5 box tops, 4 bottle bottoms, 3 coupons, 2 wrappers, and one thin dime.” You had to hold the dime note, dimmme, for a while which is why I liked that lyric.

I still have friends with whom I marched close to sixty years ago. We do have occasional reunions which are always like old home week as my mother would have said. My friend Maria calls periodically so we can keep in touch. When we see each other, it is as if no time has passed. Old friends are like that.