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This morning is glorious. The sun is brighter and the blue sky deeper than yesterday’s. It is already 62˚and will get as high as 68˚. I’m figuring on some deck time in a bit. I’m got a good book I’m half-way through so I’ll sit in the quiet of the backyard and read. What a delightful day!

Yesterday I sliced my finger with the dog food top. It took four band-aids then one more. This morning I removed those band-aids. They were stuck to my finger. I yelped when I pulled them off then I ran for tissue paper to put around my finger. It is an ugly cut.

The other day I went for a short ride. I saw spring. I saw forsythias blooming. Most formed walls on the edges of gardens. Tulips and dafs were in groups by color. I went slowly so as not to miss the world around me. A couple of times I turned in somewhere to let the car behind me go in front. I didn’t want to be like a tourist. I rode around for close to an hour down cape then back up. Henry was glad to see me when I got home.

Speaking of Henry, he let me cut his nails the other day. He was quite patient and didn’t pull any of his paws back. I just cut the tips. He no longer tap dances.

My dance card for this weekend is empty. I could make a run to Agway’s for pet treats and maybe even some hearty garden flowers. I’m a sucker for flowers, but I’m thinking the deck is calling me, metaphorical.

When I was a kid, I loved spring. The mornings always smelled good. They were cool but the sort of cool that disappeared as the day went on. Everything was green but lots of different greens. The only layer left was my spring jacket and maybe a sweater underneath. My mother didn’t force me to wear a hat. I had hands instead of mittens. Sometimes I even skipped to school. I loved recess, but my favorite part of the day was walking home, hurrying home so I could have more time outside to play in the growing warmth of spring, much more time before supper.

The sun is amazingly bright. The sky is a deep blue which looks best between the thinner branches of the pine trees, the ones at the tops. Today will be spring weather on Cape Cod, a high of 57˚. I have a few errands so I’ll be heading out a bit later. It is a glorious day for errands.

My to-do list has a new name, one with no immediacy. I have been what my mother would have called a Whirling Dervish. I had no idea what she meant until I saw a movie, a James Bond movie, with Whirling Dervishes. The dance was amazing and beautiful. (Why I remembered where I had seen them is a mystery to me.) Well, back to the main event: my cleaning frenzy. I am pleased to say that I did clean yesterday, but I only dust mopped the stairs and the hall then I sat on the couch eating chocolate chip cookies. Well, the new list is now called “What I’m Thinking.” No time is attached.

When I was a kid, spring vacation was a long time in coming. Our last vacation had been in February, not such a great time vacation with the weather and all. Spring vacation was always in April. Sometimes we’d get wonderful weather, sunny and warm weather. Other times it was cold and windy, a replica of February vacation.

We were never in the house when it was warm in April. We rode our bikes all around because there was so much to see. The cattle on the dairy farm, the holsteins I found out later, were out all day. I remember watching them slog in the mud on the way to the field. The ground had been hard in winter.

If we were lucky, the zoo would be open. It didn’t cost anything. There was a bike rack right by the entrance. We’d walk on the paths around the cages. Many of the animals were out on a sunny day.

We’d stop for lunch. We usually packed one on sunny Saturdays. We knew they were days not to be wasted eating inside. After lunch we’d hit the road again. Sometimes it was hunting balls on the golf course and off the golf course and across the street. On good days we’d find a couple or even more. On bad days we’d wish we had a way to get the golf balls out of the water without getting wet. That never happened.

I remember riding to the next town and bicycling around the lake. The houses were so big and beautiful. They were the best I had seen ever in all my ten years or so. Most times we’d ride around until we came to traffic, cars coming around the rotary. We’d run with the smallest break in traffic. We always made it across even wheeling our bikes. The next leg of the ride was through the square of the town next to mine. That square had a diner, a great diner, the sort where you wanted to have breakfast all the time. It wasn’t long from there to home. We’d get home before supper and watch some TV. It was a perfect April vacation day.

Today we celebrate Earth Day. Cue the composting, recycling, repurposing, carpooling, thrifting, and metal straws to save the turtles. Protect our home.

( My usual musing is below the Earth Day songs)

The sun is shining now and then amid the clouds. It is chilly because of the wind. I can see the top most branches swaying. Yesterday the rest of the state had rain or snow. We had a cloudy day. I did the odd clean-up and organizing again. Last night my new deck lights did not light. I checked for chewed sections and found none. The lights just died. I added solar lights to a tree yesterday, but they didn’t light either. I am doomed to darkness.

This week has been quiet. I haven’t even been out beyond the yard. Groceries were delivered yesterday, mostly all my fruit and produce. The fridge and freezer are filled. I had a cheeseburger last night. That may not sound like much, but I can’t remember the last time I cooked anything. I topped the burger with pepper Jack cheese. I had no rolls so I used a toasted bagel. It was an odd set-up, but it was delicious.

When I was a kid, my father wasn’t usually home in time for supper. He worked a long day. I remember him coming in the door wearing his black top coat and his fedora. He always wore a suit and starched white shirts. His shoes were black: every pair he ever wore to work was black. My father was a salesman. He worked for the J. P. Manning Company and sold tobacco and sundries. When I was older, he worked for Hood Ice Cream. He became a manager quickly. My father was an amazing salesman.

My mother always read to me when I was little. I’d sit on her lap as she read. First were the Golden Books. On every new page, she’d point to the pictures and ask me what they were. She told me I always knew. I have some old Golden Books, mostly Christmas books. One is the story of the Nativity, and the rest have Christmas carols. Last year I bought new Golden Books as Christmas presents for my niece and sisters. They were the story of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. I also bought a book about NASA and gave it to my grandniece who was thrilled. I didn’t know they still made Golden Books. I just bought another one for my sister. I’m always on the lookout for neat Christmas presents.

My plans for today are simple. I’ll brush my teeth, read a while, a Clive Cussler I bought at the used book store, and eat another burger for lunch; however, I’m still suffering from the spring cleaning bug. I’ll have to walk around with eyes closed so I don’t notice anything.

Today is another glorious day, as pretty and bright as yesterday. I went out to the deck to chase the spawn away from the feeder and stayed a while taking in the sun and the warmth. Henry joined me. We played his game for a few minutes. He comes up one set of deck stairs, I pretend to chase him and he goes down the other stairs. Repeat.

When I was on the deck, I noticed the herbs in the deck boxes are coming to life. I saw oregano, basil and the tops of mint. Spring is here just about everywhere.

Yesterday I was possessed, possibly hexed. First, I finally took down the outside Christmas lights and the giant ornaments on the side tree. I wound the first set of lights on the spindle which came with the lights. Easy job. I then tackled the second set. I swore more times than I care to admit. I got both ends unwound but the middle was a jumbled mess. I was reminded of all the sets of Christmas tree lights my father cursed about when I was a kid. Every one of them was always tangled when the lights came out the next year. I sat on the stairs and worked on that set for over an hour. I was sweaty when I finally gave up and wound the mess around the spindle. I’ve moved this task to a future to-do list a long way off.

I ordered my mid-month groceries. They arrived in the early evening. I hauled them to the kitchen and put them away which entailed trying to find freezer space. I helped the cause by eating a drumstick ice cream cone.

Next, I moved heavy empty clay pots to the deck and rearranged a dining room shelf. I washed a tea set I found in a wooden box under the hutch. I don’t even remember it. The set is for a child. It is Limoge and is covered in tiny pink flowers. The whole set is intact. It is also clean.

My landline kept losing the dial tone. I checked and found a cord in the back with a wire which had frayed a bit. I have a similar phone upstairs. I bent down and reached under the bed to the power cord, but I couldn’t reach it. I got to my knees and finally found the end of the phone cord. Getting up from my knees was a project of its own.

Finally, I cleared below the cellar stairs. I had been throwing dirty towels and even dirty clothes down the stairs. There was a pile. I put everything into the washing machine.

This morning I woke up with the worst backache I have had in months. I moaned so loudly I scared Henry and Jack. Both of them sat without moving and watched me with wide eyes.

Today is a sloth day. I choose to do nothing because yesterday I did everything, far more than I usually do in a week or even a month. I hated it.

Today is spring. It is sunny and warm and may reach 60˚. The sky is a darker blue than yesterday’s. The air is still. It is a quiet morning. I watched the birds at the feeders this morning from the kitchen window. The first in were the goldfinches, males with their bright yellow chests. They settled on sunflower seeds. The chickadees arrived next and chose the mixed seed feeder. They zoomed in, grabbed a seed and zoomed out to a nearby branch to dine. My to-do list includes outside tasks. I want sun and warmth.

Last night, around eleven, Henry went out. I followed him and stood on the deck for a while. All of a sudden, I heard turkey gobbles, loud gobbles from more than one turkey. The sound came from the direction of the road. I could hear the turkeys were moving away, up the street, as their gobbles got fainter. Lots of turkeys roam the neighborhood. There is a small pond beyond the end of the street. The turkeys usually roost at night on tree branches around the pond. I guess they were enjoying an evening constitutional.

I strung the outside lights yesterday. This strand is longer than the last three victims of the spawns. Henry didn’t need the backdoor light to go out. The strand of white lights goes all the way down the banister and across one side of the big gate on the driveway.

When I was a kid, our plates were melmac. That insured that dropped plates would clatter, not break, when they hit the floor. We also had a set of indestructible aluminum glasses with a matching pitcher. We had a few glass glasses which once held jelly and some other glasses which held shrimp in cocktail sauce. They hit the floor hard. On one visit my mother brought me a couple of jelly glasses. She brought me memories. I am quite careful with those glasses. My tile floor is unyielding.

I have a small garden below the deck. Last year I planted strawberry plants. They have multiplied. One clump is tall and thick. Last year I did get a few berries or rather the birds or the spawns got a few berries. This year, when I see blossoms, I’m going to cover the plants in cheesecloth. I’m hoping they’ll be enough for a couple of strawberry shortcakes. I make cream of tartar biscuits instead of sponge cake. They were my father’s favorites, and they were what my mother always made. I think of them as family tradition.

The morning is beautiful. The sun is so bright I had to shade my eyes when I went to get the papers. The sky is the deepest blue and goes on forever, unmarred by a single cloud. There is not even a wisp of wind. I filled the bird feeders. When I was outside, the only sounds were bird songs. It is a bit chilly but warmer than yesterday. The temperature is already 49˚ and will get as high as 55˚. I’m staying home today.

Last night was fun. I actually ate dinner with friends who always cook my favorites. Dinner was sausage and plantain, the sweetest plantain. There was also salad and rice, but they are humdrum, and I mention them only in passing. My friend has a raised bed garden. Okra is one of her crops. I mentioned garden eggs, and she went hunting for information. She has decided to plant some. I remember okra and garden egg stews in Ghana, the first time I saw either vegetable. I mentioned to my friends that eating okra stew with your hands is a bit slimy. They couldn’t believe I used my hand as an eating utensil. Even now, if I eat Ghanaian stews, I use my hand. It just seems right.

When I was a kid, I loved Campbell’s chicken noodle soup. I’d crush Saltines with my hands and put the crumbs and pieces into the bowl of soup. The Saltines sat on the top of the soup and absorbed most of the liquid. That’s the way I liked it. The noodles and meat stayed on the bottom of the bowl and were easy to snag. I remember sucking in the noodles and having a few drops hit in the face. My other favorite soup was tomato. I never used Saltines in that soup, but I did dip in my grilled cheese sandwiches.

When I left for the Peace Corps, it was on a Sunday. I was flying from Logan to Philadelphia. Both my parents came with me to the airport and, in those days, they could walk me to the gate. We didn’t talk a whole lot. They were dealing with my leaving for 2+ years, and I was dealing with the same thing in a different way. I was both nervous and excited. I still remember our goodbyes. My mother held on a bit too long, but I was okay with that. My father gave me a quick hug and a kiss on my cheek. They told me to call from Philadelphia. I cried a bit, quietly, as I walked down the gateway to my plane.

When I spoke to my sister in Colorado this morning she said it was snowing and adding inches to the snow already on the ground. Happy spring!

The sun was out when I woke up but has since disappeared. The sky is cloudy but no rain is predicted. It is cold and will stay cold all day. I am going out later to visit friends giving me a new record, four days out in a single week.

My bird feeders need filling. This morning a bright red cardinal, a bright yellow goldfinch and my favorite little chickadees were at the feeder eating the last few sunflower seeds.

I can’t find Henry’s halter, his harness. It has been on the floor so he’ll get familiar with it and not go crazy when I put it on him. I have looked all over downstairs. Its disappearance is driving me crazy.

This morning I watched a YouTube video filmed in Ghana. An American was visiting for the first time and was touring Makola Market. He mispronounced Accra and says Ghanians. The Ghanaian with him was far too polite to correct him. I screamed at the TV a few times. I wished it was two way.

I keep losing track of which day of the week it is. All my days are so similar I sometimes have to check the masthead of the paper.

When I was a kid, I got a Cinderella watch for my first communion. I was seven. My aunt had taught me to tell time, and she was the giver of my wonderful gift. I remember Cinderella wore a blue gown and was the background of the watch face. The strap too was blue, a light blue. I used to look at my watch with a flourish so everyone would see Cinderella on my wrist.

I still prefer an analog watch. I have a few of them, all of which need batteries. My favorite was a 50th birthday present from my mother. The watch has a red leather strap and silver around the face. The only time I wear a watch is when I travel, when time sometimes matters, but I never wear that watch; instead, I wear my least expensive time piece in case I lose it or break it or have it stolen. I wear my Timex with gold numbers. It is at least thirty years old.

When I was in Uruguay, I got on an elevator at my hotel which already had a male passenger. I was wearing my watch. He pointed first at my wrist then at my pocket. He wanted me to put my watch away. I remember before I left for my trip my father kept trying to get me to stay home. He told me South America was too dangerous. He said he knew a woman who knew a different woman who had been there. Her arm, the second woman’s, was dangling out a window when all of a sudden a thief grabbed her hand and cut off her finger to get her ring. To say I was skeptical was an understatement. I came home with my watch and an intact arm.

Last night it poured. Poor Henry stuck his nose out the door then backed into the kitchen. I wish I had his bladder. He lasted until 10 this morning. The sky is covered in clouds but the clouds are light, almost white. Rain is predicted for today but not yet. It will be in the high 40’s. I have no errands. I will stay home in my cozies. I have books and plenty of food though none of it is sweet. That’s a drawback.

Yesterday I bought another set of lights for the spawns to chew. It is needed on the back stairs because it is so dark at night Henry won’t go out unless I turn on the back light. Such a brave boy! This morning he actually came in the dog door because he thought Jack was getting a treat.

When I was a kid, our house wasn’t very big. It was one side of a duplex which was a mirror image of our side. The kitchen was small. There were three bedrooms upstairs. The cellar was huge. One side of it had a sink where the washing machine, a wringer, was connected. The other side had the oil tank but still had plenty of room. I used to ride my bike around the cellar. It did get tricky crossing the bottom the stairs but that didn’t matter. I rode it anyway. The road where I lived ended at a cut de sac. We used to roller skate on the sidewalk. I remember the skate wheels made noise on what we always called the hot top. The faster I went, the louder the noise.

I remember the Bal-A-Roue skating rink in Medford. My friends and I used to go on a Friday or a Saturday night. The roller skates had high sides and a lot of laces. The girl rented white skates, the boys black. The rink was long and was wooden. It was more of an oblong than a circle. Music played while we skated. I was better on ice skates. The wheels of the roller skates seem to take off on their own. One way to stop was to hope to grab the sides, but mostly I fell which stopped all forward progression. I’d grab the side to pull myself off the floor or a friend would skate by and give me a hand. By the end of the evening, my pants were filthy from contact with the floor. I remember watching in awe skaters who could do spins usually in the middle of the floor as most of us kept to the side, the safer place. I also remember couples who danced together as they skated, their feet in perfect rhythm. I never aspired to spin or dance. I spent all my energy and concentration trying to stay off the floor. I wasn’t very successful.

The other day I was wrong about the weather. It did get sunny and warm. Today, though, the weather report is clouds all day and a high of 50˚. The rain is due tomorrow.

When I look out my window to the backyard, all I can see are bare branches still waiting for buds. The backyard is stuck in winter drab. When I go to the car, I can see the front garden in all its glory, a glory of colors. I can see purples, mauves and pinks. I see the yellow of daffodils and the bright yellow forsythia buds almost ready to bloom. I see spring.

I don’t remember seeing spring flowers when I was a kid. I remember buds on trees and bright green leaves. I also remember arguing with my mother that a spring jacket was plenty warm enough. Winter layers were coming off a layer at a time but not fast enough for me. I was willing to feel a bit cold on my walk to school. Even if my lips had turned blue, I’d tell my mother it was warm enough for my spring jacket.

Henry and Jack are beside me on the couch. This is Henry’s quiet time. Jack has several quiet times. He moves from the couch cushion to the chair to the table or to the top of the couch where I keep an afghan just for him. Jack can sleep anywhere. This morning I greeted Gwen, patted her and and gave her some treats. I’m going to change the litter as I’m going to the dump when I finish here. Look how much I have to look forward to later today. This will be my third day out this week tying my record of a couple of weeks ago.

Yesterday I fed my body and soul. I went to the used book store, Parnassus, and to Nancy’s Candies. I bought Easter candy at half price at Nancy’s and two books, one a cookbook of food from Bali and the other a Clive Cussler, at Parnassus. When I got home, I opened the Peeps so they can get stale, and I settled on the couch where I read the cookbook and ate half a chocolate rabbit, ears first. When I was a kid, there is no way any bit of a chocolate rabbit would have been saved for later. Yesterday afternoon, the adult in me held sway.