When I woke up, my house was hot so I turned on the AC to cool it down. Outside is 77˚, already close to the expected high of 79˚. The breeze is a good one so I’m thinking deck time later this afternoon.

When I was a kid, the books I read were mostly classics. When I got a bit older, I moved into mysteries. I’m still there. My iPad is filled with books, mysteries, all waiting to be read. I get to start a new book today. It’s a banner day!

I have sandals for summer, a pair of shoes for winter and wool clog slippers for around the house and for when I do outside errands in the colder weather. I have a winter coat, but I usually just wear my sweatshirt. All of my school clothes are no longer taking up room in my closet, but my cozies are. They are my everyday clothes if I bother to get dressed. I do love my flannel shirts.

When I was in Ghana, I had to wear a dress or a skirt every day. They were proper clothes for women, but I knew that going in from the information Peace Corps had sent so I packed summer dresses and blouses and skirts. I had one pair of shorts and a Merrimack t-shirt for wearing in the house, never outside. I brought two pairs of sandals. One didn’t last long. The other pair lasted the whole time needing only new soles during year two.

I had dresses made while I was there. I’d shop in the cloth market and buy enough for a new dress, usually about three yards. One of the teacher’s wives was my seamstress. She charged a few cedis, about 3 dollars. By the end of the two years, all my dresses were made from Ghanaian cloth. When I went back the first time, I had a couple of shirts made. Women could wear pants by then so shirts were a perfect choice. In Bolga, my students gave me the gift of a new Ghanaian dress. Later, on another trip, I was given a traditional dress of three matching parts: the top, skirt and a cloth to wrap around. On my last trip, we, Peg and I, had tablecloths made, and we bought cloth, lots of Ghanaian cloth, such beautiful cloth. Friends and family got placemats and napkins that Christmas from me.

I have no plans for today, not even the tiniest chore. I still have to finish the Sunday papers and find my next new book. A murder? A visit to Xanth? Witches cavorting with vampires? The choices are almost endless.

Today is dreary, dark and muggy, a thick day. The wind comes and goes. It rained earlier for a minute or two, but the sky is still cloudy so maybe the rain’ll be back. I hope so.

My mood changes which is odd because nothing else around me changes. Some days I’m quite happy with my lot while other days I moan and curse my fate. Today, despite the dark and gloom, is a good day. I feel a bit buoyant.

I remember a school trip to the Museum of Science when I was a kid. Each of us had a list of questions, and we were to hunt for the answers in the exhibits. I had an idea. I got my friends together, and we divided the list among us. Each of us had maybe 4 or 5 questions. At the end, we got together and shared our answers. We all did exceptionally well.

Today is roast the potatoes day, a special day, a day to be celebrated before the potatoes develop unseemly eyes. I have some sweet potatoes and a few Yukon Gold. I bought some linguica to add to the sweet potatoes in a hash dish for breakfast or maybe for lunch considering how late I usually sleep. It is waiting in the freezer. The Yukon Gold will become home fries. If I add eggs and bacon to them, I’ll have the perfect breakfast.

Today is bad science fiction movie day. I have plenty of popcorn, and I have some chocolate chips so you know where I’m going with this. It is a treat to get me through movies like Earth vs. The Spider from 1958 and in glorious black and white. The next movie will be Wrestling Women Versus the Aztec Mummy. I just noticed Dead Space from 1991. That movie strikes a little too close to home: “Intergalactic horror awaits the crew of a Saturn space station hoping for a cure as a deadly virus begins to attack them one by one.” I think I’m going back to the Wrestling Women.

Yesterday it rained, a good rain though not a long rain. Today is humid and the clouds come and go which means the sun does the same. The paper said a chance of rain tonight. I’m skeptical.

The clematis on my front fence is loaded with buds. Its leaves are even climbing the pine tree. When the flowers bloom, the fence will be covered in white, a dramatic flourish to the end of summer.

Two deliveries this morning, one was all produce while the other had meat, including hot dogs, and a couple of veggies, some sweet potatoes, a loaf of bread and hummus. There were cookies, yup, chocolate chip cookies which I am now eating then I’ll hide the rest of them. Given my memory of late, I’ll forget. It will be a surprise when I find them.

I’ll fill the feeders today. I had a delivery of a bag of cayenne so I can sprinkle it on the seeds. Take that, spawns of Satan!!.

I used to feel guilty when I did nothing all day, but I am pleased to say I am over that now. A sloth day is a day well spent.

When I was a kid, with the bottles of white milk, one bottle of chocolate milk was also delivered every week. We were told to drink it in combination with the white milk so the chocolate would last longer. My mother never told us the ratio between the two. I think we decided it was 3/4-1/4. The chocolate milk had a short shelf span, even shorter than the Oreo’s.

The day is dark. The air is so thick nothing moves. Earlier, when I got my newspapers, it was spitting rain. A thunder storm is predicted late this afternoon. I’m going nowhere.

The trash is gone, and the laundry is done. I have been organizing upstairs. Throw pillows need to be stored in the eaves. The Christmas presents I’ve bought need to be sorted into bags. I just need the bags. I also need a big bin for the deck, for the storage of the new cushions sitting in boxes in the dining room. They are summer still wrapped.

When I was a kid, I knew all the signs. I knew when it was getting close to going back to school. The days got shorter. The street lights came on earlier so I felt gypped when we had to go inside, but I knew the clock didn’t enter into the end of the day. The street light was supreme. Supper time didn’t change so we watched TV until my mother called us to eat. I remember sitting at the small kitchen table craning my neck so I could still see TV.

I felt excited about going back to school. Everything was sort of new. My mother always bought special desserts for our lunchboxes that first week. Usually it was something from Hostess. I leaned toward the cupcakes. Our sandwiches were often bologna, my personal favorite. Friday was tuna fish, my least favorite, or egg salad. My mother made good lunches.

I’m at the point in the month when my larder is getting empty. I have no bread. How can I sustain my life? I don’t even have hot dogs or hamburger. I suppose I can go through the freezer and pull a few things out for later, but who will cook them? I have no house staff.

We’re behind closed doors again. It is already 83˚ and could get as high as 88˚. I’m tired of pretty days which burn off your first layer of skin.

I’m still bored. Even Henry is a bit restless. He is barking at outside noises and wandering the house. When he wants to go out, I open the door and stand by and wait. He hurries down the stairs and runs to the very same tree he always uses. The spot never dries.

I’m watching a shark movie, There are nine eating machines trolling the Mississippi River looking for dinner, several courses it seems. Count among the victims an actor who starred in shark movies, the sheriff, two contentious townsmen, a woman whose head pops up out of the water still sporting sunglasses and a cloth headband and assorted fishermen stupid enough to out be on the water in row boats.

Every summer when I was in college, I worked at the post office in Hyannis. It was good money and the work was simple. The only requirement was you had to know how to read. One of the guys used to hide alcohol in the trash bin beside the board he was working. He didn’t smell all that great either. Nobody wanted to work near him. I too said no. The foreman upped the ante. He said I could have more frequent and longer breaks and a longer lunch time. I said I’d give it a try. As to why Pete still worked there had something to do with his brother being postmaster. I lasted all summer with Pete. I loved all those breaks.

I still don’t know what I’ll do today. I’m thinking a late afternoon jaunt to the dump then animal food shopping at Agway. Could my day get more exciting?

The air conditioner is blasting again. I turned it off for a bit, but the house got hot quickly so I’m back in the dark behind closed windows and doors while the AC does its work.

I’m in a mood today, a blah sort of mood. I am sitting on the couch not wanting to move. My laundry is done but still in the cellar. The trash is in the car. Both can sit for a while though the trash probably has a short shelf life.

When I was a kid, I knew certain truths. Always wear clean underwear just in case. If you don’t lick your ice cream fast enough, it will melt down the cone to your hand. Pushing vegetables around the plate doesn’t hide them. School clothes are only for school and church clothes for church, no mixing and matching allowed. Sit in the back at the Saturday matinee, the best place to avoid flying JuJu Beads. The best pews in church are in the back, all the better for a quick exit. You better have something to cry about or else. Never step on a crack, not even to test the theory about your mother’s back. There were more but these are the biggies, the ones often repeated. My mother was the clean underwear. My father was the stop crying or else. He was pretty clear on that.

Henry has been barking all morning. He is driving me crazy. I keep looking only to find nothing. I show Henry, but he is not convinced.

I have two hot dogs and two brioche hot dog rolls left. My sisters make fun of me, but I do like hot dogs. My latest are from the organic grocer. They are tasty especially tucked into a toasted brioche roll loaded from the top.

Through the window, the day looks lovely, but once I open the door, I can feel the heat. There is a possibility of thunder showers. I will cross my fingers and hope.

The windows are shut and the doors are closed. The AC is blasting. The house is cold. Outside looks sunny and warm. The high will be 80˚ today. That sounds reasonable.

During the election of 1960, I found politics. John F. Kennedy was my senator. He was also a Catholic, another reason the election piqued my interest. Critics claimed the pope would take over if Kennedy were elected. He was elected, and the pope stayed in Rome. Kennedy was the first and so far the only Catholic elected president. Biden could be the second. I am mentioning this because I heard a discussion on MSNBC about Joe Biden and his religion. The contention, though, was gone.

My days are all pretty much alike. I do have errands, but mostly I’m home with the cats and the dog, all of whom who tolerate me. I used to hate finishing the day before I’d crossed off every to- do item on my list, but that has passed. Now I just move the item to the next day’s list until it finally fades away, lost to disinterest. I’m finally okay with that.

I don’t get dressed most days. I shower and change from one casual outfit to another. I do keep some outside clothes down here for a quick change just in case, but they are gathering dust. Miss Haversham, watch out!

I save all sorts of recipes from on-line, from cooking magazines and Wednesday’s newspapers. In my mind’s eye I can see the dishes in all their glory on the table while my guests ooh and ahh and clamor for the recipes. All I’m missing are the guests, the cooked food and the oohing and ahing.

As for today, I still have to read the Sunday papers. I’ll take a shower later and water the outside plants while I’m there. I’m thinking hot dogs for dinner. That’s it, a full day in the time of a pandemic.

The nights go by so quickly. I start reading or straightening pictures or just fiddling around and then I notice it is already 2:30. I usually just shrug and go back to what I was doing until morpheus holds sway. This morning it was close to four before I went to bed. It was close to noon when I woke up.

Today is hotter than it has been. It is also very still. We’re at our predicted high of 80˚ right now. The back of the house where I am is still cool, still holding on to the evening chill, but when I went out earlier, I could hear my neighbor’s AC cranking. He got the morning sun.

I’m hanging around the house and deck today. With no to do list, I’ll read and loll. Later I’ll take my outside shower. I’ll bring my phone just in case the latch sticks.

I voted in the primary, by mail. I’ll also vote in the presidential election by mail. It is easier but even more importantly it is safer. Only in one other election, in 1970’s general election, did I vote by absentee ballot.

I was in Ghana for their first general election, in October 1969, after the coup of 1966. It was exciting. The Ghanaians wore cloth with their party’s symbols, fanned themselves with political party fans. There were big rallies, impromptu parades and a lot shouting and cheering. I even went to a rally. My Ghanaian father supported Kofi Busia and the Progress Party. Kofi Busia won the election. He became Prime Minister.

I met Kofi Busia at a luncheon in my town. The principal dragged me with her. There were around twenty guests, the mucky mucks from town and one Peace Corps volunteer, dragged unwillingly.

The breeze from the north is strong and cooling. It will be sunny all day but only stay around 80˚. Tonight will be in the mid 60’s, comfortable for sleeping.

I haven’t decided if I’ll go to the dump today. The trash is in the car, but I think I’ll stay close to home.

Huzzah! I did the laundry. I do have a small load left because I ran out of detergent before I could wash it, but I’ll finish today as I bought detergent on a quick trip to the grocery store, to Ring’s, where I also bought cut fruit, ice tea, hummus and a piece of cake. The last item is my prize for doing laundry.

I couldn’t get to sleep last night. When I paused my reading and checked the clock, it was 1:30. That surprised me. The time had taken off without me. I watched a bad movie hoping it would drive me to bed. Around 3, I went upstairs and played a few games on my iPad. It was close to four, when I turned off the light. It was noon when I woke up.

After all this time stuck inside the house, it is difficult to distinguish between my being bored and my being tired, but I’m thinking I’m leaning toward the former, toward boredom, or the laundry would still be leaning against the door. The amount of dirty laundry is an indicator of my mood.

Yesterday two boxes from Amazon came. One had cookies and ice tea. The other had color coded dish cloths for specific tasks. Just what I need, another list. What do I call this one? Weird things I bought because they piqued my interest?

I have a list of tasks, of do whenever tasks. The list includes going through Christmas presents I’ve bought and marking the clip board. I also need to move the new pillows and cushions from the dining room to the deck. Every time I see them piled in the dining room they drive me crazy, but then again, it doesn’t take much any more to put me over the edge. Seriously, a pile of pillows and cushions?

We had a bit of rain the other day. The drops were heavy for about five minutes then the rain stopped, and the sun ventured from behind the clouds. It has been lovely since then with warm days and cool nights. Today is about perfect.

Last night I wanted to hurt Alexa. I played a dumb game using rhyming words. The first clue was the abominable snowman a hot day. I guessed sweaty Yeti. Alexa said it was the wrong answer. The correct answer, according to Alexa, was sweaty Yeti. I tried another rhyme. I gave my answer, and the virtual shrew told me it was the wrong answer. The right answer was exactly what I’d said. I swore at the shrew who said she didn’t know that one. She’ll learn.

I grew up with television. There was one in our living room as far back as I can remember. The early TV’s were huge pieces of furniture in cabinets needing their own wall in the living room. I remember moving the TV to make room for the Christmas tree. When I was a kid, I thought the TV was miraculous. You turned a dial and a picture with sound was right there in the living room for you to watch. Sometimes the picture was snowy or it jumped up and down. One of us would fiddle with the rabbit ears until we got a good picture.

I remember the color screen we put across the TV picture. It was supposed to look like the program we were watching was in color. The top of the screen was blue for the sky and the bottom green for grass. It didn’t at all resemble a real color TV, but at least the picture wasn’t black and white anymore. When color TV sets got cheaper, we begged my father for one. He gave before we moved to the cape. I remember watching Star Trek in color.

This summer we haven’t had movies on the deck. I really miss those fun evenings with my friends watching old black and white B science fiction movies while eating popcorn and malted milk balls. I bought a couple of new ones for this summer. I’ll put them away for next summer.