This is another late day for me. I woke up a few times during the night, moved around to get comfortable, not easy when a dog is stretched out across your feet and a cat is beside you, but I was able to fall back asleep every time. I woke up for good after ten: okay, long after 10.

My only way to describe today’s weather is to scream.

Today is a holiday in Massachusetts, Patriot’s Day. In all other years the Sox played at home in the morning while the runners were making their way from Hopkinton to Boston. I used to work the marathon, the first few years at a water station then at Copley Square where the race ended. Today the finish line is empty of people. The VIP seats are still in storage. There are no finished runners walking with medals around their necks and foil blankets around their shoulders to keep them warm. Copley is deserted. This is the first time in its 124-year history the Boston Marathon will not be held on its traditional day.

Henry is playing with his new chew toy. He keeps biting the plastic squeaker inside to make noise. I think Henry is getting bored.

It is difficult to figure if the cats are bored. They sleep most of the day anyway. Case in point, Jack is sleeping on the table in front of me.

We have movement on the Gwen front. Last night I could hear Jack meowing or at least I thought it was Jack. I was wrong. I noticed him sleeping on the chair so I went to check the noise. Gwen was halfway down the stairs making her way to the bottom. I patted and talked encouragingly to her. She sat there for a while until Henry was curious enough to come look so Gwen ran upstairs behind the gate to the safety of the cat’s room.

All of them are napping now. I think I’ll join them when I finish here.

I’ll take today. It is sunny but cool, and I figure after so many cloudy days getting the sun trumps the cool temperature. Right now it is 55˚. The breeze is so strong it is blowing the dog door open, and I can feel the cold air all the way down the hall. It is dump day. I have no choice. The bags already fill the trunk and there’s one more to go. I don’t care. At least it is an outside excursion in the sun.

I’m watching a Nicholas Cage movie which should tell you all you need to know about the film. It’s called Pay the Ghost.

When I was a kid, I had a small black and white TV on the bureau in my bedroom. I’m not so sure small describes it, but small is the best I can do. I’d lie in bed and watch old movies. Maybe watching that old set is why I favor black and white. I remember The House of Wax with Vincent Price scared the hell out of me, yup the hell out of me. When our leading lady whacks Price, his face falls off. That’s when I ran to my parent’s room.

I need to vacuum the house. It is filled with globs of animal hair which swirl in the air whenever I walk. My cleaning couple haven’t come for nearly six weeks so I have been cleaning, but I think I have now developed an allergy to wet mops and dusty brooms.

Henry is now protecting me from barking dogs and car horns on TV. He heard a horn, jumped off the couch, slid into the hall and ran and barked at the door. He wouldn’t stop until I showed him no one was there as Henry is a proponent of the proof is in the pudding.

I had fish and chips for dinner last night. Today I’m hankering for Chinese. Being stuck inside has tickled my taste buds, and I’m thinking of all that stimulus money to spend in the community. I can actually do a pick up and save delivery money as it doesn’t open until 3:30. Wow, the dump and a restaurant all in one day. I think I’ll wear my party dress.

Now I just sigh. I look out the window and sigh. The ground this morning had a touch of snow left under trees and in the shade. It was raining, but since then, the rain has stopped. The day is dreary, another dreary day in a long line of dreary days.

I’m bored. It’s official now. Nothing interests me for too long. I’ve hunted down movies only to watch them for a few minutes before hunting again. I’ve left a long line of unfinished movies behind me.

When I was a kid, weather phenomenons held my attention. I watched the snow fall. I watched the wind twist trees back and forth during hurricane Carol when I was seven. I loved thunder and lightning storms. The harder the rain fell, the more I liked the storm. I figured rain ought to put its best self forward.

Yesterday I went to the kitchen and left my coffee cup almost filled with coffee on the den table. Henry has never touched my food or drink so I figured I was safe. I’m thinking you know where this is going. When I got back, drops of coffee were on the table. Henry looked smug.

I ordered a delivery of fruit and produce. I got bananas mostly because I need one more for my banana bread and also because I like to eat bananas. I got avocados for guac, hot dogs for tonight, it being Saturday and all, coconut milk, butternut squash and fresh pineapple chunks. The food is coming from Rory’s in Dennisport, a place I’ve never ordered from before today. It should be here any time.

Henry has been chasing Jack. Today Jack jumped on the couch and was followed by a jumping Henry. Jack then jumped on the back of the couch. Henry was confounded. The chase ended.

I don’t get dressed most days, but I do change my cozy ensembles. Today I’m wearing a blue Red Sox sweatshirt from the glory days, the 2007 World Series, a red t-shirt with small sharks across the top and patterned flannel pants. I’m wearing socks and slippers. When I go comfy, all of me goes comfy.

The sun is partially hidden. I’ll take it. Even partial sun is an improvement. North of us will get snow tonight. My sister in Colorado got six inches from the same storm which is on its way here. Well, not here on the Cape but around the Boston area and out west. We’ll have rain and a cold night.

Television and radio would be the notifiers if this pandemic happened when I was a kid. The fire alarm would blow the no school announcement, and mothers in their frantic search to find out what was happening would fill and block the phone lines. TV, radio and newspapers were the information guides back then. My mother would go shopping with my father to fill the larder. We’d stay home. Books, board games and the TV would be our pastimes. We’d get bored. We’d even miss going to school.

I miss people. Talking on the phone isn’t enough. Despite having lots to do to occupy my time and attention, I seem to be slowing down a bit, not as much enthusiasm as I had at the beginning of all of this.

I have been watching black and white science fiction movies mostly from the 50’s. I’ve found them on Tubi, YouTube and Prime. I even ordered a couple hoping we’ll have a movie night some time in July when it’s warm.

The first summer movie is usually an epic. Last year it was Robin Hood. The rest of the summer movies are usually B science fiction movies. One of my new ones is Tarantula. The other is the Monolith Monsters. I also have a few more we haven’t seen. I’m still wanting to show Lady in White, one of the films we didn’t get to last year. Pop that corn!! Summer’s coming!!

Yesterday I never did get my fish and chips. I also didn’t get my second choice, a cheeseburger and fries. I did bring my laundry from the cellar up two flights to my room. The laundry had been in the dryer for a couple of weeks so this is big. I also did another laundry now in the dryer. As for the food, the on-line order page would not recognize my street address. I was flummoxed. I called and was told by a disembodied voice there was a long wait time so I should e-mail. I did and got a generic reply from DoorDash. It was suggested I check the Q&A pages. I was not happy. This is an interesting approach from Door Desk. Do nothing and suggest more of nothing. I still want fish and chips.

The sun dropped by yesterday. It was still chilly, but I went out on the deck for a little bit with Henry. I didn’t want to miss any of that sunshine. I’m glad I did. The clouds are back today, and there is a threat of showers. I’ve been thinking that maybe all these cloudy days are really a gift from Mother Nature. She doesn’t want us longing to be in the sunshine. She wants us safe at home.

I’ve been watching movies and keeping a list of them disaster by disaster. Yesterday was earthquake day. One movie took place on the west coast, and there were naysayers even when the fires started and the electric poles toppled, but when lava forced the naysayers to face refutable evidence, they ran fast as anybody facing death by hot lava, all doubts erased. I think I’ll do hurricanes and rogue waves today. I’m avoiding contagion.

I found pieces of my Peace Corps flag in the front yard this morning. They had been chewed off into little squares. I left the pieces there. They are remnants of the flag I found which had fallen in the front yard. The spawns of Satan are at again. I didn’t put out dinner, birdseed, so I am now the decorator instead of the caterer. They’ve already taken the grill cover so maybe this is wall paper. That flag was difficult to find and now it is impossible.

I’m in the mood for a sub sandwich or Chinese food or seafood, probably scallops. I haven’t quite decided but am leaning toward seafood. Imagine if you will a restaurant filled with empty tables and chairs, a solitary cook and a phone ringing and being answered over and over. Around the walls are posters of seafood cooked to perfection. In the parking lot are cars with only a driver. They wait to deliver orders, and one of those orders will be mine. I’ve decided on a scallop plate with fries and the best onion rings around here. It will be my high tea or my linner or dunch, the suggested names of the combined meals. Eating brunch sounds so much better than eating dunch, but if that’s what I’m stuck with, dunch it will be.

The sun is shining today. The sky is blue. The wind is gone, but it is still chilly, in the low 50’s.

I tasted freedom this morning. I had my first excursion when I went to get the newspapers. I didn’t need 6 feet because no one was around. The street is quiet. I’ll get today’s mail when it comes later.

Being stuck inside has now become tiresome. I have stuff I can do, but I don’t want to do a thing. I just want to complain. It is a bit ironic I suppose as I enjoy being alone.

I have been watching disaster movies. I have seen earthquakes, volcanoes, tornados, avalanches and sea creatures run amok. My favorites are the earthquake movies. Everything happens in an earthquake movie. You get people sliding into crevices, fires breaking out and buildings falling apart rock by rock. Experts throw around the word unstable and women scream at every little quake. In most disaster movies, a hero always rises. In the movie I’m watching now called Faultline, the hero has just come to the fore.

Henry is upstairs napping. He likes my bed. The cat is also napping upstairs but in the guest room. Jack and Gwen nap together every day around this time. I nap later.

I don’t have enough bananas to make banana bread. You need three, and I have only two.

Market days are when you can buy just about anything. In Bolga every third day was and still is market day. I loved going shopping on market day. The hustle and bustle was loud and all the stalls were filled. I could find regular produce like onions and tomatoes, but sometimes I’d get lucky like the time my vegetable lady had a watermelon she’d saved for me. I’d fill my two shepherd’s bags with vegetables, fruits and meat, beef though it was always a bit suspect, then I’d put the bags over my handle bars and ride my moto home. I wonder now how Ghanaians are faring. They don’t stock up but rather shop market day to market day. They can’t do that now. But I, knowing Ghanaians as I do, believe they will solve the problem of social distancing and shopping. Ghanaians are both innovative and ingenious.

I can hear birds. They are always a welcome sound.

I admit to laziness today. It was close to eleven, yup, eleven, when I woke up then I took my time reading my papers and having a couple of cups of coffee. I know I will get little done today. I have no list although I could have a list. That is why I am lazy.

The wind is getting stronger. The forecast includes a high wind warning with south winds 25 to 35 mph and gusts up to 60 mph. The warning went on to say damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines making travel difficult. I wondered who was traveling. The storm could be terrific with heavy rain and winds. Maybe groceries or prescriptions drew people outside. I can’t think of any other reasons.

I have charged my electronics and found my flashlight and lamp. I have e-books and real books you can hold. I won’t run out. I have plenty of food. If need be, I can use my grill. I can sit outside staying warm beside my lit chiminea while keeping an eye on dinner. I have piñon wood to burn in the chiminea. Its aroma will sweeten the air. I know it all sounds amazing, my making the most of it and all, but if the truth be told, I prefer to keep my electricity and my stove. I could light my chiminea but not today. I am lazy today.

My Easter dinner was delicious. It was hmmm out loud delicious. It was a garlic lemon pork tenderloin. Before the oven, I also shook a bit of the odd spices I have from places like India on it. I had forgotten about the small potatoes I had boiled the other day. I added them to the roasting pan about an hour into cooking. I shook some Middle Eastern flavoring on the potatoes and dripped some olive oil on them. I cooked the peas. When I took everything out of the oven, the aromas were mouth-watering. I filled my bunny plate with potatoes, a bit of butter added, peas and slices of meat, cooked perfectly. I had two helpings. There is enough left for at least two more dinners then maybe a few sandwiches if I slice less liberally.

The wind is really whipping everything right now. The trees are swaying back and forth. It is getting dark. A heavy storm is coming and maybe even thunder and lightning, but I don’t worry about rain. I worry about the wind. Pine trees have shallow roots and often fall victim to heavy winds. I’ve lost three trees in front and four or so out back. More will go down out back today. I keep checking out the window.

Take care, my Coffee friends.

Today is perfectly lovely and warm in the sun, deck weather. My Easter basket, a beach pail, was on the walkway when I opened the front door. I went down to my friends’ house later than usual and decorated their tree, an annual event, and left their baskets on the deck rail. Their dog, Piper, got Easter biscuits and a new collar. Henry got Easter biscuits and a new stuffed squeaky toy. He has already eaten the decorated yellow Easter egg and some small pink ones. Henry always licks the frosting first.

Everything is now quiet. There was hammering earlier but not any more. I wondered why today, on Easter, he needed to work on his deck.

When I was a kid, nobody played outside on Easter. It was family dinner day, but after dinner, in the late afternoon, we usually went to East Boston to see my grandparents and a cast of thousands: my aunts and uncles and all my cousins. The house was always a riot of noise except in the kitchen. My grandmother, my mother, and the aunts laid claim to the kitchen. That was their domain. They sat at the table talking and catching up. They shooed us out of the room.

My sister has snow. My niece does too. She hid eggs before the snow for her three boys to find but they are now really well hidden, under the snow. This could work out though. They might look for hours especially if a big prize was offered.

I’m going to put dinner in the oven then I’ll get dressed. I think I’ll wear my flowered fascinator. I wear it to dinner every Easter Sunday. It always gets smiles. Today especially, I should observe all the traditions.

Happy Easter! Happy Passover!

The morning is pretty. The sun is shining though there are clouds. It feels warm despite the wind.

When I was a kid, you didn’t have to be good for the Easter Bunny. He hopped in regardless. Our baskets always had plenty of chocolate, especially a giant rabbit, and some gifts. I remember getting books, panoramic eggs, the wooden paddle with the red ball, jacks and a game or a puzzle. Even when I was in Ghana, my mother sent an Easter basket. Some of the chocolate had melted, but I ate it anyway. The wooden paddle was the big hit that Easter. It was the after dinner entertainment for weeks until the elastic broke.

My sisters always wore frufru dresses every Easter. They wore petticoats underneath and swirled a lot. Black patent leather shoes, hats and short gloves completed their outfits. I, on the other hand, preferred a more casual look, one I could wear anytime. Mostly I got a new skirt and blouse and a blazer. My shoes were never patent leather.

We went to the early mass Easter morning. My father was the usher so he drove us, my brother and me. The altar always had Easter lilies across the front. Everyone was dressed in spring colors.

Hyacinths in purples and deep reds have bloomed. A small yellow snowflake has bloomed near the house. It is the only bloom in that small garden. After winter’s drab, the colors are so bright and so welcomed.

My groceries are coming in a bit. I ordered them this morning. I tried all of last night, but I couldn’t get a time. They were all taken. I just checked and saw many of my items are out of stock. That includes the mashed potatoes. Seriously, a run on mashed potatoes? We’re all going stir crazy.

I saw the sun this morning. It was shining when I woke up, but it comes and goes behind the clouds. The wind is blowing, and it’s cold.

I didn’t make a list today. I still need to do more laundry and vacuum the litter area, but these are now suggestions. Yesterday I watered the plants and considered myself industrious. My standards get lower every day.

When I was a teacher, there was only one way to duplicate material in my school, on the ditto machine. I’d type on the stencil, the master copy, then put it on the machine’s cylinder and keep turning it until I had the right number of copies. When I passed out copies to my class direct from the ditto machine, my students always sniffed the pages. Ditto had a unique smell. Later, I learned the smell came from the ditto machine’s duplicating fluid, a mix of methanol and isopropanol.

The only homework paper, other than spelling words, I remember from elementary school was all about coins and how to make change. I remember there were pictures of coins and math problems like adding or subtracting, but I already knew about coins. A penny bought candy, a nickel bought ice cream from Johnny our ice cream man, a dime bought a balsa plane from Woolworth’s and a quarter bought the world. The only time I saw paper money was on my birthday.

I thought I had bugs, black bugs. I could see them here and there on the floor. I used a Kleenex to pick up a couple and threw them away. I didn’t look for fear they’d jump free. Yesterday I looked. No bugs, just a small ball of fur, a really small ball of black fur.

Henry is driving me crazy. He is howling at my neighbor across the street who is out in his yard. I guess I should let him bark. The poor dog has little to bark at now.

I hate looking behind the curtain. I’d choose magical any time.