The wind and the rain are back yet again. The rain started last night. I could hear it on the windows in my bedroom. The wind came later. All the branches are swaying. It is warm right now. It will rain all day. I do have to go out as I have a uke concert this afternoon.

When I was a kid, when it rained, my classroom was always a bit dark. The old lights hung down from the ceiling. Except for the rain hitting the windows, the room was often quiet. I could hear pages of our books being turned. I could the creaks of the old desk chairs. I always felt as if the room was wrapped around us, holding us.

I used to ride my bike to the library. I’d take books back then get more books. The children’s section had wooden tables and chairs. Some of the chairs were captain’s chairs with tall backs and arms. I always thought the room smelled like books. The mystery section was on the wall behind the librarian’s desk. The bookcases there were tall. The section with all the tall tales and fables was on the other side of the room. The book cases were short so I had to stoop or even sit on the rug to read the titles. I loved the stores about Paul Bunyan, Pecos Bill, Johnny Appleseed and Annie Oakley. They piqued my imagination. I also used to look at travel books, pages and pages of pictures which showed me the world. I always knew I’d visit some of those places. I always thought the library was almost magical.

The rain is hardly falling. The wind is the loudest. It has the proverbial freight train sound. Inside, my house is quiet. The dogs are asleep beside each other on the couch. Every now and then Henry sighs. My house is dark except for the light in this room, the den, and the night light in the bathroom, the one with a sensor. I like the darkness the rain brings.

Other than changing the bed, the chores got done yesterday. While I was cleaning upstairs, the dogs were on the bed and refused to move so I left the clean sheets on the chair. I’ll try again today.

Today is cloudy and it will rain again. We have been inundated with rain, but the last two days have been so lovely I guess I shouldn’t complain. Besides, April showers bring May flowers.

When I was in the eighth grade, we took advantage of Sister Hildegard. She was quite old, and we were too much for her to handle. I remember one kid who dumped a little of his milk into the basket every few days. He’d show Sister Hildegard, and she’d let him leave to clean the basket. He was always gone a few hours. She never noticed. I had a friend who found learning difficult. During a test she’d call me out loud from the other side of the room and ask for help. I’d write some of the answers on a small piece of paper and then ask Sister Hildegard if I could get up to throw the trash away. On the way to the basket I’d drop the answers on my friend’s desk. I know it was cheating, but I always thought it didn’t count if I was helping my friend. I saw my friend a few years back at a reunion. I hadn’t seen her for years. She gave me a hug and told people I had helped her graduate from the eighth grade.

Sister Hildegard used to go crazy sometimes. She’d scream at us and say that when we graduated she’d write on the board in huge letters, “Thank God they are gone.” She always mentioned us and the devil in the same sentence as kindred spirits. Sister Hildegard always liked me. I was never mean.

Nala stole an egg yesterday. I had put it on the counter. I was right there beside the counter, but I didn’t see her. When I went to grab the eggs to cook them, I noticed one was missing. Nala went out the dog door, her tell when she has stolen food. I looked and watched her go into the yard. I could see the shape of the egg in her mouth. I wonder if she ate the shell.

Today I will clean. I will water plants and change my bed. I will put my clean clothes away. I will not get dressed, my concession to slothness.

The morning is perfect. The sun is squint your eyes bright. The blue sky is endless. The air is calm. It is already 59°, warmer than sweat shirt weather. My garden has color. The hyacinths, standing beside the dafs, are pink, purple and rose. One more is budded and soon to bloom. Today is spring on Cape Cod.

When I was a kid, I loved to sit with an encyclopedia book, one of the red ones from the supermarket, and randomly open a page. I’d read wherever the book opened. I liked the end of the alphabet books, the X,Y,Z books with the rare words. I loved learning weird things.

When my father had his vacation, we didn’t go far. We sometimes went to Ogunquit, Maine and stayed at a cottage belonging to my father’s friend. It was tiny. There was a small kitchen and everywhere else had beds, including one in the kitchen high up and hidden by a sideway door of sorts. My father’s friend’s family stayed there at the same time, all six of them and six of us. There was a lagoon of sorts right by the houses. It was separated from the beach by dunes. My father swam at the beach. He body surfed. I never did. I didn’t like the cold water. I swam in the warmer lagoon water. That was about the only thing to do. I also used to go to the car to hide, to be by myself, to read.

My favorite vacations were the stay home vacations. We used to go to a lake which had a slide and a rope like zip line you held on to over the water. My mother packed great picnic lunches. My favorite was pepper and egg. We’d stay there all day.

We used to go to museums. My favorite was the Peabody Museum at Harvard. It was filled with the most amazing exhibits. I remember the Polynesian outrigger hanging from the ceiling. I remember the ape heads in jars.

We went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. I wasn’t all that interested in the paintings, but I loved the Egyptian rooms. I also liked the rooms with furniture.

When I travel, I love museums. In Ghana during part of training, we were close to Accra, and we had free weekends. I hitched to Accra at the first opportunity. My first stop was the national museum.

Today is beautiful. The sky is a lovely blue with nary a cloud. It is already in the 50’s. I will be out and about. I’d hate to waste today by staying inside.

My house needs to be cleaned. The dust rises into the air when I walk down the hall. Henry is to blame. It is mostly his white hair.

The dogs stay out on days like today. Nala lies on a small patch of grass in the sun. Henry stands around sniffing the air and barking at imaginary critters or people walking by or the mailman. I don’t check unless his bark is frantic. That is the signal a package has arrived.

When I was a kid, Duke, our boxer, was watchful, especially at night. He barked at intruders. He always made us feel safe.

I haven’t been to my old town much, but when I go, I always do a nostalgia ride. I drive through the square and remember. In the old days I could smell the bread baking at Hank’s bakery. The fish market had lobsters swimming in a tank in the window. I used to get vanilla cokes at the drugstore. It had a soda fountain with a marble counter and stools for sitting. I used to watch the soda jerk make the vanilla coke with syrup and frizzy water. The straws were made of paper. They stood in a container with a glass top you could pull up to get the straw. From the square I’d drive by the fire station and the town hall. I always took that same route when I was a kid. I’d take the next right after the church and drive by the old school. I attended it from grade 1 to grade 4, until the new school was built. From there I head to my street and drive by my old house. That is the end.

Spring seems to be hiding. Today is cold. The prediction is for rain and maybe even snow. The rain I could have guessed but never the snow. When the dogs come inside, their fur is cold to the touch. They don’t stay out long. Henry just goes out to bark. He drives me crazy with his noise.

Today is dump day. The car is almost loaded. As for the rest of the week, it is a uke week with practice, a lesson and two concerts.

I watch a lot of movies. They tend to be mysteries, thrillers or science fiction. I watch weird movie channels. The other night I watched Fawesome. I was in cinema heaven. It has mostly old movies but also old television series like Annie Oakley, The Range Rider and The Adventures of Kit Carson. I don’t remember a movie, I didn’t watch, but I do remember the warnings. The movie contained action, sex and philosophical discussion.

When I was a kid, I always thought of Sunday as a wasted day. I had to stay around the house except for church which was just a going and a coming. Sunday night was a school night which meant early to bed. Sunday dinner was the only thing which made the day bearable. Give me roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy and baby peas and I’m happy.

I have a couple of stories from my Peace Corps days. The first happened on the plane from Boston to Philadelphia where I had staging. I had quite a few carry-on bags. When I got to my seat, I put some bags in the overhead, some under the seat and a couple beside me. A guy was in the other seat. He asked me if I was running away from home. I told him I was going to Africa in the Peace Corps. He looked chagrined. He offered to buy me a drink. I didn’t say no. He bought me a couple of drinks.

I got to the hotel, the Hotel Sylvania, and got in line to check in. I met the people in front of me and the people behind me. One of them became a good friend. When I got to the desk, I was told I was missing some documents, my fingerprints and my physical report. I had them both. They officially checked me in, gave me my room key and a schedule. That was the start of my Peace Corps experience.

I’d have you guess the weather, but you’d probably say cloudy and ugly, and you’d be right. It is 36°, the low for the day. Rain and snow are predicted, not much snow but enough for head shaking and wondering what is going on with the weather and where is spring hiding.

When I was a kid, we sometimes went to Boston. I loved going there, but it was always a trek. We had to walk uptown to catch a bus to Sullivan Square. Once at Sullivan, we’d walk up the stairs to the subway station and wait for the train. I remember seeing the train way off down the tracks and hearing the sound of it coming. I also remember the breeze from the cars. I used to kneel on the train seat so I could look out the window. We’d get off the train at the station with all the stores. You could go directly into Jordan Marsh and Filene’s right there at the station. I remember there was a small decorated window at the entrance to Jordan’s. We never went to Filene’s

If the weather was warm, we go to the Common and the Public Garden. I loved feeding the squirrels. I was young then. Three or four of them would surround me and take bread from my hand. I loved it. We’d sometimes ride the Swan Boats. They’d circle the lagoon under pedal power. I remember all the ducks.

I have favorite smells. I love the aroma of cookies baking in the oven. I grow rosemary in deck boxes and rub my hand up the stocks so it smells of the rosemary. It is the same with the mint. A spring morning smells of grass and flowers. Adding a bright sun makes it a perfect morning. One of my all time favorite smells is of burning wood. In Ghana, people cook over wood charcoal fires. The sweet aroma of the fire is one of my favorite memories. On every trip back, that aroma filled the morning air. It always made me feel at home.

The wind is terrible. It has the proverbial sound of a freight train. My front fence, badly needing to be replaced anyway, fell, three sections of it. I pulled each section up and used sticks to keep each in place. The sections were heavy and wet. My hands were freezing when I was done. Once inside the house, I warmed them around my cup of hot coffee.

It had been raining since yesterday morning. Now we are left with fog, wind, clouds and chill. Nothing is inviting about today. Today is a perfect sloth day. It is a perfect day to snuggle on the couch under the afghan and watch bad movies. Where are the bonbons?

I have learned certain truths in my life. Buttered toast will always fall to the floor on the buttered side. Wearing dirty underwear is courting disaster. When you are halfway to somewhere, it will start to rain. Your tongue will turn black if you lie. Leaving the house with wet hair will bring on a cold. Sitting too close to the TV causes blindness, but carrots might just be the cure. Darning needles, aka dragonflies, can sew your eyes shut. Swallowing seeds made a garden grow in your stomach, but I had trouble with this one. The only seeds I ever swallowed were watermelon seeds. If I went swimming too soon after eating, I’d get cramps and maybe die, but I won’t fault my mother on this one as she believed it too. If I cried, I was told I’d get something to cry about which made no sense to me. I was already crying because I had something to cry about.

I never doubted my mother. I was sure she wouldn’t lie. I’d spit out my watermelon seeds, wear clean undies, watch TV from far away and never expose my tongue if I lied, but I did cheat a little. I went swimming before the thirty minutes. Strangely enough, I never got cramps. I never went blind and never had my eyes sewed shut. I just thought myself lucky.