Sorry about my taking the last two days off. Henry and I needed a bit time to get used to a house without Maddie. I keep looking at her usual spots and find it strange she is not there. This hasn’t been the best of years with my having lost both Gracie and Maddie.

Henry started going out the dog door by himself, without any encouragement from me. I wondered how long that would take. Gracie figured it out in a day or two, but Henry kept wanting permission. Today he has gone out and come back in twice. That’s a huge milestone and makes me think he is finally feeling at home.

The weatherman said we didn’t need any more rain, but we’re getting it later today. Yesterday’s sun was mostly a tease. It may reappear later in the week, but it doesn’t carry all that much warmth.

When I was a kid, mornings this time of year were always dark and cold so my mother made sure we were bundled before we left the house. That meant layers. It also meant mittens and a hat and knee socks which unfailingly fell down and bunched at my ankles. I always had warm ankles. I wore pink longish underwear which went to just above my knees. The bottoms of my legs were always cold. School wasn’t all that far away, but in winter the walk seemed endless and the darkness felt filled with peril. At school, we stayed in the yard until the nun rang the bell then we’d hurry to get into lines class by class. Once inside it took a while to pull off the layers and try to fit all those clothes on a single hook in the cloak room. The mittens and hat went up my coat sleeves. The only layer I left on was my sweater. The classrooms with their long windows and high ceilings always seemed a bit chilly.

When I’d get home from school, I’d take off my uniform and put on my play clothes. We didn’t go out much in the winter afternoons because of the cold. We’d play and watch TV. I liked to read in my room until my shows came on. The Mickey Mouse Club and Superman were on in the late afternoon. My mother would be making dinner. I remember the windows in the kitchen got steamy from the food cooking.

I still wear layers. I like staying home in the warm house. I’m never without a book. I aways wear my play clothes.

Today is dreary but still warm. The wind comes and goes. Leaves are falling almost like snow. My deck is just about covered. My driveway is disappearing. It has started raining.

This is not a good animal day. Poor Henry has been sick. It started last night so I’m keeping an eye on him. My Maddie is not doing well. She wouldn’t eat today so I cooked hamburger for her. She wasn’t interested. I hope it is just one of those days. Cats can be intriguing.

It is a science fiction sort of day. I’ve been plowing through Netflix hoping to find a movie which grabs my imagination. Many of the offerings have Armageddon plots. Either we will be invaded by aliens bent on human destruction or a germ will decimate the human race. We are doomed.

When I was a kid, I read every science fiction novel in the library, the children’s side of the library. They were all in one bookcase which they shared with mysteries. The bookcase went from floor to almost ceiling. Those books were my favorites. I also read the folklore books. I thought of them as cousins to science fiction. Pecos Bill was my favorite. He had a lover named Slue-Foot Sue and once lassoed a tornado. I found Babe the Blue Ox strangely appealing. He turned blue from snow and was so huge “that 42 axe handles plus a plug of tobacco could fit between his eyes and it took a murder of crows a whole day to fly from one horn to the other.”

I’m going to stop here for now. I am going to take Maddie to the vets. She is having trouble walking.

If you had looked up perfect fall day in some odd dictionary, you’d have found a picture of yesterday. I was out for a few hours doing errands. It was warmish but not unseasonably warm. Color was the word of the day. The leaves have turned mostly yellow, but bright red bushes are sprinkled among the yellow, and they captured my attention. Pumpkins, carved and uncarved, sat on front steps. Brown leaves fluttered to the ground when any wind blew. They were strewn on the street. I went to the dump, and I went to Agway. I also went to the Christmas Tree Shop. I filled my trunk. I had a fun day.

Last night I had more trick or treaters than usual. They came in droves. The full size Hershey bars were a hit. More than a few held up the bars to show their parents. I got some applause.

My cleaning couple who have been coming to my house for close to fifteen years have loved all my dogs. Gracie was a favorite. They are working hard at getting Henry to like them. Right now all three of them have gone for a walk. I had to hide so Henry would go with them. He gets to explore.

Today is another lovely day, even warmer than yesterday. The breeze is strong at times but not chilling. I have to fill the bird feeders again. The birds are a hungry bunch. The other day I saw the biggest flock of turkeys in my neighbor’s year. The turkeys were munching on something. When they moved on, they blocked the road and had little concern for cars trying to get pass them. Turkeys are quite self-centered.

Yesterday I noticed that my snow globes had fallen off the shelf in their wooden crate display and were so dusty I couldn’t see what was inside the globes. I cleaned every one of them then moved on to clean more shelves and stacks of cookbooks. I felt possessed. I could have used an exorcist.

I find it hard to believe it is now November. Time passes so quickly I sometimes feel as if I’m holding on to it by its coat tails. I dare not let go.

The sun is bright, and the day is pretty, but it’s chilly. It will be in the low 50’s today and down to the 30’s tonight, but that seems just about right for this time of year. More of the oak leaves have turned yellow. The deck plants have died, victims of the cold nights. I brought in the two lavender plants. They would have survived, but I wanted their sweet smell inside to remind me of summer.

Henry made it to the vets yesterday to have his nails trimmed. Getting him to the car wasn’t easy. I had opened the door before hand, but he wouldn’t jump in so I had to lift him and then shut the door quickly before he escaped. In the parking lot at the vets I had to grab him before he took off after I’d opened the door. He shook while we waited so I kept patting him and trying to reassure him. I had to walk with him to an exam room so they could take him out back. When they brought him out, he had his halter on and a Red Sox bandana. The tech with him kept patting and talking to him. He seemed fine and getting him into the car was easy. He made it going and coming without any accidents in the car. The trip was a success.

When I was a kid, our dog Duke wandered all over town. There were no leash laws back then. One time he followed my grandmother into Woolworth’s and lifted his leg on the comics. She denied knowing him. He followed me to school several times. I didn’t try to stop him though my father did. He’d jump into the car and chase Duke down, but Duke would never get in the car. He made my father furious. My mother used to try to tempt him back inside. She’d call him and wave a piece of bologna. He’d run up to her and eat the bologna except for a small piece he’d leave her holding. Duke was cagey.

The sun has disappeared and clouds have taken its place. My pretty day is gone, and I figure it will get colder without the light. I was going to go out and about, but outside isn’t all that enticing anymore. I wanted the sun in my eyes.

The day is warm and sunny. It rained earlier so everything is still wet. I went out on the deck for a bit to take in the day. The deck is littered with leaves. Lots of birds are dining.

The Sox did it. They won the World Series last night. It was spectacular. I stayed up late to watch all the post game festivities especially the uncorking and spraying of all those bottles of champagne. The Sox deserved the celebration. They won the series 4 games to 1. Now I need to shop for some World Series gear.

I feel lazy today. Yesterday I dusted a bit and vacuumed. That’s the most housework I’ve done in weeks, maybe even longer. I need to reward myself.

When I was a kid, I remember my father always left early and worked late. At the time he worked for J. P. Manning as a salesman. My father was a great salesman. Later he’d change jobs and become a manager for Hood Ice Cream. He’d change jobs one more time and run a company as first vice president. The president was retired. My father loved work but loved retirement more. On warm days, he’d sit on the front steps with his coffee and his paper. He’d usually wear his white t-shirt and his blue shorts. He knew everyone in the neighborhood. When I’d visit with my dog, my father would move to the backyard so Shauna could be with him. He loved that dog, and she loved him.

I’m going out when I finish here. I am going to try to take Henry with me as he needs his nailed clipped. I’ll open the car doors first then try to corner him to get him on a leash. It will not be easy. Henry runs when he sees a collar or a leash. I’m going to block his escape route from the couch. Wish me luck.

We survived the nor’easter. The ground and deck are littered with oak leaves, many of them yellow. The front lawn is pine needle territory. The street is still wet. The sun is in and out. I’m hoping it will stay in, but I’m skeptical.

When I was a kid, Sunday was a boring day this time of year. Church was in the morning and Sunday dinner was in the afternoon. Sometimes we’d go visit my grandparents. My grandmother, my mother and any aunts who were there stayed in the kitchen seated around the table. They’d chat. The stove always had a pot of hot pasta in tomato sauce. The table had a chunk of cheese and a grater. My father and my uncles stayed upstairs in the living room to watch football games. My cousins and I used to play in the yard or on the street. I loved East Boston where my grandparents lived. On many corners there were small stores. The one near my grandparents had a woman behind the counter. She was always sitting in a chair with her elbows on the counter. I had a dime to spend, compliments of my grandfather. We’d leave to go home in the early evening. Sometimes I fell asleep in the car. I knew we were close to home when I saw the house with a huge horseshoe over the garage. That house and horseshoe are still there. I checked.

I have nothing on my to do list for today. The laundry needs to be leaning against the cellar door before it makes me guilty enough to pay it any attention. The trash is high but it’ll keep. I’m going to read the rest of my papers, go through the catalogs I got yesterday and maybe even nap. I was up until three after the Sox won last night. Tonight is the last game in LA. I hope it is the last game of all. Go Sox!

Rain dashing against the window and the whistle of the wind are the first sounds I heard when I woke up. It was after 10. I had watched the World Series last night, and the game lasted until the wee hours of the morning so ten wasn’t really sleeping late. That game is the new record holder for the longest game in time and innings. It took eighteen innings, two full games, until it was over. The Sox lost, but it was a great game.

All of these late baseball games are taking a toll. I am walking through the day like a phantom. I am perpetually exhausted. I dare not nap as that would further disrupt my sleep. This series has to end soon.

Today’s storm is a nor’easter. Tree limbs are bending and swaying in the wind. Leaves are falling. The deck is covered with them. I saw a cardinal underneath a deck chair trying to stay out of the rain. The goldfinches are more intent on eating and are crowded at the two thistle feeders. I watched one sunflower feeder swaying back and forth. I could see tail feathers hanging below the feeder. They belonged to a bluejay, one of the first I’ve seen in the yard.

Last night my friends came to dinner. It was a birthday dinner for all three of us even though our birthdays were a couple of months ago. I enjoy having friends over for dinner. I get to choose a menu and try new dishes. Last night we started with a pumpkin dip and cheese and crackers. The dip was delicious. Dinner was seafood. I don’t make it often enough. We had a casserole with fish, shrimp and scallops with crab cakes as a side. The dinner was easy to make, and it was delicious. I have leftovers for tonight.

I voted yesterday.

Yesterday was really cold. I went out to fill the bird feeders, and by the time I was finished, my hands were freezing. In the afternoon my guy came and shut down my outside shower and drained the irrigation system. Winter isn’t here yet, but he is nearing.

When I was a kid, I’d walk to school when there was still frost on the grass. I used to cut across the field at the bottom of my street, and I could hear the cracking of the frost as I walked. Sometimes that field would have a crust of snow which melted during the day and froze again at night so walking on it also made a cracking sound, and cracks appeared from where I walked and zigzagged across the top of the snow as if the field was falling apart. Sometimes the crust broke. The snow underneath was soft and fluffy.

I find it a bit strange that some foods I ate when I was young I’d never eat now. Sardines come to mind. I remember having to use a key to roll open the can. The sardines inside were lined up in two rows, across and below. I’d grab some and eat them on Saltines. I used to make a mayonnaise sandwich. That was it, nothing else between the slices of bread. I liked liverwurst sandwiches with mustard. I can’t imagine eating one now. My mother made oatmeal for us in the winter. It was thick and sometimes lumpy. I used to add milk and cinnamon to make it palatable. I don’t think I’ve had oatmeal since then. I ate Jello in all its wiggly glory. I remember the gyrations of the red Jello when I shook the plate. That’s another food I haven’t eaten in decades.

Africa expanded my palate. I ate foods I didn’t know existed like hummus and tabouli. I ate goat and grasscutter. I ate my first Indian food. I loved kelewele, a dish made with plantains. Mangoes and pawpaw were brand new fruits to me. At first I thought mangoes tasted a bit like furniture polish must, but I came to like it. I ate Guinea fowl. I ate banku and kenkey and didn’t like either one.

I still enjoy trying new foods. What it looks like doesn’t matter. I’m all for the taste.

The baseball game ended earlier than usual, but when the Red Sox win, I watch the after game analysis on NESN. That program just ended. The Sox have won the first 2 games of the World Series, both at home, but now they head to LA where it was close to 90˚ yesterday. At game time tonight, it was 48˚. Many of the Dodgers were wearing face warmers. What babies!

It rained on and off all day today. Sometimes it was heavy rain. I’m forgetting how the sun looks and how it feels on my arms and face. The prediction is for rain on Saturday. I’ll stay home and hunker down.

Henry barks and that starts the zombie. Henry barks again at the sound and the zombie moans. It is a vicious circle.

When I was a kid, the car I was in was stopped by a police officer because I had barked out the window. My brother had set me up. The officer had shot a dog, but I didn’t know that. He stopped the car and wanted to know who barked. I told him. I got a huge lecture about respecting police. I never barked out the window again. I had repented.

When I visited my parents, my father went out early every Sunday morning to get donuts. He never remembered my favorite donut, butternut; instead, he used to buy old-fashioned donuts better know as plain as well as glazed and jelly donuts. His favorite was the plain. He always slathered it with butter.

I like coconut, the way it tastes and the way it smells. Last week when I was shopping in Hyannis, I bought a Bounty candy bar, not something I usually find. It is coconut covered in milk chocolate and it comes in two pieces. After I had eaten it, I was sorry I’d only bought one bar.

I like figs and dates. I hate olives. I also hate just about any sort of bean. The exception is green beans, but I don’t think of them as beans. I find kidney beans the most disgusting.

What a surprise, today is cloudy. The prediction is sun, but the clouds have won out for now. I, however, see bright sun and flowers. I think I’m living a scene out of Cinderella complete with bluebirds. The World Series starts tonight.

Today is a stay at home day. I have no errands. I finished them yesterday. I have only the bird feeders to fill and the bed to change.

I woke up at five this morning. It was dark. When I was still working, I got up at five every morning. In those days I was a mole, not a sloth.

When I was kid, I wasn’t afraid of anything. Spiders were no problem. I loved watching them in their webs. I followed slithering garden snakes in the grass. Once I watched a praying mantis for the longest time. I had never seen its like before. When I was at the pool, I dived off the board even though I was nine or ten. I hit bottom once and chipped my tooth and cut my lip. The lifeguard took me home. It was a while before I used the diving board again. My father used to try to scare us by scratching at the screen. My bravado rose to the fore, and I asked who was there. I don’t think I wanted an answer.

When I was in Ghana, the first thing which delighted me was seeing lizards. They seemed symbolic of Africa to me, of the Africa I imagined. I remembered being at our training site in Winneba and seeing the brightly colored lizards scampering all over the grounds.

My house in Bolga had scorpions. I remember one of my students borrowing my sandal to kill one in my living room. Her sandal was left outside, but my sandal enough. It proved lethal. That scorpion was flattened. I saw poisonous snakes but not too closely. I did see a centipede. It was amazing.

I always wonder why people scream at and run away from spiders. It always seems silly to me.