Keep the Coffee Comimg

The sun is in and out. It was bright when I woke up but is now hidden by clouds. The weather report is for rain this afternoon. When I went to get the papers, the wind was blowing leaves down the street. They sounded like raindrops.

My deck is bleak. The flower pots are gone and all the furniture is covered. The leaves too are gone, but the wind is blowing more of them off the trees onto the deck. Soon enough it will be covered again.

When I was a kid, the time between Halloween and Thanksgiving was boring. Every day was the same. I was caught in a kid’s rut: walk to school, wait in the schoolyard, go inside, do lessons, have lunch and recess, back to lessons, walk home, get into play clothes and maybe go outside a bit if it wasn’t too cold. I had to go back inside when the street lights came on and then I’d watch a little TV, eat dinner, watch more TV and then go to bed. If I had homework, it was sandwiched in before dinner. Back then I had very little homework, mostly spelling words and a work sheet or two, usually arithmetic. I had a good memory so the spelling words were easy to learn. The arithmetic was still easy, mostly problems to solve, and I had my fingers as backup.

Today is dump day. I always think of Gracie who loved the dump. Henry hasn’t yet come with me. I’m hoping he’ll get to love a ride the same way Gracie did. It will just take a bit of time and a huge amount of patience.

I’ve put out the basket filled with hats, gloves, scarves and mittens. My sandals are in the closet. I’ve started wearing socks, closed shoes and flannel shirts. I’m moving into winter.

Today isn’t as lovely as yesterday, but it is still a sweet autumn day. The sun is out. The sky is both blue and cloudy. It’s a warm day. The rain will return tomorrow.

My factotum is closing the deck which is so thick with oak leaves they covered my slippers yesterday when I went to fill the bird feeders. I kicked the leaves as I walked, a throwback from when I was a kid walking to school when the sidewalks were covered mostly in maple leaves. My landscaper said he is waiting this year until all the leaves and pine needles have fallen instead of clearing two or three times. My lawn has almost disappeared.

I went to the library on Monday and books have since absorbed my time. I finished one and am halfway through another. The librarian chose the four books and she chose well. A Borrowing of Bones by Paula Munier is my current book. It is on the table in front of me and tempts me to read just a page or two, but I know I’d never stop there so I won’t start reading until I finish here. I love finding books which capture my attention at the expense of  everything else.

When I was a kid, my mother used to yell at me and accuse me of ignoring her when I was reading, but I didn’t ignore her. I was so totally involved in my book I just didn’t hear her. When I’d tell her that, she’d scoff.

I have nothing on my to do list today. I actually did two loads of wash yesterday. The bags of laundry didn’t even sit in the hall for any time let alone the usual week or so. I brought  the laundry straight down to the cellar from upstairs. That’s like a new record for me. I also watered the plants, mopped the floor filled with Henry hair and filled all the bird feeders.

This morning I watched the deck and backyard from the kitchen window. The birds flew in and out of the feeders. Two red spawns of Satan chased each other up and down and around the biggest pine tree trunk. One grey squirrel walked on the deck rail looking for a vulnerable feeder hanging from the branches. He didn’t find one. That makes it 0-1 for the spawn of Satan!

I’m tired of dreary and dark. Maybe we should be calling this the rainy season instead of fall. Henry has left so many wet paw prints on my kitchen floor they look like decorations on the tiles. The only saving grace is the day is warm and will stay in the low 60’s today.

Last night when I was going to bed, I took off my socks and just left them on the floor by my slippers. This morning there was only one sock. I never doubted who took the other. I found it downstairs in the den. It was wet and slightly chewed.

The Halloween card my sister sent well before Halloween arrived yesterday. I have no idea where it has been. The top of the envelope was open. It looked as if it had been slit. The card is a great card. It is a pop-up of a witch driving a pumpkin carriage pulled by two black horses. The witch’s crop is a long bone with skeletal fingers at the end. A black cat is riding in the carriage. This is a keeper which will be saved in my new Halloween box.

I early voted. That seems anticlimatic now. I went to the town hall instead of the police station to vote and was one of about five people sitting and reading the ballot. Voting didn’t take long as I already knew my choices for each office and my responses to the ballot questions. I remember the first time I voted. It was the presidential election, the Nixon-Humphrey race, in 1968. Back then you had to be twenty-one to vote. My candidate didn’t win. During the mid-term elections in 1970, I requested an absentee ballot as I was in Ghana. The ballot came well after the election. I filled it out and sent it back anyway because I believed then as I do now that voting is both a responsibility and a privilege. I have never missed voting in any election, even for the local selectmen in my town. I am ever willing to castigate people who say they never vote, the same with sporadic voters. There is no valid excuse to choose not to exercise your franchise except maybe because you’re dead or comatose.

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.