Archive for the ‘Musings’ category
September 16, 2016
4 Days to go!!
Last night was downright cold. When I woke up, Gracie was lying against me, and Fern was on my hip. It seems both of them wanted my body heat. I, meanwhile, was under the comforter and was warm and cozy.
I checked the thermostat when I got downstairs, and the house was only 62˚. It was sweatshirt time. Lately I have had food cravings. First, it was pizza, and we had it for dinner on movie night. Next, it was fish and chips, and I had that for dinner last night. Chinese was a week ago. I don’t seem to crave Mexican though I did have a quesadilla on pizza night, and it was delicious. In Hyannis is the Brazilian Grill and Pavilion Indian. Neither one tickles my taste buds. I have a shepherd’s pie in my freezer. It has sat there a few weeks. Maybe that’ll be dinner.
Fern is quite unhappy now when she gets her medicine, especially the mouth one. She sees me going to the desk where I keep the medicine, and she is gone like a flash. I fill the syringe then sit and wait until she figures all is clear then I get her. The ear stuff is easier. I distract her with treats and slathered her ears while she is eating. Food trumps ear medicine.
Television is boring especially right now. Yesterday I watched WBINclassics. It airs old programs, some from my childhood like McHale’s Navy, Father Knows Best and Leave It to Beaver. I ignore my internal critic.
My garden is looking forlorn. Most of the flowers are best their prime. A few white ones are still on the fence, and the front garden has a couple of new flowers, fall bloomers. A mum sits by the front steps, my acknowledgement of fall.
I knew all the commercial jingles when I was a kid. They just stuck in my head. Oscar Mayer was a favorite. The old Frito Bandito makes me cringe now. Snap, Crackle and Pop make the world go round, and Rice Krispies is my favorite cereal. Everyone knows it’s Slinky. I still have one, the old one, not the plastic new one. I wish all those Texaco guys would reappear especially when it rains. Mr. Clean is still around. I always loved his earring. You’ll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent. The Campbell kids have disappeared but luckily they didn’t take their tomato soup with them or grilled Velveeta cheese sandwiches would be very lonely.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 62˚, cat medicine, classic television, cold, Fish and chips, food cravings, freezer, Indian food, Mexican food, mums, Pizza, sweatshirt, treats
Comments: 10 Comments
September 15, 2016
It is sunny and cool, only 68˚. The breeze makes it feel even colder so I have shut a couple of windows. Last night was just fine for sleeping.
5 days and counting!
Yesterday I made a day by day list of what I need to do before I leave on Tuesday. Mostly it is filled with errands like going to Agway for pet food, Stop and Shop for trip treats, the bank for money and the store which sells bus tickets. Packing is on Monday, the day before I leave. I roll my clothes and have since my packpacking days. They don’t wrinkle as easily.
My mother always brought treats on our trips to Europe. She’d have cookies and candy for the car rides and nighttime snacking. I follow in her footsteps and will bring Oreos, candy which won’t melt and peanut butter crackers. Ghana is short on snacks. We used to buy Cadbury chocolate bars. My favorite was fruit and nut. The Ghanaian bars were made by Chocolate Tree. They were dark and not all that sweet. The taste took a while to get used to. I brought home one of the wrappings. The back has black stars and celebrates the Second Republic 1969. Chocolate Tree still sells bars. The wrappings have Kente patterns on them. The chocolate taste still takes a bit of getting used to.
Nothing is better than fresh bread from the oven. The bakery in the town where I grew up baked bread, and the aroma was so tantalizing we all beat a path to the bakery door to buy it. I’d take a hunk of bread and eat it on the way home. I always thought it tasted best when still warm and slathered with butter .
Once in a while I have toast in the morning. Sometimes I have it with jelly or marmalade. My favorite is clementine marmalade which I have to buy on-line. It isn’t all that sweet, mostly fruity. I seldom buy white bread. Lately it has been honeyed wheat as I have started a love affair with honey which I never liked until recently unless you count Bit-O-Honey. I have even bought honeycomb and eaten it on an English muffin. I add honey to goat cheese as a snack on crackers. Mostly I buy local honey just because it is local.
Well, I have two chores or errands to cross off today so I bets get moving.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 5 days, 68˚, canned cat food, canned dog food, Chocolate Tree, cool, fresh bread, Kente patterns, lists, packing, rolling clothes, slathered with butter, sunny
Comments: 6 Comments
September 13, 2016
The weather right now is just perfect, the sort I dream about through snow storms, freezing temperatures and winds which chill to the bone. The sun shines with that sharp light which only seems to come in the fall. The days are warm, in the 70’s. The nights are chilly, wonderful for sleeping. I love Cape Cod best this time of year.
The countdown has begun. It is seven days until I leave. My mind is filled with images of Ghana. I can close my eyes and see it all. I am as excited as I was the first time I went back. It is difficult to explain the pull Ghana has on me. Every bit of the country feels familiar. The greetings I learned so long ago quickly come to mind. I say them, and Ghanaians answer then they smile. I smile back. I hunt for my favorite foods, buy cloth and roam the market. The years disappear. It is as it was.
This morning I had two meetings, one right after the other. They were library board meetings: the annual and the monthly. I am now president of the Board of Trustees of the South Dennis Library. My responsibilities are few. I print the agenda and run our monthly meetings. I bring refreshments when needed. I sign whatever the librarian puts in front of me. She knows far more than I what’s going on. I have been on the board for nearly 12 years. Two of the trustees are in their 90’s. One of them is 95. I always joke that the only way off the board is incapacitating injury or death.
The last fish I had a week or so back was red snapper. It was delicious. The first time I ever ate red snapper was in Jamaica. The second time was at a Caribbean restaurant in Saugus which isn’t there anymore. Fish markets here don’t sell it. I always ask. I figure they must think it an exotic fish. Around here cod is king.
I’m thinking fish and chips tonight. In one of my places they also come with onion rings, the thin kind, the best kind. I was going to have hot dogs but not anymore.
Categories: Musings
Tags: cape cod, cod, cool nights, excited, Ghana, lovely day, Peace Corps, red snapper, sharp light, warm days, weather
Comments: 10 Comments
September 12, 2016
The den is my refuge from the summer heat. The windows face north and west so no sun hits the room until late afternoon. Until then, the room stays relatively cool. Today, though, the room was cold. It needed a bit of the sun. I had left the windows open, and the cold night air had lingered. My arms were cold so I put on my sweatshirt. I love needing a sweatshirt.
I have no obligations today, no chores and no lists. For the sake of hygiene, I will take a shower. I might even change my bed, but that may be going a bit overboard.
Yesterday was sit on the couch and watch sports day. First were the Red Sox who beat Toronto to go up 2 games. David Ortiz hit another crucial home run. I clapped and cheered. It’s a good think I have no neighbors. The Patriots were without Brady and were not favored to win. They did win 23-21, a squeaker. It was a good day for Boston sports.
I saw vultures in Ghana. They were big, and they were ugly birds. They used to walk around the open courtyard of the family compound. Nobody seemed to care so I didn’t. Once there were two of them. Toddlers walked around them and were totally unafraid. If I had gone near those toddlers, they would have screamed. They would have been totally afraid of my white skin. It gave me pause.
My pets are old. Fern and Maddie are almost 18, and Gracie is almost 12. They sleep a lot. The cats sleep the most as cats are wont to do. Gracie is the most active. She goes out her dog door, does her business then runs around the yard. She comes back with spit on her muzzle from opening her mouth when she runs. That sounds gross, but it isn’t or maybe it isn’t because Gracie is my dog. Boxers drool when food is around. Gracie makes bubbles. That takes talent.
Categories: Musings, photo, Spoken Word
Tags: afternoon sun, Boston sports, Boxers, bubbles, chilly morning, cold morning, David Ortiz, drool, Ghana, hygiene, old pets, Patriots, Red Sox, Shower, sun, sweatshirt
Comments: 10 Comments
September 11, 2016
The weather stay cooperative last night so we had our movie night. Continuing the trend of bad movies we watched The Time Travelers. Three scientists and one other guy wearing a jumpsuit and sporting a shirt and tie went through a portal to the future, a grim future. Mutants lived above ground and humans lived below ground. Earth was doomed so a spaceship was being built and provisioned for a trip to Alpha Centauri. The women underground wore the tightest mostly pink-collared jumpsuits (which had panty lines to give you an idea of how tight). The men wore more elaborate jumpsuits with weird collars. The rest of the plot had the mutants attacking, our intrepid time travelers and a few underground scientists going back in time via the portal. They, however, went back too soon. I won’t give away the rest of the plot in case you are in the mood for a really bad science fiction movie.
The food was wonderful last night. We split a chicken quesadilla and a pizza, half cheese and half pepperoni. For movie candy we had chocolate covered caramel balls and chocolate covered bacon caramel balls. We played a game of Phase 10 first. It gets dark so early now the evening was over by 9.
The weather is damp. The sky is gray cloudy. A strong breeze comes and goes. No rain is expected here, but much of the state will have thunder showers. The house is really dark. I needed a light to read the papers. I have no ambition today. I gathered my laundry but purposefully left it upstairs. My bed is unmade. I’m not dressed, and I don’t intend to get dressed.
A bunny was in my yard when I went to get the papers. It hopped off when I got close. The coyotes must be elsewhere.
The big news is I have a new neighbor. She moved in two houses down. Yesterday there was a u-haul in the driveway and about 5 or 6 cars parked in front of the house. She is my third new neighbor in the last year, all of them women.
I am getting drowsy. Being the only creature in the house still awake makes me want to conform the standards set by the two cats and the dog. I think that’s probably why I didn’t make my bed.
Categories: Musings
Tags: bacon caramel, breezy, Bunny, chocolate covered caramel, cloudy, Coyote, damp, drowsy, movie night, mutants, new neighbor, Phase 10, Pizza, quesadilla, the future, The Time Travelers, tight jumpsuits, time portal
Comments: 6 Comments
September 10, 2016
The air conditioner is off for the meanwhile. The sun disappeared a bit earlier and was replaced by clouds then it reappeared. I suspect that will happen all day. The air is damp. The weatherman said there is a possibility of rain. I’m not complaining as we need rain, but it would dampen movie night.
I used to wonder why pistachio nuts were red. I remember my stained fingers and torn fingernails after opening them, but I thought those were a small price to pay. Now there are no red pistachios, only ones with natural shells. I know most of our pistachios used to come from Iran until the embargo. Come to find out, they were dyed red to disguise any shell imperfections from the harvesting. Now they come from California and have no imperfections, no blemishes on the shells. I find them a bit boring, still tasty and still tearing my fingernails but boring. I know I can buy them already shelled but that seems like cheating.
I was too impatient adding Nestle’s Quick to my milk. I stirred but never enough. On the bottom of my glass was always a layer of chocolate sludge. I used to eat that with a spoon. Once my mother bought Strawberry Quick. I liked the pink color, but I wasn’t a big fan of the strawberry. I don’t think she ever bought it again.
I don’t drink milk anymore except for the leftover milk from my cereal which tastes like the cereal. I think it was in Ghana where I lost my taste for milk as I never had any. Ghanaians don’t drink milk even though they have cows. It never occurred to me to have a villager sell me the milk.
I always liked Fig Newtons. Now I find them a bit dry. I buy fresh figs instead. Oreos are the only off the shelf cookies I buy. Mostly I get cookies from the bakery. Anise cookies are my favorite, but the bakery doesn’t always have them so I have to be content with chocolate chip.
My trip stuff list is getting bigger. I added Oreos this morning. When my parents and I traveled together, my mother always brought snacks. Some were the packages of crackers and cheese. My favorite was the peanut butter crackers, not the orange ones, the brown ones. My mother never had to bring any snacks home.
This is the quietest day. I think the thick air diffuses sound so it disappears. Gracie isn’t even snoring. I wonder if all the kids are wearing gags.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Air conditioner, anise cookies, chocolate chip, Cookies, damp day, Fig Newtons, milk, movie night, Nestle's Quick, peanut butter crackers., pistachios, possibility of rain, red pistachios, snacks
Comments: 5 Comments
September 9, 2016
When I got the papers, I noticed the road still wet from my lawn being watered. That screamed humidity to me so I turned on the air conditioning. The weatherman last night did say summer was returning today.
Periodically the AC turns on to break the silence. Gracie isn’t even snoring. Both cats are awake, unusual for the morning. One is cleaning her ears and the other is just looking out the window from her perch, the back couch cushion. I have no idea what holds her attention.
Today I have nothing to do, not a single list. I’m thinking about lolling and reading. Before that, though, I might hit the chocolate shop for bon bons.
Yesterday my list was completed. I even brought my laundry upstairs, a rarity. Usually it sits in the dryer for sometimes as long as a week. I don’t mind doing laundry. It is the up and down the stairs, the folding and the carrying up two flights of stairs which I don’t like. The house we lived in when we first moved to the cape had the washer and dryer in the kitchen because there wasn’t a cellar, just a small dug out area. That made doing laundry easy. When I worked, I managed to get everything done including planning lessons and correcting.
When I worked, I managed to get everything done, mostly on the weekends when I shopped, mowed the lawn, did laundry and cleaned the house. Now, despite having all the time in the world, I hire people. The house gets cleaned every other Thursday. On the off weeks, I do a bit of dusting, a small bit of dusting, and some vacuuming. My lawn gets mowed every Friday. Peapod delivers groceries right to my kitchen. I order when the larder is empty. Skip, my factotum, does whatever I need, things like opening and closing the deck, painting and general repairs. I know I shouldn’t complain given what little I do, but I want staff, particularly a laundress or a launderer. I did find a drop off Launderette, but I just can’t see myself driving my laundry bag to Hyannis. I guess I’m stuck.
Categories: Musings
Tags: AC, bon bon, cats cleaning themselves, dryer, heat, help, humidity, Laundry, list, lists, lolling, silence, sleeping dog, staff, summer
Comments: 8 Comments
September 8, 2016
Yesterday was hot and humid. Today is dark and humid. Tomorrow will be blistering hot. It rained earlier. My guess is sometime after 6 as underneath my papers was dry. Today, Gracie and I are finally getting to the dump. I have been storing bags on the deck. They smell this time of year.
The Globe this morning had a few tidbits. My favorite was titled ” Are sightings Pennywise or just clown foolish.”Stephen King fans will recognize Pennywise as the clown in his novel It. The book is scary enough, but the movie clown is frightening. I looked it up: coulrophobia is fear of clowns. The newspaper relates the story of a man in Greensboro, NC who saw a clown who was typically dressed: red curls, oversized shoes, blue pants and a poker dot shirt. The clown, however, was wearing a scary mask. The guy had a machete and chased the clown who disappeared into the woods. The guy called the police. It doesn’t say why. The officers searched but were unable to find anyone matching the description. That, however, was not the first sighting. It seems clowns have been menacing the area since early August and one tried to lure some children into the woods. There have been a half-dozen sightings. The police haven’t found any proof, and the reason for the clowns’ existence is just as perplexing. It could be a stunt for a new movie, “31.” The police announced they will arrest anyone dressed like a clown, “It’s illegal. It’s dangerous. It’s inappropriate, and it’s creating community concern and needs to be stopped.”
Killer Klowns from Outer Space is a horror comedy. I love it. Shadow puppets are weapons. Victims are wrapped in cotton candy. Popcorn attacks people. An ice cream truck is important to the plot. My suggestion is if you like silly but fun movies this is the one; however, if you are afraid of clowns stay away from this movie.
I am going to miss the first debate, and I am so bummed. There is an internet cafe in Bolga for which you pay by the hour. My first thought was to find where the debate is streaming, pay the money and use the password to connect from my iPad, but the cafe will be closed by the time the debate starts as Ghana is 4 hours ahead. Plan B is hoping one of my former students might know someone with a home router and wifi.
When I think about my trip, all sorts of pictures “dance in my head.”Ghana is colorful. The market is the best place to roam. It is a treasure trove of cloth, fruits and vegetables. The streets are lined with people selling food. On my last trip I found the sausage man. The kelewele wagon is parked at the end of the stores. That one I’ll visit often!
Categories: Musings
Tags: clowns, coulrophobia, dark, debate, Ghana, humid, internet cafe, It, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, North Carolina, Pennywise, Stephen King, wifi
Comments: 9 Comments
September 6, 2016
I got home around 1:30, let Gracie out, fed her and tried to take a nap. I was too restless so I came downstairs, ate a few anise cookies, read my e-mail and here I am.
The sun is out. The storm was a bust. Now I have to put my deck back together. The furniture and the deck are covered with leaves. The table has about an inch of rain on it. Pine tree branches have fallen in the backyard. They fall easily, even in an every day wind.
The house was stuffy when I got home even with the windows open so I put on the air conditioner. It is now much more comfortable. Gracie has stopped panting, Fern is lying beside me and Maddie is on the same chair as always.
The kids were standing on the corners of my street today. They were waiting for the bus. A couple of mothers were waiting with them. I don’t remember any buses when I was a little kid. I didn’t need one as my walk wasn’t all that long, but some kids walked a couple of miles or even more. No cars were lined up dropping kids off in the morning or picking them up in the afternoon. One of my neighbors was a widow. She was the only mother with a car. When it rained, she always drove or picked up her daughter. I was jealous, especially on rainy days.
I never see kids walking to school anymore. They either take the bus or are driven. Mothers are waiting at the bus stop to see their kids off or to welcome them home. In the winter or when it rains the mothers wait in cars. That brings to mind the traditional beginning of the school year exaggeration passed from one generation to another. I walked to school in three feet of snow, during tropical storms and on the coldest of days when we didn’t dare stop for fear of freezing to the spot.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Air conditioner, anise cookies, first day of school, humidity, let the dog out, school buses, sun, waiting at the corner, walking to school
Comments: 6 Comments
September 5, 2016
When I woke up this morning, I was disappointed. Where was the rain? Where was the wind? All the forecasts last night had the storm starting Sunday night or early Monday morning. I was eager for rain, and who doesn’t like a mighty wind?
The weather changed in the last couple of hours. All we are missing is snow. It rained twice for a total of about five minutes, and in between the sun came out. The wind is getting stronger. The oak leaves are blowing and the tree branches are bending back and forth. The trunks of the pine trees are swaying. People are always drawn to the beaches during weather like this. The waves are as high as 6 feet. The energy from the wind and waves is palpable.
It took me only about ten minutes yesterday to ready the deck for the wind. I took the clay pots off the deck rail, took down the bird feeders hanging from hooks on branches and also took down candles hanging on hooks. I closed and fastened the umbrella. I’m hoping everything is safe from the wind.
Right now it is getting quite dark. I hope it means a rainstorm.
Today is a lazy day. My only chore is to bring the laundry from the cellar downstairs to my bedroom upstairs. The dump is closed today so trash will have to wait until tomorrow. I choose not to make my bed as I envision a nap in my future. Right now I’m watching TCM. The theme of the day is movies with devil or angel in the title. The Devil Makes Three just started. It is not a movie I have ever heard of before now. It stars Gene Kelly as an American serviceman in post-war Germany, specifically Munich. The description says he discovers a plot to revive the Nazi Party. I think it sounds like a perfect movie for a stay at home day.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Beach, clearing the decks, closed dump, energy, fold umbrella, Laundry, rain, remove feeders, remove pots, storm, sun, unmade bed, Wind
Comments: 10 Comments
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