Archive for the ‘Musings’ category
May 29, 2016
I woke up early for me, tried to go back to sleep, couldn’t so I gave up and headed downstairs. I started the coffee then went outside for a bit. The day is much cooler than yesterday but no less lovely. The sun is summer bright, a squint your eyes to the light bright. The birds are in and out of the feeder. While I was there, I decided to water the plants on the deck. I noticed the nozzle was leaking and tried to fix it. I never checked in which direction the nozzle was facing so I was taken aback when the water hit me full force on the legs. My pants were soaked, and I felt silly.
My phone and my wifi wouldn’t work this morning. The TV did which seemed strange as I thought all three were connected, but then I remembered the TV has its own box. I noticed my modem, which is the phone and computer connector, didn’t have enough lit buttons so I tried to reset it. I couldn’t find anything thin enough for the hole. Finally I used a twisted paperclip. It didn’t work. I tried it again, and it actually worked the second time.
If things come in threes, I’m in trouble.
Nothing is on my dance card for today; in fact, I have only a doctor’s appointment later in the week. I don’t mind unscheduled days. I figure I can find something to keep me busy, and the day is open should an invitation come my way.
My car has disappeared; instead, a pile of pollen is parked in front of my house. It has the shape of a car but no distinct features. The horrible part of all of that is the pollen has just started. I think I need to wear one of those white face masks.
Categories: Musings
Tags: cooler day, early morning, nozzle and hose, pine trees, pollen, sunny day, wifi
Comments: 4 Comments
May 28, 2016
My little nap seems to have done the trick. I fell asleep right away as the bedroom was still cool, and the outside world was quiet. The only sounds were from the chimes hanging off branches in the backyard and Gracie’s deep breathing. She had joined me for a nap. The two cats stayed downstairs for their naps.
Today is a perfect day. It is in the high 70’s, bright with sun and there’s a breeze to cool the air just a bit. We are 10 or 15 degrees cooler than Boston and a whole cooler than the western part of the state.
The deck is back to normal. All the furniture is in its usual place. Putting out the do-dads is all that’s left. When I say do-dads, I mean the rug, all the candles in the trees and on the tables, the window boxes, the flower pots, the prayer flags and the pictures for the wall. The shelf and the flower pots need to be repainted. I have new prayer flags and a couple of new strings of lights.
Yesterday while I was sitting in my car waiting for my friends, the wind blew, and I could see the pollen almost as dense as fog blowing off the tree. My car is covered in the greenish yellow pine pollen. I hate this season. When it gets hot, you don’t dare open windows as everything will be pollen covered. It’s like the harmattan in Ghana when the blowing wind brought dust from the Sahara, and it covered all the surfaces in my house. Dusting was a lesson in futility. It is the same with the pollen.
I drove my friends to the Logan airport bus because they were leaving for England early last evening. When I got home, the phone rang. It was Tony telling me Clare had left her pocketbook in the car, the pocketbook with the passports and plane tickets. Could I please hurry as the bus would be leaving in about 15 minutes, 10 minutes short of the drive. I drove like a maniac. The slowest I went was 75, and I cursed the car in front of me which kept me to that crawl. I swear G-force acceleration distorted my face. I drove into the lot and there they were, the last people. They smiled and threw their arms up when they saw my car. The driver was just putting the last piece of luggage in the bay. My timing was perfect. I handed them the handbag and Tony asked Clare if that was her bag. I wanted to say something sarcastic like I have 15 others you can choose from, but I figured it wasn’t the right time. Their gratitude was profuse. They immediately gave their luggage to the driver and got on the bus. Gracie and I went much slower on the ride home.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 75MPH, bus, chimes, deck, faster than the speed of light, flower pots, flowers, harmattan, herbs, luggage, nap, passports, pine pollen, quiet, tickets, two trips
Comments: 2 Comments
May 28, 2016
If you decide to come back later, I promise you’ll see a post from the wanderings of my mind. I need to do nothing right now. Yesterday the heavy bags I carried to the car then tossed over the receptacles at the dump have come back to haunt me. I can’t stand up straight and the backs of my legs are in pain. I’m going to find a comfortable spot and hope for the best. I’ve taken a few OTC pills which should help. I’m going to turn on the AC and try to sleep and then awaken a new person. I don’t know yet who the new person will be. I just hope there are no back or legs problems for whoever appears.
Categories: Musings
Comments: Comments Off on “Adventures are all very well in their place, but there’s a lot to be said for regular meals and freedom from pain.”
May 27, 2016
When I woke up, it was cloudy and dark, but within an hour the sun had burst from the clouds and taken over the sky. It is a beautiful day, sunny and warm. My deck is being stained, and the finished parts look like new. The only problem is Gracie. When she wants out, I have to divert her right down the stairs. I think she figures I’m depriving her of saying hello to the men working and also having access to all the brushes and cans of stain, great smells gone to waste. We are going to the dump so maybe that will salve her feelings.
I didn’t get my lazy day yesterday as I had to go for a few items at the grocery store. That meant getting dressed. Today I have a few things to do so tomorrow will be my lay about day. I’m already looking forward to a nap on the deck.
I think I’m getting boring. I have no stories, no remembrances and no adventures to share. I know they are in my memory drawers somewhere, but they’re probably stuck in the same way my bureau drawers often are. I’m doing my best to pry them open.
My house is filled with memories of my travels. The most are, of course, from Ghana. They are in every room. I have baskets, gourds, paintings and drawings, metal and wooden figures, cloth, an oware game and an old stool, the sign of a chief. I have some artwork done by the art teacher at my school. I can still visualize him: Mr. Yao Blissah. His first name means he was born on Thursday. He was a small, compact man who always spoke to me when we’d meet on school grounds. I can’t remember if he lived on grounds or not. Most teachers did in a row of houses facing the school buildings. A road of sorts led from the gate to the last house, which was mine. The back gate was beside my house. Outside the gate, the road led to the hospital and to the houses of the hospital staff. I used to take the dirt road as a shortcut until I got my motorcycle.
For forty years I thought of Ghana constantly and then I finally went back. The next year I went back again and here I am planning a third trip. All of the feelings came back in force when first I went. It was a homecoming.
Categories: Musings
Tags: boring, deck staining, lazy day, sunny and warm
Comments: 8 Comments
May 26, 2016
Yesterday summer dropped by for a visit and decided to stay a while. It was 70˚ here and in the high 80’s away from the coast. It will be the same today.
This morning the doorbell rang at the ungodly hour of eight. Gracie, in her watch dog mode, started barking, leapt off the bed and ran downstairs. Other than the barking, I did the same thing. It was Sebastian, my neighbor and landscaper, who handed me my morning papers from the driveway. He just laughed when I told him he had woken me up in what was literally a rude awakening. Sebastian said he had rung the bell to let me know he and his guys were working on the garden planting the new flowers and herbs and laying down mulch. I was actually glad he had rung the bell as I had other yard work needing a bit of attention. One guy cleaned out the winter headquarters of the spawn of Satan, my outside shower, which had a huge mound of pine cones and pieces of pine cones meant to feed families of spawns over the winter. They also filled Gracie’s chasms. One hole was so big it needed to be walked around instead of jumped across. I swear I could faintly hear Chinese. I think it was Mandarin. Finally they cleaned the debris from the deck and from the deck furniture. Sebastian said the guy would be here tomorrow to stain the deck. I asked him to swear the guy was coming. Sebastian declined.
The noisy morning has given way to a stillness occasionally punctuated by the sounds of birds singing and Gracie snoring. All three animals are here with me, and all of them are sleeping. Fern and Gracie are on the couch and Maddie is on her chair.
Days like today are meant to be enjoyed. The wash I was going to do can wait until tomorrow or even Saturday. There is no rush. I could do a dump run, but that too can be put off until tomorrow. Nothing is a must today except maybe some time on the deck with a cold drink and a book.
Categories: Musings
Tags: China, digging holes, herbs, hot, morning nap, mounds of pine cones, Mulch, planting flowers, rude awakening, summer day
Comments: 10 Comments
May 24, 2016
Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay, my, oh my, what a wonderful day. I don’t know how exactly, but I managed to get my computer back. Whatever was loading disappeared or loaded. I have no idea. I left the computer on when I went to bed. It said 13 more hours to load. When I woke up, 9 hours later, all was well. I cheered when my screen saver loaded.
Today is damp and a bit chilly. It must have rained during the night. Outside is quiet. I don’t hear a single sound, not even a car.
Yesterday I bought my flowers for the front garden and the herb garden, and I bought a hanging tomato plant for the deck. All the flowers are perennials. Three of them are native plants which attract butterflies. I know one of them is a kind of milkweed. I also bought tall plants for the back of the garden. I couldn’t buy basil yet as it is still in the greenhouse. May 31st is the official date to start planting in New England, and because basil is susceptible to the cold, the plants will stay in the greenhouse until the 31st.
A woman working in the garden chose some plants for me. She even used their Latin names. I was thunderstruck and quite awed.
I don’t remember when I first discovered you could buy live herbs. It was quite the revelation. I grew up in a pansy garden house. My dad dutifully planted them in front every year. They were evenly spaced and in a variety of colors. Years later, in a different house, my mother planted a garden right by the kitchen windows. It was filled with flowers and a statue of St. Francis holding his seed filled hands out to the birds. Maggie, another dog of mine, discovered the garden. She horrified my mother by wandering among the plants which were so tightly arranged they left little room for visitors. I had to go get Maggie several times. My dad finally put up a fence around the opening. I loved that little garden right outside the windows.
Categories: Musings
Tags: attract butterflies, computer is back, damp, herbs, plants, rained, St. Francis, still air
Comments: 6 Comments
May 23, 2016
Last night I tossed and turned until sometime after 3:30, my last time check. It got me to thinking about not falling asleep. I decided I didn’t really toss. I mostly turned. I didn’t fluff my pillow. I folded it several times. I wanted the cold side. I don’t remember falling asleep. It was late when I woke up. It was after 10. Fern and Gracie were with me in bed. My room was freezing because I had left the window open all night, a cold night. It made me want to stay in bed, but I dragged myself downstairs instead. I still think I didn’t make the better choice.
Today will be a limited Coffee day. My Mac is stuck on the grey screen with the Apple logo and an incomplete upload. I’m using my iPad and am being driven crazy by the keyboard. Adult human fingers are too big. I touch multiple keys and produce nonsense words and syllables. My iPad is nice enough to offer suggestions for the words it seems to see, but none of them are real words. I am like the monkeys tapping keyboards who happen over time to type a Shakesperian play.
If I able to figure out my MAC, I will back.
Categories: Musings
Tags: c led pillow, lftnonsense, Toss and turn
Comments: 13 Comments
May 22, 2016
The rain came during the night. It started around midnight. I could hear the drops on the air conditioner. I listened a short while then fell asleep. When I let Gracie out this morning, the driveway was still wet so I figured it rained for a while. The day is dreary, dark and damp. The breeze is strong. It blows the flags in the front yard so they flutter back and forth. Even the oak trees bend.
Yesterday I complained about having little to say then filled the page with small memories, the day to day stuff. I forget sometimes that something memorable doesn’t have to be big. I have these odd pictures hanging around my memory drawers. They relate to pieces of my life but aren’t important in themselves. They are part of the whole, but for some reason, they stand alone.
High school graduation was huge. It was my biggest step forward. The whole ceremony is somewhere in my head, but I have a few small, bright pictures of that day. One is of my dad in the audience. I had just received a scholarship, and he was mouthing to me, “How much is it?” My mother made lasagna for the party afterward graduation. I’m sure there was plenty of food, but that is all I remember.
College left several images up front. My friends and I sat at the same table in the canteen every morning. We drank lots of coffee and each of us did the crossword puzzle in the paper. It was a race to see who would finish first. I remember Fridays in my cosmology class. Three or four of us sat in the back against the wall. It was for support because between our 8:30 class and cosmology at 1:30 we went drinking. Vodka and orange juice was our drink of choice. It was, after all, still morning. I remember standing in my cap and gown downstairs from the auditorium. One of my professors who was from the history department came by to wish us well. I had had her for two classes, two of my favorite classes. She was stopping to chat with soon to be graduates she knew. I was one of them. She asked us all what we were doing after graduation. When I told her Peace Corps, she seemed thrilled and offered to send books or whatever else my school might need. I remember her well.
The flight to Ghana has three singular memories. One was flying over the cape, and I watched with my face to the window until it was out of sight. Another was my stuck seat belt. It got caught between the seat and the wall, and I couldn’t use it. That was after a fuel stop. The stewardesses, as they were called in those days, were going up the aisle checking the seat belts. I just held the one side of mine, and she kept walking. The third picture was flying over the Sahara. The sand seemed to go on forever. I could see ripples. I could see Africa for the first time.
Categories: Musings
Tags: breezy day, cloudy and damp, dark day, dreary, flying to Ghana, Graduation, high school graduation, lasagna, newspaper puzzles, oak trees, Sahara, singular memories, small memories, small pictures
Comments: 6 Comments
May 21, 2016
Such a beautiful day it is today. We have sun, a breeze and some white clouds hiding the blue. Rain is predicted, but I can’t remember when.
I have a mystery. Every day at different times I find the corner of the living room rug turned up. Nothing is on or under the rug so I don’t understand why, and I certainly don’t know who, but Gracie is tops on my list of suspects. I’m thinking it’s a Gaslight thing.
Today I have little to say. The week was a busy one but it was mostly because of medical appointments for me and Fern. Nothing much to report except Fern needs more potassium. It’s coming in the mail.
Lawnmowers are disturbing the quiet of my neighborhood. Even my lawn is getting mowed though it hardly seemed tall enough to merit the cutting. I understand the attraction of gas powered mowers, but I miss the click clack of hand mowers, another sound from my childhood which has disappeared.
Snow on the TV is long gone. I remember my father adjusting the rabbit ears to get rid of the static sound of the snow. The ears were wrapped in aluminum foil to give the antenna greater reach. Lots of houses had antennas on the roof.
I remember when I was in Morocco and sitting at a table on the top floor of a restaurant in the old city. It seemed every house had a dish attached to its roof or to the side of the roof. Even the calls to prayer were computerized. I remember being in Bawku, Ghana living with a family for three weeks as part of my Peace Corps training. My room was close to the small mosque on the street below my bedroom so I could hear the call to prayer. The one around 3:30 always woke me up, but after a bit, I knew when it would end so I could go back to sleep. The call became part of my night. The singing of the prayer was beautiful.
I am not a Luddite. I have all sorts of machines, mostly in the kitchen, which make my life easier; however, I am saddened at the disappearance of so many things and so many sounds. The click clack always brought my father to mind. He never bought a power mower. I miss the bells on Sunday mornings. I miss the clinking of milk bottles, and I miss the milkman. I could go on and on. It is just one of those days. It all started with the sound of lawnmowers.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Bawku Ghana, beautiful day, book genres, breezy, call to prayer, click clack, Gaslight, lawnmowers, Luddite, mysteries, mystery, Peace Corps training, Snow, sun, TV antenna
Comments: 14 Comments
May 20, 2016
Today is a perfect spring day on Cape Cod. It is a bit chilly but a long-sleeve shirt should do, the sun is sharing the sky with a few clouds and there is a slight breeze rippling the young leaves of the oak tree outside my window. It is a good day for a walk.
Monday is plant day, one of my favorite of all days. I bring my list and wander the aisles pushing my cart. I buy herbs for the small garden close to the house especially lots of basil for pesto. I buy perennials for the front gardens. This year my list includes native flowers like the butterfly milkweed, the common boneset and the spotted geranium. When I get into the garden shop, I have trouble controlling myself. I so love to shop for plants.
When I was a kid, it never occurred to me that every day was the same. I’d have cocoa and toast, sometimes an egg, for breakfast and then leave for school. The walk wasn’t long. We crossed railroad tracks, went by the junior high school, an old brick building which used to be the high school, crossed a sometimes busy road and walked just a bit more to the school. The convent was across the street, the rectory was beside the old school and the church was beside the rectory. We’d head for the school yard and talk or play until the bell rang. It was a hand bell which the nun would ring three or four times. I liked the sound of a hand bell, and sometimes I’d watch the nun stand by the door to ring the bell. She’d raise the bell high above her head and swing it down as far as her arm could reach. We all knew it was time to get into our lines. I remember watching Little House on the Prairie. The teacher pulled the rope connected to the hand bell. It was the same sound.
Categories: Musings
Tags: brick building, every day the same, nuns, railroad tracks, ringing the bell, school bell, school grounds, spring day, still air, sunny, walk to school
Comments: 8 Comments
keepthecoffeecoming.blog 