Archive for the ‘Musings’ category
January 26, 2016
The weather is warm: everything is melting. At first I thought it was raining so I went to the back door to check. No rain, just the constant dripping of melting snow. No sun, only clouds. Yesterday the branches were covered. Today they are empty of snow.
I keep losing track of the day. Last week was so slow that on Tuesday I thought it was Thursday. This week is going a bit faster, but I have no idea why. Some weeks feel endless while other weeks are gone before I even realize it. My routine is pretty much the same every day so I think this spell I’m in must be boredom, ennui. I don’t seem to have much ambition though I did force myself to do the laundry. I guess I got tired of seeing the laundry bag in the hall, leaning against the cellar door. I think it had been there close to two weeks. Yesterday I also did a bit of dusting with my sweatshirt sleeve. Finally I watched a couple of programs on my DVR. One was the Doctor Who Christmas.
This snow storm was a cheat. It spoiled the weekend and clean up on Sunday meant school on Monday. When I was a kid, snow days were holidays. They were never added to the end of the year. I have no idea how many days we had to go to school back then, but because I was in a parochial school, I had more days off than the public school kids. We were off on Holy Days of Obligation, parish saint days and nuns’ visiting days. I have no idea why or where the nuns went visiting. I just hoped they had a good time.
Categories: Musings
Tags: branches empty of snow, drops of water, losing time, melting snow, no school, snow days, warm day
Comments: 4 Comments
January 25, 2016
The snow is still pretty because the town doesn’t sand or salt. Along the side roads the snow stays pristine. My street is down to pavement. When I look in the backyard, I can see clumps of melting snow falling off branches. The smaller branches are already clear. The snow on the roof drips off the eaves, mostly in the front yard. This morning the steps were icy so I threw deicer on them and on the steps in the back for Gracie. It isn’t the warmest of days, but it is warm enough to melt the snow.
Today is a beautiful day with a brilliant sun and, according to the Crayola color chart, a turquoise blue sky. The snow on the ground is glinting, shining in the light. A sunny day always looks glorious after a snow storm. I think it’s a reward for abiding the snow.
My Pats lost yesterday, no Super Bowl this year. I guess I’ll have to turn to baseball and spring training. Pitchers and catchers report on February 18th and position players on the 23rd. The Sox have been in last place twice in the last three years. The year in between they won the World Series. I think all the planets were aligned that one year.
I live on a small street in the village of South Dennis. There are 8 houses on my street, 2 of which are summer houses. It is seldom a busy street except in the summer when the kids, 8 from 2 houses at the other end of the street and 1 from the house beside me, ride their bikes and scooters on the street. I leave the front door open because Gracie loves to watch. This morning Gracie wanted that door opened so I complied. She stayed there looking out for an hour. I can’t think she saw anything as nothing went by the house, and the kids are all in school. She just likes to look. Dogs are interesting.
Categories: Musings
Tags: clumps of falling snow, looking outside, melting snow, pavement, pretty snow, Snow, turquoise blue sky, village of South Dennis, warmer day
Comments: 14 Comments
January 24, 2016
“We’re happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland.” I’m lying. I’m not happy. Here I am stuck in the house, and from the window I can see way off to the driveway where the blue plastic sleeve of my newspapers is clearly visible. I know if I really wanted the papers I could put on heavy shoes and some warmer pants then trudge my way through the deep snow to the papers. I think I’ll choose to be patient and wait for Skip, my factotum, to come to plow and shovel.
We didn’t get as much snow as I expected. I think maybe we got only 8 or 9 inches. The problem is the snow is heavy and wet. Branches and bushes bow under the weight. The sky is still grey. I was hoping for some sun. Nothing is prettier than untouched snow glittering in the sun.
My dad was one of those shovelers who went out during the storm hoping to stay ahead of the snow. I used to watch him from the picture window. He’d do the front steps first then the path then the three steps to the street and finally his car. Sometimes the snow was so high I couldn’t see him, but I knew where he was because I could see the snow flying left or right off his shovel into the air.
The plows left layers of snow on the street. Sometimes the first layer would melt just a bit from the sun then overnight it would refreeze and produce the perfect hill for sledding with a layer of ice on top. This happened every day until the streets were down to pavement then we went sledding on the grassy hills.
Today I have football, the Pats against the Broncos. The winner will be Super Bowl bound. I’ll be cheering and clapping the whole game; at least, that’s what I expect.
(P.S. Skip has come and gone. Yippee!)
Categories: Musings
Tags: flat land, flying snow, glistening snow, heavy snow, layer of snow, paper in the driveway, plows, shoveling, Sledding, sun, trudge, winter wonderland
Comments: 16 Comments
January 23, 2016
Today is hunker down day. The strong, howling wind is making the air feel even colder. It is dark like almost night time darkness. The snow is expected to start late this afternoon. The cape will get more than Boston. The last prediction I saw was at least 9-12 inches of wet, puffy snow. The worry isn’t the snow but the possible loss of power because of the heavy wind and the weight of the soon to be falling mushy snow.
Earlier four or five of the boys who live down the street were riding their scooters up and down in front of my house. Gracie loved watching them. I figured their mothers were thrilled the boys could play and ride and tire a bit before they are all housebound.
I have issues with snow. My house was 37˚ because the weight of the snow brought down wires. Once I was stuck in the house for almost a week before they plowed my street. I complained but it didn’t matter. You never know winter.
Despite everything, falling snow is still a wonder to me. I keep checking the windows hoping to see the first few flakes. Watching snow never gets boring. The angles and rhythm of the falling snowflakes are often mesmerizing. I stand at the door and watch, leaving only when I start to get cold. Gracie loves running in snow. When she comes inside, she is always panting, not from exertion but from excitement. Her fur is covered in snow, her face in Boxer spit. Gracie runs with her mouth open.
Five minutes ago I looked out the window, no snow. Just now I looked again and it’s snowing. The storm seems fierce because the wind is blowing the snow everywhere, in all directions. The flakes are big and are already covering tree limbs. It’s coming fast. I think they may have underestimated the amount of snow. I’ll keep checking and let you know.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 6-9 inches of snow, Boxer spit, darkness, freezing, housebound, hunker down, running in the snow, Snow, watching snow, Wind
Comments: 14 Comments
January 22, 2016
The paper is filled with news of the weather and the Patriots. A snowstorm is expected here by Saturday night. The amount of snow keeps changing, but it appears the Cape will get more than Boston. The Patriots play the Broncos Sunday in Denver. The Pats are 3 point favorites which is nothing given their horrendous record in Denver.
This morning was sunny but the gray sky is back but not dark enough to hide the light. It’s cold so I’m staying home and keeping warm and cozy. Last night around 6 I went to the store for a couple of things. The roads were just about empty. The parking lot at the market had 4 or 5 cars, usually I have to go around a couple of times until a spot opens. Inside, most of the stores were closed, but I did manage to find some goodies including shrimp fried rice, clam chowder and a couple of cod cakes. My larder is well filled.
When I was a kid, weather reporting was simple. We didn’t have warnings about when the storm might start and stop or how many inches to expect. My mother never raced off for groceries like bread or milk or water. We kids always had high hopes they’d be too much snow for school, but we wouldn’t officially find out until the next morning when the fire whistle blew.
Meteorologists now do the weather reporting on TV. They follow storms for days and tell us what might be coming. They even know how much snow we should expect. Gone are the markers, the white boards and the maps on erasable boards. Everything is computerized, no more guessing, no more fire whistles. Everyone now knows when to rush out to buy their water and bread. Tomorrow morning should begin the onslaught of frantic people facing a huge snow storm and bent on filling their fridge with water.
Categories: Musings
Tags: clam chowder, fried rice, grey day, larder, market, Patriots, Snow, storm, storm warnings, weather forecasting
Comments: 6 Comments
January 21, 2016
This morning I was up at the crack of dawn, around 6:30, as I had a dental appointment at 8. I hate that alarm. To wake up to it again was jarring. It was almost a leap out of bed reaction. I tried to ignore it but couldn’t so I got up, got dressed, retrieved my papers and had a cup of coffee which salved the pain.
I got home around 8:30, had more coffee, finished the crossword puzzle then went back to bed. I sleep another couple of hours.
I have a tale of Miss Gracie and ice, but the story has to be from my perspective though I’d love to know what Miss Gracie thought.
On Tuesday night, the little snow we had turned to ice. I didn’t realize how slippery it was when I let Gracie out. She slid on the top step right outside the door and kept sliding to the stairs where she tried unsuccessfully to get her footing. I tried but couldn’t catch her so I watched helplessly and afraid as she lost the battle to get her footing and tumbled and rolled down the last 4 or 5 stairs. When she hit the driveway, she rolled a couple of more times. When she got up, she was almost falling from one side to the other. I yell her name over and over as I made my way down the stairs as quickly as I dared, got to her and held on to her for a while. I then held and walked her to the stairs. She didn’t want to go up, and I totally understood, but we had to get into the house. I lifted her to each step with my arms around her body and her legs on the stairs. For the last few steps she was okay by herself. She ran inside and I was quick to follow. I checked every bit of her, but she seemed fine. I wasn’t all that fine. I was still scared after watching that fall and her tumbling. I think the leaning from side to side when she first got up was from her being dizzy with all the rolling. I gave Gracie her treat then she turned around and went right back outside and down the stairs to the yard. I figured she wanted to finish her business, but I found it amazing she wasn’t afraid to go down those stairs again.
I immediately hauled the bag of paw friendly deicer up from the cellar and tossed it on the two steps outside the door and the stairs to the yard. The next morning, I could see the sun and the deicer were working their magic when I let Gracie out. I expected her to be sore and limping but nope, nothing. She was perfectly fine. That whole incident was terrifying for me as I had to watch and could do nothing, but she seems just fine for which I am grateful.
Usually I spread around and talk about many things, but today had to be Gracie’s day.
Categories: Musings
Tags: deicer, dentist, dizzy, falling down stairs, ice, rolling, sliding, tumbling
Comments: 10 Comments
January 19, 2016
Winter is here. Yesterday was freezing. Last night the wind never stopped. It surrounded me and was all I could hear as I was falling asleep. I wasn’t cold but I still snuggled under the covers as if I needed to keep the wind at bay. Gracie circled several times then plopped herself beside me. Fern followed suit but without the circling and on my other side. Gracie was the quickest to fall asleep. I heard her snoring.
Walking to school in the winter was chilliest at the beginning. Walking home was chilliest at the end. Every winter’s day I was bundled in a vast array of garments. Starting from inside out, I wore pink long underwear which came to my knees and a tee shirt under my blouse. My mother demanded we add a sweater, usually blue to match our uniforms, because our old classrooms had such high ceilings they were difficult to keep toasty. She figured we needed that bit of extra warmth. Knee socks came up high enough that only a small spot on each leg got cold. My jacket was thick and had a zipper. My mittens and hat were wool.
I remember at the end of the day being called row by row to the cloakroom so we could get our coats and stuff. We were always in rows: we sat in rows and we walked in rows usually 2 by 2 to go in or out of the school and to go to the bathrooms in the basement. If we needed to go during the day, we always asked for permission to go to the basement. Nobody ever called them the lavs or the bathrooms. That was one of the peculiarities of my old school. The cloak rooms were another.
Going home in the afternoon, I was never dressed as warmly as I had been in the morning. All my mother’s efforts to keep me warm were mostly undone. Sometimes I couldn’t get the zipper parts to join together so I left my jacket opened. I didn’t really like hats so mine was stashed in one of my pockets. My mother was never pleased.
Categories: Musings
Tags: blowing wind, chilly walk, cloakroom, long underwear, mittens, pink, sweater, tee shirt, windy, winter, winter jackets, zippers
Comments: 6 Comments
January 18, 2016
Finally we have sun, but we also have a dusting of snow and a cold day in the high 20’s. My heat has been blasting all morning so the house is cozy and warm. Sadly, I have no choice but to bite the bullet and go out later. It looks as if I’ll be scraping the windshield. I can’t even remember the last time I had to do that.
Today is Martin Luther King day. I looked through my archives and decided to repost last year’s Coffee. It says everything needing to be said.
Martin Luther King Jr. has now been dead longer than he lived. But what an extraordinary life it was.
At 33, he was pressing the case of civil rights with President John Kennedy. At 34, he galvanized the nation with his “I Have a Dream” speech. At 35, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. At 39, he was assassinated, but he left a legacy of hope and inspiration that continues today.” from the Seattle Times
I was in high school when I began to notice the world around me in a different way. All of a sudden it was far bigger than my small town. Back then I didn’t know a single Black person. There were none where I grew up, but a parish priest began to open our eyes and through him we met Black teenagers from Boston. Through them I became aware of social inequities, of Jim Crow and of the struggles of Blacks to register to vote. My friends and I were too young to go South, to march or register voters, but we were more than willing to do small tasks for even they had impact. We worked with snick, SNCC, going door to door to raise money. We attended NAACP meetings and passed out pamphlets. We did what we could.
Without realizing it, I had developed a social conscience which would forever be part of my life. It helped define what the 60’s meant to me. During college, I picketed and marched for a variety of causes I had come to believe in. I joined the Peace Corps, my recognition that we all have a responsibility to make this world a better place. I still feel the same way.
Categories: Musings
Tags: cold, MLK Day, scrape the windshield, Snow
Comments: 8 Comments
January 17, 2016
Today is cloudy and damp and colder than yesterday. According to the weatherman, it will continue to get colder. Tomorrow night will be in the teens and Tuesday will be in the 20’s. I suppose I ought not to complain as this is really a warm winter. I’m thinking that’s probably an oxymoron.
Two of my warmest shirts are flannel. When I was a kid, my jeans were lined in flannel. I’m even wearing flannel pants right now, the kind you only wear around the house, never outside. If I wore a hat, it would have flannel inside and on the ear flaps. Comfort, not style, now dictates my choice of wardrobe.
In Ghana I had to wear a dress every day everywhere I went. When I started teaching here, it was the same thing except pantyhose was added. Later, pants were accepted as appropriate when teaching, but then, when I became an administrator, it was back to dresses, an unspoken but expected choice of wardrobe for an administrator. Every school day morning I’d stare at the clothes in my closet trying to decide what dress to wear. Now fast forward to retirement. The clothes in the closet have completely changed. I have two all purpose dresses, one dress a bit heavier for colder weather and three from Ghana. It has been so long since I wore a dress, I don’t even remember the occasion. I’m thinking it might have been a wedding. All the other clothes in my closet are mostly pants, shirts and other kinds of tops.
The day after I retired it happened. My fashion world was upended. I started dressing for comfort all the time. Style be damned! I have some dressy pants should I need to upgrade my usual choices, but I don’t even remember wearing those either. Now when I look in the closet, I wonder what color I’ll wear today.
Categories: Musings
Tags: cold and damp, colder, colors, Comfort, Dresses, dressy, flannel, pants and shirts, pantyhose, wardrobe
Comments: 12 Comments
January 16, 2016
The rain started about 1:30 this morning. I was lying in bed when I heard the tap,tap on the roof. My first thought was the weatherman was spot on with his timing. He also said it would stop in time for the Pat’s game. He prognosticated perfectly again because the rain has now stopped. An hour ago it was raining heavily, but now it is just damp and grey and windy, sort of an ugly day.
I am late in posting because I am suffering from sleeping sickness, at least that’s my excuse. I did go to bed really late, but I slept until 11:30: that was nine hours. It has been the same all week. I wonder if I missed a visit from Maleficent and her whole sleeping curse thing went right over my head. Right now I am the only creature stirring.
My father was a huge football fan. He also watched hockey, but never baseball or basketball unless one of us was visiting, and he’d turn on the game for us. I know he found baseball boring, but I don’t know why basketball. My father was a shouter at the TV. He moaned at fumbled turnovers and screamed at interceptions. He was a Giants fan until the Patriots were formed. He then transferred his allegiance to the home town team. He watched the one Super Bowl they made in his lifetime, in 1985, and it was a rout. The Bears beat the Pats 46-10. My father hardly screamed that game.
My dad would love the Pats now. He’d get a kick out of Belichick and his press conferences. He’d be yelling at the officials and their treatment of the Pats. He’d never go to the bathroom or the kitchen except during time outs.
I always miss my dad but most especially on days like today. We’d be watching the game together. My mother would join us but she knew absolutely nothing about football and a couple of times rooted for the wrong team. That was okay. At least she watched.
I’ll be here watching, and I’ll be yelling at a call or a poorly executed play, and I’ll definitely be moaning at a Pat’s fumble. I always think of it as channelling my dad.
Categories: Musings
Tags: boring baseball, cloudy, damp, football fan, hockey, Pat's game, rain, sleeping sickness
Comments: 18 Comments
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