Archive for the ‘Musings’ category
February 20, 2015
Today is sunny but freezing. Enough said!
Yesterday was a medal worthy day, a gold achievement medal on a tricolored ribbon. I did all four errands including the dump which was as deserted as I’ve ever seen it. Two workers were there and two cars counting mine. Both guys emptied my trunk for me, one at the paper recycle bin and the other at trash. At our next stop, Gracie, in her lovely Pendleton coat, came with me into Agway. Few people were there. Next we hit the grocery store for cream and coffee, my life’s blood, then I drove to Dennisport and Buckies for my favorite sandwich and a whoopie pie. Alas and alack there were no whoopies, but I did buy a day old cupcake with a mountain of frosting. Luckily my disappointment was salved by that chocolate cupcake.
The mayor of Boston has tried to put the kibosh on the newest trend: diving from windows into the snow. The divers are even wearing bathing suits.
Okay, I don’t often get political here, but I think in this instance I’m safe. Jeb Bush’s speech moved from politics to stand-up. He blasted the President for his, “approach to Iraq…excuse me, Iran.” He went on to say ISIS has a military strength of 200,000 fighters when CIA estimates say they’ve got between 20,000 and 31,500. Reporters were later told by e-mail Mr. Bush misspoke. He should have practiced saying Boko Haram as his version came out as “bow-coo haram.”
In high school I used to be required to carry a green school bag, the one with water-repellent rubber inside. It was the same color as military bags are now. Guys would carry their bags behind their backs by the straps while girls seemed to carry theirs in front as if they were carrying books. I don’t think they sell those bags any more which is a good thing. I felt silly carrying mine and it was so heavy my body developed a permanent tilt.
I carry a messenger bag in the summer and a leather backpack in the winter. I have never been one to carry a purse or handbag. Neither one fits my personality. I do remember the old ladies of my youth all wearing pretty much the same sort of wardrobe: clunky heeled tie shoes, support hose, flowered dresses, hats and huge handbags hanging off their arms.
I do have a flowered dress-it is my summer dress. As for the rest, not yet, not ever I hope.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Agway, Buckies, cupcake, flowered dresses, freezing cold, green school bag, handbags, Jeb Bush, no snow diving, old ladies, the dump
Comments: 6 Comments
February 19, 2015
The sun has appeared. The ice and snow are actually melting. How lucky for us it will get cold again tonight and all that water will freeze. We are on a treadmill. Last night there were flurries. Tomorrow night will be the coldest night yet. If I go to a dictionary to look up winter, I’m going to see a picture of the pile of snow at the corner of my street, the icicles on my house and my car stuck trying to get up the hill. Winter has been redefined this year.
Gracie and I are going out later. I need cream for my coffee and cat food. I also need food for my soul. I’m thinking of my favorite sandwich and a whoopie pie. We are going to the dump first as we never made it last week with all the snow. Gracie will be glad. Me, not so much.
I seem to be talking to myself a whole lot more since my involuntary hibernation, but I am not yet hearing responses. I figure if I do, I’m probably too far along the crazy spectrum to find it peculiar. I might even enjoy it.
My inside winter uniform never changes style. I wear socks, slippers (alternating between my two pairs), a t-shirt with a sweatshirt over it and kick around the house pants, mostly flannel. I am not dressed for company, but I don’t worry as I don’t expect any. I am wearing my Red Sox sweatshirt, the most hopeful sweatshirt I own. It speaks of spring and summer, a reminder that someday Fenway will be clear of snow, hawkers will be selling Fenway franks, and we’ll be hearing the crack of the bat hitting the ball and maybe, just maybe, watching the ball sail over the Green Monster.
“Hope is the thing with feathers-That perches in the soul..” I always think Emily Dickinson is right and her description perfect.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Baseball, Chocolate, dump, errands, Fenway Park, flurries, food for my soul, freezing nights, going crazy, involuntary hibernation, melting icicles, Red Sox sweatshirt, Whoopie pie, winter uniform
Comments: 12 Comments
February 17, 2015
Enough, enough I screamed when I woke up. I could see the snow falling. I am at the I can’t take it anymore stage. The weather man said 1-3 inches then he added not a big deal. Sadly he’s right. This is a mere dusting compared to the feet of snow we have on the ground. At 24˚ the day feels warm, not shorts and flip flops warm, but far warmer than it has been. I have to go out today. I’ll bring my trusty broom and sweep my way clear to the car.
My spirit is joyless today. Resigned and jaded describe me best right now. Yesterday there was sun and blue sky. That sun was exactly what I needed. I had to shade my eyes. How wonderful that was. The bright spot this morning is I did get my papers. She threw them right by my car where it was plowed. The front page, as expected, was filled with snow horror stories. The T will take a month to get back to full service. A number of roofs have fallen in under the weight of the snow. The piles on the sides of the roads are over 6 feet, some even as tall as 7. More snow is coming Saturday. I suppose I should be thrilled with the reprieve of a few snowless days until then, but I just can’t conjure good feelings when it’s still snowing.
My sister in Colorado has stopped sunning herself. The 70˚ weather has been replaced by 10 inches of snow. She won’t get any sympathy from me.
Grumpy is about the best I can do today.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 1-3 more inches of snow, 24˚, falling roofs, more snow, newspaper, snow piles, sun and blue skies, sweping snow, warmer day
Comments: 10 Comments
February 16, 2015
Just looking out my front door to watch the progress of the plowing and shoveling gave me snow blindness when I turned back into the house. It is as bright a day as we’ve had in weeks. It is also freezing. The wind is so strong it is blowing the snow with the same ferocity and lack of visibility as in a sand storm, just not with the grit. Though my plow guys keep turning their backs to the snow cloud, their beards were frosted and icy with snow. My walkway is shoveled, the car is free and Gracie’s steps and stairs have also been shoveled. I threw de-icer on all the front and back steps, and it is already working. This morning’s paper is now in my hands. I just brewed a fresh pot of coffee. It is already a good day.
This is school vacation week around here. I never understood why we needed one in February having just had a long Christmas vacation, but I didn’t argue. When I was a kid, we never went anywhere or did anything special as my Dad was working. When I was older, my friends and I would get together. I remember a toboggan party at the Winchester Country Club. My friends Bobby and Jimmy and I fit perfectly on Bobby’s toboggan. We were daredevils who went down the steepest hills. I remember one hill with a slope in the middle. The toboggan flew over the slope and the three of us were airborne. When the toboggan landed, Jimmy ended up half hanging off the back of the sled. He stayed that way until we finally stopped. He wasn’t hurt just snow-covered. We looked at each other without saying a word and as if on cue, we started trudging up that hill to do it again. This time we all stayed on.
When I was teaching, I used to go traveling for the week, mostly to Europe. The weather wasn’t all that bad, it was off-season and cheaper and there were fewer tourists. I’d pick one place for the week. One year it was Rome. Another year it was Vienna. I can’t remember how many times it was London.
Today I have laundry to do. I’m tired of looking at it in the hall. Looks like a big day ahead of me.
Categories: Musings
Tags: cloud of snow, daredevils, de-icer, Europe, freezing day, plowing and shoveling, Rome, sand storm, school vacation, snow blindness, tobaggon, traveling, Vienna
Comments: 14 Comments
February 15, 2015
The Cape has the only blizzard. Everywhere else has a major snowstorm. The wind is the difference. It has been as high as 65 MPH here but is now slowing down. The snow has stopped in Boston. We will be the last holdout. Bitter cold is coming tonight. In Boston the wind chill will be -30˚. During the rest of the week the temperature will hover around 0˚. At the storm’s strongest, 4 inches of snow an hour fell last night. This winter has jumped from the 9th snowiest on record to the third, and winter is far from over. They are predicting another snow storm for Tuesday but a small one, only a few inches. The last two weeks have been described as an historic event.
I find myself talking aloud. I suspect it has to do with being stuck in the house with only the dog and cats for company. Gracie is the best listener. She looks right at me when I’m talking to her. She could be thinking I’m crazy, but I prefer to believe she is intently listening to what I have to say.
My Sunday papers are somewhere near the driveway. I am having withdrawal. When I opened the front door, I figured if I could see the papers I’d go get them. I didn’t even see the driveway.
Gracie went right out this morning with no hesitation. She really must have needed to go. She squatted then started to head for the backyard to finish her business but thought better of it and ran right back up the stairs to come inside the warm house. She is sleeping now, exhausted from her few minutes in the snow.
What to do today? Nothing piques my interest. The laundry is still in the hall, but I’m not so stir crazy that doing laundry has any appeal. Maybe I’ll watch a movie or read a book or maybe I’ll just stare out the window with glazed eyes and slacked jaw.
Categories: Musings
Tags: -30 windchill, 65MPH wind, blizzard, boredom, freezing cold, glazed eyes, slacked jaw, Sunday papers, talking out loud, talking to dog and ctas, Wind, Wind chill
Comments: 21 Comments
February 14, 2015
When I first woke up, it was 7 o’clock, and I could see sun and blue sky outside my window. I smiled, turned over and went back to sleep. The second time I awakened it was 8:30. The sun was gone as was the blue. Today is now like all the other days: grey and cold and uninviting. The snow will start tonight and come in waves. The biggest wave is due tomorrow.
Now where would I be if I could be somewhere else? Much as I love Ghana, the 100˚+ degrees is just our weather turned inside out. Back to Morocco is a possibility. It is winter there but a sweater is enough. I remember the colors in the spice market, the aromas of meat cooking and glasses of mint tea. Colorful rugs hung from balconies. Cranes nested. Okay, Morocco is definitely on the list, but then again perhaps it should be where I haven’t been. I love exploring new places and being by myself never matters. All of the sights and sounds become fodder for my journal, my hand written journal. The markets are for losing myself, for following unfamiliar paths. They are the places for discovery. That restaurant in Marrakech in a garden at the back of the furniture store is one of favorite finds, but I had help. A small boy led me there.
Asia comes to mind. I want off the beaten path, maybe Laos, Nepal or Myanmar if it gets its act together.
My family worries when I travel alone, but they don’t share that with me. They know I’d pooh-pooh the notion. My brother-in-law was the designated rescuer when I was in Morocco. He would fly there and accompany me and my injuries home. They were thinking broken leg. I didn’t even get a scratch.
I don’t ever mind getting lost as there are discoveries to unearth and I know I’ll always find my way.
Categories: Musings
Tags: blue sky, Discovery, following the unfamiliar, garden restaurant, getting lost, grey day, markets, Morocco, Snow, sun, traveling, uninviting day
Comments: 8 Comments
February 13, 2015
Run, run for your lives! The world is coming to an end. A bright orb framed by azure has appeared in the sky. Its light is so dazzling I have to cover my eyes. I think it must be aflame.
A slight exaggeration perhaps but the sun has actually appeared, the first time in a couple of weeks or maybe years. I forget. I lost track. Today, though, is freezing cold. The sun is but a ruse. The prediction is 12˚ for the daytime high and 6˚ for tonight. When I went outside to get the papers, the cold took my breath away.
Last night we had a dusting, just enough to cover the car windows, the steps and the walkway. Before I went to bed I threw de-icer on the dog’s steps so they were clear for her this morning. Did I think of front steps? Of course not. I will walk gingerly.
A huge storm is coming tomorrow night. I just shrugged my shoulders at the news and went about my business. We have all become so inured to snow I lost my interest about 6 inches ago. The weatherman says 12+, but he has no idea what the + means in inches of snow. I figure it doesn’t matter.
My usual optimism is a bit buried. I have become indifferent. I am easily bored and drift from one thing to another. I read a bit, watch some TV, play backgammon on-line, clean a little and finally take a nap, exhausted by ennui.
I have to go out later. Gracie needs a few more cans of dog food to last through the storm. I need bread, not the pre-storm rush to buy bread, just bread. Chinese food has been on my mind so I’m thinking I’ll get dinner. I’m also thinking the bakery and a whoopie pie. Nothing blasts away indifference like chocolate.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 12+ inches of snow, 12˚, azure sky, big storm, bored, buying bread, chinese food, dog food, dusting of snow, ennui, freezing cold, sun, Whoopie pie
Comments: 16 Comments
February 12, 2015
Earlier this morning I rolled over and looked out the window. I swear I saw the sun. Later, when I woke up, it was a gray day. It was yesterday and the day before and the day before that. I could keep going but you get the idea. That sun must have been a dream, a wanting and most of all a hoping.
More snow is in the forecast, light snow starting later today. I am passed screaming. I can only sigh. The temperature is going to plummet. It will be 12˚ tonight and 9˚tomorrow night. The 20’s during the day will seem downright tropical. Where did I put that Hawaiian shirt? I’m thinking mai tai, many mai tais, all with umbrellas.
In Northern Ghana this is the harmattan, the season when a cold-dry dusty wind blows from the desert. It is also the hottest time of the year. In Bolga, where I lived, every day this time of year was over 100˚. The cold shower was a blessing, a relief from the heat. I didn’t have a fan, never even thought of buying one. The heat was something to abide just as the snow is. The nights during the harmattan brought relief from the relentless heat of the days. The temperatures dropped as low as the 70’s. I was cold and even had a wool blanket on my bed. The early mornings were brisk, even chilly. They were a delight.
In the midst of the harmattan I thought of home and winter. I thought of snow but it was an idealized version conjured by my imagination. The snow was pristine, perfectly white. Snowmen with carrot noses, buttons and top hats sat on front lawns. Kids sledded down hills. Snowball fights were fun. Cars made a crunching sound from the snow as they drove down the street. We all looked healthy with red cheeks.
It is easy to get discontent with extremes so we have to remind ourselves that seasons change. The heat ends when the rains come. Spring always follows winter.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 12˚, Bolgatanga Ghana, drinks with umbrellas, grey day, harmattan, light snow, mai tai, over 100˚, plummeting temperatures, snowball fights, snowmen, sunless day
Comments: 8 Comments
February 10, 2015
Winter has been kinder to us than we expected. We didn’t the amount of snow the rest of the state did. Saturday it rained all night and yesterday it sleeted. Even now we are a tick above freezing. The roads, though, are still horrible. The ruts are difficult to navigate and going around corners is dangerous because of the sliding and the blocked views of on-coming cars. I can’t even remember the last time I saw sun. I think one glimpse of that light would be enough to bolster my spirit.
Last night was game night, and it was so much fun. We had great eats: cheeseburger sliders, chips and fruit and brownies for dessert. We played Phase 10, Sorry and Uno, a game we haven’t played in years. I had such a fistful of cards at one point I could have used an extra hand. There were so many cards I couldn’t even fan them. I didn’t win. I did win a game of Sorry.
My parents were game people so we grew up playing games. For that I am grateful. I was the only kid who actually knew what to do with dominoes besides setting them up to fall one after the other in a spectacular display. I was taught whist at an early age because my parents were grooming my brother and me to be their partners. It was always girls versus boys, and we usually won. My mother was a patient partner who never yelled even if I made a mistake. My father, on the hand, was a passionate player who did yell. I was glad he wasn’t my partner. I never liked Monopoly. It was boring and seemed to last forever. Parcheesi was fun until someone set up a blockade.
When I was older, we played card games all the time. My dad and I would play cribbage until he won, we’d all play skat and untold games of high-low jack, our favorite. Friday nights at my parents’ house were always get-together nights. My uncle would usually come and stay all night. We’d sit at the kitchen table playing cards. At some point in the evening the singing would start. I remember the phone ringing at my house on a few Fridays in the wee hours. I knew exactly who it was. When I picked up the phone, my uncle began to sing. He always called me Leeny when he was in his cups. I enjoyed those phone calls despite the hour.
I love that my friends are all game players.
Categories: Musings
Tags: card playing, dominoes, freezing, friday night card games, game people, hi-low jack, Phase 10, phone calls, playing games, rutty roads, Singing, skat, sleet, Sorry, sunless days, Uno, wee hours
Comments: 4 Comments
February 9, 2015
Last night it rained. I was hopeful we had escaped the snow, but this morning my hopes were dashed. When I woke up, I could see a layer of snow on the pine branches outside my bedroom window. It is still snowing, but we’ve been lucky. The forecast is for only 4 inches. That’s nothing but a mere inconvenience.
Snow quiets the world. I almost want to talk in whispers. Gracie’s gentle snoring is the only sound in my house. I haven’t heard a car on the street all morning. We are all getting good at hunkering down.
This posting is taking forever to write. I haven’t done anything or seen anyone in days. The phone has been my only connection to the world. I watch the news, but the snow is the only topic. If I have to look at another snow-covered empty road, I’ll spit. If I have to hear one more time there is nowhere to put the snow, I’ll scream. Enough is enough.
The no school announcements scroll at the bottom of the screen. They start the evening before and continue into the next morning, but even at 12 o’clock they still scroll. Why, I have no idea. I’d think by now everyone knows there is no school. The only scrolling should be for evening activities.
My friends have saved me. We are having game night tonight. First we’ll have burgers and pretend it’s summer. That’ll be a stretch.
Categories: Musings
Tags: boring, hunkering down, news and snow, no school announcements, quiet day, quiet house, snowy
Comments: 14 Comments
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