Archive for the ‘Musings’ category
October 8, 2013
More fall-like weather followed last night’s rainstorm. Today is in the 60’s and the rest of the week will be the same. I went back to my sweatshirt this morning. The day is a bit dark though no rain is predicted. Every day is closer to the end of deck time. That makes me melancholic.
This morning I had a library board meeting, the last entry on this week’s dance card. I thoroughly enjoyed last week’s empty card except I did have that cleaning frenzy, now gone thank God, so this week looks like a lie on the couch and read week. Maybe I’ll add a few bon-bons.
The sun has just decided to make an appearance. It has that sharpness that comes on a cool day when the sun is just light, not warmth. I can see it glinting through the leaves. The bird feeders by the deck are in shadow now, a consequence of the changing angle of the sun. If I never went outside, I would still know the time of year by following the path of the sun.
When I was a little kid, I liked fall but I disliked the shorter days because we’d only have a little time to be playing outside after school before homework and dinner. In the summer we’d be outside until close to seven and even later. This time of year five was pushing it and four was more likely. We’d come in, plop down in the front of the TV and watch Superman and The Mickey Mouse Club while my mother cooked supper. We always had a vegetable, usually from a can, mashed potatoes and some sort of meat. My mother was a whiz with hamburger. Her meatloaf was spectacular with ketchup on the top and bacon over the ketchup. We used to fight to get the crispy bacon strips. She’d also make hamburger in gravy over mashed potatoes and American chop suey. One of our favorites was a pseudo-Chinese dish with bamboo shoots and hamburger. That one always seemed exotic. We’d also have chicken, but my mother always baked it. Roast beef was reserved for Sunday dinner. The only fresh vegetable I remember eating was carrots, and I didn’t like carrots until I was older. I wanted canned Le Seuer peas and could eat them every night. For my last family meal before leaving for Ghana, I chose roast beef, mashed potatoes with gravy and Le Seuer peas. I chose comfort food.
Categories: Musings
Tags: American chop suey, bamboo shoots, carrots, changing angle of the sun, closing the deck, coming inside early, dinner, empty dance card, fall weather, Le Seuer peas, Mickey Mouse Club, playing after school, short days of fall, sun, Superman
Comments: 18 Comments
October 7, 2013
The weather is quirky. One minute it is dark and gray then the next is sunny. The house is cold while outside is warm. Showers are predicted for later. On my way to breakfast, I noticed many leaves had fallen. Piles of yellow were on the road and sidewalks. I thought it strange. Many trees have yet to change color while others are almost bare. My oak is still green.
Nothing was more enticing than the piles of leaves in the gutters next to the sidewalk curbs on my way to school. I’d kick through the piles and spread leaves all over the side of the road. The dry leaves on the bottom made a crunching sound while the newest fallen leaves on the top always seemed a bit damp and filled with morning. Most of them were yellow leaves. The trees were spaced beside the sidewalk edge. In summer the sidewalk was shady; in winter it was bare and open to the wind. The sidewalk was a straightaway to school. From the top of the small hill I could see to the railroad tracks and once there I could see the front lawn of the school building, but I couldn’t see the statue. It was too far off the road. I never minded that walk except when it rained. That was when the straightway seemed to go on forever. If I had known how perfectly descriptive a word it was, I would have said I plodded my way home.
The Cape has few sidewalks. Only the oldest parts of some towns seem to have them. My town has a few which slope and have cracks. None of them have curbs. No one kicks leaves.
I remember my dad and all the other dads standing on the side of the road near the curb burning piles of leaves. By then the leaves were curled and brown. They burned easily. All of us kids stood near the fires and watched. Our clothes afterwards smelled of fire and burning leaves. It is still one of my favorite smells, one of my favorite memories.
Categories: Musings
Tags: bare trees, burning leaves, dried leaves, falling leaves, kicking leaves, plodding, rain, sidewalks, sun, walking in the rain, walks to school
Comments: 6 Comments
October 6, 2013
The sun is gone to regions unknown. It is a chilly, damp day. I always think Sundays should be bright and sunny. A beautiful warm day would make me optimistic about the rest of the week.
This morning I didn’t tarry for a look at the garden. I grabbed my papers and came right back inside the house. I know a few flowers are still blooming. The other day the bees were all over them. That morning I stopped and watched. I think it’s time for the front storm door.
The week seems to have an empty dance card, the same as last week. I liked it. One book was finished and another begun, and the odd places in the house were cleaned and polished: bookcases, knick-knacks, lamp shades and the tops of books. I lemon oiled the old wooden surfaces and cleaned tiles. I was possessed.
I still hold for quiet Sundays. When I was a kid, I complained there was nothing to do, and there wasn’t, but that has changed. Sunday is now the same as any other day except the newspaper is thicker. That seems wrong, not the paper of course, but the rest of it. We all need a day to enjoy life, even to do nothing which is enjoyable in itself. Lie on the couch and read or watch football, even take a nap. Most things can wait until tomorrow.
My boys won again yesterday. The Red Sox are now up 2 games to none. Big Papi hit two home runs. What made the win especially sweet was they beat Price. I love the post season.
Tonight is games, appies, The Amazing Race and dessert. Sounds like a perfect Sunday night to me.
Categories: Musings
Tags: cloudy, cold day, damp, empty dance card, frenzied cleaning, nap, quiet Sunday, Red Sox, restful day, Storm door
Comments: 15 Comments
October 5, 2013
The Cape Times gave me a chuckle this morning. The Sox beat the Rays 12 to 2, but the headlines on the Times sports page announced Breakthrough for Sandwich who beat Falmouth in football. The Sox were relegated to the bottom of that first page.
It rained yesterday and must have rained again in the early morning as the streets were still wet when I woke up. I’m not complaining as we haven’t had rain in a while. Today will also be chillier, in the 60’s. Again, I’m not complaining. This is, after all, October.
The houses around are all decorated for fall. Corn stalks stand next to front doors, pumpkins are on steps, a few stuffed Draculas sit waiting for victims and colorful gourds fill baskets. My neighbors across the street always put out a scarecrow and some pumpkins. My front step has a basket with gourds and I have hung out my fall flag, the one with apples. This is such a pretty time of the year.
Today syfy is presenting scary monsters like the boogeyman. My sister always thought he lived under her bed. Lots of kids did. If he wasn’t under the bed, everyone knew he was hiding in the closet. The boogeyman only came out at night. Things just aren’t scary in the light of day. If I hear a noise and the dog barks, I throw caution to the wind in the daytime and throw open the front door to see what might be going on, something which made Gracie bark. At night I proceed far more slowly. I turn the outside light on and look out the windows at the top of the door. Gracie is usually right behind waiting for that door to open. She’s as curious as I am. When I open the door, we never see anything.
I remember one night when Maggie, another Boxer of mine, jumped out of bed, stood at the top of the stairs and barked her scariest, deepest bark. I jumped out of bed and turned the hall light on and was ready to go downstairs. Just as I did that, Maggie turned around and jumped on the bed. She had scared the bejesus out of me but there she was unconcerned and back to sleep. I wondered if maybe a fox or a coyote had walked by the house. I never thought about the boogeyman.
Categories: Musings
Tags: barking dog, boogeyman, cooler, corn stalks, decorated houses, gourds, hiding under the bed, pumpkins, rain, Red Sox win, scary night, weather
Comments: 8 Comments
October 4, 2013
Today’s weather is a maybe day: maybe it will rain and maybe it won’t. The sun pops out then the clouds take over and the sun disappears for a while. Outside is warmer than inside. I was on the deck earlier scaring a chipmunk from the feeder. It took off like a shot and walked across the top of the fence to get out of the yard. It lives in my front lawn. I have watched it disappear down a hole and then reappear from a different hole. My landscaper wants to fill the holes in, but I told him no. The chipmunk is still cute though any future forays at the feeder will lessen the cuteness factor. Speaking of feeders, that red spawn hasn’t been back. I suspect it didn’t love being sprayed by the hose.
Last night was one of those twist and turn nights. I just couldn’t fall asleep so I turned the light back on and read until close to 3. Gracie was snoring at the foot of the bed and Fern was cozy in the comforter, purring as she slept. I was envious of both of them. I woke up around 9:30.
I am still randomly cleaning. This morning it was the kitchen which got my attention while I waited for the coffee to brew. I cleaned the tops of pictures, some knickknacks and the shelf on the side wall. It is the neatest shelf and was made by my favorite woodworker. The color is a sort of blue and it has hand-painted decorations. All strange sorts of stuff are on it including old cowboy and Indian figures like my brother used to play with, a Day of the Dead chef, a shell from the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, some really ugly Easter decorations and a small ceramic piece which sort of looks like a bulldog. The shelf has a string of pepper lights hanging from one of the hooks and is surrounded by shell lights. I light them more often in the winter to scare away the darkness. They look really neat.
Today I’m going to watch the Red Sox play-off game with my friends. The game starts at the crazy hour of three. I’m going to be super fan and wear my Red Sox shirt and hat. I’ll cheer and even groan, both of which come easily, as does an occasional swear. Go Red Sox!!
Categories: Musings
Tags: chipmunk, cleaning, cloudy day, cowboys and Indians, game clothes, insomnia, knick-knacks, late-night reading, maybe day, neat shelf, Red Sox, red spawn, snoring dog and purring cat
Comments: 10 Comments
October 3, 2013
The weather needs to be bottled so I can call it out at will on a frosty, cold day. Every morning I wake to temperatures in the 70’s and fall asleep to nights in the 50’s. KIng Arthur in Camelot would approve, “By order, summer lingers through September in Camelot.” That would make this the very first week of fall and the rest of it would stretch until November. A few years ago on Thanksgiving we had appetizers on the deck. I wouldn’t mind that again.
Gracie and I went for a lovely ride yesterday. We stopped at a farm stand, and I bought tomatoes, gourds and pickles, bread and butter pickles. We also took ocean ride. The sea was calm and the air-filled with birds. It was noisy from all those seagulls. I rolled the window down to listen. It is a sound like no other. I think seagulls and their screeching would have served Hitchcock well in The Birds.
Gracie has been outside most of the last few days. She roams the yard in the morning and sleeps on the deck in the sun in the afternoon. I think that a dog’s life, at least this dog’s, is darn good.
My cleaning frenzy has stopped though I did straighten a few pictures and a calendar; however, I also noticed the bottom shelf on my tavern table needs to be polished, but I’m afraid to touch it as it may set off another frenzy.
My student Grace is going to try again to get a visa, but I don’t know how affected the embassy in Accra is by the shutdown. I suspect all consular services have been halted, and she’ll be turned away at the gate. The Peace Corps volunteers are still in place across the world and are unaffected as of yet, but of the Washington staff, 627 were furloughed. To bring the volunteers home and end Peace Corps service abroad would cost approximately $29 million, with minimal savings in operating costs. The move would end decades of good will in countries which have depended on the help of Peace Corps volunteers who contribute up to $50,000 per volunteer in free labor. I know if I had been removed from my school, I would have been devastated.
Having an empty dance card has been wonderful.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Accra embassy, Camelot, cool nights, empty dance card, farm stand, great weather, long fall, ocean, Peace Corps + shutdown, ride, seagulls, warm days
Comments: 12 Comments
October 1, 2013
My mornings are leisurely. I brew the coffee, get the papers from the driveway, grab a cup of coffee when it’s finished brewing then sit down and read the papers. I generally read everything from the headlines to the sports pages. I do two crossword puzzles and one cryptogram. I check the local weather. I seldom know anyone on the Names page in the Globe. Today I knew two, actors who are in town for filming. With each paper, I drink a cup of coffee. Every now and then I drink a third. This morning, though, was a bit different. I had a strange burst of energy caused, I think, by the broken planter and the dirt all over the floor of my dining room which I noticed right away when I came downstairs. It must have fallen during the night, and I never heard it. Obviously Gracie didn’t either as she didn’t bark at the noise. I cleaned up the mess and found a new pot for the plant then ended up watering the rest of the plants, all before I my usual morning ritual. While the coffee was brewing, I swept the kitchen floor and lemon oiled the small wooden whatever it’s called on my kitchen counter. It has two drawers. That’s my only hint as to what it might be. Then and only then did I get my coffee and sit down with the papers. I feel as if I have put in a whole day’s work. Not only that but I also finally dusted the shelves in this room. I did that last night. For some unknown reason, I have become Sally homemaker. I am hoping there is a cure.
According to the Cape Times, it will be in the 70’s every day this whole week while the nights will drop to the 50’s. That sounds ideal to me.
Already I can see the sun has begun its fall journey and has shifted to shine at a different angle than it had all summer. In my garden, the autumn flowers have bloomed, and they are lovely. Purple ones are the newest. The anemones I bought and planted seemed to have settled into the garden and a couple are blooming. Every time I looked at that front garden, I am tempted to buy more flowers, especially with the warm days still coming. Today I’m going to the farm stand for tomatoes and whatever else catches my eye. If, by chance, I happen upon some more flowers, I might just buy them. Let’s face it: I probably will buy them. I am a sucker for flowers.
Categories: Musings
Tags: beautiful weather, broken planter, buting flowers, ceaing, coffee brewing, fall flowers, farm stand, front garden, mornings, oiling furniutre, rituals, Sally Homemaker, shifting sun
Comments: 8 Comments
September 30, 2013
This morning I knew for certain fall had arrived. On my way to breakfast at nine, the bank’s ATM had no line, the streets were nearly empty and the diner had plenty of open booths. My friend and I even sat and chatted, something we could never do in summer. Back then a line of people stood waiting outside so we never took time just to sit and drink coffee, but the people have gone home and the lines have disappeared.
The day is another glorious fall day with a warm sun; it’s not even cold enough to be sweatshirt weather. Even the nights have been warm: in the high 50’s so my bedroom window is still open, and I’ve left the screen on the front door. It’s a day to sit on the deck with a good book and a lazy attitude.
On my way to breakfast I went by the high school where I used to work. I only gave it a passing glance. Though I spent thirty-three years working there, the nine years of retirement have distanced me. I have a sense of nostalgia as I am also a graduate, but that’s it. I am not at all curious as to how it fares. I have moved elsewhere.
My friends have either already traveled or are packing their bags to leave. I am envious. This is the year of staying home for me, and I don’t like it all that much. Looking forward to a trip is one of the pleasures of life. The anticipation builds, and the days are counted down until the big day: the day to leave. I even have a sense of longing for the smell of the jet when I board. During the flight, I check the progress of the plane and count the hours until it touches-down. I love walking out of the airport and smelling air filled with a sense of the place where I’ve landed. Hearing other languages lets me know I am far from home, but I am delighted in the unfamiliar. I roam the streets without purpose and often happen upon a spot to explore or a restaurant with an aroma that draws me to a table. Sometimes it is a shop window which catches my attention. Sometimes it is simply the wandering down one street or another.
I so love to travel and miss it when I don’t.
Categories: Musings
Tags: anticipation, beautiful day, empty streets, fall has arrived, jet smell, lazy attitude, nostalgia, open booths, staying home, sunny, the unfamiliar, travel, traveling, warm, working spot
Comments: 30 Comments
September 29, 2013
Gracie has spent most of the morning in the yard. She nows the day is too lovely to waste inside the house. Every now and then she comes in to make sure I’m still here, gets petted, wags her tail and goes right back outside. I can hear her on the deck and know she’s sticking her between the railing pieces so she can see over the fence. The birds are both noisy and hungry this morning. They wait for their turns at the feeder. The thistle feeder twirls when a bird or two lands on it. It is the only one they don’t seem to mind sharing.
I didn’t go to bed until 2 this morning because I watched a movie called Gun Crazy made in 1950. It was so good I can’t understand why I haven’t heard of it before. It was based on a short story by McKinlay Kantor who with Millard Kaufman wrote the screenplay but not really. Millard Kaufman’s name was used to hide the actual screenwriter, Dalton Trumbo, who had been blacklisted. I have never heard of either of the two stars: John Dall and Peggy Cummins. Both were good, but she was amazing. Her eyes were often filled with a fury and anger which the camera caught and highlighted. You never had to question her motives. The film was too good not to watch until the end so it was a really late night; consequently, it was one of those get the mirror to see if she’s breathing sort of sleep. I didn’t wake up until late this morning. My mother would have said I must have needed it.
Today I get to watch the Sox play their last regular season game. The playoffs for them begin on Friday so no baseball until then though I’ll check in on the wild card games once the teams are finalized. I can’t believe that a season of 162 games will end today. I reconciled myself to the end of summer, but I can’t seem to grasp that baseball too will soon end.
The Amazing Race begins tonight as does our tradition. My friends and I get together early, eat appetizers and play a few games until the start of the race. Dessert comes during the race as do our discussions about the teams. Tradition also calls for each of us to pick a favorite team. Sometimes we even pick the right one.
Sort of an interesting day with the end of one thing and the start of another.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Amazing Race, beautiful day, bird songs, birds, Gun Crazy, last baseball game, Red Sox, sleeping in, traditions, yard play
Comments: 20 Comments
September 28, 2013
The morning is a delight, warm and sunny. Earlier, I stayed outside with Gracie. It was just too nice to go back into the house. I think today is the day for a ride, maybe a stop at a farm stand or the farmer’s market here in Dennis. It’s a small one, but I managed to spend money last time I was there.
This morning’s movie gem was Creature with the Atomic Brain made in 1955. Dead bodies were stolen from the morgue and then reanimated and controlled by a mad man out for revenge. The movie was unintentionally funny. It had one scene where a man and woman, presumably husband and wife, were sitting in chairs beside each while they were watching a TV newscast. He was smoking. She had a drink. He wore a suit. She wore a dress. Our hero’s wife was making a birthday cake for their daughter. She also wore a dress and had added pearls, the necessary ensemble for any wife in the 50’s. Uncle Dave, the police detective, arrived at our hero’s house but unbeknown to the wife and daughter he had been killed then reanimated. The daughter held his hand and told him it was quite cold. She gave him her doll, Henrietta, to hold and he tore it apart. Something was wrong with Uncle Dave! The hero killed the mad man and destroyed the equipment used to control the reanimated bodies which dropped where they were, including Uncle Dave. The little girl got a new doll for her birthday from, her parents told her, Uncle Dave. She decided to call the doll Dave, despite protestations from her father about the doll getting a boy’s name. The little girl said she’d tell everyone it was a tomboy. The mother and father laughed. End of movie.
After breakfast on Monday, I have an empty dance card until next Saturday. Every day is open. That hasn’t happened in a long while. Good thing I have plenty of books.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 1955 movie, beautiful day, Creature with the Atomic Brain, empty dance card, Henrietta the doll, plenty of books, reanimated dead bodies, sunny, warm
Comments: 12 Comments
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