Archive for the ‘Musings’ category
July 16, 2012
The day is breezy and sunny. It’s also warm and will stay that way through tomorrow when the high is predicted to be 88˚. Last night we had rain. The drops started slowly around one. I know that because that’s when I went upstairs to bed and that’s when I found the dead mouse in my room. Earlier I had heard the ruckus and knew Maddie was the cause of the noise. It didn’t occur to me she was playing with a mouse. That’s the third one in a little over a week. There must be a small welcome mat outside the cellar walls. I wrapped the deceased in paper and took it outside. That’s when I felt the rain. I could also smell the air, the smell of the rain hitting the hot pavement. I stood for a moment enjoying the rain then came back inside and went back to bed in the cool house. I fell asleep right away.
When I was a kid, I never cooked anything. I wasn’t interested in the kitchen except to sit down to dinner. For lunch sometimes, I’d make a bologna sandwich, but I always cut the meat a bit lopsided, thin on one side and thick on the other. I’d add hot peppers to give the bologna a bit of a zing. It was always mustard on my bologna. Even in college, when I had an apartment, I didn’t do much cooking. I became quite adept at opening Dinty Moore’s beef stew. My roommate actually cooked meals for us with meat, potatoes and a vegetable. I was amazed.
I made sugar cookies for Christmas when I was in Ghana; they were traditional in my family, and I needed a connection to home my first Christmas away. I was hesitant as I had a total lack of baking skills, but I had nothing to lose so I gave those cookies a try. Despite my having to sift out the bugs and use a beer bottle as a rolling-pin, those cookies were perfect and they were delicious. They brought Christmas to me.
After that no recipe fazed me. When I got home, I was willing to try anything, even chicken Kiev. After all, I had made sugar cookies looking like bells and reindeer in a small oven in Ghana so I knew I could make anything.
Categories: Musings
Tags: baking, Chriostmas, Ghana, mouse, rain, recipes, sugar cookies, summer heat
Comments: 8 Comments
July 15, 2012
Here I am a sort of shut-in behind closed doors in the comfort of air conditioning. When I went to get the papers much earlier, I walked outside and gasped from the heat and, even worse, the humidity so I scurried back inside the house. Given the weather, I don’t see much going out today except to the dump later. The larder is full and the animals have food; that’s all we need.
The Hallmark Channel is playing Christmas movies this weekend. I even watched a couple. I find Hallmark movies comforting in a way. There is no violence and you know all of them will end happily. I especially like seeing the snow, the lights and the fireplaces glowing. In the heat of the summer, the idea of winter is appealing; of course, in the winter I long for the heat of summer.
Last night the deck was the best spot to be. The breeze blew, the insects were elsewhere and dinner was delicious. It got me to thinking about when I was a kid. Back then there were no decks, only patios always made of brick. We didn’t have one, but the white house on the corner did. Their patio furniture was ornate and made of black metal. The table and chairs sat under the grape arbor. They grew big purple grapes.
Most of the houses in my neighborhood have back decks. One exception is my neighbors across the street. They have a patio, a brick patio, and they have metal furniture, ornate white metal furniture. They are much older than the rest of us, and they are a bit of a throwback to my parents’ time. She works in the yard and wears a wide- brimmed hat. When they go out with friends, the men sit in the front and the women in the back. They live behind locked doors. The only time I see their front door open to the screen is when they are expecting company. If I go over, I ring the bell, she looks out the window to see who it is and then opens all the locks when I pass muster. I joke with them all the time. They are good-natured about it, but as she says,”They are who they are.”
Categories: Musings
Tags: air-conditioning, Christmas, deck, Garden furniture, Hallmark Channel, heat and humidity, patio
Comments: 18 Comments
July 14, 2012
A dead mouse was on the floor in the hall today. I think Maddie did the honors. I tossed it outside. Dead mice don’t bother me. It’s the half-alive ones I hate.
The day has humidity almost thick enough to see. The sky is cloudy. Nothing is moving. Even sounds seem muted. My house is dark. I needed a light on to read the papers, but once I finished, I turned it off. A dark house feels cooler or at least gives the illusion of being cooler. I suspect the AC will get a work-out a bit later.
Gracie woke me up at five by ringing her bells to go out. I went downstairs and opened the door then went back to bed. I didn’t go to sleep as I was waiting for Gracie to come back inside. I know she’d can’t get out of the yard, but I still worry. Finally, after what seemed like a long time, I went downstairs and onto the deck to call her. She didn’t come, and I couldn’t hear her. I called a couple of more times, and then I heard her collar way in the back of the yard. The shadows had hidden her. I called again and offered a treat. She came running. We both went back to sleep.
It’s deck movie night. We’ll have a couple of appetizers and then chicken and a salad for dinner. I haven’t figured out dessert yet, but I do know I’m buying malted milk balls. They all disappeared last week. We’re seeing Night of the Hunter this week.
We never had a Saturday matinée in the summer. That was winter entertainment. The summer was spent outside even when it rained. The idea of staying inside the house never occurred to us. Every summer day meant fun and adventure and playing games like hide and seek, statues or red rover. Our grassy backyard with the big hill was usually filled with kids. It was always noisy in the summer. Kids were laughing and shouting at one another, and mothers were calling out from the screened doors announcing lunch or dinner or time to come inside. Sometimes we’d get to eat lunch outside. It was always a sandwich. Dinner was at the kitchen table. Even if the meat was barbecued, we’d eat inside. Every summer day bedtime came all too soon, once the day had given way to night.
I think my favorite time of day back then was when the fireflies came out. They’d flit all over the backyards and the fields. I’d follow one with my eyes until I’d lose it among all the others. It was always amazing.
I still love fireflies, and I still watch one until it disappears. It is still amazing.
Categories: Musings
Tags: backyards, cloudy day, dark day, dog bells, fireflies, humidity, mouse, movie night, red light, statues, summer games, summer night
Comments: 10 Comments
July 12, 2012
Last night my feet were cold. It got down to the 60’s and was delightful for sleeping. This morning is also cool, but I wouldn’t have minded missing it. I went to bed around 2 and expected to sleep in, but it was so noisy I was awakened earlier than I wanted by lawnmowers and the voices next door. I’m still tired. I see a nap in my future.
Today I need a few groceries, which translated means I’m out of cat food, the only compelling reason to subject myself to Stop & Shop. I’m already dreading the harsh lights, the carts in the middle of the aisle and the lines.
This is a busy week: a play last night and one tomorrow night. I don’t like having to go out at night, and I have to psych myself to get in the car. I like being home relaxing in my grubbies watching a good movie on TV. The play last night was okay: The Last of the Red Hot Mamas. The actors did a good job with dated dialogue. Tomorrow night is Ain’t Misbehavin’. I’ve seen it before, and the music is great, but a repeat play takes a bit more psyching to get me out of the house.
I have all the time I want or need now, but for some strange reason I tend to resent that time being usurped by events. It is a strange feeling because when I worked I had no problems going out at night or on the weekends, but since my retirement, I love staying home. I guess my reluctance has to do with being so comfortable here. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not turning into a hermit. I love entertaining on the deck and having friends over for the evening. I get to try new recipes and, even better, I get to stay home. It all comes down to my hating to primp, to dress in clothes fit for the outside world, but tomorrow night I must.
Categories: Musings
Tags: cool night, dreaded grocery shopping, going out, primping, Stop & Shop
Comments: 13 Comments
July 10, 2012
It’s another beautiful day. The sun is bright, and it’s not yet too warm. The weatherman says low 80’s for today. I have a bunch of errands to do later including sending for my Ghanaian visa. I’ve already bought a few things to take with me: wipe on insect repellant as last year my feet got eaten, wash cloths which start out in a small pill shape and a personal fan, hand size which runs on batteries. I don’t think I need anything else as I still have a few things I bought and never used for last summer’s trip, a first aid kit being among them.
When I was in Peace Corps training, we had two choices for washing clothes: a bucket for hand-washing or finding someone to wash them. I, of course, chose the latter as did most of the other trainees. I remember Winneba, our first training site, and following a dirt path among trees to the house of the woman who washed our clothes in buckets for a small amount of money. I have no idea how she was found, but I was thrilled not to have to bucket wash my clothes. I don’t remember the rest of training or my laundry, but I also don’t remember washing my own clothes. I’m thinking we found someone everywhere we went.
When I got to Bolga to live, I didn’t wash clothes there either, except for what one might call my personals. Thomas, who worked for me, washed the rest of my laundry in metal buckets then he’d iron my dresses using a charcoal iron. I noticed the seamstress who made my dress last summer uses that the same type charcoal iron.
At the hotel where I stayed last summer, I asked about someone doing my laundry. They recommended a woman who washed my clothes for not much money. She barely spoke English, but she filled in the gaps by smiling a lot. Always on her back was her small daughter. My clothes came back in one day. When I left Ghana to come home, my clothes, except for the personals, were all clean. That has never happened on any trip before, but I expect it to happen again this summer.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Bolga, Bucket, Clothing, Ghana, Laundry, Peace Corps, wash, Winneba
Comments: 20 Comments
July 9, 2012
The morning is a delight. A breeze is blowing, and the air is cool. All my windows are opened for the first time in a few days, and I can feel cool air on my back from the window behind me. All the sounds of my world I can hear through the open windows: the birds, the baby next door and cars going down the street. It’s a wonderful day so far.
Last night was red carpet night, the first deck movie night. We started off with appetizers. The favorite was a new dip, a Mexican blanco queso dip, which was addicting. Dinner was sausages, four different kinds, smothered in peppers and onions and eaten in rolls. There were two side salads, pasta and fruit. Dinner was just right for a warm summer evening, and it was delicious. When we were finished, we got to the main event, the movie. It was Ferris Bueller’s Day Off which two of my friends had never seen. They loved it and roared in laughter all the way through. During intermission we ate dessert, an ice cream pie with two wonderful ice creams, Chatham chocolate with a hint of cinnamon and coconut. It was perfect to cap off the meal. Of course, no movie is complete without some candy for munching. Last night it was malted milk balls and nonpareils.
I love deck movie night. It’s like a drive-in without the car and the long walk to the bathrooms and the concession stand. We even get to have a break. Next week the deck theater is presenting one of my all time favorite movies, Night of the Hunter. Two of its scenes give me chills every time I watch them. Robert Mitchum, the star, is pure evil. If you haven’t ever seen it, put it on the list to watch.
Today is a perfect day to sit outside and read. Looks as if I’ve planned my day!
Categories: Musings
Tags: deck, ferris buellers day off, ice cream, Malted milk, Night of the Hunter, Nonpareils, outside movie, summer dinner
Comments: 11 Comments
July 8, 2012
We’re still in a heat wave of sorts. It’s not as hellish as the south or the mid-west, but it is far too hot for us this time of year. I’m still inside where it’s cool. Later, though, I’ll have to venture out as I still need a few things for tonight.
Saturday night was drive-in movie night. We, of course, always wore our pajamas. I remember when I was around 5 or 6 and I left the car by myself to go the bathroom telling my parents I’d be fine. I found the bathroom but couldn’t find our car afterwards. I went up and down the rows getting more and more panicky. Finally I went to the concession stand. They announced me over the car speakers, and my dad came and rescued me. I was still young enough to feel relieved instead of embarrassed. My dad was an impatient man. The idea of waiting in a long line to exit the drive-in was totally unappealing so he’d get a head start on the traffic. We left before the movie was over. My father guessed at the end time, but I have no idea how close his guesses were. I just know I watched a silent movie as we left the drive-in.
By this time most Sundays, my dad would have packed up the car for the beach. That meant the tartan cooler, the picnic basket, the blanket, towels and shirts for sun protection. We didn’t have any sunscreen back then except for my mother who’d make us cover up before we got too burned. My mother was fastidious about keeping the sand off the blanket. She’d let us sit down as long as our feet were stretched out across the sand. During the day she was known to move everything off the blanket a few times so she could shake the sand off it because that blanket was where my mother perched the whole day except maybe for a walk on the beach in the afternoon with my sisters who wanted to look for shells, and on really hot days when she’d sometimes tip her toes into the ocean, but that was always as far in as she dared. We were the water bugs.
My dad worked a long week and often didn’t make it home for dinner. On summer Saturday mornings, he did errands and household chores like mowing the lawn, but the rest of the weekend he spent with us. Even though I never saw the movies end, I loved going to the drive-in and nothing was better than Sunday at the beach.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Beach, Blanket, Drive-inTheater, movie, Picnic basket, sand, shells, Sunday, tartan jug
Comments: 18 Comments
July 7, 2012
Here I am still behind shut windows and closed doors in the coolness of my house. Last night my feet were cold, and I used the afghan. It was wonderful feeling chilly.
I have a few errands today which is fine as I never left the house yesterday except to water the back garden and the deck flowers. It would be far too easy to become a hermit.
Yesterday I watched The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra and laughed out loud too many times to count. The movie is a spoof of 1950’s B-movies. The skeleton, lying on the ground, talked and commanded humans as well as Kro-Bar and Laddis, the two aliens, to do its bidding. The strings on the skeleton’s moving arms were obvious. The Mutant with one eye wore shoes easily seen as he walked. His costume was too cheesy to describe. The actors were perfect saying the awful dialogue with perfectly straight faces, “Well again I didn’t mean to throw a damper. Believe me that’s the last thing I’d like to throw. I don’t want to throw anything at all really. But when folks are horribly mutilated, I feel it’s my job to tell others. We take our horrible mutilations seriously up in these parts,” was the warning from Ranger Brad. Dr. Paul Armstrong, the Earth hero, told Kro-Bar, “From now on, I’ll stick to science, and leave the hunting alien mutants to the experts!” I warn you, though, unless you love B-movies, you’ll hate this spoof. As soon as it was over, I went to Amazon and bought a copy.
Tomorrow will be our first movie on the deck night. We’ll play a game or two while we munch appetizers including a new one with melted cheese. I love trying out new dishes and having my friends over is the perfect time. They never mind being Guinea pigs. Then we’ll have the main course: different flavors of grilled sausages with peppers and onions on fresh rolls and a pasta salad on the side. I’m showing Ferris Bueller’s Day Off as neither of my friends have ever seen it. During the movie I’ll bring out the popcorn, the Nonpareils and the malted milk balls. Maybe I’ll buy some JuJus just to throw. It’ll be like the old days!
Categories: Musings
Tags: B movies, cheesy movies, ferris buellers day off, Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, movies on the deck, Pasta salad
Comments: 19 Comments
July 6, 2012
The air is already thick with humidity. Nothing is moving. The leaves just sit there on the branches. Even the birds are quiet. This room, at the back of the house, is still cool and dark, but it won’t be by mid-afternoon. Today the house with the AC will be my refuge.
We are spoiled. Our expectations have changed. The house is too hot? Put in central air. It’s a pain to move the hoses around the yard and garden. Time for an irrigation system. You want dinner ASAP. Put it in the microwave. Don’t want to wait for the charcoal for the barbecue. Buy a gas grill. Go from the air-conditioned house to the air-conditioned car to the air-conditioned store.
I remember summers when I was young. They were filled with wanderings and woods and the swamp. Being sweaty and even a bit dirty were signs of a good time, of a day well spent. I was always so exhausted I fell asleep in the sweltering heat of my bedroom. Even my father hunting and killing mosquitoes with his rolled-up magazine woke me for no more than a minute or two even though he sometimes stood on my bed to reach the ceiling. That ceiling and all the others in the house had blots which represented another kill. My father was possessed.
I lived in Bolga. It was the hottest part of the country with the least amount of rain. I didn’t even have a fan. I went to bed still wet from my shower and slept through the hot night. Later, just before the rains when the humidity came, I moved outside and slept on my mattress in the back of the house. I saw a sky filled with a million stars. I always had no trouble falling asleep.
My bedroom on the third floor with the heat from the afternoon sun was so hot I couldn’t fall asleep so for most of the summer I slept downstairs on the couch with the back door opened. Later I splurged and bought a fan. One year I finally broke down and got a window air-conditioner for my bedroom. I tolerated the hot-house downstairs but luxuriated in the coolness of the bedroom where I easily fell asleep. Then I decided it made no sense to be hot and uncomfortable or to have to sit upstairs all afternoon so I went with central air.
It seems the older I get the more spoiled I become. I have to admit, though, I’m loving it.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Air conditioner, air-conditioning, Barbecue grill, heat, Home and Garden, humidity, old days, Sleep, summer
Comments: 9 Comments
July 5, 2012
It is the loveliest of mornings, sunny and cool. When I let Gracie outside, I followed her and stood on the deck for the longest time surveying my world and enjoying the start of the day. My vegetables are growing, and I need to stake my tomatoes as they are growing over the wire tomato thingies ( I don’t know what they’re called. Thingies works just as well for almost anything).
When I was growing up, the only fresh vegetable I remember eating was corn in the summer. I didn’t like tomatoes, and my mother didn’t serve salads. She knew we’d all turn up our noses. I ate canned peas, the small ones, the Le Seure peas; they were my favorite. My mother tricked us by hiding the carrots. She mashed them with the potatoes, and for years I thought potatoes were orange and white. My mother also served canned green beans, and we had to eat a few. All his life my father ate canned asparagus, long after the rest of us had found the joys of fresh vegetables. I remember my mother serving them to him at Thanksgiving. If you held up a spear, the top would fall over; they were a bit mushy. He always had the entire can to himself.
My father loved native tomatoes. Around here, when the vegetable season is at its height, people put out tables in their front yards with a variety of vegetables on them. The prices are usually on a piece of paper taped to the table and the money goes in a can. I’d load up on tomatoes and bring them up to my parents’ house when I visited. My dad would cut the tomatoes, load mayonnaise on his plate and take them into the living where he’d snack and watch TV. He always said there was nothing better than native tomatoes.
My dad would love my garden though I suspect he’d say dibs on the tomatoes!
Categories: Musings
Tags: canned vegetables, carrots, Green bean, home, native tomatoes, Tomato, Vegetable
Comments: 9 Comments
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