The morning is lovely, chilly though, in the low 40’s. Last night was downright cold, in the 30’s. We seem to be limping into spring. The shoots in the front garden are taller but have no buds yet. 

I stood on the deck for a while watching the dogs. I could hear the birds and saw more at the feeders than I have in a while. Yesterday I bought some more seed, sunflower and thistle. The gold finches are here every day, five of them this morning. They are starting to get more color. 

The house behind me used to keep the outside light on every night, but I noticed a few days ago it had gone dark. Another house had lights on, inside lights, all night. That too is dark. The houses on each side of mine are empty. Across the street, beside each other, are two houses with people, but their shades are down so I don’t see their lights. Unless there is a bright moon, darkness envelopes my neighborhood, except for my yard. I still have Christmas lights shining outside every night. When I was last out and about, I was surprised that several houses are still lit with either white or colored lights. We are all trying to keep the darkness at bay.

When I was a kid, a street light was on the sidewalk below the small grassy hill in front of our house. It wasn’t just a light. It was a clock sending us inside when its light came on. In the winter, when it snowed, the light shined on the flakes and highlighted their shapes. I’d watch from the picture window in our living room. I’d watch a long time.

When I was young, my family often had parties. My mother’s Aunty Clara, my grandfather’s sister, was the oldest of everybody. My grandparents, my mother’s parents were there. My mother and some of her siblings were there, Uncle Jack, Uncle Joe, Aunt Bunny and Aunt Barbara. I was the oldest grandchild and was usually there with some of my cousins. Singing was always a part of every party. I remember everyone gathered around the kitchen table at my parents’ house drinks in hand and voices raised. St. Patrick’s Day was one of my favorite parties. They sang all the Irish songs. It was the best time. 

My dance card has one more event, another concert this afternoon. 

The morning has been hectic, my sort of hectic. I couldn’t find the paper. I wandered around and found it. Next, I couldn’t find my keys. I looked through the car windows, nope. I checked under the hat tree, nope so I got my extra key and grabbed a bag of laundry to put in the car. Aha!! There they were. The keys were on the ground by the car. The take away from this was I remembered where my extra key was.

Yesterday I went wild. I washed and waxed my kitchen floor. It was a chore I had been avoiding. It took a while, a long while, but it was worth it.

The morning is warm, 50°. It is another lovely day. I’m going to do those errands I didn’t do yesterday, and I’ve added a couple. It is a wonderful day to be out and about.

This morning I thought my right leg was paralytic. I tried but couldn’t raise it. I couldn’t even sit up but then I noticed. Nala was lying across my leg, all 65+ pounds of her, and Henry’s head was on my feet. It took a while to wake them up and disengage them. 

When I was a kid, on Ash Wednesdays, we all went two by two from the school to the church, a short walk, to get ashes. We were told by the nuns we had to give up something for Lent as a sacrifice. I wanted to give up something I wouldn’t miss, but that sort of defeated the whole purpose. Some actually gave up candy. That seemed far too broad. Chocolate was the big one. That was painful, and it was a long way until Easter and an Easter basket filled with chocolate bunnies. I admit I did cheat.

I lived in the project for close to 12 years. We always called it the project despite the connotations. All the houses were duplexes. Some had two bedrooms while others had three. We lived first in a two bedroom then moved to a three. The project was filled with kids. Most of them were younger than I, but I had a couple of friends my age. One even lived in the first duplex where we had lived. The stairs in that house had a landing breaking the stairs into two parts. I loved that landing. I used to read with a pillow behind my back and I’d color there. Our stairs just went straight down. 

I bought some yeast. I am not a bread baker, but I thought I’d give it a try. It is my challenge for this week.