Keep the Coffee Comimg

When I woke up, it was snowing. I made coffee then ran out to the deck and filled 3 of the bird feeders. I’d been meaning to do that for the last few days, but I guess I was waiting for cold and snow, as if. I didn’t grab a jacket, but it was warmer than I expected. The dogs joined me. While I was filling the feeders, they were playing on the deck. Well, the snow has already stopped. We have a dusting. 

My father bought my mother a hi-fi with his bonus money one year. I remember the turntable was in a sort of a case with a top which you lifted to play the records. I remember how carefully you had to place the arm on the record in the exact right spot where the grooves started. I remember the stack of records my mother had. One was Judy Garland, another Frank Sinatra. I know all the lyrics to Shrimp Boats. Sometimes the records got scratches and would skip or get stuck in one groove.

 I used to play my 45’s. First I chose 45 RPM on the speed selector knob. Next, I had to place a plastic disc in the hole in the middle of the records so they would fit the spindle. My friend had a turntable just for 45’s which I envied. It had a record changer in the middle, and you could stack 45’s records on it which then played in turn. I remember sitting on the floor holding the record in the middle and on the edge so as not to leave fingerprints while I was going through the pile of records, A and B sides. 

I still have a record collection of both 33 1/3’s and 45’s. I also have a few plastic discs for the 45’s. I keep those records stored in boxes just for 45’s. Every now and then I go through the boxes and pick a few songs to play. My 33 1/3 records go back to the 60’s when I bought my first album. I still love playing those, especially the oldest albums. The other day I listened to Gail Garnett and her album with We’ll Sing in the Sunshine.

I wish the same part of my brain which stores lyrics to all the songs I’ve loved would work for other things like names or dates. They take a while to retrieve. When my friend Peg and I are talking and we’ve forgotten something, the two of us try to figure out what word we mean. Sometimes we remember. Other times we don’t even get close, but ask me to sing the lyrics to songs I love, and I remember every verse.

My dance card has one last entry for the week, a uke concert tomorrow. 

We had a bit of snow last night, under an inch. Right now it is melting as it is 38°. The blue sky and the cloudy sky are taking turns. The weatherman calls it partly cloudy. I lean more toward the sun.

The only remains of Christmas are the trees. The dining room tree, a scrub pine, is still here upstairs because it is awkward to carry down to the cellar where it stays up and decorated. The tree is in two parts so I have to put one hand on each part when I take it down the stairs to the cellar. I go slowly, quite slowly. Stairs and I have a contentious relationship. The living room tree is in its plastic tree bag in the middle of the room. It is heavy to carry. I’ll give it a go today and then leave it upright in the yard so the birds can have a bit of shelter. 

When I was a kid, I loved to watch the snow fall. I wasn’t partial to big, wet flakes as I knew they wouldn’t last long. They carried no hope for a snow day. It was the smaller flakes which carried expectations. I remember watching the snow from the front picture window. The flakes were lit by the streetlight on the sidewalk in the front of my house. Sometimes the wind was strong enough to slant the flakes sideways. I’d keep checking to see if the snow was accumulating. When the sidewalks and the street disappeared, I was hopeful. The next morning, if the snow had been heavy and constant, we’d listen for the no school code from the fire department alarm. 

Geography was a favorite subject. I dreamed of seeing all those places in real life, and I was lucky. I got to see many. My favorite, of course, is Africa. How could it not be? It was exotic and wonderful. It was my home for two years, and I loved every day. The camel ride in the Sahara is high on the list. I wasn’t delighted when the camel took off on me, and I nearly fell off, but now it is a great story, even a bit dramatic. Standing on the Equator in each hemisphere is on the list. I saw the Andes before I saw the Rocky Mountains. On Corcovado in Rio I stood below the statue of Christ. I remembered the picture in my geography book.

Europe too is memorable but describing my favorite places would take more than a few musings. I’ll save that for a slow day when my muses have taken an unauthorized hiatus. 

Uke is back this week with practice, a lesson and a concert on Friday. The book for February is love songs of the 60’s, one of my favorite books. I’ll wear a heart sweatshirt, my heart fascinator and red Chuck Taylor high tops. 

Finally, my dance card is no longer empty.