Keep the Coffee Comimg

The morning is sunny and breezy. It will be hot, close to 80°. The humidity too will be high, not unusual for August. My dance card is full for today, a concert in the afternoon and a play tonight.

Dinner last night was wonderful. We talked and laughed and caught up with one another. We stayed on the deck until late despite the rain. The umbrella kept us dry. We could hear the rain above us hitting the umbrella and all around us hitting the leaves. A few birds flew in for their evening meals. The dogs finally settled and slept on the deck. The deck was the perfect place to be.

When I was a kid, fathers were the grill masters. On Saturday nights, my father pulled out the grill, filled it with briquettes and poured lighter fluid over all over the briquettes. He’d throw a match into the grill, and the fire always whooshed into the air. I remember once his shoes and the bottom of his pant leg caught on fire. He put the fire out with a tarp. Once the fire was ready, my father would sit outside with his cigarettes and a drink to mind the meat. He took barbecuing seriously.

The field below our house was special. It had a path to the swamp and off that path was another to the water tower at the top of a small hill. Beside the field on one side were trees in a small wood. On the other side was a road, the one which ran below my house. I can close my eyes and see and hear that field. In the spring the grass was green. As the summer got warmer, the grass grew tall and turned brown. The field was never quiet. It was filled with buzzing and a sort of clicking sound of the grasshoppers who lived in the field. If I ran through the field, the grasshoppers jumped over and over above the grass to stay out of my way. They were brown, katydids. I loved watching them leap into the air. I’d catch one in mid-air and hold it cupped in my hands then I’d let it go. I loved the joy of the hunt.

Today will be a short musing. I have a huge list of chores. Friends are coming to dinner. It has been a while since I have entertained. It will be a game night.

The deck needs sweeping as it is filled with acorns. Nala does her best to clear the deck by bringing the acorns inside the house. The air was blue with cursing when I stepped on one with my bare feet.

Last night got cold. I even had to shut the windows. It was down to the mid 60’s. The change was delightful. Right now it is cloudy and a bit damp though no rain is predicted. It is 70° but feels chillier. The sun is working its way through the clouds. I’m rooting for the sunshine.

When I was a kid, the summer seemed to last forever. Every day was filled. I loved all the sun, but I also loved summer rains. I remember kicking the water in the sort of river running along the road beside the sidewalk. The water arced left and right as I kicked. My sneakers got so soaked they bubbled at the toes. I loved both a downpour and a gentle summer rain.

I bought Oreos the other day. I can’t remember the last time I ate Oreos. They were our go to cookies when I was kid. Back then there was only one variety, your plain regular Oreos. Now there are just so many choices. I am a purist at heart, but I consider doubt stuffed to be the younger brother of the original, just bigger and stronger. My sisters used to sit on the back step, pull the Oreos apart, scrape off the cream with their teeth, the best method to eat the cream, and give Duke, our boxer, the cookies. My Oreos did not disappoint.

Well, I need to start on that extensive to-so list. I wished for elves, but they didn’t surprise me the way they surprised the shoemaker.