The sun is shining, but it is cold. The tree leaning on my door is now upright. The holly bush too is almost standing tall. The back stairs are icy, but the dogs seem to maneuver well without slipping. They enjoy chasing each other in the yard. Nala is out a long time. Last night it seemed too long so I put on my boots and my fleece to go check on her. I swear she was watching me because as soon as I was dressed she came inside. I cleaned off my car windows. My factotum Skip never came to plow. I don’t shovel so my car is snowbound. Today I will try to push through the pile left from the plows. The only other option is hibernation until spring which actually doesn’t sound all that bad.
My friends Bill and Peg celebrated their wedding anniversary by having a dinner of Ghanaian food from a restaurant in Concord. I oozed jealousy as they had two of my favorite dishes, jollof rice and kelewele.
When I was a kid, my father sometimes attached our sleds to the back of the car and took us for a ride. We were thrilled. We lived in the best place for sledding, almost at the top of a big hill. When we went inside the house, we used to leave our sleds outside standing upright in pile of snow by the steps. They were in a sled line. After a day outside, we’d do back into the house through the cellar door as we were always soaked from being in the snow. We’d slide down the steps as they never got shoveled. Once inside we’d hang up all our wet clothes and leave the boots to dry. There was always snow inside my boots. My wet socks would leave footprints on the cellar floor.
Cocoa was my go to drink for winter. My mother used to add milk, stir in the cocoa then add hot water. I remember the cocoa always had little bubbles around the inside rim of the cup. I don’t drink much of it now, but I always have cocoa in my cupboard.
Well, it is almost time to face the world but first the car.
