Another rainy day after a rainy night. The good thing, though, is today’s rain will be intermittent. Last night it was steady. The bit of snow on the ground from the dusting, too little for a memory, is gone.

My day started late and poorly. I went to get the newspaper and noticed the front fence leaning so I decided to prop it with pieces from a metal pole. I knocked the fence down instead. I pulled it up with difficulty, propped it and went back inside to get my coffee. When I got to the den with my cup of coffee, I somehow spilled it all over the table. The fallen fence and the spilled coffee occurred within 5 minutes of the start of my morning. I can’t wait for the rest of my day to unfold.

When I was young, I had no fashion sense, the result, I think, of wearing a uniform to school. My clothes were chosen by season. I wore cool clothes in summer and warm clothes in winter. I wore whatever I found in my bureau drawers. I mostly wore my sneakers, my play shoes. They were white in the beginning. In the winter my ensemble was a flannel shirt and dungarees as we used to call them. In the summer it was a blouse and shorts.

I do miss places that are gone. Woolworth’s is probably at the top of that list. It was the perfect store. The big one in my town had a lunch counter. I’d usually order a hot dog and fries or a hamburger club and fries. The waitresses were old. I remember one lady who wore a colorful handkerchief with crocheted edges pinned to her uniform with her name tag. She always moved quickly. She called everyone hon.

I went to my uke lesson yesterday. It was so good to get back. We practiced strum patterns and songs which had those patterns. I then did a little shopping. I needed bread, milk, animal treats and Snickers, my human treat.

A little while ago I noticed neither dog was on the couch with me which is odd as it is their nap time and comfort is supreme for both dogs. I got up to go to the kitchen to get coffee. All of a sudden a herd came stomping down the stairs. Both dogs had been asleep on my bed.

Today is a sloth day.

Today is supposed to be warm, at least 40°. It is also supposed to be sunny. It isn’t. There is a moderate chance of rain. Very little snow is left. My walkway is clear. I let Mother Nature do the work.

When I was a kid, snow was a delight. I remember the piles on the sides of the roads left by the plows. I remember one pile in particular. It became a sort of igloo with rooms, a Fortress of Solitude. We had dug out the rooms and splashed water on the walls to turn them to ice. I remember eating lunch in the back room. I also remember snowball fights using the walls as protection. Those walls lasted into spring.

Even in winter I walked everywhere. I bundled to stay warm on freezing walks to school. I remember ski pants under my skirt, knee socks, long underwear which went to the knees, a sweater, a coat, mittens, a hat and boots. Undressing in the cloak room took a while. The hat and mittens went up the sleeves of my coat. The boots took the longest. They were the kind you wore over your shoes. I left the sweater on.

My mother would have been horrified to see me go out for recess. I only wore my coat. I put the hat and mittens in my pockets. I don’t remember being cold.

I can ice skate, not very well, but I do stay on my feet. On Saturdays when I was young, I’d skate at the town rink. I could glide, and I did learn to go backwards but not very far. I’d skate until my feet hurt. I’d walk home with my skates tied together and slung over my shoulder, and my feet feeling weird in shoes.

I still take delight in watching the snow fall. I turn on my back light so I can see the flakes. I keep track of how much snow has fallen by checking the height of it on the deck railing. I use ice melt safe for pets outside the back door and on the deck stairs so the dogs don’t fall. They don’t mind the snow so much.