Hurricane Lee came and went. We had heavy winds and rain. My electricity flickered then went out, but before I could curse my fate, it came back on, all except the cable. That happened again when I was upstairs ready for bed. Alexa was quiet, no internet. I turned off the light and went to sleep. This morning Alexa was her cheerful self. The weather is damp and cold. The temperature will get down to the high 50’s, but tomorrow summer will reappear. The predicted high is 77°.

Today will be a cozy day. I won’t get dressed. I’ll loll and watch bad science fiction movies. I’ll also read a bit and snack a little.

When I was a kid, getting cozy meant lying in my bed with a good book. I had a light which hung over the bed board. It was pink plastic. When I used to sneak and read at night, I’d be under the covers with my light, but I had to keep surfacing because it got so hot under the blankets. A few times the plastic melted. My mother could never understand why, and I never explained. That bed lamp was such a good thing even now I have one hanging from the bed board, but I don’t have to sneak under the covers.

One of my favorite snacks was peanut butter on Saltines. Sometimes I made a Saltine sandwich with peanut butter and marshmallow. Other times it was peanut butter and jam or jelly. My mother used to buy Welch’s grape jelly in the glasses. I remember my Howdy Doody glass. I was heart-struck when it fell and broke. Still now I always have the makings of a peanut butter and jelly cracker sandwich though I sometimes branch out to Ritz.

It is time for another cup of coffee, maybe even some toast. I’ll slathered it with fig jam. I don’t have any Welch’s.

This morning is chilly, 66°. It is cloudy, but the sun is trying to break through, unsuccessfully so far. We have a wind, maybe a portent of the hurricane to come. Lee will hit us tonight and bring winds up to 60 mph. It will also bring heavy rain. I have a uke concert today, and I need a few of life’s essentials, think coffee and eggs, at the grocery store. After that I’ll hunker down.

The other day I stopped my car to let a turkey family cross the road. The mother and father were herding their four babies. When one baby lagged, one of its parents moved it along to the field and woods on the other side of the road. I hadn’t seen babies before. They were about as cute as turkeys get.

When I was a kid, and we were on a ride, I remember seeing a couple of deer in a field. We all shouted in excitement so my dad stopped to let us watch. Seeing a deer was rare. Around my house, we did see spawns of Satan, grey spawns, and maybe a raccoon or a skunk. The skunk waddled. The raccoon scudded as if it were sneaking something and needed a quick exit.

No one is allowed to pass my house. Henry barks, loud, incessant barks. It doesn’t matter if the door is closed. He hears or senses the interlopers. Nala does not bark at the door though she does bark at me when I don’t do her bidding. Henry has a deep, scary bark but Nala’s is not so much scary as shrilly.

I watched The Screaming Skull last night. At the beginning of the movie there is a warning about the horrific ending. A casket is the only thing on the screen during the warning. The disembodied voice said the producers of the movie were offering free burial to anyone who died of fright. The last scene before the movie started was of the inside of the casket with a note which said, “This is for you.”