“Movies, they were the thing. Movies took you away. You could count on popcorn and happy endings.”
Posted February 12, 2023 by katryCategories: Musings
I woke up to another cloudy day, but rain is predicted so I don’t mind the clouds so much. We are still in the 40’s, and the high today will be 47°. I haven’t any errands so I’ll stay close to home today. I noticed some paper I missed in the other side of the yard so I’ll grab my prisoner stick and get cleaning.
When I was a kid, I mostly walked to Sunday mass. I sat in the back of the church, the best place for a hasty exit. I never wore a hat, but I did wear a lacy mantilla. One time I Bobby pinned Kleenex to my hair when I forgot my mantilla. As silly as it looked, other women too wore the same head covering, Kleenex with Bobby pins. They were always white Kleenex. I found mass boring. Back then it was still in Latin. I was not a fan of sermons. They made the mass longer so I went to mass downstairs where there was no sermon. The pews were always filled. People stood in the back. They didn’t want a sermon either. A couple of times I also stood and sort of hid in the back where there were racks on the back wall filled with pamphlets. I used to read them to pass the time. I was never devout.
Every kid I knew had a sled, ice skates and a bike. They were the necessities of life. My bike was my favorite. I remember the Christmas when I got it. That blue bike was the first thing I saw when I was going down stairs and peeked over the railing to see what was under the tree. My eyes saw only that bike.
My favorite Sunday dinner was always roast beef, mashed potatoes and peas. My mother made great gravy. It was never lumpy. I used to put the gravy in the well I made on the top of the potatoes. Sometimes I mixed the peas and the potatoes. It was ugly but tasty. Mostly we just grabbed cookies for dessert. They were the mobile foods.
My new TV is delayed so I am still watching my iPad and my computer. Last night I watched Revolt of the Zombies from 1936. It was wonderfully bad. I just wished I had popcorn oozing with butter or cheese popcorn or a candy bar, maybe a Milky Way or a Mounds. I’ll put them on the shopping list, all of them.
Paperback Writer: The Beatles
Posted February 11, 2023 by katryCategories: Video
I Could Write A Book: Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak
Posted February 11, 2023 by katryCategories: Video
“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
Posted February 11, 2023 by katryCategories: Musings
Tags: books, Ghana, just okay, little library, Peace Corps, serendipity
Today is another delight but colder than yesterday’s delight when it was so beautiful and close to 60°. I went for quite a ride in the afternoon all the way down to Chatham on 28 and back on Route 6A. I made two stops, at the post office and at the tiny South Chatham library. I was looking for the thrift shop but went to the library instead, a serendipitous stop. I chatted with the library lady for a while and was surprised by the book cards in the backs of the books. The lady showed me her file box of cards. I found books on sale so I picked out and bought 5 hard covers for $10.00. I was so very happy with my finds.
The last few months have been a trial for me. The finger fiasco was a huge part of it. It took me a while to decorate for Christmas then another while to put it away. I still have presents upstairs waiting to be sorted and wrapped. It is my new project. My pine tree is up in the dining room waiting for my friends and me to celebrate our Christmas, soon I hope. I didn’t have my uke for a few months. I didn’t go out much except for PT. I was okay but I’m not fond of okay. Fast forward to now. Good things have happened. I no longer have PT. I graduated, and I’m still enjoying my congratulatory cookies from my sister, but sadly, they are almost gone. My new TV is being delivered today. I am back to uke, twice a week. Yesterday I had a burst of energy. I brought in my Christmas cow. I added and rearranged books in my little library where I found a gift, a snowman dish. I re-taped the bird holes in the library wood. I picked up Nala’s backyard trash. I had hot dogs for dinner. Life is good.
When I lived in Ghana, I read all the time. The first books I read were from a Peace Corps book locker, gifted to me by a volunteer finishing her service. Before my time, Peace Corps used to give them to volunteers so I was lucky to get this one. The books in that locker were just amazing. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy were there. I became immersed in Middle Earth and resented the need to sleep. I wanted just to keep reading. I read all four books one after the other and only stopped reading to teach and sleep. I read while I ate. My town also had a library for which I will be forever grateful. I was never without a book to read.
