Today is chillier than it has been, and last night was downright cold. I woke up during the night really cold. Half of me was uncovered. Nala had more covers than I did. I got up, rearranged the dog and took back my covers. Today I’m putting a blanket on my bed.

I have no coffee. I had no cups of coffee this morning, a bad start to the day. I get coffee by mail, and it will be here in a couple of days so I didn’t want to buy more so, instead of living in misery, I decided to have coffee delivered from Dunkin’, two cups. The delivery was free. I added CVS and Tylenol, also free delivery.

Even I am surprised I survived yesterday. I wanted to put the storm door in the back door as I have to leave it open for the dogs. It was a process. First, I had to take everything off the top two cellars steps: the step ladder, the hand vacuum, the pail with all the floor washing supplies inside, a cooler and a metal container. Next, I went down cellar to get the back door storm. I also collected a small plastic bin filled with small glasses, the Halloween garden flag and a replacement dog door flap. I decided to make one trip upstairs. I went corner to corner step by step to take up the heavy storm. I put the bin on the step behind it. Move the storm, move the bin, move me.

With everything up stairs, I next took out the door screen. That was easy, but the storm is so heavy I had trouble putting it in the door. I used my heavy step ladder to get at the top sort of flaps, but it took me four attempts to get the storm in the door. I cursed the first three tries. Next I took out the old dog door flap. I couldn’t remove two of the screws and had to hammer them. I really needed the hammering. I sat on an outside step and took off the door. When I was done, I had trouble getting up from the step, another round of cursing. I have the new flap on the door but it’s missing two screws. I’ll do that today.

That I didn’t fall or harm myself in any way is a miracle.

The morning is chilly. It is in the low 50’s, fall weather. The rest of the week will be warmer, in the 60’s, but the nights will be cold. Constantly chilly weather is closer every day. I am not one to brag about how long I go without turning on the heat. I choose not to be uncomfortable and layered in my own house.

When I was a kid, a black oil tank took up on one side of the cellar. Near it was a small window, just a bit above ground. I remember when the oil truck would come. The man would pull the hose to the window, lower it inside and start to fill the tank. What I most remember about that is the smell of the oil and the sound of the truck pump. I used to watch from the cellar.

Oh where have you gone Waldorf salad? The recipe for it was in the first cookbook I ever bought. I remember making Waldorf salad for Thanksgiving a few times. I thought it was delicious. I haven’t made it in years. My mother used to make us Rice a Roni, the San Francisco treat. She never added anything. I remember the two colors, the white rice and the brown vermicelli. It was usually the side for chicken. We had green bean casserole at Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas, but I’m not sure. I made it a few years back, but I used fresh green beans and a bechamel sauce.

I have never been a fan of Jello. I remember Jello salads, some sort of Jello flavor with floating vegetables. It was frightening looking, almost as if an alien had concocted the recipe. It was made in a mold as if it were an exquisite dish.

We never had salads at dinner. The only salad we ate was my mother’s potato salad. It was a summer dish served mostly at barbecues. One dish I dearly miss is creamed onions. It was a Thanksgiving staple. It is easy enough to make so I don’t know why I haven’t.

When I was a kid, I only ate a few vegetables, some of them, like carrots, reluctantly. My mother hid the carrots in the mashed potatoes. They were also mashed. I grew up thinking mashed potatos were orange and white.

Now, I only don’t eat a few vegetables. You know my aversion to beans. I also don’t eat beets. I’ll eat many others vegetables if they are served to me, but I’ll not make them for myself. Ghana introduced me to vegetables like okra and garden eggs, which are baby eggplants. I never ate beans there either.