Today is fall on Cape Cod. It is 61° and sunny bright with only a few white clouds. The breeze is ever so slight. Nala has her grassy spot in the sun while Henry is less inclined to stay outside. He is a couch dog. Nala brings the outside in and the inside out. I see kitchen trash n the yard and chewed pine cones in the hall.

At my uke lesson yesterday I whined about this being week 6, and my leg is still hurting especially when I have to lift it. They did say 3-5 weeks. I was asked how old I am, 78. Two of my uke buddies snorted, ”You’re old. It takes longer!”

My sloth is in charge. I look around and see all that needs to be done, cleaned or stored, then I just turn my back or close my eyes. The fur balls can fly and the spiders can weave.

The one thing I still want to do is skydive. I’ve ridden or flown in almost everything else on my list. My favorite experience was the balloon ride with the glider a close second. I am sorry I missed the Concorde. If I could go back in time, I’d ride the PanAm clipper and an early flight of the Hindenburg. I’d choose to miss the Titanic.

In my travels I have ridden all sorts of vehicles. In Ghana, I rode a tro-tro, a cheap ride, about a pesewa (think penny) a mile. It was a truck with an open back where you sat on a wooden bench. The hardest part was climbing up the side of the truck to get in and out of the back. I took tro-tros mostly in Accra though I did take a few from Bolga to Bawku, a 48 mile ride. If I had the money, I’d fly from Tamale to Accra. It was a prop, and we flew so low I could see everything. I loved the ferry from Yeji across the Volta Lake to the Northern Region. Back then it was the route all the busses took. I loved the trains in Ghana. I rode first class which was fairly inexpensive. When I saw the Harry Potter movies, I recognized the cabins with the sliding doors. That’s where I rode.

I have had other amazing rides, but I’ll save those for another day and keep you in suspense.

Today is cloudy, but it is warm, 71°. The usual morning routine has started. Henry is upstairs asleep while Nala is asleep on the couch. I am still in my cozies. I’ll get dressed a bit later because I have a dental appointment, my usual cleaning. I’m not thrilled. I do hate to have my afternoons scheduled.

When I think back to when I was a kid, I ate foods I’d never touch now. Sardines top the list. I remember having trouble opening the top using the key attached to the bottom of the can. First, I threaded the end of the metal top into the key and then turned it. Inevitably, the top twisted in the wrong direction off the key. I’d have to use a fork to pull out the sardines. I remember they were crammed into the can. I ate them on Saltines. My mother often made oatmeal on cold winter mornings. It was always a bit lumpy but milk and lots of sugar made it palatable. I used to eat those colored candy buttons stuck on paper. They never came off easily, and I ate the paper attached to the bottoms. I ate wax bottles and wax lips. I even ate candy corn which I believe has a shelf life counted in decades.

I don’t know when my aversion for most beans started. I think it was probably because of baked beans. I find them disgusting looking. Kidney beans, black beans and Lima beans will never pass these lips. I used to eat French green beans. They didn’t look like beans so I was tricked. When I was a kid, most vegetables came in cans. My mother served us canned yellow beans and greens beans. They were always a bit soft. My father ate canned asparagus. The spears were so soft they sort of tilted in the middle. I don’t remember the last time I ate any of those beans.

My sisters make fun of me because I will eat hot dogs night after night. I usually fry them and toast the rolls. If I am especially ambitious, I’ll chop onions and add them to the dogs. I like to cook other dinners which give me leftovers for another meal or two. I always have little potatoes on hand. As for tonight, it will be soup and crackers.