Last night the wind was the proverbial freight train. The rain was blown sideways and was hitting my bedroom window, but the best had yet to come. I don’t know what time it was, but I woke up to a rumbling of thunder. Shortly after, the biggest clap of thunder I have ever heard broke over my house. The dogs and I sat up. Henry, who hasn’t ever minded thunder, shook. Nala looked up at the ceiling. Henry was going to jump off the bed, probably to go hide, but I stopped him and hugged him while I patted Nala. It took a little time, but we they settled dow and we all fell back to sleep.

Today will be in the high 50’s with drizzle. The wind is slight. The sky is a light grey.

Spring has come to Cape Cod. The gardens are filled with color. My forsythia has bloomed. My hyacinths are open. They are purple and mauve. My day lilies are all above ground. The other day, while I was out and about, I saw a yard filled with dafs. I stopped to look drawn by the field of yellow. It was eye popping.

When I was a kid, I pushed spring. I wanted out of winter and heavy winter clothes. I had a spring jacket I loved. It was blue and had a zipper. It also had no lining. I used to beg my mother to let me wear it. I wore her down, but she was right. In early spring it was still cold. On the walk to school it was really cold just wearing that jacket, but I would never admit it to my mother even if I had icicles hanging from my nose.

I bought some Peeps yesterday, yellow and pink Peeps. When I got home, I opened the packages and put them high up on my kitchen bookcase, higher than Nala can reach. I won’t eat them until they are rock hard, the only way I like them. I’ve told you before I know, but I’m going tell you again the history of hard Peeps. When I was in Ghana, my mother sent me packages for most holidays. Food and treats were the most welcome parts of those packages. She’d send kits like for Mac and Cheese and pasta with Alfredo. They were my Sunday dinners. She send candy which didn’t melt, including the Peeps. Packages took at least a couple of months as they came by sea so by the time they got to me, the Peeps were rock hard despite still being in their packages. Since then, I wait, impatiently, for the Peeps to get hard. Quite chewy is the best description.

Today baseball begins for my Red Sox. They are playing the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. I’m going to tape the game as it is a ukulele day.

Today is warm at 54˚. Despite the clouds, rain is not predicted until tomorrow. Everything is still. Everything is quiet. I have a couple of things to do today and a couple of stops to make. I’m taking Nala. She loves the car, Henry not so much.

I went out yesterday and was gone a little over three hours. Miss Nala got bored. I found the remnants of a pencil and a pen. She loved the pencil more and chewed it into four or five pieces. Later, I caught her trying to steal a pillow from the den. She was thwarted.

When I was a kid, I never ate Jello. To me, its consistency was gross, and I was never charmed by the jiggling. I preferred chocolate pudding. I still do.

My favorite potatoes are mashed, but I’ll eat almost any potato dish including sweet potatoes. Those usually get baked. I have a couple I’m thinking of baking for tonight. They are my only menu item for dinner so far.

My mother used to make the most delicious fish casserole. It had a white fish of sorts and some shrimp. The top was Ritz, buttered Ritz. I can’t remember the last time I made it. I’m thinking it’s pass time.

Lately I have been binge watching movies. Everyone has been in black and white and most are science fiction. Right now I’m watching It came from Hell, a 1957 movie. The antagonist is a tree monster. The setting is a tiny atoll. A native prince was accused of killing his father. He was innocent but was found guilty. He was executed when a knife was driven into his heart. He was buried upright in a hollow tree trunk. Years earlier, according to legend, an island chief returned from the dead in the form of a vengeful tree monster called Tabanga. The legend, come to find out, was a true story. The prince morphed into a tree monster who walked and killed those who had wronged him, including his wife. The tree had feet instead of roots. The feet wore shoes.

My house is quiet. The dogs are asleep on the couch. Nala is using Henry as a pillow. Jack too is quiet. I greeted him this morning. He meowed.