Today is cloudy, even a bit ominous. The sky is getting darker. The white clouds have been replaced by deep gray clouds. The dead leaves still hanging from branches twist and turn, fluttering when the wind blows. Some drop and add to the pile in the backyard. When Nala runs, I can hear the crackling of the leaves beneath her paws. Henry saunters.

When I was a kid, many Sunday afternoons we’d watch a movie. I remember sitting on the rug in front of the TV. Lassie Comes Home was one of those movies. I even think it was the first one. Why I remember I have no idea. Memory drawers can be tricky. Sometimes the simplest memories are saved. I can often close my eyes and see places from long ago but not where I put my glasses just this morning. I remember all the houses on the walk to school, the same walk I took for eight years. It is etched in my memories. Most of those houses are gone now, but I remember each of them. At one house I shoveled a woman’s walk. I was with my friend but she gave up and went home. I finished. The woman gave me money and a cookie. I walked across the tracks. A station house used to sit beside the tracks. It was where they raised and lowered the gate. Another house was where a friend lived. It looked a bit like a cottage and was red and white. There was a trellis. The big house on the corner always had kids’ toys in the yard. I remember a doll carriage. At the stop sign, we all waited. The street was busy on school mornings. From there it was a three minute walk to the school yard.

I like to roam. When I was kid, it was on my bicycle. Now I roam in my car. I just ride for the sake of the ride. The beach calls me on those days. I like to watch the noisy gulls circle and the waves hit the shore. I used to take my dogs to the beach. Shauna hated to get wet, but she would squat and pee at the water’s edge. Maggie, another of my boxers, preferred woods to water. She was the best dog off leash. If she got far ahead of me, she’d patiently wait until I caught up. She loved the path near what is now the dog park in Dennis. Nala needs a leash.

I’m revving up for Christmas. Yesterday I did a bit of shopping, small stocking stuffer toys for the grands. I ordered their Christmas books. All but one arrived today. I shopped at Oshkosh for thermals. My oldest grand, a grand nephew, is fifteen. I shop differently for him. His thermal came from Old Navy. No Christmas book, I bought him The Outsiders. Nothing says Merry Christmas more than The Outsiders!

The morning is chilly, 43˚, but it is a pretty morning. The sun is bright in a deep blue sky peppered with a few white clouds. The dogs stay out long enough for me to worry. Most of the leaves still on the trees are brown, and a bit of a breeze sends them fluttering to the ground. Soon enough the trees will be bare. Winter is impatiently waiting in the wings.

By 8:30 my morning had already been busy. Gwen got her insulin. The vet called with the results of Gwen’s last test. Her glucose is still high. We are upping her dosage. I asked if I am doing something wrong. The vet reassured me I wasn’t. I called the Cape Cod Times as I had received no paper. The on-line page said I had no account. I called and got a woman who spoke her patter so quickly I needed it repeated. She said I had two accounts. I responded by saying neither account got a paper. She assured me I’d get one shortly. That doesn’t happen, and when I told her that she said she was sorry. I wish there were no scripted responses. They sound ingenuous. I don’t expect my paper. My kitchen floor had paw prints but not muddy prints though they were the color of mud. I doubt you need your imagination to figure out the composition of those paw prints. I cleaned the floor.

I’m watching the Thanksgiving parade in Plymouth. It reminded me of my first Memorial Day Parade when I was seven. I marched in my brownie uniform with my troop. When I got home, I told my mother everyone was out of step but me.

In this parade, there are several alumni drum and bugle corps. They are military-like in their marching, and they play the music I remember from my drill team days. Three of my cousins march. I am aching with nostalgia.

Nala is at it again. She destroyed an old papier-mâché puppet I have had for years. I also caught her trying to make off with a Donald Duck puppet. She made it to the yard where she played keep-a-way. I followed and found one of her toys and a fairly large book with the covers torn. I convinced her to drop Donald for her own toy. I foolishly thought the puppets were safe. The bedroom is now off-limits until I figure how to make everything Nala safe.

Today I have a few errands. I’m happy to get out of the house.