Today is just one of those days. I woke up tired. My great day yesterday was followed by a not so great night. I do remember waking myself up a few times moaning. My bed is a mess, the best indicator of restlessness. I’m going to take it easy today. I’m getting good at that. I’m going to eat a Butterfinger. I am also good at that.

Today is partially cloudy and in the high 60’s. The house still holds a chill from last night. It must be great for sleeping as both dogs are napping. Henry is upstairs on my bed. He doesn’t mind the disarray.

When I was in Peace Corps training in Ghana, we had a large group meeting centered around diseases. The diseases were color coded on the map. Where I was headed had the most color, but I figured I was safe as Peace Corps is big on preventive medicine. We got so many shots one day they ran out of places to put them, but they must have worked. I never did get sick. I did get a burn on my leg from a goat. I was stopped and holding my motorcycle to let a herd of goats go by me when the herd turned and ran into my bike. I dropped it and got burned by the exhaust. I had a scar for a long time. I also had a story.

The only other medical issue I had was an infected mosquito bite. It happened when I was in Accra. The itching from the bite drove me crazy. I scratched too much and opened the bite. As I wore sandals, the open bite became home to who knows what. Once I realized it was infected, I headed to the Peace Corps doctor. He gave me two options. He could drain it or he could just treat it with an antibiotic. He told me that last option would take a while to heal while the draining would be quick to heal. I went with the draining. After the doctor had finished, he told me it would take a while to heal. That was not what he had told me. He agreed and said he’d lied.

I have uke practice tonight. I figure if I laze around all day I’ll be fine. The Butterfinger was delicious!

The morning is lovely. It is 72° and sunny. A few oak leaves ruffle in the bit of a breeze. The dogs are out enjoying the day.

I slept well last night. My leg feels a bit better today. This is the start of week 4 so I am hopeful. I didn’t go out yesterday, but I did have the few groceries I needed delivered. My larder is filled.

Today I am going to water my house plants. That is the only item on my dance card. I do have uke events during the week and I hope to last for all of them.

I have favorite sounds. The rain is probably my favorite. I love it falling on the roof and windows. If I were building my house, I’d put on a metal roof so I’d be surrounded by the sound. The sweet ring of the chimes in my backyard makes the wind welcomed. The chimes hang low from a tree branch. I can see them from the house. In Ghana, I loved the morning crows of my rooster greeting the day. I’d listen then fall back to sleep. When I made my first trip back, a rooster crowed outside my hotel room window to welcome me back. It was like a trip back in time. During Peace Corps training, I stayed with a Ghanaian family. My room was in the back of the house facing a dirt street. A small mosque with green painted walls was on that street. I could hear the calls to prayer. The first call by the muezzin was before dawn. It reached me in that hazy place between awake and asleep. I would listen every morning then fall back to sleep. When I went to Morocco, I could hear the familiar calls from the top floor of my riad. Those calls were made through speakers, amplified for all to hear the prayers.

When I was in college and home for the weekend, my father always invited me on his Sunday dump run. If a friend came home with me, my friend was the invitee. My father loved the dump and loved to share those trips. Back then the dump was filled with huge, tall piles of trash. Gulls flew in circles round the trash piles, and the air was filled with their squawking caws. I always think of seagulls as home, as one of the cape’s loudest bird choristers. I love the late night. I love the sounds of night, of the birds and insects who share the wee hours with me, but I also love the first stirrings of the day, the time just before dawn when the birds sing a welcome to the awakening of the morning.