We are well into spring. I’m being definitive. The weather is finally consistently warm. Today will reach 70˚. I have opened windows on both floors. It is time to blow away the dust. It is time to embrace the warmth of spring, to let the fresh air into the house. I’m thinking flower shopping this week. A few warm days does that to me, has me dreaming.

I have given up on deck lights. The newest set is dead. It lasted a couple of weeks. I haven’t done the autopsy yet, but I’m guessing the wire has been bitten in half somewhere along the strand. Those lights have been replaced so many times I’ve lost count. I do have one more set, but I’ll hold on a bit longer. The only complication is Henry won’t go out the dog door at night without lights. Brave boy!

When I lived in Ghana, I ate just about the same thing every day. In the morning it was eggs over easy and toast, sugar bread toast slathered in margarine. Usually I had a couple of cups of coffee then another cup or two between classes. Lunch was fresh fruit, the usual fruits like oranges, pineapples, bananas, pawpaw and mango. Dinner was beef more often than chicken. I bought the beef already cut. The chickens were still alive. The meat market where I bought my beef was gross, but I remember that mostly in hindsight. Most things went unnoticed. It was just life in Ghana.

Each time I’ve gone to Ghana, my joy at being back overwhelms me. I love the sounds of the different languages. The air is redolent and filled with the smell of thick greenery and of charcoal burning. Roasting plantain can be bought along the roadside. The oranges are sweet. I roam the markets, eat street food, bargain for taxi rides and enjoy jollof rice almost every dinner. Everything is familiar. I had preserved well my memories. Just before I left Ghana and Peace Corps, I knew I needed to remember everything. I wanted the colors, the tastes and the sounds to be a part of me always. I kept the Ghanaians close too my heart for all those years away. I want one more trip.

Today is even lovelier than yesterday. It will reach 69˚ for the high. If I were the weatherman, I’d be tempted to bump the temperature one more degree. Who would know? It would be a kindness. 70˚ sounds so much warmer than 69˚.

My view out the den window is narrow, but I can see the bright green new leaves on the oak tree beside the deck starting to unfurl. The big oak in the back of the yard already has leaves. It is in the perfect spot to catch the afternoon sun. I was going to try to get my dump sticker today, but I have decided to stay home. I thought about going out, but I’d have to take only right turns. I slept wrong so if I turn my head to the left, my neck hurts, a yelping hurt. I did imagine the ride to town hall, and I’d have to travel miles to find those right turns.

When I woke up with a sore neck, that tempered my morning. I didn’t talk I yelled at Henry to stop barking and to Jack to stop eating pencil erasers. Both of them wisely left to other rooms but Jack has returned. He is sleeping on the back of the couch behind me on an afghan. I can hear him lightly snoring. Henry is upstairs on my bed taking his morning nap, not to be confused with his afternoon nap, his early evening nap and his late night nap.

I washed the kitchen floor yesterday. It was not on any list. I just couldn’t take the paw prints anymore. The floor looks great. Today I’ll work on upstairs. I vacuumed last night, but I need to wash the bathroom floor. Jack is a messy drinker when he bellies up to the toilet. When I was patting Jack this morning, I found at least four clumps. I got three out but the fourth took a bit of doing. Jack whacked me. I stopped but I did get the clump. There are more, but I’ll comb him.

Little did I know how many Godzilla movies there are. He fights every monster I know and several I don’t know. I was looking for something to watch this morning when I happened on the Godzilla list. The Godzilla titles are so numerous many include the year of the movie to help keep track of their chronology. I have seen the original but only once. It was made in 1954. The latest is from 2019, Godzilla: King of the Monsters. You need to pay to see that one. I wonder if many people have seen it. Some of the others you also have pay to watch. Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla is one of those for rent. I was not even tempted; however, I have keyed the original. I haven’t seen it in a while, but I have to end here so I can read the subtitles. I think it’s a great way to spend the afternoon, and my TV is at a right angle from the couch.