Today couldn’t be prettier, warmer but not prettier. It will only be 54˚ and then it will plummet to the 30’s tonight. I’m going out today. I need the sunshine.

I can see the yellow of the daffodil bulbs. They are getting closer to flowering. I also saw the tips of a couple of grape hyacinths. My garden is waking up a few bulbs at a time.

When I was a kid, I would have loved today, a Saturday, my favorite day, with all its sun and blue sky. It was bicycle weather for sure, the time to wrestle my bike out of the cellar and up the concrete stairs. From there, I’d hop on then ride down the grassy hill in the front yard and hope my father didn’t see me or the tire tracks in the tallish grass of the hill.

My first bike was blue. It didn’t have gears. They were in the future. It had brakes on the pedals and a wire basket in front. It had been under the tree, sort of, one Christmas. I remember taking my bike outside for pictures. There is one of me with a huge grin holding on to the handlebars. I was wearing one of my favorite jackets of all time, a blue wool jacket with snaps. My bike and I were on the top step right outside the door. The sun was shining that Christmas so I took my bike for its first ride.

When I was in Ghana, during my first year, I walked to town. It was downhill from my school, an easy walk. When I was walking home, uphill, cars usually stopped to offer me a ride. I always took it. We were not allowed to drive a car or a motorcycle except for the few volunteers who had Honda 125’s from Peace Corps because their jobs meant traveling. I traveled by mammy lorry, bus and plane when I was in the money. During my second year, the restrictions were lifted. I bought a Honda Cub 90, my first and only motorcycle. I had to learn the gears, the simple gears, when I bought the bike and before I rode the 100 miles home. I felt like the queen of the road when I rode that bike. Back then my town, Bolga, had few motorcycles. My friend Bill also bought one. Patrick, another volunteer who lived in Bolga, had the 125 Honda from Peace Corps. We were a motorcycle gang of three.

Today is an ugly day. The sky is grey, fog sits on the shoreline and rain is likely. The saving grace is the 55˚. I may go to the dump. It is usually quiet on ugly days.

Yesterday I did one errand. When I got home, I read, took a nap and watched a few movies. I was bored but not bored enough to clean. That’s for another day.

Henry no longer balks at a furled dog door. He goes out with only the slightest hesitation, but he still expects me to let him into the house. Yesterday I had a brilliant idea. I rang the door bell, and Henry came running through the dog door into the house. I figure I could get him to understand the dog door isn’t scary. This morning I rang the bell. Henry stayed outside. I rang it again, same result. After the third ring, I gave up and let Henry inside. He went right to the front door. To my chagrin, Henry is a quick learner.

My days in Ghana were usually the same. I woke up, had my first cup of coffee and ate breakfast if I didn’t have an early class to teach. If I did, I’d have breakfast between classes. I taught only four hours a day, two hours per class. I taught T2’s, the second years. My house was on school grounds only a couple of minutes walk from the classroom blocks so between classes I’d go home and sit on the porch and drink another cup of coffee. My work day was never long. On some afternoons, I’d coach volleyball or work in the library. Other afternoons, I’d go to town and shop or just wander around the market hoping for treasures. Dinner was always around the same time and just about the same meal, beef in tomato sauce and mashed yams or rice on the side. The beef needed the sauce to tenderize it. Only old cows became meat. Other times I’d have chicken with the usual yams or rice on the side. The only vegetables available in the market were yams, hot peppers, tomatoes and onions. I felt vegetable deprived.

It has gotten really dark, almost ominous. A wind has started blowing the tall pine branches. I think rain just went from likely to probable.