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“Everyone knows that if you eat a cookie, and the cookie next to it is broken, you’re required to eat that broken cookie as well to keep the package looking clean.”

September 10, 2016

The air conditioner is off for the meanwhile. The sun disappeared a bit earlier and was replaced by clouds then it reappeared. I suspect that will happen all day. The air is damp. The weatherman said there is a possibility of rain. I’m not complaining as we need rain, but it would dampen movie night.

I used to wonder why pistachio nuts were red. I remember my stained fingers and torn fingernails after opening them, but I thought those were a small price to pay. Now there are no red pistachios, only ones with natural shells. I know most of our pistachios used to come from Iran until the embargo. Come to find out, they were dyed red to disguise any shell imperfections from the harvesting. Now they come from California and have no imperfections, no blemishes on the shells. I find them a bit boring, still tasty and still tearing my fingernails but boring. I know I can buy them already shelled but that seems like cheating.

I was too impatient adding Nestle’s Quick to my milk. I stirred but never enough. On the bottom of my glass was always a layer of chocolate sludge. I used to eat that with a spoon. Once my mother bought Strawberry Quick. I liked the pink color, but I wasn’t a big fan of the strawberry. I don’t think she ever bought it again.

I don’t drink milk anymore except for the leftover milk from my cereal which tastes like the cereal. I think it was in Ghana where I lost my taste for milk as I never had any. Ghanaians don’t drink milk even though they have cows. It never occurred to me to have a villager sell me the milk.

I always liked Fig Newtons. Now I find them a bit dry. I buy fresh figs instead. Oreos are the only off the shelf cookies I buy. Mostly I get cookies from the bakery. Anise cookies are my favorite, but the bakery doesn’t always have them so I have to be content with chocolate chip.

My trip stuff list is getting bigger. I added Oreos this morning. When my parents and I traveled together, my mother always brought snacks. Some were the packages of crackers and cheese. My favorite was the peanut butter crackers, not the orange ones, the brown ones. My mother never had to bring any snacks home.

This is the quietest day. I think the thick air diffuses sound so it disappears. Gracie isn’t even snoring. I wonder if all the kids are wearing gags.

 

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“I think that travel comes from some deep urge to see the world, like the urge that brings up a worm in an Irish bog to see the moon when it is full. “

June 1, 2015

I apologize for the lateness of the hour. Every Monday my neighbor and I chat. It is her way of improving her English. She is Brazilian and does speak English but is hoping to learn better pronunciation. Today her son, who is graduating from high school on Saturday, joined us, and the three of us chatted about everything including corn ice cream, a favorite in Brazil. I couldn’t imagine ice cream and vegetables being a good pairing. Her son agreed.

The day is damp and cold. My house is only 65˚ so we’re back to sweatshirt weather. It has started raining, and it is a welcomed rain. My garden needs the moisture as does my grass. My pollen-covered car could use a good cleaning and a heavy rain will do the trick.

When I was a kid, I dreamed of going to faraway places. My geography book was a wish book filled with pictures of where I would travel. I was in Rio on the top of the hill standing below the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer. I went up the Amazon on one of those long wooden boats while two tribesmen paddled. Each tribesman had a bone through his nose. I wandered down the rows of banana and cocoa trees growing on plantations. I saw the sphinx in Egypt from atop a camel. Riding in an airplane was part of my dream. Though no one I knew traveled just for pleasure, I knew for certain I would.

I once walked from my grandmother’s house in East Boston to Logan Airport. My uncle, only two years older than I, was the guide. It was a long walk, miles, but I didn’t care. We wandered the terminals, the old wooden terminals. I stood on the observation deck of one of those old terminals and watched the planes coming and going. From displays scattered around the gates I took brochures describing airline routes, sights and hotels. I watched people with their suitcases getting in lines to board planes. I was both wistful and jealous.

When I got back to my grandmother’s, my parents were livid, but I thought their anger a small price to pay for what had been a grand adventure. A few days later, I started reading the brochures and cutting out pictures. I began an album of my trip. I described the plane ride and flying into and being surrounded by clouds. The pictures of my hotel rooms had arrows pointing to my bed. All the wonderful sights we saw in the different cities were pasted on the pages and described by me in a first person account. I was traveling the world.

I filled the whole album with wishes and dreams.

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“Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book.”

November 7, 2014

The morning has been a busy one already. First I was awakened by the ungodly sound of the alarm ringing at 7:30. I know it seems silly that I need an alarm for 7:30, but for me that is still early morning. I groaned out of bed, shuffled down the stairs and went to get the papers. I had my coffee, a necessity that early, and read the papers. I then got dressed and left as I started physical therapy this morning. My back or rather my hip has been horrific with painful spasms at night. I am rudely awakened by a woman howling in pain. Shockingly I am the screamer. The doctor decided physical therapy might help so I started my two days a week today.

Gracie is herself. The last test determined she has an irregular heartbeat, but they still don’t know what happened. The vet speculated that her blood pressure went down when she had multiple irregular heartbeats in a row and that caused her to fall. There were two other possibilities but the vet thinks this is the reason. Gracie is starting today on fish oil and some pills from the pharmacy to maintain her heartbeat. In a week and a half she’ll have a second test on her heart. I watch her all the time. One of my Boxers had cardiomyopathy so I worry about Miss Gracie. The vet doesn’t seem to think so, but they didn’t think Maggie did either. In a bit Gracie and I are heading to the dump. The vet called too late to go yesterday.

It is dark, ugly, damp and cold today. It’s a jacket or heavy sweatshirt weather. I didn’t wear one this morning, and I was cold.  I think it is a perfect stay in the house day, wear comfy clothes, read and have a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. I might even make meatloaf and mashed potatoes tonight. I’m in a comfort food mode.

Sunny days lend themselves to activities, to being outside, to taking in all that vitamin D. Dark days are an excuse for staying home and being comfortable. Black and white horror movies should be on the TV. The house should smell like popcorn. I’m going to post my music, take Gracie to the dump, pick up her pills then come home and enjoy being cozy and comfy. I’ll bring out the afghan and lie on the couch. I suspect Gracie will lie with me. I see a nap in both our futures.

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[expletive deleted]

December 2, 2013

The dreary day is becoming commonplace. It rained earlier, and the air is still damp. The sky is dark. It’s a turn on your inside lights sort of day. I went to bed late but the sound of blowers woke me up early. My landscaper and two of his guys were doing the final fall cleanup of the leaves and pine needles in the front yard, on the deck and the driveway. Gracie watched from the front door and then greeted them in the backyard. They know she’s a runner so they are careful going in and out the gate. They always smile and give me a wave.

Yesterday I did four errands, changed my bed and brought up, folded and put away laundry which has been in the dryer for a week or more. Today my back has moved from painful to stiff, a definite improvement. I have to do one errand today then I’ll just take the rest of the day easy.

Last night I watched All the President’s Men Revisited and was reminded of the summer of Watergate when I stayed inside glued to the television. I was pasty white that summer, the same color as prisoners long interned in solitary.

The retrospective followed the Woodward-Bernstein trail depicted in the movie then moved on to the Watergate Committee’s investigation. I watched clips of John Dean testifying, his wife sitting behind him, and heard again about the cancer in the Presidency. Rosemary Woods and her supposed contortions in erasing the tape are as unbelievable now as they were then. The Watergate Committee, gentle at first, became more and more aggressive as information came to light. “What did the President know and when did he know it?” It was a time of country over party, when law and truth were more important than partisan politics. Too bad we’ve forgotten that simple truth

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“To lose the approbation of my dog is a thing too horrible to contemplate.”

September 10, 2013

The weatherman said sunny and warm today, mid 70’s. Right now, though, it is damp, dark and chilly with a strong breeze. Later Gracie and I have to go to the dump, but that’s it for chores. At the vets yesterday, I found out Gracie has gingivitis. We knew she had gum issues but it hadn’t gotten to gingivitis before this. Now she is on antibiotics which only cost me $110.00. The other choice was surgery to cut away then cauterize the gums. Before my eyes flashed a bill well over a $1000 so I went with the lesser of two financial evils. The vet said Gracie is in good health and has plenty of energy. She got her ears cleaned and her nails cut as well. Despite being a crazy dog, she abides getting those done quite calmly. I think it always surprises the toe cutter.

When I was a kid, our dog was a boxer named Duke. The only shot he ever got was his rabies shot every couple of years. There were no well dog visits back then or heart worm treatments or Advantix against fleas. My father would douse him with flea powder periodically or give him a bath. He ate horse meat, a component of dog food back then. There were no natural or healthy foods for dogs. Leash laws didn’t exist back then either. Duke was a roamer, and he knew his way all over town. You might have heard this before, but it’s a great story worth retelling. Duke was uptown and found my grandmother. He followed her right into Woolworth’s and while inside he lifted his leg on the comic books. The manager wanted to know whose dog it was. My grandmother said not a word as Duke really wasn’t her dog, but when she left the store almost immediately, Duke followed, a dead giveaway, but my grandmother never looked back. She wasn’t an animal lover, and I can only imagine the embarrassment she felt. To the rest of us, it was just a funny dog story. Duke lived to be fifteen. He was a great dog, stubborn as they come but protective and loving.

I can’t imagine being without a dog. Gracie is always happy to see me. That boxer stub of a tail goes so fast back and forth it reminds me of helicopter rotors, and I half expect her back-end to go air-borne. Sometimes she puts her head on my arm, looks at me and gives me her please eyes, the look which says a treat would be nice. I seldom refuse. She and I are in constant battle for alpha dog. I always win, but she is never happy about it. She sits then talks back to me. There is no mistaking her tone, and it always makes me glad dogs don’t talk.

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“Heaven goes by favor. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in.”

August 19, 2012

The sun appeared for a few minutes then went into hiding behind the clouds. The day is overcast but still light, none of the darkness of the last few days. A damp chill is in the air and a breeze is blowing. It’s an okay day.

Gracie’s panting was so heavy that she shook the bed and woke me at 1:30. She was gulping so I knew her stomach was upset. It happens every now and then. We went downstairs, and I let her out to hunt for grass to eat to settle her stomach. She came back inside about 20 minutes later, and we went back to bed. In not too much time, the bed began to shake again so downstairs we went and out she went. She came in and we went to bed but she kept moving around as she was unable to get comfortable and then came the panting. By this time it was 2:30, and I had yet to fall back to sleep. I went upstairs and brought down a sheet and pillow and went to try to fall asleep on the couch. Gracie joined me. Neither of us slept. She started panting again. This time she was out so long I went out on the deck to make sure she was okay. It was around 3:30. When she came back in, I fed her some fronds from the spider plant. She ate everyone and then went back outside. When she came in this last time, she went into her crate and stood looking at me. That is the universal sign for a treat so I gave her one which she ate then another. Gracie was just fine. It was 4 o’clock when we both went back to bed.

My dog Duke, when he was pretty old, got into a horrible dog fight with the huge dog down the street. Duke got the worst of it. He had really bad wounds on his neck where the dog had grabbed him. This never happened when Duke was in his younger days, when he was the scourge of the dogs in the neighborhood but age had slowed him down. My mother wanted him brought to the vets; my father said he’d be fine.

In those days, my dad worked on the Cape all week and came home only on weekends. We were moving there but not until after school was finished for the year. When my dad left the Monday after the dog fight, my mother brought Duke to the vet  who took care of the bite wound with a few stitches and a shot or two. By the time my dad got home at the end of the week, the wounds were well on their way to healing. My dad checked out Duke when he got home and said to my mother, ” I told you nature would take care of it.” None of us ever mentioned the trip to the vet’s.

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