Posted tagged ‘Gracie’

« home page
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

“As I grew up, I knew that as a building (Fenway Park) was on the level of Mount Olympus, the Pyramid at Giza, the nation’s capitol, the czar’s Winter Palace, and the Louvre — except, of course, that is better than all those inconsequential places.”

April 20, 2012

My friends and I had the best day yesterday at Fenway Park. It was filled with people wandering all over taking pictures, touching revered parts of the park and watching current Sox on the field and in the bull pen. All of us patiently waited in lines to see parts of Fenway usually off-limits, and most everyone wore something which proclaimed their allegiance to our home team. We touched the manually operated scoreboard on the green monster, watched Dice-K throwing and Bard and Buckholtz warming up. We saw Bobby Valentine, the new manager. All three of us sat on the little bench in the Sox dugout where Tito used to spend most games and went up in the elevator with Wally who was only to glad to have his picture taken. We found my brick in the Bill Monbouquette section by Gate B and sat in the pavilion seats with the best views of the park. We also sat for a while in the press box once filled with typewriters but now loaded with USB ports. This afternoon we will be glued to the TV to watch all the 100th birthday festivities starting with an entire park toast to Fenway, a toast hoping to make the Guinness Book of World Records. 100 years ago John Francis “Honey Fitz”  Fitzgerald, JFK’s grandfather, threw out the first pitch and the NY Highlanders lost. We’re hoping the final score will reflect that historic game.

I went out earlier as Gracie was barking, and I wanted to find out why. She was trying to jump the 6 foot fence around the yard to get at the loose dog on the other side. Twice she got her front paws on the top but couldn’t pull the rest of her over. I went down, grabbed her collar and brought her in the house. Her exertions were exhausting and Gracie is taking her morning nap.

Today is sunny but chilly, a typical spring day on Cape Cod. When we drove to Boston yesterday, the closer we got to the city, the fuller the trees were and some were already leafy. Cherry trees were in blossom. Our trees have small buds.

Gracie gets a trip to the dump today.

Categories: Music
Tags: , , , , , ,

Comments: 12 Comments

“As I grew up, I knew that as a building (Fenway Park) was on the level of Mount Olympus, the Pyramid at Giza, the nation’s capitol, the czar’s Winter Palace, and the Louvre — except, of course, that is better than all those inconsequential places.”

April 20, 2012

My friends and I had the best day yesterday at Fenway Park. It was filled with people wandering all over taking pictures, touching revered parts of the park and watching current Sox on the field and in the bull pen. All of us patiently waited in lines to see parts of Fenway usually off-limits, and most everyone wore something which proclaimed their allegiance to our home team. We touched the manually operated scoreboard on the green monster, watched Dice-K throwing and Bard and Buckholtz warming up. We saw Bobby Valentine, the new manager. All three of us sat on the little bench in the Sox dugout where Tito used to spend most games and went up in the elevator with Wally who was only to glad to have his picture taken. We found my brick in the Bill Monbouquette section by Gate B and sat in the pavilion seats with the best views of the park. We also sat for a while in the press box once filled with typewriters but now loaded with USB ports. This afternoon we will be glued to the TV to watch all the 100th birthday festivities starting with an entire park toast to Fenway, a toast hoping to make the Guinness Book of World Records. 100 years ago John Francis “Honey Fitz”  Fitzgerald, JFK’s grandfather, threw out the first pitch and the NY Highlanders lost. We’re hoping the final score will reflect that historic game.

I went out earlier as Gracie was barking, and I wanted to find out why. She was trying to jump the 6 foot fence around the yard to get at the loose dog on the other side. Twice she got her front paws on the top but couldn’t pull the rest of her over. I went down, grabbed her collar and brought her in the house. Her exertions were exhausting and Gracie is taking her morning nap.

Today is sunny but chilly, a typical spring day on Cape Cod. When we drove to Boston yesterday, the closer we got to the city, the fuller the trees were and some were already leafy. Cherry trees were in blossom. Our trees have small buds.

Gracie gets a trip to the dump today.

Categories: Music
Tags: , , , , , ,

Comments: 12 Comments

“Childhood smells of perfume and brownies.”

April 15, 2012

Today is beautiful with no breeze and the brightest sun hanging in the sky. Fern is so relaxed lying in the sun shining through the front door that I had to check to make sure she was breathing. Gracie is outside sitting in the sun. She has a favorite spot on the back side of the yard where she sprawls on the grass. When she comes in to check on me, her fur will feel hot to the touch.

Yesterday I heard dogs barking, including my own, mowers and kids playing but not today. My neighborhood is Sunday quiet as if there was reverence still left for the day.

I have favorite smells. The every day favorite smells give me a sense of comfort and continuity like the smell of coffee brewing first thing in the morning or the smell of the ocean borne this far by the wind or the fog. Other smells transport me to different times and places. Last week I smelled leaves burning and saw a man tending his small fire, rake in hand. I slowed down and lowered my window when I went by him and his leaves. All of a sudden I was a little kid again watching my father tend to his fire burning on the street beside the sidewalk. The smell of wood burning brings me back to Ghana. During the harmattan, when the mornings are chilly, the family compound behind my house had smoke whirling into the air from fires lit to keep everyone warm. The smell of that burning wood was almost sweet as it filled the air. Food in Ghana is still cooked on small, round charcoal burners, and the charcoal is still made from wood. Last summer when I smelled the cooking fires I was transported forty years in time to when I lived in a small white duplex and behind my house was a field with a family compound. I can still see and smell the smoke from that compound as it rises into the air. My mother and the smell of sugar cookies baking are forever linked in my memory.

Categories: Musings
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Comments: 14 Comments

“I know a man who doesn’t pay to have his trash taken out. How does he get rid of his trash? He gift wraps it, and puts in into an unlocked car.”

April 2, 2012

The rain started last night, and I woke up to a rainy morning. I heard it on the roof and I heard it dripping from the eaves, but the rain has since stopped leaving behind a dark, cloudy day. The dampness makes it feel colder than it actually is. I have a few errands on my list, but I’m thinking today is a good day to stay home and while the time away in a good book.

Gracie and I went to the dump yesterday, and it was as crowded as I’ve seen it in a long time. I was in a line of cars waiting for a spot near the newspaper recycle bin. The trash bins too had a line so Gracie stuck her head out the window to get a better view while I just sat in the car and waited. I watched the people as they went about dump business: emptying trunks and walking from recycle bin to recycle bin.

When I was a kid, we always had trash men who hung on to the backs of the trucks as they went from house to house. They’d hop off, grab the barrels, empty them then toss the barrels back on the sidewalks. When the back of the truck got filled, the trashman would grab a lever and the top of the bin would come down and compact the trash. I thought that was sort of neat, and it was definitely noisy. My father usually brought the barrels back to the yard when he’d get home from work.

When we moved to the cape, my father loved the dump runs every Sunday. If we had company, they were always invited to join him as if it were a lark, a fun ride. The dump back then was a real dump with huge piles of trash and seagulls circling above them. You could see the dump and its trash from the highway. The cans always shined in the sun. I know when my parents moved off-cape my dad must have missed his dump. Putting trash cans on the sidewalk just didn’t have the same allure.

When I was working, I always went to the dump on Sunday. It was, after all, a family tradition.

Categories: Musings
Tags: , , , ,

Comments: 13 Comments

“What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?”

March 25, 2012

Finally we had some rain, last night and this morning. It has made for a day dark and dreary. I went out for my usual Sunday breakfast and brought some bacon to the car for Gracie who was patiently waiting. When I got home and got out of the car, I turned to get her and found she had jumped into the front seat, a spot she seldom likes. Well, the bacon was now on the back seat cover and no longer in Gracie so she had decided the front seat was the better option. I put her in the house, cleaned the car and then went back inside. What did I find but another dead mouse, this one on the floor of the bathroom. Back outside I went to fling the mouse into the brush next to my house. This has been an interesting morning.

The last week was a busy one for me from Thursday on through Saturday. I was a social whirlwind, at least in comparison to my usual schedule, and it was exhausting. This week looks to be quiet. That’s fine with me.

When I was working and much younger, the weekends were always busy with meeting friends, a little bar hopping, dinners out and all the chores like laundry and the dump. I’d fit everything into Friday night through Sunday afternoon then I’d spend that afternoon getting my teaching plans in order for the week. Sunday night I’d decompress and get ready for Monday. My energy seemed limitless back then. I was up early every day and up late every night and none the worse for wear.  I now nap before I go out.

I always understood the Riddle of the Sphinx, but it was just a clever riddle to the younger me. The older me is part of it, closer to the evening than the afternoon; however, that hasn’t stopped me, but it sure as heck has slowed me down.

Categories: Musings
Tags: , , , , , ,

Comments: 7 Comments

“All of the animals except for man know that the principle business of life is to enjoy it.”

February 24, 2012

When I woke up the first time, I could hear the rain. I decided it was too early to get up so I turned over and went back to sleep. When I woke up the second and final time, large, wet flakes were falling, and there was a slight cover of snow on the ground. Since then, the rain has returned. For tonight a wind advisory has been issued. The number of changes in just one day’s weather are amazing.

The Cape Times mentioned North Atlantic right whales are back in the bay far earlier than expected. It seems the ocean is about 3 and 1/2 degrees warmer than usual at this time of year. Also, copepods, the plankton which draws the whales here for feeding, are earlier than usual. The strange winter continues.

I was going to go to the dump, but the rain puts me off being outside flinging trash bags. I need nothing from the store, and I have no other errand so today I will be a slug, stay in my cozies and do nothing constructive except maybe make my bed. But then again, I might want a nap so making the bed could be a waste of time.

I’m sitting here without a light on. I can hear the rain on the roof and see drops falling. Maddie is rubbing against my leg hoping for some attention. Fern is sleeping on the back couch cushion. Gracie is also sleeping and so deeply sleeping I can hear her breathing and see the tip of her tongue. She got up a while ago, stretched, came over for a pat then went right back to the couch. Maddie is standing here while I scratch her back. My father always used to say he’d want to come back as an animal in one of our houses. Looking around my den, it’s easy to understand why.

Categories: Musings
Tags: , , , , ,

Comments: 8 Comments

“Basically, my life is so boring, it’s embarrassing.”

February 13, 2012

It’s still winter. The little bit of snow we had has frozen. It cracks every time I walk over it. On the deck, Gracie’s paw prints are permanently etched in the ice, and she too makes noise as she walks on it to go down the stairs. She goes gently down the stairs and walks on one side where there is no ice. Smart dog that Gracie!

She and I have a few things to do today so we’ll both bundle. She’ll wear her Pendleton wool coat with the stripes while I will be dressed far less stylishly in a flannel shirt and a hoodie.

This morning I have already been productive, an unusual event for this early. I took my shower and have just started my second load of laundry. The bed is even made. I have no explanation for this sudden burst of energy. It may be guilt over the number of days of sloth I have enjoyed of late.

My life right now is boring. I don’t even have a book which holds my attention. I keep picking one up, reading a few chapters then putting it down to try another. Nothing is on television, not an uncommon problem, but I would love a good movie to hold me enthrall for a few hours. I haven’t much ambition left for today. I already used most of it up this morning but did save enough for my few errands.

A few minutes ago, I heard a bang upstairs then something falling. Some excitement I thought. First I accounted for all three animals: Fern on the couch pillow, check; Maddie on the seat cushion, check; Gracie with me, check. Then the two of us, the dog and I, raced upstairs, but I found nothing. Neither did she as Gracie just sat on the bed and watched. I checked the eaves but nothing there either. I am perplexed.

The washing machine just sounded. It’s time to move the clothes to the dryer. I guess I’m done here for the day.

Categories: Musings
Tags: , , , , , ,

Comments: 10 Comments

“It looks like something out of Whittier’s “Snowbound,”‘ Julia said. Julia could always think of things like that to say.”

January 22, 2012

About 8 or 9 inches of snow fell yesterday. The stuff is pretty, no question about it, but pretty never lasts long enough. I got plowed out last night by my factotum but a bit more fell, mostly from the ocean effect, but because it was warmer earlier this morning, the new snow melted off the walkway, the car windshield and the roof. Icicles now hang off the roof edge. They look like teeth needing orthodontia. It’s cold, only 31°, and the sky is gray cloudy.

I’ll watch the Pats play the Ravens this afternoon. If I had tickets to the game, I’d probably give them away. I can’t imagine sitting in the stands and freezing. A warm living room, good food and a close bathroom are far more important to me. I doubt there would be enough layers to keep me warm.

Gracie’s friend Cody dropped by to visit late yesterday. Both dogs had so much pent-up energy they ran and ran chasing each other. Gracie also did her laps around the perimeter three times in a row. When she came inside, her tongue was hanging to her knees, at least to what I think are her knees.

The cape is pretty flat, but the golf course has one perfect hill for sledding. I’m betting there’s a crowd of kids there now despite the cold. Opportunities to speed down a hill are too rare to pass up. Our old wooden sleds are from a bygone era. Kids now spin their way to the bottom on flying saucers or snow tubes. My old wooden sled is standing outside my front door with skates hanging from the steering. It is one of my winter decorations. I love the way it looks and the memories it brings to mind.

I have to the dump today. On days like today the dump is freezing. The wind rushes furiously across the treeless plain. I always imagine that’s what a gulag must be like.

Categories: Musings
Tags: , , , , , ,

Comments: 14 Comments

“The snow doesn’t give a soft white damn whom it touches.”

January 21, 2012

“In the lane, snow is glistening,” describes the view outside my window. The snowfall is heavy, and there must be a few of inches or more already on the ground. The weather report won’t pin down the total amount but throws around words like considerable and steady all day. I was going to go to the store but changed my mind. I’ll just stay inside. The postman’s truck has already been by, and I watched his rear wheels spin a bit before he moved on to the next mailbox. I keep looking out the window and have to admit the snow is really pretty right now.

This is our first snow storm and it has been long in coming. Much as I’d like to complain, I can’t. The winter has been kind to us so I’ll hold my complaints until the next storm then I’ll let loose and do lots of muttering.

Gracie went out a few minutes ago but not into the yard. I hope the snow caused the quick trip and she didn’t decide to do her business on the deck. I tried to watch but she was in a blind spot, and I’m not about to go out and check. The stairs are steep on both sides of the deck so maybe she was a bit afraid of sliding. When Skip comes to shovel and plow, I always have him do the stairs. I also use pet friendly de-icer on the stairs so they’ll dry faster.

Even the oak trees look lovely with their branches covered in snow. The world is quiet. No one ventures onto the roads. It’s too early for the sounds of snow blowers and shovels. I saw only one bird at the feeder, a flicker, so I’m guessing my regular visitors must be huddled somewhere away from the storm. The spawns of Satan are missing. Their nests are high up in the pine trees where I figure they’re lying together to keep warm and watching the snow much the same as I’m doing.

I’ll stay cozy and warm and watch from the window. This is really winter, and I’m not a willing participant.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , ,

Comments: 17 Comments

“I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren’t certain we knew better.”

December 10, 2011

When I woke up, I heard the raindrops from the eaves. The day is filled with gray clouds and looks dismal. Since I was little, I’ve always believed that around Christmas time rain should be banned. The sun should shine or it should snow. I prefer the sun, but I don’t mind the snow. There is something about a White Christmas which touches us all. Today, though, has a silver lining. My tree with all its lights looks bright in the darkness of the rain and the clouds.

My errands took three hours yesterday. On the Cape, “You can’t there from here,” would be the answer when asked how to get from some towns to another. I couldn’t get directly from 6A in Dennis to Harwich so I had to go a roundabout way and then went another roundabout way to get from Harwich to Orleans. I had to stop at one place twice because it was so busy the first time, and I added a stop at Dunkin’ Donuts, a total necessity.

When I got home, I loaded my arms with packages as only one was heavy so I could bring them all in at once. The dog’s leash was wrapped around my hand so I wouldn’t drop it. As I was going up the walk I thought the dog’s collar sounded especially noisy. When I turned around to let Gracie in, I had a leash and a collar, no dog. The noise was her license bouncing on the brick walk. I saw Gracie down the street, ran in and called my friends so Tony went outside to herd the beastie. Gracie avoids me but loves Tony. She went right to him, and he put her Christmas present around her neck: a beautiful red collar which has a small Christmas tree and says Merry Christmas. Gracie got her present early so maybe it wasn’t really an escape but a ruse. I wish I had a picture of the look on my face when I turned around and saw the leash and the collar.

Categories: Musings
Tags: , , , , ,

Comments: 13 Comments

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »