Posted tagged ‘Gracie’

“Read in order to live.”

November 27, 2011

The day is again lovely and warm, though not as warm as yesterday. From my window here I’ve been watching the birds at the feeders, and I just watched a red spawn fit through the mesh of the small feeder, the one the nuthatches like, and he’s having quite the picnic. I’m thinking a weapon of some sort, even a slingshot, would be useful right about now.

The two cats and the dog are asleep. I guess they had a tough morning moving from the bed to the couch though Gracie might be tired as she did have a play date earlier with her friend Cody from down the street. Cody is let out, he comes here and barks at the door to come in, and he and Gracie romp in the yard. When they’re done, Cody barks to come in, gets a biscuit from me then I let him out and he walks home. It’s a perfect arrangement.

Today I have no plans except to loll and read. I have just started the new Stephen King novel, and I’m unhappy about it. When I hold that giant book, over 800 pages, in my hands, I bemoan its length. The problem is that the novel grabbed my attention right away, but given the number of pages, it will be a long while until the end unless I do nothing else but read, not really unheard of for me. I realize I have to partake in a bit of life here and there, but I suspect I’ll resent it as time taken away from the book.

I have sometimes read until three or four in the morning totally unaware of the passage of time as I turn the pages of an engrossing novel. When I realize the time, I tell myself one more chapter then one more then one more again. Soon enough another hour or so has passed. When I was a kid, my mother swore I was totally ignoring her. “Didn’t you hear me screaming for you?” I hadn’t. I was so into my book nothing could intrude. I always suspected she never believed my no.

“In the morning I woke like a sloth in the fog.”

November 21, 2011

Today just couldn’t shake off the damp of last night’s rain, and it’s cloudy and dismal. The birds aren’t even here to distract me as the feeders are all empty. Only a snoring Gracie is giving the day any life.

I have chosen today as a not to get dressed day. I’m going to fill the feeders, make my shopping list for Thursday’s desserts, go on-line and order some Christmas presents and then organize some photos on my Mac, the original ones from my Peace Corps days. On Saturday I hauled into the house 30 pounds of dog food so my back hurts a bit, another perfect excuse for staying home and taking it easy. Did I mention the headache?

If you’re thinking today’s musings lack any inspiration, you’d be correct. My memory drawers seem to be stuck closed, and I have no ambition. Moving my fingers on the computer is about all I can muster. I think a little sun would help and maybe a chocolate chip cookie or two. I took something for my headache but chocolate has a far more miraculous effect.

On Saturday I called Ghana and talked to Florence, one of my former students. I have been calling a different student every couple of weeks so we can stay in touch now that we have found each other. Florence wanted to know when I was returning. I wished I could say in a month or two, but I think it will be at least another year before I can fill my coffers with enough money. When I give them the date, I’m hoping more students will arrive from other parts of the country so we can have a giant party. Let the beer and the pito flow! Bring out the kelewele and the Guinea Fowl.

“In the morning I woke like a sloth in the fog.”

November 21, 2011

Today just couldn’t shake off the damp of last night’s rain, and it’s cloudy and dismal. The birds aren’t even here to distract me as the feeders are all empty. Only a snoring Gracie is giving the day any life.

I have chosen today as a not to get dressed day. I’m going to fill the feeders, make my shopping list for Thursday’s desserts, go on-line and order some Christmas presents and then organize some photos on my Mac, the original ones from my Peace Corps days. On Saturday I hauled into the house 30 pounds of dog food so my back hurts a bit, another perfect excuse for staying home and taking it easy. Did I mention the headache?

If you’re thinking today’s musings lack any inspiration, you’d be correct. My memory drawers seem to be stuck closed, and I have no ambition. Moving my fingers on the computer is about all I can muster. I think a little sun would help and maybe a chocolate chip cookie or two. I took something for my headache but chocolate has a far more miraculous effect.

On Saturday I called Ghana and talked to Florence, one of my former students. I have been calling a different student every couple of weeks so we can stay in touch now that we have found each other. Florence wanted to know when I was returning. I wished I could say in a month or two, but I think it will be at least another year before I can fill my coffers with enough money. When I give them the date, I’m hoping more students will arrive from other parts of the country so we can have a giant party. Let the beer and the pito flow! Bring out the kelewele and the Guinea Fowl.

“Why are our days numbered and not, say, lettered?

November 7, 2011

The day is so beautiful it invites me outside so when I finish here I’ll take Gracie and out we’ll go. I do have a few stops I need to make but Gracie won’t mind. Any excuse for a car ride is just fine with her.

The big event for the day is laundry. The entire week looks pretty much the same except for a couple of meetings, both on the same day. That’s the way it is sometimes. Nothing happens then everything happens at once.

November afternoons seem to lend themselves to books, and I have a few new ones I haven’t yet read. I started one yesterday, a Baldacci, and, after my errands, I think I’ll brew a pot of coffee, grab some brie and crackers for lunch, get comfy on the couch and read. It doesn’t take much to make me content.

The one tree in my yard which had yellow leaves is now just naked branches. I saw the leaves fall, and it made me a little sad to lose even that tiny bit of color. I think I’ll wear a red shirt today.

This small bit has taken me all morning to finish. I found myelf bereft of my muse so I allowed myself to get sidetracked. I had another cup of coffee and watched a program I had DVR’ed. Today is just one of those days.

“Why are our days numbered and not, say, lettered?

November 7, 2011

The day is so beautiful it invites me outside so when I finish here I’ll take Gracie and out we’ll go. I do have a few stops I need to make but Gracie won’t mind. Any excuse for a car ride is just fine with her.

The big event for the day is laundry. The entire week looks pretty much the same except for a couple of meetings, both on the same day. That’s the way it is sometimes. Nothing happens then everything happens at once.

November afternoons seem to lend themselves to books, and I have a few new ones I haven’t yet read. I started one yesterday, a Baldacci, and, after my errands, I think I’ll brew a pot of coffee, grab some brie and crackers for lunch, get comfy on the couch and read. It doesn’t take much to make me content.

The one tree in my yard which had yellow leaves is now just naked branches. I saw the leaves fall, and it made me a little sad to lose even that tiny bit of color. I think I’ll wear a red shirt today.

This small bit has taken me all morning to finish. I found myelf bereft of my muse so I allowed myself to get sidetracked. I had another cup of coffee and watched a program I had DVR’ed. Today is just one of those days.

“All the candy corn that was ever made was made in 1911.”

November 3, 2011

The day is lovely but not as warm as predicted. I suppose I ought not to complain, but I was expecting a bask in the sun sort of day.

Miss Gracie woke me up at three this morning when I heard her swallowing over and over. I figured she didn’t feel good. Sure enough, she got off the bed and went downstairs. A few minutes later, the poochie bells on the back door rang so I went downstairs to let her out. I waited a bit but got cold so I went upstairs to get some warmer clothes on. While I was upstairs, she came inside so I had to trudge back downstairs and shut the door. Around 4, I heard her again get off the bed and go downstairs. Then I heard something fall. I went to look and found Gracie had tried to eat one of the plants, and it had fallen on the floor when she pulled at it. What to do? What to do? I decided to cut off some spears of my spider plant to feed to her. I tried to leave them on the floor, but she couldn’t get at them. There I was at 4:15 feeding my dog spider plants to quell her queasy stomach. She finished around 4:30, and we both went back to bed and neither one of us woke up until 9:30. I would have thought the least she could have done was make the coffee.

My mother used to give us each a bowl for our Halloween candy. We’d dump the candy in it then go through the haul and check every small treat bag to see what could be traded or what we didn’t want which we’d then toss in the trash. Apples and some candy corn were among the rejects though my mother usually grabbed the apples. Yellow candy corn was just too sweet, even for a kid. I was a brown candy corn fan. Popcorn balls were tossed as was loose popcorn.

There was a hierarchy of Halloween treats. Once in a while I’d find a penny or a nickel, and it was prized above all else. Next in the hierarchy was the nickel candy bar. A Three Muskeeters bar was common back then. Last in the hierarchy was all the rest.

My mother let us put the bowls under our beds, and we could munch whenever we wanted. The day after Halloween we never had school so we’d munch treats most of the day. It was a taste of paradise on Earth before the fall.

“Visitor’s footfalls are like medicine; they heal the sick.”

November 1, 2011

This morning it was dark when I heard the blasted alarm ring. All of a sudden I flashed back to those working days when I got up at 5 or 5:15 every day. It was a daymare. This morning, though, it was so I could get Francisca to the bus stop to catch the bus to the airport. Her five-day visit finished in a flash.

Last night I had more trick or treaters than I can remember in years, and Francisca came to the door every time so she could see all the costumes. She was also the official dog holder as Gracie was more than willing to join any of the groups of kids. Gracie was sporting her new Halloween collar, a gift from my friend Clare. She looked quite festive in orange and black with a row of pumpkins, ghosts and witches circling her neck. I wore my wizard’s hat which played Ghouls Just Want to Have fun as the tip of the cap moved back and forth in time. I had bought Francisca a small witch’s hat as a surprise and she wore it all evening.

The house still smells of last night’s dinner, the leftover FraFra meal from Sunday. It was even more delicious last night than the first time. Watching Francisca eat was like being back in Ghana. She used her hand and scooped everything including the rice. I’m good with the t-zed, but I’m not so good with the jollof rice. I don’t tend to get it in enough of a ball, and it all falls apart before I can eat it. Ghanaians eat the bones, and Francisca finished off the Guinea fowl bones while I ate more than my share of the leftover meat. Gracie got the skin and, believe me, giving it to her was a sacrifice on my part.

The day is dark and cloudy and has nothing whatsoever to commend it. It feels damp. I sat and waited with Francisca until the bus came as Africans are not lovers of the cold. She bundles up for any temperature below 70°.

It seemed so wonderfully strange to have one of my students here. Never would I have envisioned it when last I saw them in 1971. Francisca’s elder sister Bea will be in Canada soon for her daughter’s wedding, and Francisca is helping Bea to get a visa to visit the US after the wedding and is hoping that she and Bea can visit. What an amazing gift that would be for me.

It is strange, but I have never camped anywhere in Africa where I have not felt, as I left it, that we all have left something of ourselves behind.”

October 9, 2011

The day is simply gorgeous with the bluest of skies and a summer warmth. It has been a different sort of Sunday as I didn’t go out for breakfast, but I did sit outside to drink my coffee. I closed my eyes and let the sun warm me, and I listened to the birds greeting the day and to Gracie wandering through the backyard grasses. Every now and then a car went by, but it only disturbed my reverie for a moment. Around eleven, I dragged myself back inside to call my sister in Colorado, a call I make every Sunday, and now I’m still inside to write Coffee. It will be a quick post. The day is calling me.

Gracie is on the bad list. Last night I heard a rustling sound, the sort a package makes, and looked from here in the den down the hall to the crate on which Gracie’s food and treats are kept but saw nothing. Later I went to give Gracie one of her Happy Hips treats and the package, the newly opened package, was gone. This morning I found the empty package in the yard. That noise I had heard was Gracie stealing the package. She then sneaked outside with it. No question she knew she was doing something wrong.

I have a wedding to go to today at four. Receiving the invitation meant I needed to buy a fall dress to join my summer dress, the dress which came with me to Ghana. I told my sister my new dress is in the pink family and has a jacket with a scalloped edge. I also told her I bought new black shoes. The dress came Wednesday. It is green. The shoes are brown. Now I’m thinking I’ll look like a tree.

I never should have gone to Ghana. Now all I can think about is getting back there for another visit. When I first came home from the Peace Corps, the feeling was even more intense. It took months before I stopped longing for Ghana, but I never stopped thinking about it. I have it all figured out. I need to replenish my savings to the pre-Ghana level then I can start saving for the next trip. I’m guessing two years max before I get back there.

“Everywhere water is a thing of beauty gleaming in the dewdrop, singing in the summer rain.”

August 7, 2011

The rain is steady but gentle so I can still hear the single drops as they fall on the leaves by the deck. Every now and then a bird calls. The house is dark, the sort of dark which feels safe and lends itself to contemplation. I have no plans for the day except maybe doing a wash. The laundry bag of clothes has been sitting and waiting for two days by the cellar door.

Gracie sits by the back door and watches the rain. Soon enough it will be her morning nap time. What a lovely way to fall asleep: gently lulled by the drops of rain. She’ll sleep in her crate. She loves it on days like today.

I am in a reading mood today. I see myself lying on the couch, quite comfy and cozy. I don’t have a book to read, but I figure I can download something. When I was young, I used to lie in bed with the headboard light on and read all afternoon when it rained. Even then I’d leave the windows opened so I could hear the rain fall. In a house filled with people, I always felt as if I were alone, as if I were the only person in the house. It was always the most peaceful time I can remember.

I loved riding my bike through puddles. I think it was a bit like Moses parting the Red Sea. On each side of me a giant wave was whooshed into the air by my tires as I rode through. My sneakers and the bottoms of my jeans always got soaked, but I never cared. Puddles were far too much fun for such small considerations as wet shoes and pants.

Rain in Ghana never stopped the world. Everyone was always out and about their business as if the day were sunny. I did the same thing. Before I left, I was given a fold-up umbrella as a gift. My first week there, when I had used it in the rain, I left it in a room, and it was gone when I went back a short while later. That didn’t really matter. After that, I just walked in the rain the same as everyone else.

“The mouse that hath but one hole is quickly taken.”

August 1, 2011

Lazy day is my mantra.

It was a restless night so I made up for it by missing a good portion of the morning. I slept in until 10 o’clock. About seven I let Gracie out, and she came back in at some point and joined me. She always has a morning nap. It’s already hotter than they predicted for today, but there is a nice breeze on the deck where I’ll go when I finish here. I have a new book to read called Children of the Street. Kwei Quartey, the author, is a Ghanaian and the mystery takes place in Accra. I read his first book, Wife of the Gods. It was okay, but I wished there was more Ghanaian English as it has wonderful peculiarities, but the books are fun to read as they mention familiar places. This one has some Hausa, the language the Peace Corps taught me.

Anther summer month has come and gone. If I were a kid, I’d be appalled at the back to school commercials on TV. We never went back until after Labor Day, and that’s still over a month away. No reminders were necessary.

Another mouse yesterday, but this one was still kicking. Gracie was making a ruckus in the dining room so I went to check and found the mouse. When I went to pick it up to get rid of it, the mouse’s legs moved. I should have known it was still alive as Gracie has no interest in one already gone to its heavenly reward. I was grossed out. I don’t mind dead mice, but I do mind half-dead mice. I called my mouser, my friend Tony, who came up and took the mouse outside. Tony was gentle and said he was sorry to the wee mousie. I don’t think it will survive, but at least it was outside and away from Gracie.

All my neighbors must be at the beach as the street is really quiet. I grew up in a neighborhood which was only quiet late at night. All day long kids played on the street or in the backyards. Mothers yelled out back doors for their kids to come in for lunch or dinner, and every kid who jumped through a cold sprinkler squealed. At night, you could hear the TV’s from the different houses and even see the wavering black and white screens through the windows. I remember the sound of snow on empty stations. I know now it was static, white noise, but back then it was a little mesmerizing with its sound and flickering dots. I figured it looked like a giant snow storm which is why it got its name.

I’m ready for lunch. Today is hummus.