Posted tagged ‘late’
December 23, 2017
Late again! I slept in this morning. Gracie had a restless night, and I sleep lightly now so I would hear her, wake up and check to make sure she was okay. She was fine. This week’s acupuncture really helped. She’s moving around better than she has been. I hope it lasts longer each time.
Christmas Eve Eve made waiting for the big day even harder. We’d beg my mother to let us open one of the presents under the tree, but she’d never give in. She’d even get a bit annoyed at our relentless begging. My sister Moe never asked. She already knew what a few of the presents were but so did we without looking. Every year it was the same. We’d each have new pajamas and new slippers, the socks kind which I still like.
Cookies are on the to-do list. I made snickerdoodles yesterday. It was the first time I’d even made them, and my nephew, who had dropped by, said they were delicious. I’ll accept that as a valid review.
Today is dark and rainy. It is in the high 40’s now and will get to the mid 50’s, but by dark it will be much colder, down to the 30’s. I always think rain at Christmas is just wrong. Not a single Christmas song is about the joys of rain. Everything is snow. I figure the only kids happy with rain on Christmas morning are the ones with new bikes.
What I always really hated was leaving all my new stuff on Christmas Day to go to my grandparent’s house. All my aunts and uncles and cousins were also there. The place was chaos with kids running up and down stairs chasing each other. I have a lot of cousins.
No Christmas movie today. I watched Bright on Netflix. Will Smith is a police officer with an Orc as an partner. There are also fairies and elves. I think I saw a centaur manning or half-manning the entrance into the main police station. A magic wand that can destroy the world is the focus of the plot. I enjoyed it. This movie was a huge leap from all those Hallmark moments.
It’s time to work on my Christmas cookies. The orange cookies are next.
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Categories: Musings
Tags: acupuncture, bright, Cookies, Eve Eve, late, rainy, restless, snickerdoodles, warm
Comments: 12 Comments
August 12, 2017
It is quite late for my posting. I first woke up at 7:30, and when Gracie heard me, she left her crate and came to me in the den, her usual morning routine. We went to the door, and as soon as I opened it, she backed away. It was raining quite heavily. I went back to bed and Gracie joined me on the couch. We both slept away the morning.
The day is very dark and very still. All my windows are closed. The rain has stopped, and I miss the beating of rain on the roof. It has always been on the list of my favorite sounds. If I were to build a tiny house in my yard, it would have a metal roof. I would go there every time it rained.
One Easter, I wanted a suit and a new blouse instead of froufrou. I had outgrown froufrou. The blouse was white with a bit of frill on the collar, and the suit was blue, a darker blue. We were at my grandmother and grandfather’s house on Easter Sunday where the whole family converged on some weekends and on every holiday. I overheard my aunt ask my mother why I was wearing a suit and not a new dress. My mother said that’s what she wanted.
Gracie and I have a couple of errands today. She needs refills on pills, and I need a few things for movie night which has been postponed until tomorrow because of inclement weather. I always wanted to use inclement weather. I didn’t have much of an opportunity.
I think television dialogue ought to set an example by using correct English. Perhaps hearing it often enough would permeate even the thickest of minds. The object of a preposition is in the objective case. Stop using I after a preposition. For example: after Don and I isn’t correct. It is after Don and me, with me being the objective case. I used to tell my students to take out the name and just use the pronoun. It would then become after I. Does that sound right? How about after me? That was lesson number 1.
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Categories: Musings
Tags: conventional, dark, dog's pills, Easter clothes, froufrou, inclement weather, late, metal roof, objective case, preposition, raining, small house, sound of rain, still, television dialogue
Comments: 8 Comments
July 1, 2017
I am late again. This time I can’t blame my computer. It is my fault. It was close to 10:30 when I woke up then I had two papers to read and a couple of cups of coffee to drink before I could face the day. Last night I was restless and woke up several times. Gracie was the sleep disruptor twice, the first at 3:30. When we went outside, it was so dark I had to feel with my foot to figure out where we were: the grass or the driveway. Once back inside, I had to read a while before I could get back to sleep, back to my restless sleep. It’s no wonder I’m tired.
Today’s weather is like yesterday’s but with a breeze instead of a wind. The leaves at the end of the branches are waving but only slightly. I don’t hear my chimes.
Summer has officially started. The house next door has its first renters of the season. I heard them this morning. They weren’t loud but the open window a bit above the couch where I sleep faces their small deck and slider. I haven’t figured out how many are there yet, but I think there is only a single car.
My house is dark though the clouds are light-colored, not like storm clouds. I can feel the humidity. I’ve nothing planned for today but I might switch out the spawn eaten lights for the new ones I have. The spawns prefer red for chewing.
We didn’t have many organized summer activities when I was a kid. The playground under the trees on the field at the end of my street was about the only close place to spend a summer day. The pool was another spot, but it was about as far away from my house as you could get and still be in my town. Sometimes we’d bike ride to a pond in the next town and go fishing. The library was another place to spend some time before leaving with an armful of books. Other times we didn’t do anything but stay around the house.
My mother kept the living room dark. All the shades were down. She believed this was the best way to keep the house cool. We didn’t have AC back then, and we didn’t have any fans. Upstairs was a hot box. It took a while to fall asleep.
My father had an obsession about mosquitos. He always yelled for us to close the outside doors quickly; somehow, though, that didn’t work. My father hunted down mosquitos. They were his prey. He had a rolled-up newspaper as his weapon of choice. He’d jump on beds to whack the mosquitos on the ceilings. He woke us up a lot when the beds rocked as he walked across the mattress swatting bugs. All the ceilings had smashed bug marks and a few splotches of blood. My father announced each kill, each triumph. He was a mighty hunter.
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Categories: Musings
Tags: breezy, cloudy, dark, dark livingroom, late, library, mosquitos, officially summer, playground, pool, reading, renters, restless, shades, spawns of Satan, summer activities, swaying leaves, whacking bugs
Comments: 6 Comments
April 13, 2017
You’re probably wondering where I am this late in the day. I spent the morning following Gracie as she had balance problems. That happens most mornings, but then she figures it out and adjusts her gait, but she didn’t today. I walked her down to the yard a couple of times and sat waiting outside for her. I was glad she was quick as that famous Cape breeze is making it chilly despite the sun.
Captain Frosty’s opened today, and we made our annual pilgrimage. I had the shrimp plate with a couple of clam cakes and onion rings instead of fries. The plate was so filled it should have had an annex just for the onion rings. Captain Frosty’s is always the first of our haunts to open for the summer. The ice cream shop is usually next. I’m always excited as shops open for the season. Each opening brings us closer to summer.
Yesterday I was able to cross off all but the one errand which has graced every list I’ve made since the first of the year: getting my hair cut. It is now on the top of tomorrow’s list. Every day I am bound and determined to get it cut but I don’t and have no reasons why not.
Gracie is standing beside me on the couch. Her muzzle is about 6 inches from my face, and she is staring at me. I know all the signals. She wants out. That means slowly walking her down the stairs, staying out with her then calling her up the back stairs, an easier climb for her. The whole stair thing is strange. She won’t go down the easy stairs. No, I have to take her down one step at a time on the scary stairs, the ones she is afraid of as she slides, but Gracie, being a rather intelligent dog, figured out on her own that the other stairs are easy to climb. I’m glad as she doesn’t need my help.
I’m going to take Miss Gracie out now. She has barked once right at me in impatience. That drives me crazy, and she knows it. Smart dog!
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Categories: Musings
Tags: balance', Captain Frosty's, chilly, clam cake, errands, gait, hair cut, ice cream, late, shrimp, sun
Comments: 7 Comments
October 25, 2016
When I first got home from Ghana, I was waking up around 4, or if I slept in, around 5. Now I am waking up at 8 or, like today, closer to 9. In Ghana, I was asleep by 9 or 9:30 at the latest. Every morning, the rooster woke me up when it was still dark, and I’d sleep fitfully until 6 or so. I go to bed much later now, and there are no roosters or calls to prayer in the early mornings to wake me up. Where am I going with this? Well, I am writing Coffee so much later now. I take my time in the mornings and read both papers. I also do the crossword in the Globe and the cryptogram in the Cape Times. Sometimes I have breakfast, but most mornings I just drink coffee. I am in no hurry. That’s a piece of Ghana still with me, and I’m holding on to that for a while. Mornings should be leisurely. I can think of no better way to start the day.
For the first time, Massachusetts is allowing early voting. I figure on hitting the booth today. I figure it is a foregone conclusion as to who will win the state. Massachusetts is about as blue a state as there is. We even voted for McGovern, and I think we were the only state which did. Later, after President Nixon resigned, bumper stickers appeared which said, “Don’t blame me. I’m from Massachusetts.”It was wonderful being clairvoyant.
This morning I watched an Edward G. Robinson movie on TCM called Confessions of a Nazi Spy which was released in 1939. EGR played an FBI agent who hunts down Nazi spies one at a time by capturing members of a spy ring operating in the United States. I did a bit of sleuthing and found out it was based on the articles of former FBI agent Leon G. Turror who had been active in investigating Nazi spy rings in the United States prior to the war and lost his position at the Bureau when he published the articles without permission. The movie was banned in Germany, Japan and many Latin American and European countries. The music played during the credits was God Bless America. I liked the movie and figure the obvious propaganda was well timed.
My laundry is sitting in front of the cellar door where it has been for five or six days. I have plenty of clean clothes of all sorts. Needing clothes seems to drive my doing the laundry; however, I am getting tired of looking at that laundry bag so I have a couple of choices. I can throw the bag down the cellar stairs and shut the door or I can do the laundry. I’m leaning toward doing the laundry. I can be a sloth for only so long.
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Categories: Musings
Tags: 4 o'clock, blue state, Boston Globe, breakfast, clairvoyant, coffee, early morning, early voting, late, Laundry, leisurely, Nixon resigned, papers, rooster
Comments: 6 Comments
October 10, 2016
This morning came at 4 o’clock, but I did go to bed at 8 so the early day wasn’t surprising. Right now I’m catching up with the debate by watching MSNBC. I despair.
Yesterday it rained all day and last night the rain fell in a deluge. It was the wettest day in the entire year. The wind blew so hard I could hear it howling. Gracie wouldn’t go out before bed. She took one look and backed away from the door. Smart dog!
I will try and empty my luggage today. I might even do a wash. I did exert myself and go shopping yesterday for animal and people food. We will all eat well for the next few days. I figure one of the best parts of a trip is not having to do anything but enjoy the travel. My room is cleaned. I eat at restaurants. My clothes get washed.
In Ghana time is relative. The Ghanaians distinguish between African time and European time. If Grace, one of my former students, said she’d be at our hotel at 10. We figured if she was there by 11, she’d be early. I’m coming is a favorite Ghanaian comment. It just means that at some time the expected visitor will arrive. The only exception is at a red light. The time between the light turning green and the first horn is about a second or two.
I am glad for the cool days here at home. I spent my entire time in Ghana sweaty. Beads of sweat rolled down my cheeks, and the back of my head was always soaked. Needing a sweatshirt in the cold, early morning is a joy. I probably won’t think the same when the temperature drops to below freezing.
Ghana is not known for its coffee. It is always instant with either evaporated milk or milk powder. I am now on my third cup of real coffee. Maybe I won’t need a nap today.
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Categories: Musings
Tags: coffee, debate, deluge, early morning, food shopping, late, rain, red light, travel, Wind
Comments: 18 Comments
August 25, 2016
Yesterday was perfection. It was sunny, cool and dry. Today is August weather, humid and hot. The sun comes and goes. It hides behind the clouds, but the clouds have no rain. They just obscure the sun. The weather report says maybe tomorrow for the rain. I am skeptical.
Yesterday I went to Hyannis. I couldn’t believe the bumper to bumper traffic heading to Main Street. Why weren’t those people on the beach?
I actually got a few things done yesterday. I had a doctor’s appointment, got my hair cut, changed the bed and watered the plants. That’s the most I’ve done in a single day for a long while. It was all because I had read an article which said that you should have only five or fewer things on your to-do list. You prioritize the items, start from the top and what you don’t finish goes on the list the next day and you only add an item if you have fewer than the five. Having this list requires you to single task, to focus. The whole story is here: https://getpocket.com/a/read/1389934087
It is time to Peapod. The larder is empty. I don’t think I can have eggs one more night even with bacon.
I am so very late today as I made my bed, did an errand, called and spoke to my sister as it is her birthday, tried to fix a couple of lamps and started my laundry. Lee, one half of my cleaning couple, came and he fixed both lamps for me as I couldn’t. Come to find out I can fix a split infinitive or a dangling participle but not a lamp.
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Categories: Musings
Tags: chores, cloudy, errands, fix it, hair cut, hot, humid, Hyannis, late, prioritize items, sunny, to do list, traffic
Comments: 4 Comments
November 13, 2015
Okay, I know this is really later than usual, but I slept far later than usual. I had one of those I am not tired nights and was up until after 3 so I didn’t wake up until 10:30 then I had to perform my morning rituals: making the coffee, getting and reading the two papers, feeding the animals, reading my e-mail and going through yesterday’s mail. Finally I’m ready, with coffee in hand, to begin writing.
The day is sunny but quite breezy. Pine needles are dropping from the big tree in the front. They look like the start of a snow storm without much punch, one where the biggest flakes fall but only for a while. A few needles landed on me when I went by to get the papers. On the way back it took me a while as I was watching the mini-tornado of leaves whirling down the street. Magic came to mind. I could see Mickey in his magician’s hat and robe moving the wand in a circle to make the leaves dance. I stayed and watched until they whirled their last then fell to the ground.
The week thus far has been busy with something each day, but today I am a sloth. I haven’t anywhere I need to go or anything I need to do. My back will enjoy the day of leisure as it, of late, has been vehemently complaining about the loads of laundry I did on Wednesday then carried up two flights of stairs and the shopping and cooking I did yesterday. My friends came over for a birthday dinner and to open their gifts. I had a list of things I needed to buy. One of them was a yellow pepper or so I thought. When I got home, I saw the recipe called for an orange pepper. I know there is no difference except in color, but I can’t figure how I read one and wrote the other, but the color didn’t really matter. Dinner, Mexican chicken stew, was still delicious.
On my table is a mile high (slight exaggeration) pile of catalogues. I have thrown many away, but the ones in the pile have been saved as possible fodder for Christmas shopping. I will do the shopping from the comfort of my couch then I’ll take a nap. Shopping can be exhausting.
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Categories: Musings
Tags: busy week, dancing leaves, friends and dinner, late, magician, Mexican chicken stew, morning rituals, pine needles, sleepless night, sunny and breezy, wand, whirling leaves
Comments: 21 Comments
August 2, 2015
I know it is late for me, so late that I almost thought of taking a mini-vacation, but here I am. Earlier I was out on the deck sitting in the shade of the umbrella. The day is another hot one. Gracie, despite lying in the shade, was panting. She wanted in so we both came inside to the AC. She is now comfy and asleep in her crate.
We’re going to the dump later. That’s the only entry on my dance card.
There is something so strongly compelling about going home. When I go back to my old home town, as I still call it after all these years, I take familiar routes, the ones I used to walk. From St. Pat’s to the project there are many changes. Some of the older houses are gone. The railroad tracks too are gone but there is a wide path where they once were. I am sometimes tempted to park my car and follow the path to see if it looks the same. There was a stream where we stopped for water. I wonder if it is still there. The playground where I spent so many summer days disappeared. Where it was is all overgrown now. My house and street look exactly the same except the bushes on the side of my old house are really tall. I don’t know if there is a limit as to how tall they will get. The tops look a bit spindly to me. I always have the urge to get out of the car and walk into the backyard just to peek to see if the in-ground garbage pail is still there, but I figure it would look a bit odd to the current occupants. I wonder what color the walls are now. In my day the living room was green. I suspect the house will look quite small inside to me now. I know the kitchen seemed small even then. Kid’s voices still fill the air on a nice day.
In Bolga, on my trip back after forty years, the first place I went was to my old school grounds to find my house. It was quite easy to find. It needed paint and the back courtyard could not be seen because the current occupants had added to the fence tops to block the view. I wondered about the four doors around the courtyard. I wondered what color they are. Coincidentally they were green when I lived there.
Home is a fluid place. It is both where you live now and all the places you’ve lived before.
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Categories: Musings
Tags: asleep in her crate, Bolga, courtyard, green paint, home, hot day, late, my old house, My school, panting dog, playground, railroad tracks, St. Pat's, tall bushes, up-town
Comments: 8 Comments
November 21, 2010
Sorry about the timing. I know late doesn’t quite cover it, but actually, I woke up early, used my walker to get to the kitchen to make coffee then the pain hit, and I altered my plans. I came back to the den, took a pain pill and went back to sleep. Gracie and Fern joined me. Two hours later I woke up and performed, for my own benefit, the opening dance sequence from West Side Story, finger clicks and all. Right now I’m working on I Feel Pretty (in my sweatshirt and slippers).
I do feel better each day, but postings will be a bit erratic depending upon how long it takes my body to adjust to being upright each morning. I miss my sisters dearly. They made me laugh a lot and we reminisced about growing up together. We also played a few games. They decided they liked me best in a pill induced fog when it came to word games.
My hard drive died the week before I had surgery, but I replaced right away. Luckily I lost only my bookmarks and address book. All my music and pictures are safe on an external back-up drive but have to be reloaded over the next few days so I have a task to keep myself busy. Yesterday my laptop stopped recharging its battery. I don’t know what’s wrong, but it can sit for a while.
My mother was always the best remedy when I was sick. She’d bring me pudding or ice cream or whatever she thought would make me feel better. I’d lie in bed and color or read, and she’d check on me, tuck in my covers and kiss my forehead to check for fever. She made me feel special. Having my two sisters here was almost like having two mothers; however, they did forget to check my forehead for fever. I guess I’ll just have to overlook it.
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Categories: Musings
Tags: being sick, fever, late
Comments: 26 Comments
