Posted tagged ‘rain on the roof’

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“Ordinary life is pretty complex stuff.”

February 16, 2016

Last night I fell asleep to the wonderful sound of the rain on the roof. Since then the rain has come and gone and come again. The snow is pock-marked and ugly. I can see part of my deck and all of the deck stairs. Yesterday it was freezing. Today it is already nearly 50˚ and should get as high as 55˚. Tonight will be windy and the rain will return, torrential rain.

George is campaigning for Jeb. I saw a bit of one speech, and George used one of my favorite Bushisms,”People have long misunderestimated me.”The Republican race is entertaining me.

When I was a little kid, I never did many girly things though most of my friends did. I wasn’t into wearing dresses though I had to because of school dress codes. During my sophomore year in college the winter was so cold the school allowed women to wear pants. We never had to wear dresses or skirts again. In Ghana I had to wear dresses every day. It was the custom. I didn’t really mind. My dresses were sewn by my seamstress for about $3 or $4, and they were made from beautiful and colorful African cloth I had bought in the market. It was also so hot in Ghana that a dress was cooling. I can’t remember the last time I wore a dress, but I know the next wear a dress event will be Easter.

This is February school vacation week. When I was growing up, we never went anywhere during this week. No one I knew ever did. Mostly we all just hung around the neighborhood, went to each others’ houses to play or we rode bikes if it was warm enough. If it was cold, we skated or went sledding. The joy of the week was having no school. That was plenty enough for us.

I never felt deprived of anything when I was growing up. That we didn’t have much money never occurred to me. I had what I needed. I got my fifty cents allowance every Friday and felt rich. I got my movie and candy money on Saturday. I got a dime on Sunday to put in the basket at mass. I was a happy kid. Life was good, still is come to think of it.

 

Categories: Musings
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“A lawn is nature under totalitarian rule.”

October 23, 2014

The visit was spectacular. We laughed and reminisced. We ate the great food Peg brought and I had made. We went up Cape sightseeing, stopped at the Coast Guard Museum, the Old Jail and in Sandwich for lunch. The weather cooperated, and we missed rain everywhere. They left yesterday afternoon and the house got too quiet. I miss them. Gracie does too. She loved her walks with Bill.

We always easily connect. I think it is the friendship of years and the experience we shared in Ghana. The other night we listened to a song called Poop in a Hole about being a Peace Corps volunteer. The country wasn’t Ghana, but it didn’t matter. It was a universal experience we all accepted and mastered. The three of us laughed several times. I have no other close friends who would think that song funny, gross maybe, but not funny. Bill, Peg and I are experts at pooping in a hole.

Last night the rainstorm and the wind were tremendous. As I was going to bed, I saw lightning through the windows on the front door. The thunder was next. It was loud and it rumbled often. The rain was heavy and I could hear it hitting the windows and the roof. When I woke up this morning, it was sunny, but now it is cloudy again. It is warmer than I expected.

Pine needles cover my grass. They are all brown and would have fallen eventually but they were rushed by the wind. For some people on the Cape, pine needles are their front lawns. They buy and spread them mostly at seasonal homes. Crushed white sea shells too act as lawns. When I was young, there were very few lawns. Keeping them healthy and green was just too much trouble. The house I lived in had a weedy front yard so it was a lawn of sorts, the same with the back. I don’t know remember when grass reared its ugly head and having a beautiful lawn became a matter of pride. It was like importing suburbia. I do have a beautiful lawn now, but I also have a landscaper who takes care of it. I write a check and take compliments on how green and lush my lawn is: that’s my only contribution.

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

November 7, 2013

I love the sound of rain and today is a good day for a lover of rain. When I woke up, the first sound I heard was rain drops falling on the roof so I stayed in bed a bit longer and listened. Gracie gave me a look but she was too comfortable in bed beside me to move and quickly settled back to sleep. I stayed in bed and read a while but the thought of a fresh cup of coffee and the biscotti I bought yesterday were too enticing so I got up and went downstairs, put the coffee on and went outside to get the papers. The leaves are plastered to my driveway and the street. Pine needles cover the lawn, but the rain is welcomed as it has been so dry.

Yesterday Gracie and I went for one errand then we took a ride down cape. She kept her head out the window surveying the world as we passed. I saw some color, mostly bright red. The ocean was quiet. I stopped at one store and bought a few things, odd things like measuring cups, a scoop and some chutney.

I remember my grammar school classroom on rainy days. The lights hung down from the high ceiling, and in the darkness of the day the room always seemed a bit shadowy despite the banks of windows on the back and one side wall. Rain subdued us. There was none of the shuffling of feet or the rustling of papers. I’d lose myself in the rain, and the sound of the nun’s voice would get further and further away until I didn’t hear it anymore. I’d watch the drops of rain pelt the window and find one drop to watch as it rolled down the window getting smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared then I’d find another drop to watch. I was a long way from school on rainy days.

Today is a stay home day. I have no reason to go anywhere. My bed is already made so I have done all my household chores leaving the rest of the day for reading and maybe napping in the late afternoon. A dark, rainy day seems to lend itself to a nap. I’ll stay in my around the house comfy clothes and slippers. Today sounds perfect.

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“Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby.”

May 10, 2011

This morning I had a library board meeting at 9. The alarm woke me up with enough time for a cup of coffee and most of one paper. Had I no crack of dawn meeting, I would have lounged around all day. It’s ugly out: cold, wet and windy. The Weather Channel has issued an advisory. This nor’easter will continue through tomorrow when it will produce high tides and large waves to batter the coastline. I did all my errands while I was out. I got more books at the library, my beach and dump stickers at the town hall, a few groceries and I voted in the local election. After I finish here, I will get right back into my cozies and spend the day reading and doing little else, except maybe a little nap in the afternoon and catching up on a program or two I had DVRed. The day isn’t meant for industry.

Even when I was a kid, I loved lying in bed and reading on a rainy day. I’d come home from school soaked by the walk. My shoes squished and bubbled, my hair was plastered to my head, my uniform skirt soaked and my hands freezing from carrying my book bag. I’d quickly change into my flannel pajamas, jump into bed, turn on the bed lamp, get cozy under the covers and read. It was like my own private world. Everyone else was downstairs watching TV so I had Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden all to myself. My mother would yell to me upstairs when it was dinner time, and I would reluctantly give up my world and join the rest of the family.

Rain and I have always been the best of friends. Summer rain is my favorite. It patters as it falls on the leaves and always seems gentler somehow than in all the other seasons. The sounds of rain on the roof and against the windows is like a song to me, one big on the brass and percussion instruments.

In my backyard I would put a cottage with a tin roof so I could be surrounded by the rain. It would have a daybed, a table and a comfy chair. That would be enough. It would be near perfect.

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