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“Busy is good because it shows you’re alive.”

June 2, 2016

The last two days have been busy. I need a vacation. Yesterday I spend two hours chatting with my neighbor. We usually get together on Mondays but she couldn’t this week. She just became an American citizen and wants to improve her English so we chat and I help her with her grammar and pronunciation. She and her husband call me Miss Kath. It makes me feel 85. They make me part of the family which is quite nice. We have a graduation dinner on Saturday. Their middle child is graduating from high school. I love the food Niecy serves as it is Brazilian. She always makes sure there is plantain as she knows it is a favorite of mine.

In the afternoon I went to the pain clinic for the next episode of the bad back. The doctor injected steroids between bones in my back. The pain was bad enough my body stiffened until the procedure was over, four shots one at a time. I came home and took a nap.

Today my morning was filled. First I chatted with three technicians at XFinity because my On Demand won’t connect and the called ID is gone from my TV. Each tech sent my call to a higher tech. The final tech gave me an appointment time for Monday. The next call was to the Global On-Line government office; of course, all their lines are busy.

Skip, my factotum, is coming tomorrow to open the deck so I needed to have everything bought. I went to the hardware store for spray paint and brushes. My window boxes need to be painted, that was the spray, and the side fence needs to be repainted, brushes. My next stop was Agway. I bought soil for potting and several plants for the window boxes and the clay pots I bought the other day. The flower colors are vivid and wonderful. I have a mixture of pinks, purples and blues for the big pots and red, white and yellow for the smaller pots. As usual I have no idea what I bought. I had a friend with me who works at Agway, and she made all the choices except for the basil and rosemary. My car smelled wonderful on the ride home. The only plant left to get is catnip. They were out of it. I use it in the pots near the table to keep the mosquitos away.

My last stop was Ring’s, an occasion of sin for me is what the nuns would call it. I go for one thing and end up buying many things. Today I wanted a treat for all my labors, a cinnamon bun, but then I also bought a leek and spinach hand pie, some flowers, dog biscuits and a package of dried vegetable chips. One thing always expands to become many when I shop at Ring’s.

Today is damp and humid and will be in the low 60’s. I’m thinking I have earned a nap and a vacation. My dance card is empty until Saturday.

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“Clusters of bats hung like bunches of withered grapes from the roof and when, from time to time, either Kerim’s head or Bond’s brushed against them, they exploded twittering into the darkness.”

May 15, 2015

Lots of excitement here last night. We all, the two cats, the dog and I, were in the den. They were, as is their habit, asleep, two beside me and one on the table. I was on the couch at the computer and watching TV when whoosh something flew all around the room. It was a bat. I watched it leave this room then began to follow it as it flew around the house including upstairs. I opened both doors and a couple of windows. The doors had to be barricaded so the cats wouldn’t go out either one and Gracie wouldn’t escape through the front door. The bat would disappear then reappear. Gracie and I were sitting in the living room when we both heard scratching noises from under the table. She cocked her head and I turned on the flashlight. The bat was moving from one thing to another in plain sight. I shined the light on it, and it flew by me brushing my head in the take off. My sister offered a solution from my brother-in-law. I should put milk in a cup, and when the parched bat stopped for a drink, I’d  grab the cup with the bat inside, presumably still drinking, and throw both outside. Okay, sure, I’ll grab an opened cup with a bat inside. Anyway the bat didn’t appear for a while so I sat down to watch TV. The house by then was pretty chilly, down to 64˚. After an hour and no new sightings, I shut everything and closed the doors. I haven’t seen the bat since.

I remember a really bad movie about cave living vampire bats who flew out at night and attacked people. Several bats would land on the poor victims, mostly on their heads and necks, all at the same time. The people would scream as the bats bit down and sucked their blood. When I saw the bat in the light, I thought how small it is then I remembered the movie and hoped he had no friends.

Today is pots and window boxes planting day. I stopped at Agway this morning for more trailing rosemary and a few more flowers for a couple of pots we found yesterday. I so love the deck when all the flowers on the rail are in bloom and you can smell the rosemary and the basil.

Clouds have taken over the sunny morning. We may have showers tomorrow. I hope so: we need the rain. Last night was down to the 50’s again. My bedroom, with the window open, was quite chilly. Gracie and Fern huddled against me. I woke up early but was slow to leave the warm bed. I stayed under the covers for a while then dragged myself into the morning.

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“Nature bestows her own, richest gifts And, with lavish hands, she works in shifts…”

May 14, 2015

When the wind started yesterday afternoon, the warm temperature began to drop. After the sun set, it got cold enough so I had to shut the windows. Around 1am Gracie went out, and I decided to watch her from the deck. It was chilly like a fall night. I was glad for the sweatshirt and the comfy slippers I was wearing. Gracie went way back in the yard where I couldn’t see her, but I could hear the crunch of dead leaves wherever she walked. She went back and forth at the same place hunting, I guessed, for the chew bone she had buried during the day. After a while, I wanted into the warm house and called her. She came quickly, and we both went inside. It was one of those I wish I could get to sleep nights so I watched some TV. Gracie got on the couch, fell asleep and began to snore as Boxers are prone to do. I was jealous of the sleeping, not the snoring.

Today is lovely though still a little on the chilly side, the low 60’s. The sun is brilliant. It is a day of celebration. Skip, my factotum, is here to open the deck for the summer. He’s been here a few hours already and has cleared the vegetable garden and emptied the deck window boxes and the clay pots. He has cleaned off the chairs and the table. My outside shower is now ready for use. The spiders’ webs are gone. Yesterday I bought all the deck flowers and herbs. I tried to restrain myself at Agway knowing I’ll be making another trip next week for my vegetables, the herb garden plants and the front yard perennials. When I was driving home yesterday, the car smelled wonderful. It was the rosemary. Skip will be back tomorrow to finish. I have a couple of new projects for him.

This weekend will be the deck grand opening parade. There will be music and sparklers. The plastic pink flamingo and the Travelocity gnome will leave their winter quarters to take up their summer residences. The pink flamingo will be dressed in her finest Hawaiian outfit. The gnome will wear his traditional blue jacket and red conical hat. I will be resplendent in bright colors.

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“A Christmas candle is a lovely thing; It makes no noise at all, But softly gives itself away.”

December 2, 2014

My house smells of rosemary. I just came from Agway. I needed dog biscuits, and I ended up also buying two wreaths for outside, a rosemary plant for here, two small poinsettias, and I scooped some greens off the cutting area for my outside bowl. It is definitely beginning to look like Christmas. I went outside last night and admired my lights. They are lovely. I’ll take pictures, but I am so bad at posting. A bunch are sitting in my camera.

After 60˚ yesterday, we have a raw, cold day today. I was out before ten as I had PT then I  had a list of places to go and things to get. I made it to all six places, and it took me two trips to bring everything into the house. Most are for decorating though I did buy myself a new pair of shoes. My physical therapist kept telling me I needed new shoes as even the treads were gone on my old ones. At the shoe store the clerk told me I had certainly gotten my money’s worth from the old ones. The new ones feel great.

Cats tend to throw up. Sometimes it is just hairballs, gross I know but not gag worthy. Fern will sometimes eat too much too fast and then get sick. This is the story of one cat and her throw up. I got up during the night to go to the bathroom and in the darkness I stepped in cat vomit and was totally grossed out. I tried to walk without using the affected foot, but ended up with a weird limp.I cleaned both me and the floor then went back to bed. This morning I went to put my slippers on and saw that Fern had left her mark on one of them. I cleaned the slipper but didn’t choose to wear it.

I have one small errand to do later, but I’m going to read a bit and have lunch. My book is a Clive Cussler. I find his fun to read. I don’t have to think a lot about the plot or the characters. They are perfect for when I put my feet up, brew a new pot of coffee and just relax.

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“In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.”

September 21, 2013

Gracie was on the deck and barking so I went out to check to see which critter was within sight. I didn’t see any, but I did see a water spray near the top of the driveway. A bird was having the most wonderful bath in a puddle from my irrigation system. The drops of water were flying in the air as the bird flapped its wings. That bird was having a great time and so was I while watching it.

The morning is a beauty. It is quintessential autumn on Cape Cod. The sun is bright and the day is warm. Fall flowers are in bloom, and my garden is filled with mums, anemones and my favorite of all, autumn clematis. In autumn, I always think Mother Nature gives us her best and final show before winter’s turn in the year.

I need bird seed: sunflower and thistle. Lately, with so many birds, the big feeder empties quickly. I think word of beak must be the reason. Yesterday, after I had filled the feeders with the last of the seeds, a chickadee flew so close by me I swear its wing touched my cheek. I love to stand by the deck rail and watch the birds eat. They are barely an arm’s length away as the feeders hang off the deck. The chickadees are the most fearless. The seeds are what they want, and my being there doesn’t give them pause. The thistle feeder spins each time a goldfinch or chickadee lands on it. The birds just hold on and go with the spin.

I know I won’t be able to stop myself from roaming the flower aisles when I go to buy the bird seed. Perennials are on sale as are the fall flowers. I just happen to have a few spaces in the small round garden where a tree used to stand and some spots in the back of the big front garden. I also want to harvest the rest of my herbs. The rosemary is ready to hang in the house, and its aroma will spread about the kitchen to remind me summer will be back. I just have to be patient.

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“Each day has a color, a smell.”

September 12, 2013

Yesterday was summer with all its heat and humidity. We were cooler than most places, but that didn’t matter. I still took refuge in the house and the air-conditioning. This morning is cool and today will be hot but not like yesterday. I can already feel the difference in the humidity. The windows are open and the half-deflated Happy Birthday balloon from last month’s festivities is slightly swaying in the  breeze. Gracie is taking advantage of the open door and staying outside.

On the back of the door going down the cellar is my spice rack. When I open the door, I am assailed with the best smells, smells which give me pause. Curry seems to be the strongest, but there is also another smell, a combination of all the herbs and spices in the rack, a smell which makes me think of Marrakech and the spice market.

Years ago I went to Santa Fe, once with my sisters then again with my mother. I saw chimineas on that first trip and especially loved the clay ones with the primitive designs. My mother surprised me the next Christmas as she had bought me one. That was before anyone knew what they were, before they became a backyard standard. I use to sit on the deck and burn the piñon wood I had bought on-line. It had the sweetest smell.

My garden has a variety of herbs. Window boxes sit on the deck rail, and I have also herbs growing in each of them. Rosemary fills one box. I love rubbing my hand up the stalk of rosemary then smelling the herb on my hand. When I cook with the rosemary, the kitchen fills with its scent.

The smell of a summer rain has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. The smell of the rain comes before the storm, but once the rain begins, the smell is of wet earth and wet pavement. They have a singular smell, not sweet, maybe even a bit pungent, but they give the summer storm a bit of character, a depth the winter rainstorm never has.

 

I have my favorite Ghanaian smells-wood charcoal burning being the best one of all.

Fall is coming quickly and it will usher in the smells of the seasons, of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Those smells conjure memories of childhood and of my mother’s kitchen. They are really the best of any smells.

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