Posted tagged ‘sunny day’
March 9, 2014
Today is another pretty day though nowhere near as warm as yesterday when we got to 49˚. The sun this morning is bright and the sky is a dark blue, but the air is chilly. It’s only 37˚, the new average temperature for this time of year. I was outside on the deck chasing red spawns away from the feeders and watching Gracie running in the yard, but I got cold and came back inside to a hot cup of coffee to warm the innards as my mother used to say.
I easily fall into a Sunday mindset and find myself lingering over the newspapers. I am one to read from front to back, each section in turn. It relates, I suspect, to my need for straight pictures, alphabetical herbs and spices and things in their rightful places. That last one helps me to find what I have lost. I know where to look, where it ought to be and most times that’s exactly where I find it. Peculiarities are sometimes a good thing.
I am still a gas hog. The report came in the mail yesterday. I think it strange as from eleven at night to eight in the morning my house is only at 62˚. During the day it is always at 68˚. I wonder if my neighbors sit with afghans around their shoulders and on their feet and knees so their thermostats can be kept at lower temperatures. I can imagine them exhorting each other: walk around, flap your arms, get another blanket and stop complaining.
It is Amazing Race night. I am doing desserts this week, and we’re having brownies with hot fudge and vanilla ice cream. Just think about it: an evening with friends, one of my favorite shows, fun games, appetizers and dessert. What a wonderful way to start a week.
Categories: Musings
Tags: alphabetical herbs and spices, blue skies, brownies and hot fudge, chilly morning, games, gas hog, ice cream, straight pictures, Sunday mindset, sunny day, The Amazing Race
Comments: 12 Comments
March 8, 2014
A sunny day with a blue sky and warm temperatures almost makes me wonder if I’m delusional. My mind is having trouble wrapping around this change in weather. It’s hard to believe, I know, but it is actually above freezing and will get to the 40’s today. The sides of my street are a stream of water from the melting plow piles. My birdseed barrel is no longer frozen to the deck. My front lawn is snowless. I wore my slippers to get the papers, and my socks didn’t get wet. My mouth is agape.
My furnace needed a new blower motor. It was around 62˚ in here by the time it was fixed, but it didn’t take long for the house to be warm and cozy again. The furnace even blows more quietly now. The bill will be in the mail.
When we’d have a string of warm days, I’d start riding my bike to school. It was mostly downhill in the morning until the straightaway which led directly to school. The bike rack was in the schoolyard under the trees. It was made of wood and painted green. We never used locks, and I don’t remember anyone ever having a bike stolen. The ride home was uphill, and by the time I was halfway up the hill by my house, I was walking my bike. It was early in the season, and my legs weren’t hill ready yet. They wouldn’t be until closer to summer when I would always ride all the way up the big hill and never think of stopping.
A day like today meant putting the winter coat, the hat, the mittens and the scarf away even if only for this one day. It was a wonderful freedom of movement. I loved my spring jackets. They were always light colors, usually pastels. I’d wear a sweater underneath until it got warm enough for just the jacket, for when spring was in full bloom.
In the spring I always felt like skipping. Walking wasn’t joyous enough.
Categories: Musings
Tags: bike riding, freedom of movement, furnace blower motor, melting snow, skipping, spring coat, sunny day, uphill on my bike, warm house, warm temperature
Comments: 12 Comments
February 7, 2014
Today I am grouchy and tired having not slept well the last couple of nights. I want someone to cross me so I can take my mood out on an unsuspecting stranger. I mean, really, I’d hate to do it to a friend or Gracie and the cats. Maybe a telemarketer will call.
It’s sunny and the sky is blue, but it’s a ruse. The morning is cold. Luckily there is no breeze or wind to make it feel even colder. I have to go out for an appointment so I’m going to add a bit of fun shopping to make the trip palatable. I’ll stop at odd shops, the ones with antiques and little doo-dads. I’ll go up-cape for a change. I’ll bring my camera and my dog.
Everyone is sick of winter. My cousin, living in New Hampshire, said it was about 5 below when she got to work this morning. Compared to her, I live in the tropics. For my sister in Colorado it was 4˚ yesterday though today is supposed to be hot at 40˚. I think it’s the snow causing all these winter woes. It chills the air making it even colder, and without it, we might be able to dupe ourselves into thinking warmer thoughts: I’m lying on the lounge chair on the deck with my face toward the sun. My eyes are closed. The sun is hot so I cool off a bit by taking sips of my drink, the one with the little umbrella. Astrud Gilberto and Brazilian salsa is playing in the background. Okay, I can’t keep doing this.
One look out the window to the snow-covered yard, and I am back in the throes of winter: to the furnace blasting to heat the house, to drinking hot coffee to warm my innards and my cold hands and to wearing flannel pants, a hooded sweatshirt and socks and slippers around the house every day. It’s no wonder I’m grouchy! Even Pollyanna would be having a tough time about now.
Categories: Musings
Tags: below zero, cold, drink with an umbrella, flannels, furnace blowing, grouchy, in the sun, on the deck, ruse, Shopping, sick of winter, sunny day, sweatshirt, tired, tropics, up-Cape, warmer thoughts
Comments: 13 Comments
May 28, 2013
I’ve returned from my trip to the big city. Traffic was light so I had nothing to curse about.
Today is another beautiful day, as perfect as yesterday, our reward for the rain and the cold. It is lovely, warm and sunny, but the weatherman says a heat wave is on its way. The other night it was in the 30’s and now we can expect the high 80’s. I had the heat on the other morning for a short while and soon enough I’ll be cranking up the air-conditioner.
My red car is lime green as is the deck. Both are covered in pine pollen. The deck is so covered I can see Gracie’s paw prints and my footprints. A cloud of green pollen wafts off the pine trees into the air when any breeze blows. If this were an old sci-fi movie, it would be radiation of sorts released into the air by aliens (I just couldn’t resist). I have only one window opened, the one in my bedroom, because I don’t want every surface in the house covered in green. I’m enjoying the sun, but a good heavy rain storm is great to clear the trees; however, I don’t think there are any in the forecast. I’ll just have to survive the green invasion of the pine pollen.
When I was a kid, this time of year was one of my favorites. I could start riding my bike to school. The to school was all downhill from my street to a smaller hill, more of an incline, around the corner then a straight shot to school. The bike racks were wooden and under trees in the school yard. I didn’t have a lock, none of us did. We just pushed our front tires into the rack and there the bikes stayed all day. The ride home was a bit more strenuous. The incline was an easy ride, but the hill to my house wasn’t. I’d start at the bottom sitting in my seat then I’d have to stand to pedal harder. I’d try and try to get to my house without getting off, but this time of year I didn’t make it. I’d have to get off about half-way up, when the hill got steeper, and walk my bike the rest of the way. Soon enough, though, with all that riding, my legs got stronger and finally I could ride right up to grassy hill in front of my house, the grassy hill sacred to my father. I’d push the bike up the hill and around the back. That time of year the bike stayed outside in the backyard unless it rained. I’d lean the bike against the rail, pull my books out of the basket on the front, run inside, change into my play clothes and go back outside to ride some more. Spring and early summer days were the best for bike riding.
Categories: Musings
Tags: bike rack, bike ride to school, Heat Wave, pine pollen, riding up the hill, sunny day, walking the bike, warm day
Comments: 6 Comments
April 26, 2013
What a beautiful day it is with deep blue skies and warm sun. Today is spring in all its glory. When Gracie comes in from the yard, her fur is warm to the touch. She sleeps in the sun in the back of the yard on the tall grass. It is her morning perch on glorious days like today. Fern is asleep in the sun streaming through the front door and Maddie, also by the door, grabs the very small bit of sun Fern doesn’t use. Today is animal day as I need to shop at Agway for all of them: cat food, litter, dry and canned dog food, dog and cat treats and thistle and suet for the birds. I’ll need a small loan to pay for all of it. As for me, I’m thinking of that bacon, cheddar and avocado sandwich I had last week. That will be my treat.
Last night was trivia night, and we didn’t win. We weren’t even close. One of the questions was what year Dakota Fanning was born. A teammate said she’d never even heard of her. I gave a bit of background and said she was 19. We subtracted that from 2013 and guessed 1994. I was right. I have no idea why I knew that answer. That will always remain one of life’s mysteries. Another question asked for the last state admitted to the union before Alaska and Hawaii. I knew it was Arizona, and I even knew it was in 1912. Sometimes I get to the kitchen and forget why I’m there, but I don’t forget Dakota Fanning’s age. Life is strange sometimes.
Say it, don’t spray it is a put-down from my childhood. The other day it popped into my head from who knows which part of my memory drawers, but it got me thinking about all those put-down we used which have now disappeared. They were really innocent as were we, but they did the job. Ask too many questions and one of us would want to know if you were writing a book. To call someone a closet case back then had nothing to do with sexual identity. Don’t have a cow is a favorite of mine. It really makes no sense, but we all understood its meaning. Sometimes we’d call a kid a spaz. I think that’s what I still am. Odd ball is another. Hold your fist in front of someone’s face and offer him a knuckle sandwich. The threat was generally declined. Being accused of having cooties was about the worst. Once that started, it became a refrain, a schoolyard taunt.
This morning my sister said, “You owe me a coke,” because we both had said the same thing at the same time, and she was quicker in throwing out the coke line. That and spitting were the start of this whole musing.
When was the last time you called dibs?
See you later alligator!
Categories: Musings
Tags: Arizona, blue sky, Dakota Fanning, dibs, lying in the sun, odd ball, spaz, spring, sunny day, trivia night
Comments: 14 Comments
April 22, 2013
The sun streaming through the front door is hot. Fern has taken possession of the rug in front of the door and is, as usual, sprawled in the sun. Maddie and Gracie are here on the couch with me. Gracie is having her morning nap. After all, she has been awake for a couple of hours and must be exhausted. Maddie just wants a few pats.
All of us have morning rituals. Fern and Gracie sleep on my bed so when I wake up, they jump up and wish me a good morning. Gracie wags her tiny Boxer tail so much I expect it to become a rotor and for her tail end to take flight the way a helicopter does. If my morning ever becomes a cartoon, that’s exactly what would happen. Fern rolls all over the bed and sometimes has to grab the sheet or she’d roll right off. I pat her and she bumps me with her head to let me know she expects more. After the morning greetings are done, I feed the cats and Gracie and I go downstairs. Maddie is usually on the table in the sun. She gets her morning pats after which I let Gracie out and put on the coffee then I go outside to get the papers, and most mornings I stop to admire the new flowers. This morning there were two yellow and white daffodils which had just bloomed. After admiring my garden for a while, I go back inside, fill Gracie’s dry food dish so she can munch during the day, leave two biscuits in her crate then grab my coffee and go into the den to read the papers. That is my morning just about every single day except Sunday when I go out to breakfast, the only break in my routine.
Soon enough it will be warm, and I’ll be on the deck with my coffee and papers. Gracie will take her morning nap spread out on the lounge, and I’ll stop and watch the birds at the feeders. Sometimes I bring my laptop outside where I’ll write Coffee.
I love my mornings.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Boxers, cat in the sun, cats, coffee, dogs, flowers, garden, good morning, morning rituals, papers, routine, sunny day
Comments: 25 Comments
April 18, 2013
Today is a sunny but chilly day. The forsythia in my yard has blossomed and is the most beautiful yellow. It is the sun come to ground for just a little bit. The sky is as blue as it can ever be, and not a cloud can be seen, not even the smallest. Gracie has been in the yard all morning playing with her partially deflated basketball. She carries it in her mouth and runs around the yard. When she gets tired, she lies in the sun on the deck then comes in for a drink from her porcelain water bowl and then goes back outside. A dog never wastes a beautiful day. A chipmunk is my newest nemesis. It is small enough not to trip the feeder which thwarts the spawns. I look out the window, and when I see the chipmunk sitting on the feeder and munching, I run out and scare it. This morning it didn’t hear me, and I got close enough to touch it had I wanted to, but then it saw me and ran across the rail. I chased it just to scare it, and I did. I had to clean the rail afterwards.
Yesterday I treated myself to lunch. I had a panini with bacon, cheddar, avocado, lettuce and horseradish. It was delicious. I sat and ate my lunch at a table by the window and watched the traffic, cars and people, go by. I bought Gracie a treat at the dog store and then went home, satisfied I hadn’t wasted a beautiful day.
My cats sleep in the sun. They whack each other for position then settle in where the sun shines the brightest. Fern usually gets the better spot, and she stretches out her body so that all of it will feel the warmth. She starts at the front door then moves to the back in the early afternoon. Gracie is a bit afraid of Fern who takes full advantage of that fear. When Fern is by the back door, Gracie won’t come in her dog door. She bangs it to let me know she wants in and wants a bit of protection. I save her. Fern has never hurt Gracie. She just intimidates. Her favorite game is keep Gracie off the bed. Fern runs from side to side so Gracie won’t jump on the bed. I save Gracie. Fern washes Gracie often especially while all of us are on the bed. Poor Gracie sits wide-eyed wondering what might happen. Nothing ever does. Fern likes Gracie, but she also likes being the top dog, so to speak. Pets are interesting and funny and loving.
Categories: Musings
Tags: beautiful spring day, Bird feeder, cats, chipmunk, Fern and Gracie, forsythia, Lunch, panini, sunny day, the sun, yellow
Comments: 10 Comments
April 16, 2013
I am now thankful for my painful back. For weeks I have been cursing when I walk or move in the wrong direction, and yesterday morning I was unhappy at not working the marathon as it is something I enjoy doing every year. Now I feel blessed. I would have been right near where the first explosion occurred, right down the street from it.
In no way can I understand why yesterday’s events at the marathon happened. Patriot’s Day is a legal holiday in Massachusetts and the whole day is a celebration. It starts with the nighttime ride of Paul Revere, who this time is escorted by the state police, warning about the British coming. At 5:30 in the morning a reenactment begins on Lexington Green and another after that at Concord Bridge. At 11, the Sox play every year. The marathon is an all day event as runners cross the finish line sometimes as late as 7. Copley Square is the end of the race where the crowds wait, where the bleachers are and the VIP seats. The crowd is sometimes 5 or 6 people deep. Volunteers work the scene in all different ways identified by their colored jackets. Some stand on the street and just applaud and congratulate the runners. Many are in the medical tent and some have a wheel chair as their responsibility, and they walk the area with it in case a runner needs help.
I will never understand the mind which planned and carried out the bombings. An 8-year-old boy died. What sort of person finds satisfaction in the death of anyone let alone a small child. I wonder if the bomber is sitting in front of his TV watching the aftermath and enjoying his work. I so want this person found.
Miss Gracie and I will while away the day today. We will take a ride. It’s sunny and the sky is blue. I want to see the stirrings of spring on Cape Cod, stop for lunch somewhere and maybe take a few pictures. I want to see the ocean. I want to hear music on the radio. For a little while, I want some distance from this horrific event.
Categories: Musings
Tags: bad back, blessings, explosion, marathon, Patriots' Day, sunny day, Why
Comments: 21 Comments
April 9, 2013
The morning is a bit chillier than yesterday’s but is just as pretty. The sun makes all the difference. Every morning now seems to take me a bit longer to retrieve the papers because I stop to admire my front garden. I forgot how many bulbs were planted last fall so the garden is a gift, a present, filled with color and all sorts of spring flowers which delight me. The pink and the purple hyacinths are in bloom and the yellow daffodils are by the front steps.
I had an early meeting this morning, my library board. I actually woke up before the alarm, set for 8, because I was cold. I had left the window open all night, and it got chilly. Gracie was huddled beside me on one side and Fern on the other. I grabbed the blankets to try to go back to sleep but decided I might as well get up. It was close anyway. To think I used to get up at 5 or 5:15 and here I am complaining about 8.
Annette died. I read it first on Facebook and today there was a huge obituary in the paper. She was 70 and had been suffering from MS for years. I can still see Annette in her tutu and ballet slippers dancing on the Mouseketeer stage. She was, for many boys, their first crush. For us, she was the girl we wanted as a friend because we knew she’d never let us down. She was too good for that. Annette was perfect. She was quiet, polite and wholesome, even on the beach with Frankie Avalon.
Every afternoon I had the same ritual. Come home from school, change into play clothes, go out for a bit then come in and watch Superman and The Mickey Mouse Club. I sang along with the opening Mickey Mouse Club March and with the songs for the days of the week. I never missed Spin and Marty or the Hardy Boys. I thought Cubby and Karen were cute. No boys had the same reaction on me that Annette had on every prepubescent boy watching the show. Even now, after all these years, I remember most of the songs and MICKEY MOUSE comes easily and I always remember to add Donald Duck. I used to love it when he’d put the cymbals on his ears. The end theme was a heart tugger. We were family saying good-bye but happily we’d see each other real soon.
Categories: Musings
Tags: Annette, Because we like you, Mickey Mouse Club, Mickey Mouse Club March, See you real soon, Spin and Marty, sunny day, Why
Comments: 36 Comments
April 4, 2013
The sun is shining but it is not warm, a bit of a deception I think. The sky is deep blue and beautiful. Lots of birds are taking advantage of the free food at the feeders. There is even a waiting line.
Hunky dory was part of an answer in the crossword puzzle today. It got me thinking. I don’t remember the last time I even heard anyone say hunky dory which is too bad as it has a great sound when said out loud, and it is one of those phrases which defies description. It’s a context guess but a tough one. Answer everything is hunky dory and tone alone would have to give the clue.
I do the crossword puzzle every day, and I’m noticing that many of the answers seem too easy. Most of these are historical, but for me, they’re like yesterday as I lived through them. I can imagine a twenty or thirty someone sitting and mulling. In my day, they’d chew on the eraser and mull. Now, I guess they sit at the keyboard. I can’t believe that sitting at the keyboard gives the same sort of help that chewing an eraser did. I was able to fill in every square, and I also did the cryptogram in a short time this morning. I felt smart.
Rhetorical questions were the bane of my childhood. “What do you think you’re doing?” sounds like a legitimate question but giving an answer was talking back. It took me a while to sort that out. “Who do you think you are?” was another one of those questions to avoid. It was usually asked when I’d already done something wrong, something above my station. My mother was a master at the rhetorical question. As soon as she asked, “And who do you think is cleaning that up?” I headed to get the whisk broom and the dust pan.
My mother was also the queen of quilt. She got us every time. When she’d ask us to do something and we’d say in a minute, my mother went into her theatrics. “Never mind. I’ll do it myself,” she’d say oozing with self-pity and disappointment. We’d scurry to get done what she wanted. Sometimes, though, she’d add to the guilt by saying, “Too late. I’ll do it myself.” That was a heavy burden to carry, and she knew it. My mother was a master at her art.
Categories: Musings
Tags: cold, dust pan, guilt, hunky dory, mothers, pencils, rhetorical question, sunny day, theatrics, whisk broom
Comments: 15 Comments
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