Posted tagged ‘sunny’
March 13, 2017
Today is bright and sunny and will even reach 34˚, but I’m not taken in, not beguiled by the brilliance of the sun. I’m on to Mother Nature and her tricks. I know all that sunlight is just a cover for what’s coming: more snow. This time, though, we’ll get less. The Boston area will get clobbered with up to 2 feet while down here we’ll only get 2-4 inches, a mixture of snow and rain. For some strange reason, though, I feel cheated. I’m thinking it should rain or snow. A combination is just a mess. Mother Nature should know better.
All my icicles are melting in the sun. I can hear the drops. The road is wet from melting snow. Along the sides of the road, small puddles have formed from the piles left by the plows. I just hope all that water doesn’t freeze.
I loud bang accompanied by the sound of a howling cat woke me up this morning. I figured the bang was a falling icicle. The cat howls every morning so nothing was wrong. I rolled over and slept another hour.
My dance card is totally empty for the week. The meeting scheduled for tomorrow has been canceled. I have a to-do list which still includes my laundry which is still leaning against the cellar door. I guess I’ll work on finishing the list or at least get the laundry done. I admit I’m tired of looking at it.
I want some elves like the shoemaker had. I want to wake up to clean, folded laundry, the aromas of breakfast baking in the oven, and of coffee perking. When I get downstairs, I’ll find the table set with flowered dishes and a small clear vase with a couple of daffodils. The elves will have left, but I’ll see small footprints in the snow leading to and from the house then just disappearing.
Too bad wishing it away doesn’t get my laundry done.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 2-4 inches, 31˚, breakfast, dafs, flowered dishes, howling cat, icicles, loud bang, rain, shoemaker and elves, Snow, storm, sunny, waking up
Comments: 6 Comments
March 5, 2017
Last week Boston set a new record warmth for the end of February. On Friday night the record for cold set in 1896 was broken. In the space of less than a week, we went from spring to deep winter. When I took Gracie out front to go to the bathroom on Friday night, I can’t remember ever feeling as cold, and Gracie was so cold she peed on the run to the front door. I took her out a couple of times more, but she wore her wool coat, and I was bundled against the cold. Gracie was quick each time. She deserved those treats when we got inside the house.
Today is sunny, a beautiful day if you’re sitting in the house looking out the window. It is 27˚, close to the predicted high of 29˚. The low will be 13˚. I have a couple of errands to do in a bit including the dump which I avoided the other day because of the weather.
When I was a kid, I remember watching Don Kent, the weatherman. Back then the days were fair, cold, snowy or rainy, the sort of description looking out the window might bring. Nothing was all that specific. Some weather maps were on the wall while others were on large sheets of paper. They showed the whole country and gave current temperatures. Predictions were maybes.
Yesterday the Peace Corps volunteer living near Bolgatanga, where I had been, posted the current temperature and the high and low for the day. It was currently 99˚. The low was predicted to be 95˚ and the high 109˚.
Gracie just needed to go out so I went down the back deck steps holding on to her collar. I held on as she won’t go down the stairs alone; she is afraid of falling. With me, she goes down the stairs quickly and then runs into the yard. She doesn’t mind going up the stairs so I can leave her alone outside. Her back right leg slides. I’ll have the vet check what is going on when Gracie has her health visit. I do wish I had some sort of a dog bootie with treads.
I am spoiled. My house is cozy warm in winter and air conditioned in the summer. I’m living the good life.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 109˚, 13˚, 29˚, bootie, bundling, cold record, dog coat, down the stairs, falling down stairs, freezing, heat record, outside, sunny, TV weather, weathermen
Comments: 6 Comments
February 21, 2017
Today is lovely, sunny but cool at 42˚. The breeze is ever so slight. It’s morning nap time for the dog and cat. Maddie is 18 now. Gracie is 12. Lately, Gracie has had trouble maneuvering the stairs. Her back legs slide when she is coming downstairs so I am always in front of her just in case. When she was young, Gracie jumped the six-foot fence in the backyard, but now she and I share the infirmities of growing old and the dangerousness of steps.
I could never play a dead body. Yesterday I watched a few CSI New York episodes. In just about every one of those, one scene is in the morgue. The actor is lying on the slab while trace evidence is removed or explained. I’d be giggling.
I’m a slug. I have laundry to do, but the bag sits by the door. I have no ambition. When I was working, I was always busy on the weekends. I actually got more done in two days than I now finish in a week. Time is the reason. I always figure I have lots of time to do stuff so I procrastinate and stuff doesn’t get done. I used to feel guilty about that. I am now guilt free. The nuns would be horrified.
I collect cookbooks with literature inspired recipes. One whole shelf in my kitchen bookcase is filled with them. My first was a Shakespearean cookbook. When I did a medieval meal a long way back, I used many of the recipes from that book. Little House on the Prairie, Hemingway, Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes, The Boxcar Children, Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott are just a few of my cookbooks. I love sitting and reading the recipes and planning a menu in my head. I think about colors and melding herbs. I mix and match vegetables. Mostly I have one grand meat dish but sometimes I need two. The table decorations are part of the planning. One meal, inspired by Dickens, had laminated pages of old books for place mats. In the middle of the table were different piles of books. They held the hot dishes. For music, I played an album of authors singing. It was just horrible. I don’t even remember how I found it, I don’t remember its name and I have no idea what happened to it. Maybe it was burned at the stake by my guests.
When I was a kid, I collected stamps and belonged to a stamp club. We met after school and some Saturdays at John Hickey’s house. I filled an album then lost interest in stamps. Besides, it was actually John Hickey more than stamps which held my interest. Strangely enough, my aunt and uncle now live in what was John Hickey’s house. I have no idea where he is. We went to different high schools.
I haven’t collected anything in a while. I’d hard pressed to find room, but if something strikes my fancy, a new collection might just be born.
Categories: Musings
Tags: authors, collecting, cookbooks, cool, dead body, giggling, Hemingway, jumping fences, morgue, sliding, slug, stairs, sunny
Comments: 12 Comments
February 19, 2017
Today is a bit of a gift from Mother Nature, and considering how many times I cursed her this winter, I am surprised by her generosity. It is sunny and warm, even springlike. A few puffy clouds add texture to the blue sky. A breeze ruffles the brown leaves. It is a day to be outside. I’m working on getting there.
My neighbor put my newspaper on the front steps for me this morning. I saw it and one other paper when I opened the door. The other paper is the Cape Times from February 13th. I have no idea where he found it. I didn’t miss a paper. I figure it must be my neighbor’s, and it got tossed here with the snow when her driveway was shoveled.
Small mounds of snow are still visible but only on the corners of the streets. Between the rain and the above freezing temperatures, the snow had no chance. I’m glad it’s mostly gone.
My front lawn, mostly on one side, is a total mess. It is covered with branches and needles from the tree sized branch which fell. There are long gashes on the grass. I’m thinking that whole side of the lawn may need a reboot.
This is school vacation week. I used to like traveling to one place for the whole week. My mother and I spent this week in Rome on our last vacation together. We saw it all. One of my favorites was the catacombs, a couple of bus rides and a long walk away.
Each night we’d have a drink in the bar before going to our room. My mother had cognac. That was a shock. My mother was a whiskey and coke drinker. When I mentioned my shock, my mother said it was vacation mode when anything goes. I loved that.
My week will be quiet. Actually, the rest of February will be quiet. I have an empty dance card until March.
Gracie needs to be fed, and I need to get dressed in my outside the house clothes. We are going out to enjoy the day.
Categories: Musings
Tags: blue sky, breeze, Lawn, messy lawn, pine branches, pine needles, puffy clouds, Rome, school vacation, shoveling, Snow, Sunday paper, sunny, vacation mode, warm
Comments: 22 Comments
January 22, 2017
Today turned out to be a pretty day. It was sunny and warm, too warm for this time of year, but I’m complaining. I love sweatshirt weather in January.
When I was a kid, my mother had a great way to find out the truth. If something was found broken and no one admitted to it, my mother asked the four of us who did it. We all said we didn’t know. She didn’t believe us. She knew one of us was guilty. She told us when we lie our tongues turned black then she’d ask us to show her our tongues. The guilty party always gave himself away by refusing to show his tongue. Running to the mirror to check didn’t help. She told us only mothers could see the black tongue. We believed her. We were young.
Step on a crack, break your mother’s back. I didn’t know if that was true or not. It sort of sounded silly to me, but I didn’t want to take chances. I jumped over every crack. When I walked the railroad tracks, I jumped over every wooden tie with double zeros in the middle for the same reason. I did not want to be responsible for my mother’s broken back.
When I was in grammar school, if some other kid called me a name, I’d give the standard comeback: I know you are but what am I. There was really nowhere to go from there so it ended the name calling. Another, a more sophisticated comeback, was I’m rubber; you’re glue; whatever you say bounces off me and sticks on you. It didn’t have a comeback either.
The women’s marches were extraordinary. I watched them on MSNBC for a good part of the day. I also saw Trump’s speech at C.I.A. headquarters and Sean Spicer’s denunciation of the press in the filled press room at the White House. Words fail me. I’m angry and I’m sad.
Categories: Musings
Tags: black tongue, break your mother's back, C.I.A., lies, MSNBC, Sean Spicer, step on a crack, sunny, warm day, women's marches
Comments: 12 Comments
January 19, 2017
Today is a beautiful winter’s day. It is sunny and warm. Given how much it rained yesterday, I’m thinking today is a bit of a reward. Gracie and I are going out later. Today is not a day to waste.
Yesterday I actually vacuumed and then washed the kitchen floor. I can only think an alien had taken over my body.
I remember so much from when I was growing up. Without realizing it, I had filed away small things into my memory drawers. On the way to school, we crossed the railroad tracks. Sometimes we were even lucky enough to see a train. The bathroom at school always had a cleaning smell. The stalls and the overhead pipes were painted white. I remember the pipes sometimes had peeling paint.
The bowling alley was never quiet. The air was filled with the sounds of pins hitting the wooden floors. I remember the size of the shoes was on the backs of each rented pair. I never gave a thought about wearing shoes lots of people had worn.
Santoro’s Sub Shop was a block away from school. It was a small shop with a few stools at a counter attached to the wall. Mr. Santoro worked there with two of his sons. I remember Mr. Santoro was short. The bread, two different sizes, was in baskets and the toppings were in a case. The hot stuff like meatballs and sausages were on a stove top in big silver pots. I never got a hot sub. Mostly I got chicken salad or an Italian. I always added pickles and hot peppers.
There were four drug stores. I never thought that was strange. Now I wonder how a small town could support so many.
When it was hot, the firemen sat on big wooden chairs in front of the bays at the fire station. I always stopped to say hello.
The post office felt cool even on hot days, but the church sweltered in the summer.
I have the best memories, mostly simple memories etched forever in my memory drawers
Categories: Musings
Tags: Bathroom, beautiful, bowling alleys, cleaning smell, firemen, Italian and chicken salald, pickles and hot peppers, pipes, railroad tracks, Santoro's subs, sunny, walk to school, warm, wooden floor
Comments: 10 Comments
December 30, 2016
Today is sometimes sunny and sometimes windy. The big storm yesterday was a disappointment. Not that I wanted snow, but I was hoping for a nor’easter and the loud drumming of rain against the windows. I wanted to see branches fiercely blowing left to right and almost reaching the ground; instead, it just rained.
Today is quiet. Even the dog is bored looking out the front door. She kept hoping for foot traffic where there was none. She is now napping on the couch.
I went to bed earlier and woke up earlier. I’m working on getting up before nine, okay, maybe by nine thirty.
When I was a little kid, I always wanted to stay up to greet the new year. I seldom did. I’d fall asleep before the ball dropped or Auld Lang Syne played. When I got a bit older, I managed to stay awake but found out it was no big deal. Blow a horn and yell Happy New Year was the sum total of my celebration. Come to find out, all the celebrations are almost the same. Add a kiss and a drink then yell Happy New Year.
Nothing much is going on around here. I scoured the paper looking for diversions. All the local New Year’s Eve festivities were listed. There is an indoor farmer’s market tomorrow and an antique fair on Sunday. None of these tempt me to brave the cold.
In the Globe today was a picture with the header, “Seniors ring in New Year with a bit of rock and roll.” At the party yesterday they counted down to noon. They ate mashed potatoes and chicken. They twisted and shimmied and danced away the afternoon. That, I guess, is full circle.
Categories: Musings
Tags: afternoon dance, asleep, dancing, drinks, farmers' market, foot traffic, kisses, New Year, party, quiet, rain, ring in at noon, sunny, windy
Comments: 20 Comments
December 3, 2016
Winter is poking its head in the door. Last night was downright cold. This morning is warmer but is still chilly. The sun is shining but seems to serve little purpose except as scenery. I’m hanging around today though I do have an errand or two on my new list. I’m thinking I might just get to that laundry still sitting in front of the cellar door.
I’m using sticky notes for my lists. There are three notes attached to my table which conveniently is metal. The notes are a bright pink. One is a list of things to do and places to go. It looks long. Another reminds me of fairs and an open house at my potter’s tomorrow. The last list is just a couple of gift items for Christmas presents and where I can get them. Luckily my table is big so there is plenty of room for more bright pink lists.
I figure to start making a list (yup, another one) of the cookies and candy I want to make for Christmas and the ingredients I need. Some traditions still hold. I’ll make fudge for my sister, orange cookies for Clare and if I have time, toffee for Moe and Rod. I’ll also pick some other cookies yet to be decided. I like to try new cookies year by year.
I sometimes wish The Elves and the Shoemaker was real. It would be so neat to wake up and have everything done. I’d be happy to leave a list for the elves. I have plenty I’m willing to share. While they’re at it, they might just do my laundry.
Categories: Musings
Tags: baking, cold, Laundry, lists, pink sticky notes, places to go, sticky notes, sunny, things to do, winter
Comments: 6 Comments
December 1, 2016
Today is more than enough to make up for all that rain. Mother Nature is back in my good graces. The day is warm. I went to get the papers in a short sleeve shirt and wasn’t even cold. The sun is brilliant and perfectly framed by the blue sky. A little breeze has the brown leaves dancing at the end of their branches. I made a list of places to go today so I can enjoy the day.
The dog door is complete. Yesterday I ran into my friend and explained my problem with the plastic part of the dog door. His dog also has one so I figured he might have a solution. Washers! That was it, all I needed. I went to the hardware store and gave the man one of the small screws, asked for some with larger heads and some washers. He brought me both for the grand total of 98 cents. Two of the holes used the larger headed screws while the other holes needed the washers. Gracie has been in and out that door all morning.
It rained again yesterday, but I still went to do errands. Gracie needed dog food. That was enough incentive to get me out into the rain, but I did treat myself and bought lunch and some anise cookies. Life is good.
This week I will start decorating my house for Christmas. One side of my cellar is filled with bins of decorations. I have a whole collection of plastic lighted figures, mostly Santa Clauses. On the back wall are bins I haven’t opened in a few years. I’m hoping I can make my way back there to see what’s in those bins. I like surprises. Many of my decorations, like the Santas, are vintage and some are mighty ugly, but I don’t care. I think everything Christmas has an intrinsic beauty, even the ceramic angels, Santa mugs and really gross elves with scary faces. I was thrilled last Christmas to find out my nephew collects those vintage plastic lighted figures. He got a snowman as a gift last year. I didn’t know anyone else shared my taste.
That load of washing is still in front of the cellar door. Maybe I’ll get to it tomorrow. But then again, maybe not.
Categories: Musings
Tags: anise cookies, beautiful day, dancing leaves, dirty laundry, elves, lighted plastic figures, Lunch, rain, screws, sunny, vintage Christmas, washers
Comments: 8 Comments
November 20, 2016
Yesterday I was the victim of a big cheat. The day stayed ugly and rainy. Not once was I tempted to go outside. I called my sister a couple of times, but she wasn’t home. She called me later and said since it was such a lovely day she had gone to church fairs. I thought she was being sarcastic. Nope! Her weather was sunny and 60˚ all day. What’s with that?
Last night was murder night. I watched Forensic Files, and when I tired of that, I watched murderous women and 48 Hours. I guess I was shaking away all that Hallmark sugar from the Christmas movies. Nothing like a bit of true crime to while away the evening.
I do have to go out today, but there is a bit of sun working its way through the clouds so I don’t mind. It will be cold this week, the 40’s during the day, and even down to the 30’s at night so any sun is welcomed.
The animals did it again. Maddie howled several times and woke me up. I called to her, but it didn’t matter. She kept howling with only small breaks in between. Gracie got off the bed and went downstairs, never a good thing. I followed her and opened the door. She went to the yard and grazed. I watched her then went back to bed. She came in the dog door, joined me upstairs and went to sleep. I did too, but the interrupted sleep just wasn’t enough. Maddie is sleeping now. She is comforted that I am down here with her.
Boxes arrive every day. My Christmas bins are overflowing. My list has mostly X’s across names as I finish buying for them. I am down to needing a couple of kids’ Christmas books, a few ornaments and some soap. I also need wrapping paper. I figure to shop on small business Saturday. My route will be down 6A. Visiting favorite stores will be fun. I’ll even treat myself to lunch.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 30˚, 40˚, 48 Hours, 60˚, Comfort, Forensic Files, grazing dog, howling cat, murder files, rainy, restless sleep, sunny
Comments: 16 Comments
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