Posted tagged ‘warm day’
September 21, 2014
The day is wonderfully warm but cloudy. A bright sun would have been a nice touch. The breeze is strong. Pine branches are swaying, and the leaves are billowing. My neighborhood is quiet, Sunday quiet, the way I remember Sundays used to be.
Today I have nothing that needs doing. The week was a busy one so I’ll just relax in sloth mode. I’m not even going to get dressed. I earned today.
I have three dresses. Two are for summer and the third is for winter. I used to wear dresses to work every day, even in Ghana, but now I seldom wear them. They are reserved for weddings and events which happen in fancy venues. Those events tend to be special and have a dress code, unmentioned but expected.
I am drawing a blank today. Nothing comes to mind. I did think about pizza and ribs earlier, and I have no idea why. They seemed strange topics to pop into my head, but they did remind me of my mother who used to make those English muffin pizzas and freeze them for later, for snacks. She also made crabbies on English muffins and would serve them on game nights. As for the ribs, I have no idea where they came from.
My parents didn’t have much money when I was growing up, but I didn’t know that. Christmas was a wonder and under the tree was always filled with gifts. Every Easter we got new clothes. For Halloween my mother made our costumes just as my friends’ mothers made theirs. Store bought costumes had no originality, no imagination and were sort of ugly with plastic masks held on by an easily broken elastic. Sunday dinners were always special. We could count on sort of a roast, mashed potatoes, gravy and veggies. That is still my favorite dinner. Last night my friend served a roast chicken, tons of mashed potatoes, gravy and carrots. I was in heaven.
Categories: Musings
Tags: billowing leaves, breeze, Dresses, grave, mashed potatoes, Pizza, Roasts, sloth day, summer dresses, Sunday dinner, Sunday quiet, veggies, warm day
Comments: 10 Comments
September 16, 2014
No jumping into the shower when I woke up this morning as the house was only 65˚. I actually turned on the heat until the house got to 68˚ then I took my shower. When I opened the doors later, outside was warmer than inside. Gracie and I stood together looking out the front door. It is a favorite perch of hers, but there is usually nothing to see. Once in a while a cat strolls across the street and Gracie goes crazy. Someone walks a dog and Gracie barks and jumps. She doesn’t like other dogs except for her friend Cody. I doubt Gracie appreciated it, but the morning smelled sweet, of flowers and cut grass. It will be 70˚ today according to the paper.
Tonight my sister and I are doing The East Somerville Foodie Crawl. We get to go from restaurant to restaurant tasting theirs wares. Many are ethnic including an African, South American and a few Mexican restaurants. One of the restaurants, Mount Vernon Restaurant and Pub, is where my father used to bring us, my mother, sister and I, for dinner when I’d visit for the weekend. They had a twin lobster special to which my dad was partial, actually so was I. We’ll stop there for memory’s sake.
I love connections. They prod the memory drawers. Once I went to a memorial mass for someone in East Boston. I was standing on the steps of the church when I looked across the street. All of a sudden I knew where I was. My great-grandmother and my grand-aunt used to live in a house facing the small park across from the church. I knew that house had narrow stairs going up to the second floor, and the kitchen was on the first floor. I thought of quarters as I always got one when I visited. My great-grandmother died when I was 10. She was 92.
When I drive down the road where there used to be train tracks, I remember the whistle and the clack of the train wheels on the rails. My grandparents lived down the street from those tracks, and I used to look out their front door to see the train. The tracks are gone, but the train-master’s house is still there. Because it is just a house now, I wonder if people notice it has a strange shape and hugs the track.
The long street I walked on back and forth from school for eight years has changed. Many of the houses are gone now, some replaced by apartments. The train tracks are long gone, but it is that old street of my childhood I remember best. I can’t help myself. When I drive it now, I think of what was and name out loud all the things that are gone.
Categories: Musings
Tags: cold morning, Mount Vernon Restaurant and Pub, sweet smelling air, The East Somerville Foodie Crawl, train tracks, train wheels, train whistles, warm day
Comments: 11 Comments
May 15, 2014
The day is warm. The sun pops in and out. It is an open the windows and let the fresh air in sort of day. I have an errand or two to do later. I still walk oddly because of the aches and pains left over from the fall, but I have to go out. I figure the cats will want to be fed later as they just got their last can. What’s with these animals wanting to eat every day?
Gracie eats the best food. The list of ingredients starts with meat then goes on to the fruits and vegetables. I swear if I heated the turducken and served it over toast people would enjoy it, but it was different when I was a kid. Duke, my boxer, ate two cans of dog food a day, of horse meat. Feeding him was gross as the food didn’t smell good and the last thing I was for it to touch me. It also gave him room clearing gas. Most were of the silent but deadly form. It was always best to sit up wind from Duke.
Some of my friends squealed at spiders. I always thought that was silly. Spiders had no interest in us. They were hoping for flies or other stray insects though I do sometimes think of The Fly caught in the web and yelling, “Help me. Help me,” as the spider slowly walked toward him. I did figure, though, that was an anomaly. Some noises in the night scared me like people walking or the window getting scratched, but I wore a brave front and always asked, “Is anyone there?” Now that is silly. What homicidal maniac is going to answer, “I am, and I’m here to dismember you.” I had this idea that if I sounded brave I’d scare away the man with hook or the hatchet. As I never saw one, I must have been successful.
I used to walk home at night from being with my friends. No one walked in my direction. The rest walked together the other way. Once a police car stopped and offered me a ride home. He knew me which is why he stopped. I took the ride. When he got to my street, he turned on all the lights and let me out. I figured the neighbors were watching from all their windows wondering what was going on. I waved and went inside the house. I was never afraid walking home alone. The biggest news in the police blotter of the local paper was woman hears sounds in her yard, kids making noise, and cars leaving rubber and speeding. My town was not a hot bed of crime.
Categories: Musings
Tags: aches and pains, dog food, errands, fresh air, help me. help me., horse meat, local crime, sounds in the night, spiders, the hook, walking home alone, warm day
Comments: 12 Comments
May 12, 2014
Today is already warm, and the cats have found the sun streaming through the door and are stretched out on the mat. Gracie is having her morning nap and is noisily snoring. As with Pippa Passing, “All is right with the world.”
I fell when I was in New Hampshire. The soles of my shoes grabbed the stair rugs, and I was most careful until I wasn’t. My left foot stepped down but my right foot stayed put. As it was unexpected, I went down hard, hit the door jamb with my face, scrapped my foot and wrist and slammed both of my knees. My glasses flew off and one lens went into hiding. The glasses saved most of my face but the left cheek and over my eyebrow hit the wood. Today, two days later, my knees, especially my left, are still painful. Getting up from a sitting position is the worst, and I do yowl a bit but I’ll survive.
Falling isn’t new for me. I started when I was around four or five with a fractured wrist, got a sprained ankle when I was a bit older, fractured my shoulder, fell down the inside stairs and the outside, knocking myself out both times and badly sprained my ankle again on the mat by the front door. There are probably more, but those are the highlights.
I had a wonderful time in New Hampshire, but I was glad to get home.
When I was a kid, we went on very few stay-away vacations. I remember Vermont and the huge white house with the porch. It was across a rural highway from a lake. We had to be watched when we went swimming as there was a drop off to deep water not that far from the shore, but there was plenty to keep a kid busy in the woods and in the stream running by the house. I remember the time in Maine, in Ogunquit, at the smallest cabin in a host of cabins. I remember seeing naked people sleeping on a blanket in the dunes, how cold the water was and how boring the vacations were. The vacation to beat all vacations was to Niagara Falls. That was the first and only time we stayed in motels. I remember it all: the falls, the Eisenhower Locks, Lake Ontario, Madam Tussaud’s and eating at McDonald’s.
I am forever thankful for the vacations when we stayed home. My parents took us to museums, and I am still attracted to museums wherever I travel. Beaches, learning to body surf from my father, my mother’s packed lunches, and learning to skip stones are some of the best memories of my childhood.
Categories: Musings
Tags: bdy surfing, falling down stairs, museums, skipping stones, stay home vacations, stay-away vacations, travel, warm day
Comments: 14 Comments
February 23, 2014
The sun is elsewhere, but it is warm, winter warm. Only very small snow piles are left here and there. Earlier I gave Gracie a special biscuit which she then buried in the yard. I know that because Gracie came in with her face and jowls covered in dirt. I ran to clean her, but she shook off most of the dirt onto my cabinets and floor. I did manage to clean what was left off her face then I cleaned the floor. I’ve watched Gracie bury her prizes. First she digs a hole, drops in the biscuit then uses her nose to push the dirt back over the hole. Later she’ll bring in the most disgusting, dirty biscuit and eat it on my rug.
I’m getting itchy. This will be the second year I haven’t traveled because my bank account is almost non-existent so my austerity campaign has begun. A pair of pants I bought for my first trip to Ghana wore out at the crease on the leg so I used duct tape and you can’t even tell. My slippers have a hole in the toe so I put on socks. I figure I can save enough money to go back to Ghana in 2015. Besides, there isn’t really too much I need except maybe a new pair of pants come warmer weather. The duct tape gets sticky.
I am most decidedly bored today which is a good thing. No leaks, no car scrapes, no broken bones as of yet, but the week is young. Given my mood, I think it’s time to start playing Pollyanna’s happy game.
When I was growing up, I was content with a quiet Sunday. It was most decidedly a day of rest. Nobody did outside chores, the stores were all closed, and we were expected to stay around for dinner. The day started with mass then home and the paper though in those days I only read the funnies. I’d watch some TV or read until my mother called us to the table. Mashed potatoes were part of the meal every Sunday, and there was always gravy. I’d make a well in my potatoes and try not to let the gravy spill over the edge. It was my weekly challenge on every quiet Sunday
Categories: Musings
Tags: digging in the yard, dirty dog face, duct tape, gravy, Happy Game, holes in my slippers, mashed potatoes, no money, no travel, warm day
Comments: 14 Comments
February 2, 2014
Today is even warmer than yesterday. It is already 44˚. I need to get outside for a while as this will be the warmest day of the week, and I don’t want to miss it. Maybe my trusty canine and I need to hit the road.
The sun is hidden behind the clouds, but the day is bright and gives me a bit of hope that old Sol will decide to make an appearance. I looked up the temperature in Bolgatanga today to give myself a little perspective. It will be the coolest day of the week at 90˚. Most of the rest of the week will be between 100˚ and 104˚. Days like that are not among my fondest memories.
Today is Groundhog Day. Phil emerged at 7:28 a.m. and predicted six more weeks of winter, no surprise there, but there is hope. The National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., stated that Phil’s forecasts are, on average, inaccurate. According to the center, “The groundhog has shown no talent for predicting the arrival of spring, especially in recent years. Phil’s competitor groundhogs across the nation fared no better.” I think, though, that even meteorologists and the National Climatic Data Center with all their computers and weather models have their share of poor forecasting. They always apologize and blame the vagaries of wind and strange fronts, but wrong they were regardless. Mrs. G., the Massachusetts state groundhog, has, unlike Phil, predicted an early spring. I’m going with her.
I swear the male gold finches are getting brighter. A green shoot, albeit a tiny green shoot, has appeared in my front garden. These are the first tangible signs spring is coming. We just have to survive February which I always think of it as the last winter month. I know March can be cold and even snowy, but to me it is early spring as my garden starts to come alive and drags me along with it.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 44˚, 6 more weeks of winter, cloudy but bright, Ghana, groundhog day, Mrs. G, National Climatic Data Center, Phil, spring, temperature in Bolgatanga, warm day, weather
Comments: 22 Comments
February 1, 2014
This morning is already 41˚. That’s a hot spell, time for sunscreen. Gracie, my weather barometer, has been outside pretty much the whole morning. She comes in every now and then for water and to make sure I’m still here.
The feeders have lots of different birds today, even mourning doves and winter robins. Hopeful is the best description for a day like today. It’s nature’s way of reminding us that winter won’t last forever. There will be more snow, that’s inevitable, and chilling to the bone temperatures but soon enough every day will be in the 40’s and then the 50’s then climbing from there. Green shoots will start appearing in the front garden by the end of this month and will become a calendar of sorts. As they grow taller, we’ll be closer to spring. Once they bloom color fills the garden and spring finally gains hold. The air gets that smell of freshness, of growing things, of flowers and grass. Cold mornings give way to warmer afternoons. Some vestiges of winter hang around for a bit longer but that’s okay. I always think of them as a last gasp.
This has been a strange week. Little holds my interest, not even books I usually devour. I won’t even mention television. I haven’t seen anyone to talk to since Sunday; I don’t count the man at the dump or the woman at the pharmacy. We didn’t converse. I could be the main character in a last person on Earth book, soon to be made into a major movie. In my empty world, there would be no vampires or zombies running around trying to drink my blood or eat my entrails. I imagine blue birds singing and flying above my head sort of like in Song of the South or Cinderella. Flowers are always in bloom. The sun shines, and the day is perfect in the 70’s. Yup, I’m living in a Disney movie. I don’t know, though, how long I can go without people and conversation, but I figure I’d be talking to myself a whole lot, but I do that now. I usually direct my comments to Gracie who listens with a cocked ear but doesn’t ever answer. She’d be in the book too. I do have an ending for this book. There I am surrounded by blue birds, my faithful dog by my side as I walk through the park. All of a sudden I hear someone whistling a tune, yup, a happy tune. I stop and gasp, my hand in front of my mouth, and say,”Hello?” I hear, “Hello” right back, and it isn’t an echo. I am not alone. It’s a happy ending.
Now you can understand I really need to get out more!
Categories: Musings
Tags: bird feeders, blue birds, boredom, colors, Disney movie, ennui, green shoots, hopeful weather, last woman on Earth, spring is coming, talking to myself, vampires and zombies, warm day
Comments: 23 Comments
January 27, 2014
Today is a lull from winter. The sun is bright against a blue sky and the temperature is already 42˚. But today is just a ruse: Mother Nature is chortling at our expense. Tomorrow will be 30˚ and winter will hold sway again.
January was always the dullest of months. We had no school holidays and nothing to celebrate. Our weekdays were filled with walking to school, sitting at our desks doing lessons all day then walking home. Day after day was endlessly cold. The afternoons were dark. The only bright spots every day were The Mickey Mouse Club and Superman. I think watching them was relief from tedium and kept us from killing each other. From Monday to Friday, we hungered for Saturday and the afternoon matinée, a wonderful, welcomed change in routine. We’d walk up town. The weather never mattered. We were going to the movies.
In winter every seat in the theater was filled for the matinée. Sometimes we were even allowed in the balcony, usually off-limits. My movie theater was kind of neat as it had a physical set-up which was different from most. The ticket booth was not a booth at all but was part of the side wall. After you bought your ticket you walked up an incline to the candy counter. It was the whole wall between the two aisles of seats so everyone had equal access. I remember the crowd was sometimes three deep in front of the candy counter, and everyone was trying to get the attention of the woman who manned the counter. She was Al’s wife and Al owned the theater. I can still see in my mind’s eye the counter in front, the mirror on the whole wall behind where Mrs. Al stood, and the glass popcorn machine on the left side of the counter. I loved to watch the kernels fly out of the popper to the bottom of the machine. That’s where the popcorn was scooped and put into the red and white boxes. The candy counter was glass with three shelves of candy inside. I always went for the candy which lasted the longest. Some of the guys went for candy which flew the farthest.
I forget when I grew too old for the matinée. It was probably around the eighth grade. I missed it at first as it had been so much a part of my growing up and my Saturdays, but there was a silver lining. I got to go to the movies at night.
Categories: Musings
Tags: 42˚, candy counter, cold day coming, January tedium, Mother Nature, popcorn machine, Saturday matinee, ticket booth, walking to school, warm day
Comments: 14 Comments
January 12, 2014
This morning was a busy one. Gracie and I went to the dump, out to breakfast, and finally to the store to buy a few grocery items for my friends who are house-ridden. I figured I’d get everything done in one fell swoop so I can loll the rest of the day. It was pleasant driving around this morning with the sun shining and the day warm at 48˚. I think a ride would be nice later today.
The birds are back in force, most are house finches. I watched them for a while this morning. A few chickadees dropped by the largest feeder and the gold finches staked their claim on the thistle. I saw birds drinking from water along the side of the road, water leftover from yesterday’s tremendous rain storm. The roads are still damp in places, mostly under the shadows of the trees. One bird was singing this morning from a tree behind the window, and I thought it glorious like on a spring or summer day when the birds greet the morning. Maybe it was just thanks for the seeds.
Festivities are in short supply after Christmas. January, except for New’s Year’s, is a dull month. Valentine’s Day is the only February highlight though when I worked I did have a week’s vacation. March has St. Patrick’s Day, always an excuse to have a few friends over for corned beef and libations. April is my hopeful month when I look forward to a few warm days and a feeling that spring is not so far away. My friends and I go out to dinner on Easter, a wonderful tradition. We go to the same restaurant every year, right on the water, where the food and drinks are delicious. We take our time and enjoy each other’s company. Usually the sun is shining and the day warm, or warmer by comparison. I think of it as the harbinger of spring, hence the hopefulness.
Categories: Musings
Tags: April, bird seed, birds, dump run, Easter, February, gold finches, harbinger of spring, house finches, January, out to breakfast, singing birds, the shining sun, warm day
Comments: 8 Comments
January 11, 2014
The only snow not yet melted by today’s warmth is in piles left by the plows from last week’s storm. The rain hasn’t started yet but is on its way. It will rain here most of the day, sometimes heavily. The wind is strong. My feeders are spinning like a carnival ride, the swings maybe, the sort of rides which always make me sick. The birds, though, don’t seem to mind and hold on when the feeders are being thrown about by the wind, by the strong wind. That dump run I didn’t make yesterday is on the dance card for today if the rain holds off long enough.
Gracie woke me up this morning by ringing her doggie bells. Yesterday she had an upset stomach so I figured she was going out to graze. Eating grass or my spider plants make her feel better. When she came inside, Gracie wanted a treat, and I obliged. She, however, turned her nose up at everything I offered until I gave her a piece of chicken meat from the deli. Once that was finished she ate all the rest of the treats: the cheese slice, the beef tidbit and the dog biscuit. I figure she was holding out for the best she could get. She knows the treats escalate in quality because I worry when she doesn’t want her usual.
Winter is a lazy time for me. I am content to stay inside. Hanging around the house doesn’t usually get boring as I have books and movies and the occasional dusting chore to keep me busy. I venture out only when I have a list of errands or I need animal food, coffee or cream, essentials in this house. I avoid main roads, supermarkets and parking lots. Rainy days are the best days for errands as people choose to stay home. I don’t care if I get wet. It is easy to get dry.
My house is quiet. I can hear only Gracie’s deep breathing as she sleeps beside me on the couch and Fern’s quiet snores from the pillow behind me where she sleeps. The lamp here is lit staving off the gloom of the morning. I like today.
Categories: Musings
Tags: deep breathing, dog treats, doggie bells, Dusting, errands, gloomy day, lazy winter, melting snow, quiet house, warm day, Wind
Comments: 4 Comments
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