Posted tagged ‘warm day’
December 22, 2013
Another early morning for me-this time it was 4 AM. I tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t so I decided to read then finally I just came downstairs lured by the thoughts of fresh coffee. When I let Miss Gracie out, I was amazed at how warm it is, 58˚ right now.
Okay, I admit that some, okay many, of the Christmas movies are far too sweet, but I tend to watch them anyway. I am a sucker for all things Christmas. At this time of the morning though the choices are quite limited, mostly repeats of repeats. I couldn’t find anything on regular TV so I checked On Demand and found some Christmas movies I’ve never seen and suspect I never will. The first, Santa’s Slay, is about the devil’s son forced to be nice and give out gifts for a thousand years. The thousand years, though, are up. The other holiday offerings were no better. The Santa Claus killer is awakened from a coma and stalks a clairvoyant blind woman on Christmas Eve or Silent Night 5 ( 3 & 4 are also available) when, “A creepy toy maker and his son are spending their days and nights constructing a series of ever more horrible booby-trapped toys, each one designed to kill whoever plays with them.” Ho Ho Ho and Merry Christmas!
Switching gears:
My mother gave us an Advent calendar every year, and each December morning we’d open a new door. For Christmas Eve, the picture was always a small manger scene. The rest of the days varied and were mostly toys or symbols of Christmas like angels or a tree. Each opened door got us closer and closer to Christmas, and we got more and more excited. My mother would tell us how many days until Santa’s visit, but we’d count the unopened doors to make the days real to us. I still buy Advent calendars for my sisters, my friend and me. This morning I opened the door to find a filled Christmas stocking. I counted only two unopened doors left until Santa.
Around this close to Christmas, we starting driving my mother crazy. School was out, the weather was often too cold to play outside and the wrapped gifts under the tree were almost too much for us to bear. The gifts were squeezed, pawed and shaken. Each had that small hidden hole made by my sister, and we all had correctly identified our new pajamas, destined to be opened on Christmas Eve. With nothing to do, we’d start the teasing which usually led to yelling and a push or two. When we were young, the mere mention of Santa stopped us in our tracks. When we were older, my mother would threaten to ship us outside if we didn’t stop. The cold was an incentive to behave.
It was Christmas time which taught me patience.
Categories: Musings
Tags: christmas horror movies, Christmas scenes, fighting, getting excited for Santa, new pajamas, Santa's Slay, warm day
Comments: 12 Comments
December 21, 2013
Bedtime was around 1:30, and now I’m up, and it’s still dark. My newspapers aren’t even here yet, but I’ve had my first cup of coffee, always the best way to start a day. My trees are lit in the living room. That was the first thing I did.
Nothing is on my agenda for today except maybe laundry, kind of makes me look forward to the day. As if…
The house was warm when I woke up, 66˚, even though the thermostat was set at 62˚for nighttime. When I let Gracie out, I found outside also unexpectedly warm, especially for a dark morning in December. Yesterday the high was 54˚ so I did a couple of errands so I could enjoy the day. I bought dinner, and it was delicious: steak kabobs with peppers and onions and roasted rosemary potato wedges. For dessert I had a couple of peanut butter balls my sister had made from my mother’s recipe. They are a Christmas tradition. My mother would make a huge batch and freeze some of them so in February she’d surprise us by bringing them out for dessert. They never lasted too long at Christmas or in February.
When I was in elementary school, the church fair was always a week or two before Christmas. It was in the auditorium at the town hall, a short walk from school. Fair day was always a half-day. At dismissal we’d walk in twos, class by class, with the nuns accompanying us. Once at the town hall we were free. The Christmas fair was a huge occasion, and my mother always gave us money to shop and to buy lunch, usually hot dogs. I remember the best table in the fair was the kids’ table. It was the place to Christmas shop as it was filled with inexpensive gifts for us to buy for our families. I’d walk round and round the table picking up and putting down gifts always trying to find just the right presents. After I did, I’d hand them to the woman behind the counter, somebody’s mother as the fair was run by the mother’s club. She’d bag them, collect my money then hand the precious bags to me. That usually signaled the end of the fair for me. I’d walk home with my gifts and hide them in my room, usually under the bed or in the closet. I’d take them out of their secret hiding place several times to check on them until finally I’d wrap them. I made sure to use lots of paper and tape. I was always so proud of those gifts.
Categories: Musings
Tags: church fair, coffee, dark morning, empty agenda, family presents, kids' table, Laundry, lit Christmas trees, peanut butter balls, traditional, warm day, warm house, wrapping gifts
Comments: 27 Comments
November 15, 2013
No sun today and a fairly strong breeze, but the day is warm for November, in the high 50’s, and will be the same all week. One day may even reach 60˚. I’m thinking the deck with my face to the sun.
My back is screaming loudly from my over-doing. I am not a slow learner but just figure I can do what I always used to do. I can’t. Yesterday I hauled out the heavy litter. It is biodegradable pine litter which turns into sawdust when wet, and the bag was heavy. I carried it downstairs, outside to the car and then lifted it into the trunk. I also went shopping for my dinner ingredients and toted three heavy bags of groceries into the house. I left the stout in the car and thought I was being cautious. I wasn’t. I spent the whole middle of the day and the afternoon getting dinner ready. All of the dishes were ready to cook, and because I just had to put two of them into the oven and reheat the carrots, I got to spend the evening sitting with my friends rather than in the kitchen. I thought getting everything ready was a great idea. I was wrong. I never thought about all that standing while I worked.
Dinner was perfectly planned from appetizers to dessert. I, however, didn’t plan for my back, but luckily for me my friends did the clean-up. I just sat and gave directions. It sort of made me feel like the lady of the manor.
I slept little last night between Gracie’s snoring and my back aching. I didn’t even go upstairs until 2 AM. I most decidedly see a nap in my future.
I have wonderful leftovers for dinner tonight.
Categories: Musings
Tags: bad back, Clouds, dinner, grocery shopping, leftovers, perfect dinner, Snoring, toting and carrying, warm day
Comments: 13 Comments
October 17, 2013
When I went to get the papers, I was surprised by how warm the morning is. The sun is shining but not with much enthusiasm. I am still struck by how much the light has changed with the season. Gracie and I will go out today and one of our stops will be the dump. Right now she’s enjoying her morning nap.
The Sox-Tigers game on Tuesday was the stuff of legend. The Sox managed to win with a single home-run being the only score on both sides, a 1-0 game. Last night was awful. The Sox lost 7-3. I’m still dealing with the horror of it all. The series is tied 2-2.
I saw a clip from a recent Celts’ game, and Paul Pierce was on the opposing team. It was strange to see him in other than Celtic green. I have been a fan of the Celts since I was young. Back then few games were on TV so I got to listen to Johnny Most on the radio. He had this raspy voice, and it filled with emotion when he was describing spectacular plays. He was a screamer: sometimes in joy and sometimes in indignation. I remember hiding my head under the covers so I wouldn’t get caught listening to the games from the West Coast on my transistor radio. I used to try to visualize the plays as Johnny described them. He had names for all the players like Jumping John Havlicek and Leaping Larry Siegfried. He was such a Celtics fan himself he never once criticized the team. He even had nicknames for opposing players but they weren’t complimentary. Magic Johnson was Cry-Baby Johnson so named when he disputed a call so all that season he was just called Cry when Johnny described the action. Even when the games were on TV, I always turned down the volume and listened instead to Johnny on the radio. His most famous line is “Havlicek stole the ball!” and I can remember him screaming that into the mike. That steal gave the Celts the series against Philadelphia, and they went on to beat LA for the championship. I still watch the Celts once in a while now and even took in a game a couple of years ago. Tommy Heinsohn, a former Celtic from the glory days, is the TV announcer, and he’s pretty good, but I miss the Johnny Most days. He made basketball, even on the radio, colorful and fun.
My neighborhood is so quiet now. The storm doors are up so I don’t ever hear voices anymore. The kids are in school. Every now and then I hear a dog bark, and if Gracie is outside, she’ll carry on the conversation, but most dogs are inside until their people come home from work. It is getting to be isolation time.
Categories: Musings
Tags: ALCS series, barking dogs, Celtics, dump run, Havlicek stole the ball!, isolation time, Johnny Most, quiet, radio, warm day
Comments: 19 Comments
September 8, 2013
The sun has disappeared. I know it was here earlier, but when I wasn’t looking, it went elsewhere. The weather does say chance of rain, but I don’t feel it in the air. The day is warm but not hot. A healthy breeze is keeping the heat at bay.
One of the spawns of Satan has met its demise. My neighbor saw it as he was walking by with his kids. The spawn is lying in the rough area between my house and my neighbor’s. I guess I’ll have to get my shovel and bury it. I checked, and it is a grey squirrel gone to its maker.
When I was a little kid, we found dead animals like squirrels somehow fascinating. The whole group of us would check out the recently departed. We used to wonder and debate how or why the creature died. Sometimes we’d think to bury it but most times we’d just leave it there. Kids always find oddities and gross stuff most interesting.
Today I have no plans. I showered so the cleanliness next to Godliness if out-of-the-way. I need to make my bed, and that’s about it for the day. Usually when I go upstairs, one or both of the cats are sleeping on the bed so I choose not to disturb them, and the bed remains unmade, as if I need an excuse.
My front fence is ablaze with flowers. The autumn clematis is blooming and covers one whole part of the fence. There were so many bees around it this morning. All of them happy, I’m sure, to have flowers. One tall sort of neat looking plant near the front of the house has buds and will bloom in a couple of days. I don’t know what the flower is. I’ll take a picture so someone can help me out with its name. The buds look white so for now it is the white flower. I need to buy some mums. I have one on the steps, but I’d like a few more for the garden which only has black-eyed Susans left. I’m sorry the season of flowers is coming to an end. I loved looking at my front garden each morning when I went to get the papers.
Football begins today. The Pats are playing the Bills. Can fall and winter be far behind?
Categories: Musings
Tags: autumn clematis, bees, dead spawn of Satan, grey day, grey squirrel, kids and dead animals, warm day, white flower
Comments: 14 Comments
September 3, 2013
Last night I finally gave up and turned on the AC. I was sweating in the humidity which made little sense so on went the AC, and within a short time both Gracie and I were nice and cool. Today is much the same as yesterday though the humidity is a bit lower: no clouds, no possibility of rain, but my resistance is also lower so the AC may be on shortly.
I was awake until four this morning. It was just one of those can’t get to sleep nights. I went upstairs at two after having watched Carrier, a series about an aircraft carrier in the Gulf in 2008. I watched two installments. The pickings for TV watching are lean in the wee hours. Syfy was offering sharks again, but I just couldn’t face the two-headed shark and Sharknado again with all the craziness and mayhem. Given the choices, Carrier was pretty interesting.
When I was young, all the channels stopping airing around midnight. Each had a different sign off but each sign off included the national anthem. One channel had the Blue Angels flying in formation and doing maneuvers while the anthem playing in the background. I remember the trails of smoke behind the planes as they turned in unison, an image that has stuck in my head all these years. I also remember when the anthem was finished. The test pattern then took over for the rest of the night into the late morning. The pattern which sticks in my head was the Indian wearing a full headdress. He was at the top of circles and boxes which I guess was the actual test pattern. I never thought about those test patterns. I just figured they were there to fill the empty spaces where programs should be. Come to find out they were meant to help calibrate and align the cameras.
TV never goes off now, but I still feel a bit of nostalgia about the Indian. Given a preference, I’d choose that or any test pattern over the infomercials which crowd the airways after midnight. Some of the gimmicks being sold are intriguing, but I haven’t yet been tempted to buy one and get a second free if I just pay shipping and handling!
Categories: Musings
Tags: AC, align the cameras, Carrier, channel sign offs, humidity, Indian test pattern, infomercials, national anthem, sharks, Syfy, warm day
Comments: 25 Comments
August 20, 2013
This should be a sloth day except I actually made my bed, went out for breakfast, watered outside plants and filled the bird feeders. I wanted to do none of these. It is just that sort of a day, the third in a row of just that sort of a day. The difference is that today I did stuff despite my reluctance and for that I take some pride.
It will be a warm day today, a New England warm day. I added that last part because everything is relative. I’m thinking air-conditioner but not yet as the sun is still on the other side of the house. If I get uncomfortable, on goes the air.
Usually I never watch daytime TV. I read, go on-line, browse catalogues or sit on the deck. Today, being one of those days, I turned on the TV and am watching one of my favorite off the wall movies, Shaun of the Dead. I think it a perfect fit for my mood.
My father used to bring ice cream home all the time. He worked for Hood. Once he brought home a pint of ice cream, and my sister wanted to know if it was for dolls, it being so small and all. My father became the manager of Hood in Hyannis which is why we moved down here. Later the building was sold and it became a restaurant. When my mother came to visit once, she and I went there to eat. It seemed strange. The office configuration was still there but the walls were gone, and it was now a bar. My father would have liked that.
My father was a fan of vanilla with Hershey’s syrup and whipped cream. He always sat in the same place in the living room: at the end of the couch beside the table. I can still see him carrying his bowl of ice cream then settling to watch TV. My dog Shauna sometimes got her own bowl of ice cream and always got to lick his. Gracie gets mine. She isn’t partial to any flavor. She likes them all. As for me, I’m on a coconut kick.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: busy day, coconut ice cream, Hood Ice cream, ice cream, lethargy, Shaun of the Dead, vanilla with syrup, warm day
Comments: 6 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
May 10, 2013
I just got back from my monthly breakfast with friends, all who are, like me, retired. I wasn’t sure whether it was 9 or 9:30 so I went for 9. I was early so I sat in the car and watched the world round me. Fog came rolling down the street from the ocean. It also hovered over the marsh behind the houses across the street. An old man shuffled out of the breakfast spot to his car which had taken up two spaces: the front end had one and the back end the other. He opened his trunk, looked in and then closed it again. I guess all was well in his trunk. He got in his car and left which freed up two spaces. People went in and out of the small post office. In front of me was a grove of beautiful red trees. I listened to the radio while I waited and then when one of my friends came, we went inside.
The morning is spectacular. Fluffy clouds dot the deep blue sky, and it is time to change to sandals, time to put away my winter shoes. Yesterday it rained a bit, and I heard a long and loud clap of thunder, as loud as any I’ve heard in a while. I expected a downpour, but it never came; instead, it merely sprinkled for a while.
Last night was trivia, and we reigned supreme. Many of the answers worked in our favor, we who are a bit older. One bonus was name the mother in each sitcom. I figured Donna Stone of the Donna Reed Show was not going to be answered by the younger teams. Even the music was easy. Usually the questions ask for groups totally unknown to me. Last night the first question was what duo was originally named Caesar and Cleo. I hopped right on that one. The next music question was whose first hit was A Tisket A Tasket in 1938. East enough-I play it here some Easters. At the end, before the final question, we were tied for second, a spot we were in most of the evening. The category was states and we bet 25, the maximum. The question was name the state admitted to the union in 1863 which first wanted to be called Kanawha. It was another answer I knew right away but I had to convince a couple of my teammates: one of whom wanted Arkansas and the other California. They had no reason, just hunches. When I explained why, they went with my answer. That put us over the top and we won! It made me glad that some of my memory drawers are filled with answers which are generally useless except for trivia contests. They are the drawers with cobwebs and a few mice.
Nothing on tap for the weekend. Rain is expected so maybe I’ll clean out that cabinet I’ve been eyeing for a while. But then again, maybe I won’t. It sounds a bit too much like actual work to me. I think I’m allergic!
Categories: Musings
Tags: beautiful day, blue sky, breakfast, Caesar and Cleo, memory drawer, sandals, Trivia, warm day, work
Comments: 12 Comments
February 26, 2013
Gracie is my barometer. She has been in and out all morning so I know it’s warm outside. When she first went out, I watched her run the perimeter of the yard at top speed. When she came inside, she was panting and had the usual amount of spit on her face. I also have the front door open for her. She loves to sit there for hours and look outside. My street, though, is so very small I can’t imagine what holds her attention except in the late afternoon when people walk their dogs by the house. That sends Gracie into a frenzy of barking and jumping at the door. She is not a lover of dogs unless she can meet them on her own terms: face to face with plenty of sniff time and no human interference.
Today is another I have nothing on my list to do day. Yesterday I finished all my chores and also swept and wet mopped the kitchen floor. I have no idea what compels me to do these household chores. I just know that every now and then I get the cleaning bug, a virus for which I wish there was a cure.
My mother didn’t work outside the house when we were kids. She spent the day at home doing laundry and cleaning. I know I always had clean clothes, my bed was made every day, the rug in the living room was vacuumed, my blouses and skirts were ironed and the dust was gone, but I seldom saw her cleaning. It was almost like the shoemaker and the elves, but it was really because my mother did it all when we were in school. The only thing I did see was my mother making dinner every night. In my mind’s eye, I can see her at the kitchen sink, her back to the door, as she peeled potatoes, cut them up and put them on to cook. The stove was behind her to the left on the wall opposite the sink. It was white. All the appliances were white back then. Harvest gold and avocado hadn’t yet made an appearance. The kitchen was small with very little counter space. The fridge was beside the sink with a small counter in between them. That’s where my mother kept her dish rack with a rubber mat underneath. The mat was opened at one end so the water from the dishes went back into the sink. My mother believed in air drying dishes. I do too.
Categories: Musings
Tags: chores, cleaning, dogs, Gracie, making dinner, to do list, vacuuming, warm day, washing dishes, white appliances
Comments: 24 Comments
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