Last night the evening got cooler, the wind blew then the rain started. It was gentle at first, and both dogs went out for a bit, but in a short while, the rain got heavy, noisy. I could hear it hitting the metal barrel on the deck. Henry did go out later but reluctantly. Nala went out, turned around and came back inside. After the trauma of their getting wet, we three shared some watermelon. Both dogs love watermelon. I am happy to share.

This morning is damp, chilly and quite dark. Heavy rain is predicted. Light rain started earlier then stopped, but that is only a temporary reprieve.

When I was at home in Ghana, I bought my fruit in the market. On the road, I bought from hucksters. Oranges and bananas were the fruits I usually bought as they were easy to eat and didn't need to be washed, just peeled. Ghana was where I tasted my first mango. I didn't like mangoes at first, but they sort of grew (really?) on me. I loved pineapple, the sweet pineapple. I also tasted my first pawpaw (papaya). The Peace Corps cook book, Ghana Chop, called it the amazing pawpaw. It was versatile and even tasted like apple when baked in a pie. I saw coconuts in the wild, hanging from palm trees. One of my favorite snacks, usually sold on the street by small girls, was a toasted coconut ball. I had a bowl of fruit for lunch every day. They were the freshest fruits I have ever eaten.

When I was a kid, penny candy had amazing choices, and all of them were really a penny. Fireballs were my favorites. They lasted the longest especially when I'd have to take the fire ball out of my mouth because of the heat. Candy buttons weren't the easiest to eat. I had to be careful not to get any paper with the buttons, an almost impossible task. Root beer barrels are still among my favorites. When I was in Ghana, I craved root beer. Mary Janes took a lot of chewing as did Squirrel Nut Zippers. Sometimes the wrappers stuck to the candy. If I couldn't take off the wrapper remnants I ate the candy anyway. I was a kid.

My to-do list is empty, not because there is nothing to do, but because I don't want to do anything. My car has filled trash bags in the trunk waiting for a dump run, but today is an ugly day, a day to stay home, warm and dry. I declare today a sloth day.