Thursday, May 22, 2008

Basaa

A favorite expression that I learned in Ghana is "meye basaa." When Twi speakers feel out of sorts for some reason, that's what they say. "Basaa" means "mess." So if you say, "Meye basaa," you're saying "I'm a mess." It conveys your meaning so perfectly.

So today, meye basaa, and this'll be short. I'm tired of this stupid little cold that wakes me up in the middle of the night with a cough and then makes it hard to get back to sleep. I'm tired of the damp, penetrating chill in the air and want to remind The Powers That Be that this is late in the month of May in the Northern Hemisphere, and plus we even have global warming, for crap's sake, so it's supposed to be WARM!!!

I haven't been able to take the boat out for the cold, and the crabs don't like the temperature, either, so that bit of fun goes un-had.

And I'd take some over-the-counter cold remedy if I weren't afraid of possible interactions between OTCs and the blood pressure and anti-inflammatory drugs I have to take.

Poor me. I'm not good company today. If the weather gurus are to be believed, we're headed for a warming trend, so that part of the equation should be improving. I hope so, because we have company coming.

I'll be posting a recipe tomorrow but then it's a tossup if I'll be able to write anything for the rest of the weekend, with the company here that will keep us busy and out of the house quite a bit. I promise to be my chipper self when we meet again.

9 comments:

Kat said...

Poor Ralph!
I send a warm hug, a bowl of soup and hopes for a chair by a sunny window!

Ralph said...

Kat, thank you dear friend. I'm by the sunny window so I can read the paper. The soup will be next.

jack/andrews said...

The high pressure system, 'omega block' the weatherman called, is over us today, so it is coming your way. The high temp will be ~70 today. For me the perfect day to be in the garden, so that's where I'll be-- catching up with the weeds. I'll take you with me. You can sit in an Adirondack chair on the flagstone patio and keep me company.

Ralph said...

Now that sounds perfect, Michele. The wind is picking up here, so if I can get a decent tailwind I'll be right there!

nan said...

I hope that nasty cold moves on its way SOON. I like the "I'm a mess" phrase from Ghana, and will have to remember it. Two great tunes today. Have some fun with your weekend regardless of the mess(cold or weather!)

Ralph said...

Thanks so much, Nan. A greeting from you always brightens the day. My "basaa" should be over tomorrow after a decent night's sleep, and I've bought something to keep the cough down so the sleep should be possible.....

Mim said...

Ralph,
Yes between the cold weather and a cold this week is a goner on this end for me too.
Did you read the style section today in the WP where it mentioned Mary Emmerling and Rehobeth beach.Of course it was about beach decorating but I enjoyed the article.
Rehobeth used to be one our beach weeks back in the 70's 80's before we started going to Outer Banks.
I remember the little restaurants tucked away in unlikely places, but of course haven't been there in years.
If you are staying put through the holiday weekend here is hoping for warmer weather for you.
Mim

Anonymous said...

How bad can it really be? Play some of your songlist. I dload some of your selections and hey, everything looks and feels better.

Go To The Beach!

Z&M

Ralph said...

Mim, I think you'd find Rehoboth the same and diffrent at the same time--we've been watching the changes since about the mid-80s, and they have been substantial, but they're all nice--tasteful, for lack of a beter word. No honky-tonk. As for restaurants, both Lewes and Rehoboth--in fact, this whole southern Delaware strand all the way down to Bethany and inland--have have really come into their own. We're totally spoiled in that regard. We're not in Rehoboth proper, but slightly inland, about equidistant from Lewes and Rehoboth. And we, too, have been going to the wonderful OB for a week in September since 1979.

Thanks for the wish for warmer weather. I think it'll come!