Sunday, September 9, 2018

Crazy Tiny Dinosaurs, Etc.


For Steve Reed. The Buddha Beer bottles in my window. 

Sunday got me with its claws today and has kept me pretty much gripped tight. I mean, I've had some nice moments for sure but overall, the dregs of the week have tasted bitter and I have been clumsy and graceless both in thought and in deed. 
Indeed. 

One nice thing that happened was that a young woman who was a good friend of May's in high school texted me that she was across the street and she wondered if she could come over. She used to live in this house, back when she was a kid, and of course I welcomed her with open arms. She's such a cool woman. She went to law school but now she's a dog trainer in NYC which I think is just awesome. Anyway, we walked through the whole house and she showed me where her mother's room had been and her brothers' room and her own. She was amazed at the bathroom that was put in by the people who bought the house from her mother. The bathroom we call "my" bathroom. The one with the beautiful Talavera sink. And she really liked what Mr. Moon is doing in what we call "his" bathroom. 
After we looked around we chatted for a very long time and I enjoyed that so much. I felt as if I was talking with an old friend and in some ways, I was. I always really liked most of my kids' friends when they were growing up and some of them I had and always will have deep affection for. So we caught up and it was really a pleasurable hour. She said the house felt much the same as it had when she lived here and that makes me happy. She also liked my chickens and of course I went on and on about chickens. 
Speaking of which, I think mine are crazy. Last night when I went to close them up the hen house they were all there, for once, none sleeping twenty feet up in a tree. But most of them were either in one nesting box or as close to it as they could get. 


There are six chickens in that nest box as far as I can tell, including two roosters. And as you can see, Big Mama is roosting right outside of it. The other night when I went in, Darla was in that nest and Big Mama was where you see her there and Darla kept pecking at her (pecking order is very real) until finally I just lifted her up and put her in the empty roost box next to the one she was in. Since she was drowsy she let me do it without a fuss. 
But all of this isn't quite as crazy as what Mr. Moon found today which was six eggs just randomly laying in the grass near the garden gate. Not all together, like in a nest, but strewn about as if that six-by-six foot area of the yard had some powerful egg-inducing ability and any hen who walked over it just automatically dropped an egg. 
I mean- what the fuck, gals? And how could I not have noticed them? Yeah, the grass is really long but I go into the garden at least once a day. I brought the eggs in and gave them the float test and they all passed. 


At least three different hens laid those eggs, maybe four. So I have no idea what's going on. I also found three in the nests today so it was a good day, egg-wise. 

I worked on Maggie's dress too. It's mostly done. I just need to hem it and then make the matching shorts. Such an easy pattern. 


I did do some pretty little French seams where appropriate to make the whole thing neater and tidier and that brought me pleasure. 


Mr. Moon has come home and is hot, tired and extremely frustrated. He borrowed a trailer to take with him to haul his tractor back because the tractor isn't running and needs fixing and some part of the trailer got fucked up and he's been trying to straighten it out and he wanted to go and get his lawnmower which is some big, beastly machine called a zero-turn mower which had also needed repairing but was now ready to pick up. 
Everything around here needs repairing. I swear. 
He finally gave it all up and is now sitting in his chair in the air conditioning with a martini which is good because he told me a few minutes ago that he was a "cranky old man" and I'd just as soon not have to deal with one of those. 

I'm about to go try cooking with another real, actual recipe. This one I cut out of a newspaper or maybe a fishing publication and it's for grouper and vegetables with an orange and soy based sauce. 
It might suck but I'm going to try it. At least it will be different. 

So how has your Sunday been? Anything you'd like to tell or bitch about or brag about or discuss? 
Feel free. 

Yours truly.

Love...Ms. Moon

25 comments:

  1. My Sunday has been peaceful. I went to the discount supermarket. I made Sunday dinner with roast beef and Yorkshire puddings and I went to the local pub for a few pints of beer with my chums. No drama. No hassle. Nothing.

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    1. Sounds absolutely wonderful to me, Mr. P! Right now I am simmering orange juice with garlic and peppers and soy sauce and am about to chop vegetables. Which is very, very comforting.

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  2. Hello Ms Moon, I don't comment often enough but want to say how much I enjoy your posts, your beautiful way with words, your wonderful family. I'm sorry that Sundays are hard and I understand. I usually go to the grocery store on Sunday morning and feel endlessly thankful I'm not in church. Best to you, Becky

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    1. Not in church is far more cheerful than being in church and that's the truth for me. Thank you, Becky.

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  3. Your chickens are pretty crazy - in a good and very entertaining way.

    Today and tomorrow is the celebration of the Battle of St. George's Cay here in Belize. It is the anniversary of a battle between Britain and Spain over the territory that would became British Honduras and eventually Belize. Needless to say, the British won. We celebrated with cold fizzy drinks made from our own lime juice and gin. For dinner, we had leftover Punjab Eggplant (from a packet) with tricolor couscous. And a side dish of avocado mushed with lime juice, goat cheese, and sesame oil spread on top of toasted cassava bread.

    So nice that you had a visit from a former resident of your house.

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    1. Those drinks and the food sound remarkably good!
      Strange to think that there once was a time when the sun never set on the British Empire, isn't it?

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  4. I had to laugh about Glen being a “cranky old man” as he is one of the most pleasant guys I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. However...I guess we all have our moments!!!

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    1. He didn't really act cranky. He just told me he was.

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  5. That's nice that you had a visitor to chat with. We took Katie out today for a nice long walk and some lunch. She was a little bit grumpy but nothing like she used to be. She has gained more weight though.

    I painted a little, working on my bathroom and I'm putting off the tiling because I've never done it and I'm a little nervous. Football has been on TV ALL WEEKEND! I'm not a fan of football, or any sports for that matter.

    Fortunately when I went out for a walk with the dog after supper, the young woman from next door was also going for a walk. We had a lovely walk and we both got to talk and kvetch. Made me feel better on this gloomy Sunday.

    If you were nearby I'd walk with you although there is no way I could walk as far as you do.

    The dress is beautiful and I can imagine the chickens just walking and eggs dropping out of them. Kind of how my dog poops sometimes:)

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    1. So Katie was being a grumpy young lady. Like Mr. Moon, I'm sure she had her reasons.
      Football just annoys the shit out of me. I have no patience for it at all.
      Sounds like you had some nice moments for a Sunday. I'm glad.

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  6. hope your dinner lightened your mood a bit......sometimes it works and sometimes not. Mr Moon cranky? Never heard that before....but hey, we all have days. Quiet weekend here...... I was mostly just annoyed beyond words at having watched the womens US Open tennis final yesterday and just so disappointed that the talented and deserving winner got her glory stolen away....... actually, I was pissed. All else quiet her on the western front . ;-) . Maggies new dress is divine, and such good seamstress-ship! Is that a word?
    Susan M

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    1. I really have not figured out what happened at the tennis final and I feel as if I must because everyone in the world is talking about it.
      Those seams do like nice, don't they? They are ridiculously easy to do. I hope Maggie likes her animals dress.

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  7. SUnday has been a mixed bag. Went to comiccon with Jonah and made it two hours before I started hyperventilating and going catatonic. Came home and was manic--cleaned the coop, trimmed one billion branches from the never-blooming devil wisteria, watered, weeded, swept, cleaned the bathrooms, and found our first egg--the chicken looking shocked at what had just occurred and she'd missed the food by an inch. At least she was in the coop, I guess.

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    1. TWO HOURS!
      Woman, you rock. I probably wouldn't have gotten in the door.
      And yes, it does sound as if you were a bit manic. At least you got a lot done. So happy you got your first egg! Poor little hens. They really don't have a clue when it all starts up. Sort of like girls when they get their first period I think. I mean, can you ever really be prepared for that?

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  8. Sunday was okay in these parts because Sophie FINALLY got treated for her ESES. I piddled around, did some paperwork, did some closet purging and reading, etc. I have missed visiting here for the last few days and need to catch up. How many chickens do you have now? I've lost count! And that little dress you've made for Maggie is adorable. I'm so impressed with how much stuff you can do!

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    1. I'm so glad to hear that, Elizabeth! I hope the treatments kick in swiftly and well.
      I have eleven chickens right now. Such a small flock in the grand scheme of things! Two are roosters so nine hens.
      As to "all" of the things I can do- I suppose I am a successful graduate of the sixties and seventies home-education classes in the public schools. And hey! You're the professional pastry chef along with every other dang thing you do which blows my mind daily.

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  9. just a lazy day here which was good since I didn't sleep well the night before what with the cat doing her passive aggressive thing with the dog. we got another good rain storm that knocked over three of the plumerias in their pots. tried to pick a decorative support to hold up the corner of the roof for when the planter gets torn out but finally decided on just a plain 4"x4".

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    1. Sometimes plain is best. Glad you got more rain but I hope it held off today so that painting could begin.

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  10. I love the bottles!! I definitely have to get at least one of those. As for Mr. Moon, how could he NOT be a cranky old man after all that?! I'd be cranky too.

    The chickens in the nest box are really funny. I wonder what on earth they're doing? Safety in numbers, maybe?

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    1. Billy introduced Buddha beer to us so every time I see those bottles I think of him and smile.
      What ARE those chickens all doing in the same nest? I've never seen quite this sort of sleeping arrangement before. I guess that's the safe nest according to criteria I do not understand but I feel certain there are good reasons behind their actions.

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  11. I think you have some rebellious chickens.

    Sunday was great. Perfect weather. Feeling better each day. Went to my son's for ribs and chicken wings while watching the Bronco's win one.

    Have a happy week, Mary.

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    1. I am so glad you're feeling better!
      Rebellious chickens...hmmmm...I can just see Liberace in a black leather jacket.

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  12. My favourite cousin passed away a few weeks ago and my great-aunt -- his mother, in her nineties -- couldn't survive the loss. She died yesterday.

    Am I complaining? Not really. It is what it is. Just telling you because you asked.

    -Kate

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    1. It is what it is, indeed.
      I am so sorry that you have lost a favorite cousin and his mother.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.