Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Not Apologizing, Just Saying


The internet seems to be much snappier today and for that I am grateful. That is a picture of Ren, the dog who followed me on my walk yesterday whom I reunited with her human. I know and I realize that this is not a very interesting picture nor is the tale of finding a dog and calling her owner very interesting either.
Lord, but I have become more than boring. I have become...sadly irrelevant.
I do not say this in order to receive assurances that I am not. I know the truth of it. But here's the thing- this is just the way my life is right now. And quite frankly, I would so much rather be boring than have something like a dread diagnosis to discuss. And to be honest, I am not bored myself. At least, I don't think I am. I always seem to manage to find something to keep me satisfactorily entertained.
Why- take today for example! I cleaned the mud/laundry room! Last night my husband finally cleared his tools out of there. The tools he used to use when he was still redoing his bathroom. That project has come to a slow yet seemingly definite halt. I am not sure why. He got all the way to the point of putting the sink in when he just...lost...interest?
He claims that he doesn't really like the sink he bought but surely that can't be the whole story, can it? Thirty-five years with this man and I really can't say that I know him through and through.
Meanwhile, he has stashed tools and lumber and the offending sink in what used to be MY office but which is now a complete area of chaos and crap. Sometimes I get so mad about this. Or perhaps I am merely hurt. I don't know. And in his mind, I feel quite certain, he feels completely justified in doing this. I haven't used that space in a long time but what he doesn't understand is that for eons women have wanted nothing more than a room of our own. To call our own. To claim as our own. To deny entrance to to anyone else, no matter what we do or do not use it for.
Sigh.
I haven't mentioned the old toilet on the deck and yet, now I have.
Well.
I love that man with every fiber of my being and he will always be the miracle of my life but there are things he does that drive me insane just as anyone who is in a relationship of any length will admit to feeling about their partner if they are honest.
God knows that I do plenty of things that drive him crazy too, I'm sure.
But! I cleaned the mud/laundry room. I swept and scrubbed and mopped. I also cleaned the shower in my bathroom which I never notice the mold-growth in until suddenly, it is absolutely impossible to ignore. In my defense, I usually shower at night and at my age I keep the lights low in the bathroom in the fear that I might catch sight of myself in a mirror. The lower the lighting, the better. And how much light do I need to take a shower and brush my teeth? Hell, I could do those things in the dark if I had to.
That time may be coming.
But also- I obviously don't wear my glasses in the shower and that helps a great deal with the denial of mildew factor.
So anyway, I took my bucket and bleach and cleaning foams and potions and sprayed and scrubbed and now the shower looks better, even in the light. Even with my glasses on.

And THEN! AND THEN! I swept and mopped the kitchen and that bathroom and so at least the boards on that floor feel smooth and lovely against my feet for this red hot second. And the scent of vinegar and Fabuloso perfume the house and there are also  some clean rugs and I am happy about all of that.
It rained on and off all day but I did get out to the garden to do some weeding and picked some tomatoes and some beans, some squash and some leeks.
Dinner.

Here are the bananas growing beside my kitchen door.


Can you see them? Aren't they pretty? Do you think that the whole Garden of Eden myth would be more believable if the serpent offered Eve a banana? 
I do. 
A banana can give a girl ideas and it's such a delicious fruit. Or herb, I think it may be, technically. Did I just read that somewhere? 
I don't know. 

Anyway, Joanne from Cup On The Bus  asked me if I would give Granny Matthew's eggplant casserole recipe and I will gladly do that. I may have done so before but who can remember such things? Certainly not me. 
It's heaven-food for me, this recipe. Full of carby goodness and it tastes a bit like Thanksgiving stuffing if you use the Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix and bread crumbs as I do. I baked it last night along with a chicken and that was absolutely perfect. 

Granny Matthew's Eggplant Casserole

1 large or 2 small eggplants, peeled
4 tbs. melted butter (you can easily use half that if you want)
1/4 chopped onion (or, if you're like me- one entire onion, chopped)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Pinch of oregano
2 eggs, beaten
4 tbs. milk
1 cup crisp breadcrumbs 

Boil or steam eggplant until tender. Let cool a bit. Cook chopped onions in butter. Set aside to cool. Mash drained eggplant to a smooth pulp, add seasonings, eggs, milk, onions and butter, and breadcrumbs. Mix. Turn mixture into greased casserole dish. I like to top with a few more of the breadcrumbs, sliced tomatoes, and a little cheese before baking in a 350 degree oven for about twenty minutes or until set. 

Last night when I made this I carefully sliced a whole bunch of cherry tomatoes from the garden and layered them on top with the bread crumbs and cheese. I have also, in my vegetarian days, made this a main dish by draining, pressing, and mashing tofu to add to the eggplant. As with any recipe I may offer I will just say- make it yours. But this is the basic template and it is good. 

Now I am off to make tonight's supper which is going to involve the vegetables I picked in a stir fry. Mr. Moon is researching a soap and vinegar concoction to spray the field peas with to get rid of the black aphids which a million ladybugs could not deal with at this point.
You've not known grossness until you've picked beans that are covered in black aphids and let us not forget the ants which are also on the beans because ants actually herd and farm aphids and MILK THEM. 
I am not even kidding you. 
Thus, the bodies of the gazillions of aphids get smushed as you pick the beans resulting in a orangish brown stain on your hands and you also get ant bit. 

Gardening is one of the reasons that I never truly get bored but I'm not sure it's as interesting to anyone reading this as it is to me. Sort of like chickens. But, not quite as exciting. 

Ah well. 

Love...Ms. Moon






8 comments:

  1. I did all my house cleaning the two days before Kathy's visit but I did NOT mop any floors. but I did dust! today I did nothing but work on tomorrow's post and figure out how to post a video which involved getting my own channel on youtube and contemplate my coming procedures. too fucking hot to work outside though I did water all the pots because they needed it. and irrelevant, yes. I told all my stories and waxed poetic the first 5 years of my blog. now it's just the same shit over and over.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, it's lovely to read this blog, and yours, ellen, and be glad that other people are also doing it all every day over and over, I'm not alone. Actually at the moment I'm nursing a husband with a knee replacement who is not recovering as fast as he might (what did we expect when he's 87? Dumb.) That means more of it all...
    Irrelevant to what? We're making life better for the people we love, what more can we do?

    ReplyDelete
  3. I doubt that Ren and her human found anything boring about you reuniting them. That's one of those things that seems almost trivial to do-of course you call them-but that is profound to them. Thank you for doing it and sharing the story and picture.

    Julia

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh. Do you peel that eggplant first? Thanks for posting the recipe and thanks Joanne for asking.

    Julia

    ReplyDelete
  5. Aphids are gross, and the ant thing is grosser. My son's friend is fascinated with ants and keeps telling him horrible ant facts which he relays to us. Child is a bad influence!

    Your cleaning efforts are mighty! Maybe THIS is the weekend I'll finally clean the bathrooms.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You are the most industrious woman I know.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Have to say the aphids and ants sound pretty dramatic to me! I wish someone would come and clean my house like that. Might have to do it myself...

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ren is a very cute dog!

    Believe me, I can identify with your office situation. There are things Dave does that make me insane. I just have to recognize that's how he is and move on. But I DO sometimes move on while muttering under my breath. :)

    And yeah, why WASN'T the apple of worldly knowledge a banana? That does seem much more appropriate!

    ReplyDelete

Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.