Friday, March 12, 2021

Outdoor Therapy


I woke up in the crappiest, crankiest mood this morning. I was hatin' on the world, despite the blooms and blossoms, birdsong and blue sky. I got a text from Jessie asking if I wanted to go to Lake Hall with them and I told her I had to deal with my morning angst before I could make that decision.
She understood.
I knew I wanted to go so I got the laundry going early, did the few things around here that needed doing and got dressed to go to town. I had to pick an outfit that would do for both lake-side relaxing and grocery shopping. I thought I was actually going to get away without having to go to the store this week but I did have a list and also, I had what I hoped were two prescriptions to pick up at Publix's pharmacy so...shopping might as well get done. I put on a blue linen dress and a white linen shirt that I bought at that rather disappointing trip to Goodwill, a pair of blue earrings and a blue necklace. 
Pool boy, bring me a pina colada, por favor. 
Haha.
Lake Hall is part of the nearby Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park which is an absolutely beautiful place, especially right now as the last of the camellias as well as the azaleas are blooming. I mean- it's enchanted and enchanting. When was the last time I was there?
Who the hell knows?
It's like people who live two blocks from the beach and never go. 

I used to take my kids to Lake Hall when Hank and May were little, especially the summer I was the World's Largest Living Land Mammal when I was pregnant with Lily. Lake Hall and Wakulla Springs were my go to. It's a wonder Lily wasn't born with webbed toes. 
Anyway, Jessie had taken the boys a few weeks ago and no one had been there and the boys had a wonderful time, digging in the sand and even getting in the water. So I joined them today with my beach chair and I gave Levon his blanket. He is delighted with it. I demonstrated how he can look at the heavy machinery while lying under it, having the cozy flannel side next to his body. Thrilling! I hear that August loves his blanket, too and has been trying to show it even to people passing the house on their walks. 
And that, of course, thrills me


Jessie and I chatted while the boys played in the sand and waded in the water. Levon brought out his front-end loader. Or, one of them. I think that's what it is. I still don't know.


He spent at least fifteen minutes, wading knee deep, crossing and recrossing the little area in front of us holding the front-end loader half submerged in the water beside him, making engine noises as if he were rolling it along the ground. I have never in my life seen a child do this but I am not surprised that Levon did. August designed a way to clean the water by digging a ditch that ended up in a hole on the beach where the "dirty" water collected. He then spent a great deal of time telling us a story about a contest or game wherein people did this on 1700 lakes. There was a lot more to the story. Forgive me if I don't remember. Then Levon found a stick and started using it to whack the front-end loader in the water. Boys and sticks go together like beans and rice. 

I finally realized I needed to get on my way and Jessie wanted to get home too so that Levon could get a nap. We packed up and changed the boys out of their swim suits and I did something I never do unless I do, I guess, and went to HARDEE's drive through and got a chicken sandwich and an iced tea. I don't feel guilty about it. How much fast food do I eat? And it was a smallish chicken sandwich and no, I did not get french fries. Or onion rings. 
Did I enjoy it? 
Sort of. Not sure my belly did though.

I decided to skip Costco and went directly to Publix where only one of my prescriptions was ready and of course that was the one that I'm least in danger of running out of.
Sigh.
I ran through the store in record time and got my stuff, came home, put it away, got the clothes off the line, put all of that away, made the bed with the clean sheets (in case you were wondering if it's Friday or not), unloaded the dishwasher, gathered the eggs, and swept the kitchen floor.

I'm tired now. 

Okay. Here's what I feel the need to talk about- people whose new theme about the Biden presidency seems to be "broke and woke." As in, America will soon be broke and woke. In case you didn't get that. 
I have a "friend" on FB who agrees with this philosophy (don't worry, I'm unfriending him) and I read through some of the comments on a post about Biden signing the relief bill that he had commented on. 
Here's the thing that mystifies me- as pissed off and anxious and angry as I was about Trump being president is exactly how pissed off and anxious and angry these people are about Biden being president. They call him "Sleepy Joe," of course, tell him to go "back to the basement," say that he can't finish an entire sentence due to...dementia? and in general, just absolutely shred him. 
First of all, how could anyone who supported Trump criticize Biden's language skills? Thought processes? Trump had the vocabulary of a half-trained cocker spaniel and his sentences were basically three-word affairs, one of the words always being "me" and one of the words generally being "bigly" or something in that vein. Do they not see the irony in criticizing Biden? 
And secondly, well- I'll just say it- why is being woke a bad thing? Why is the fact that people want to be more empathetic and aware of the issues of race and class and education and income something to be made fun of?
And finally- do they not realize that under Trump, the national deficit rose over EIGHT TRILLION DOLLARS? 
You know what? Even if these Ever-Trumpers do know or did know, they do not give a shit. They are so blind in their cultish, slavish devotion to a man who poops on a golden toilet that they literally do not care what he did nor do they care what Biden will do- they are going to remain loyal to Trump and they are going to condemn and denounce every thing Biden does, even if it makes their lives and the lives of their children and grandchildren remarkably better. 

If I should, by some miracle, live to be a hundred years old (and I won't), I will never understand this. 
And it confuses the hell out of me. 

Mr. Moon has just returned from picking up the tractor from his friend who repaired it. Levon is very excited that the tractor will now run better. He insists that it will also run faster and perhaps it will. 

It is martini time. Although I've had a lot of sweetness today, I'm still somehow a little cranky. Perhaps the martini will help with that. 

And here's some cheerful news: today is May and Michael's fifth anniversary. Can you believe they've been married for five years? Congratulations to those two sweet lovebirds. 

Happy Friday, y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon




34 comments:

  1. thankfully, (other than the crankies) you've had a pretty full and rewarding day! And a martini awaits! I've had an off day.....dull sinus headache that makes me fuzzy.....and I realized that darned, the willow trees are starting to puff out their white poofy seeds.....and they get me every year. I guess it's that time. I'm ready for a wine, and quiet evening and warm bed already...and it's only 4pm. I better suck it up and get busy! And Joe.......is NOT sleepy, AT ALL
    susan M

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    1. and forgot.....sending BIG anniversary wishes to May and Michael. I can't believe it is 5 years!
      Susan M

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    2. Oh honey. I understand. I look at the clock and think, "Oh shit. It's only three."
      I wonder if Biden does this?

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  2. Dump facebook it is toxic! I feel ten years younger having done so. The O-anon neighbor waved at me today...something must be up....
    Your day sounds like a total holiday! WOW, you did a lot and even dressed nicely for the day. Splendid!

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    1. Well, I have mostly rid myself of all of the toxic people in my FB friends list so it's generally just news and pictures from people I really do like including children.
      As soon as I got home, I took off my town-clothes and put on an old dress thinner and more comfortable than a nightie. Sigh...

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  3. My favorite part of last nights’s presidential address? The phrase “All the states, tribes and territories.” The inclusivity of diversity!

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    1. He is ON that diversity train. And I love him for it!

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  4. That sounds like a good day, cranky or not. And the outfit too. I'd have liked a picture of that. I do love linen in solid colors. Did the pool boy ever show up?

    I had my Friday salad, and I always think about your Friday martini. Not so much the sheets though..

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    1. No pool boy whatsoever. Dang. In Mexico the state parks on the beach have waiters walking around taking orders for food and drink. They are so much more civilized than here.
      We had a Friday salad too! And tonight we shall have a Saturday salad! As long as these greens are still available, I'm going to eat them!

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  5. May and Michael, happy anniversary to you, a fifty five fifty more.

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  6. In the UK the right wing media are on a crusade to protect the nation from wokeness. I am baffled at what they are so threatened by. I can only see kind people wanting to be kind to others and make the world a kinder place.

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    1. Obviously the idea of the world being a kinder place is extremely threatening to some people. I, too, am baffled. Why?

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  7. That looks like an excellent lake outing, despite the crankiness. (I get it. I've been cranky too. What's going on? Sunspots?) I'm glad the boys' blankets are hits!

    Just remember the anti-Biden people aren't seeing real news. They have no idea what's really going on. They're getting information from their poisonous Facebook echo chambers and from Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit and Steve Bannon. The Gateway Pundit (which I continue to read despite myself) is always harping on about Biden's "dementia." I think a lot of Trump fans are threatened by well-spoken people with good vocabularies -- they don't see that as an asset at all.

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    1. The moon is in cranky, I suppose. Or yes, it's sunspots.
      You're right about the anti-Biden news sources. They really have no clue as to what is really happening. But the thing is- they don't want to! They prefer their own little monosyllabic world of falsehoods.

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  8. I think if I lived near that park, I would be there a lot. I looked it up, it's beautiful and only a short drive away. I'm sure the boys had a wonderful time.

    So being woke is a bad thing? Like being compassionate and kind is a bad thing? WTF. I think trumpers miss having scapegoats to blame for their problems. It's always so muck nicer to have someone else to blame.

    Hope you have a lovely weekend.

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    1. I definitely should go to that park more often although in the summer the lake water gets funky. Too many people, too much heat. But why I don't go to the gardens when the camellias are in bloom is a mystery and a shame.

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  9. I read a post after President Biden’s speech (Gawd, I love to say/write that...PRESIDENT Biden!) that said he was pitiful...couldn’t keep his eyes open, obviously using a teleprompter, and obviously has dementia. I replied that he must have been watching a different speech than the rest of the country. I also said I’ll take reading from a teleprompter over some wild orange guy calling people names and saying how great he is.

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    1. Teleprompter tRump looked and sounded like he was on Thorazine! And yeah, at least Biden can read...

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  10. I wonder if the people making fun of President Biden will cash their $1400 checks!?!
    Looks like a fun day at the beach!
    Feel better today!

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    1. I've been wondering that myself, Ellen.

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    2. Of coarse they will cash their Checks, hypocrisy drips from those people. It's not as if they'd consider giving the Money back on Principle... ha ha ha.

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  11. We had occasion to go to the local Hamburger chain drive through, we seriously have not done this for one year. It was terrible. We both said what we remember and what it was was two different things. Did we forget? Have they got bad? i think it's us because the same thing happened the week before at a small Greek take out. We used to love that place. I won't be going back soon. The local Guatemalan restaurant was different, the food was excellent, just as we recall. This is our new, "freedom," restaurant take outs. Tomorrow it will be Chinese.
    :)
    Daring, brave, gay men in Texas through caution to the wind and buy take out.
    :P
    Tom and Dimi

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    1. Haha!
      I love the image of you two brave, gay men in Texas throwing caution to the winds!
      I knew this sandwich wasn't going to be very good. Honestly, I was thinking about a hamburger but they list the calorie content on the menu now and, well, I just could not do it. The chicken sandwich was bad enough.

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  12. Happy Anniversary to May and Michael! Happy news.

    As for the rest, I have reached the end of my tolerance for news--any news. Stopped watching all TV five years ago, and now, despite my subscriptions to NYT and WP, I feel less and less inclined to even read along despite my happiness that JB was elected. Wishing the administration the best, but don't have much 'bandwith' left at the moment to listen to or read much of anything.

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    1. Well, the good thing is that we don't HAVE to worry about what's going on in the capitol every damn second of the day anymore. There are grown-ups in charge!

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  13. My kids - my oldest in particular - used to do all the engine sounds of vehicles too. So much so that his first grade teacher asked if he was "ok" as he "made these funny noises". I just laughed because he was making the sounds of cars passing by the window. Oh and this weird kid is now 33 and living with me (temporarily) and is an absolute hoot!

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    1. That's great! Yep. Levon makes engine noises and August talks endlessly about projects. Their teachers are going to love them.

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  14. It so fascinating to watch those books grow! Their personalities come through so vividly. And I too am mystified by the cult of Trump. It doesn't take two brain cells to catch his grift. For now, though, I sleep better knowing Biden is at the wheel. He's a better president than I expected. I expected decency, which alone would've been a relief. But it seems we're getting moral courage too.

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  15. book = boys. I'm on my kindle which autocorrects illogically. I should proofread!

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  16. I agree with you about Biden. He is surprising me a bit, especially with his attention to diversity and his rapid fulfilling of his campaign promises.
    Unlike You-Know-Who never did build a wall, give us a healthcare plan, or show us his tax returns.
    Ugh.

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  17. I like Biden's determination...don't understand the hatred and ignorance and have zero desire to be around or talk with Trumpers anymore. I am tired of being viewed as second class but have come to the conclusion that this will not change in my lifetime. Being woke may help the next generation.

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  18. I think all those who profess to be so against the new Stimulus Package should give theirs back, which they won't of coarse, but I'd put them on the spot by saying I assume they're giving the money back then to stand on their Principles. *winks* Where was their indignation when Billionaires and Big Biz were being bailed out and costing even more? Socialism for the Elite has been going on a very long time, yet few of them acknowledge that Fact, where Evidence is easily come by to prove it. I don't understand the Obstructionist Viewpoint at all, if something is going to benefit the Country and it's Citizens, why would anyone Elected to Serve the People be against it and obstruct it? Yet, people did Vote them in, proving that you can't fix Stupid. I am so relieved to finally have Grownups back in the WH tho' and decent Human Beings Leading, what a refreshing change after the last Four horrific Years we've endured.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.