Friday, July 23, 2021

Pictures Of Children With Food


 That was Maggie yesterday, sitting on the back steps and feeding bread to the chickens which she loves to do. She is a friend of all animals from dogs to caterpillars. Even Maurice seems to recognize this and will actually approach her which I've never seen her do with any other child. Maggie is wary of Maurice though, having been scratched by her before. In fact, she gave the cat the name "Scratch." 

It is pouring rain right now. I mean, the water is falling from the sky in endless buckets, the back yard is now a shallow pond. Or at least part of it is. I don't know how the dirt is absorbing all this water and I fear that at some point it will stop. Mr. Moon finally got the mowing done today before the flood. 


It's so green and pretty. There is a lot of dollar weed in that "grass" but still, it is green, and the grass is starting to fill in. There will never be grass in my front yard. Too much shade. Every time I look at it, I think of ladies in Africa who sweep their sandy dirt yards every day. I should probably do that too. 

We're having some cracking huge thunder and lighting along with the rain. It's cooled off at least ten degrees since it began falling. 
I am grateful. It has been god awful hot here lately. I know it's been even hotter in other places though, and I'm not really complaining. This is the way it is. 

We had such a good time with Magnolia. She was a fine guest, helpful and jolly. She loves to wash the wooden Buddha that I have on the back porch, as many of you know, and yesterday after that task was complete, she searched for other things to wash.
There are plenty. 
Here she is washing some paper mache Mexican dollies that hang on a wall. 


I do realize that paper mache is probably not meant to be washed in water but it all turned out well. I told her that she was so very good at washing things. 
"I know," she replied with no false modesty. And she is. 
She is such a beautiful child. 

She helped set the table and she helped me make the hamburger buns. She wanted a rolling pin to shape hers with and so I gave her one. Why not? It came out great. She was agreeable in all regards and she and I had some good chats. She bowled me over when she told me that when she'd gone back to school this year in Mrs. Paul's class, that she had been a "bit nervous." 
But she assured me that everything had gone well. I think she is very excited to start kindergarten. She plans on learning to read and she assures me that she can already write her name very well. And this, too, is true. 

After supper last night and the requisite Purple Cow (she chose that over peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream) she took her bath and we continued our chatting there and then after she was bathed and in her pajamas and ready for bed we read a few books but then she wanted to talk some more and so we did. I find these talks with my grandchildren to be the most important and interesting things I can do with them. They will show me their hearts in unexpected ways and words. Anyone who thinks that a four or five year old does not have much to say that is serious or well thought out has not been paying attention. 
Finally, she told me that she was tired and she got in her little bed beside our bed and cuddled under the softest blanket we own and fell asleep immediately. She slept soundly all night long. We had talked about cuddling when she woke up and we did indeed do that. She got in bed and snuggled and then she went back to sleep and I dozed some myself as Mr. Moon slept beside us and Jack curled at our feet. 

She had planned out breakfast before bed. Eggs, bacon, and toast with jam. 
And that is what we had. 


Is she not absolutely gorgeous? 

She had also planned that after breakfast, we would play the matching game. With Boppy, too. And so we did that. I think it was Boppy's first time playing that particular game. Maggie whipped our asses. She was thrilled. We were too.

And then we packed up and she and I drove to town to meet Lily and the brothers at a kitchen supply store where I was shopping for my birthday present. They didn't have exactly what I was looking for but I did buy a popsicle maker for Maggie and the boys. After that, we all decided to go to Japanica! because we haven't been in well over a year. The place was almost empty because it was well after two. 
What memories! No babies to pass around the table today, no toddlers who needed high chairs. Just big kids eating sushi and miso soup and salad with ginger dressing and other tasty things. Owen got a Bento Box lunch today- his first time- which is what I always get. He got chicken, I got tofu. 


He is growing up so fast. They all are. 


And then I had to run and get a little Costco and Publix shopping done, race home, and put it all away, get the sheets in the dryer. 
It is Friday, after all. 
I can't believe that it was a week ago that we were packing things up on Black Mountain to come home. This week has gone by like a wink. We've been so very, very busy trying to catch up here. Every moment has felt a bit frantic with the need to do and get done. Even this morning was like that, trying to get breakfast made and chickens tended and laundry done and playing with Maggie. 

Mr. Moon is going fishing tomorrow and I think I might just kick back a little. We shall see. I need to do something with the rest of the peaches. And the green beans need picking and, and, and...

So here we are. Another week almost past, more days ticked off the timeline, more jars of food in the pantry, more meals cooked and eaten in a world that is changing so swiftly that none of us can fully catch our breaths, I think. All the more reason to slow down, to listen to children as they talk about the things on their radar, the things in their hearts, to listen to all the ones we love in that way. 

I finished the last book in the Lonesome Dove series a few nights ago and I feel bereft. I bought a copy of Roughing It in North Carolina and although I have read it before, I am thinking it will make a good transition back to books which do not have Texas Rangers and the people they know as main characters. Approximately the same era is being written about and some of the same landscapes. And one can really never go wrong with Mark Twain. 

Happy Friday, y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon


27 comments:

  1. I just made the hot water crust peach cobble and I must say, oh my.

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    1. You know, the recipe I chose for this cobbler had what may have actually been a hot-water crust. The fat was incorporated into the flour and sugar and then hot water was added. So, I guess? It was lovely.

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  2. Cobbler. Sorry. Friday night libations might be involved.

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  3. Magnolia looks so sweet in the breakfast photo - a little angel with her curly locks. As for Gibson, that bowl in front of him contains enough food to feed a Japanese family! Is there such a thing as a "Grandma of the Year" competition? If there is, you should definitely be nominated!

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    1. Well, Gibson did not eat all of his noodles.
      There is no Grandma of the Year competition. As with parenting, each child needs a different type. I'm sure you noticed this with your children and will notice it when Phoebe gets a brother, sister, or cousins.

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  4. Wins the Gramma contest hands down. And Yes Maggie is gorgeous. Makes my heart skip. That is a face for a portrait painting if I ever did see one. Kindergarten already, oh my. She is going to take off like a shoot in the sunshine. BLOOM!
    The boys are lovely, your family , I swear, you must have taken beauty pills when you were pregnant.

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    1. Maggie would indeed make a beautiful portrait, I think. And I believe that she'll do well in school even if she is a bit nervous again this year.
      Well of course I think my babies and grands are all beautiful but it is nice to hear it from you, Linda Sue.

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  5. Just look at Maggie's sweet little toes. She is a beauty!

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    1. I know! Little toes remind me that really they are still babies, no matter how mature they sometimes seem.

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  6. Lucky Maggie, spending the night with you. Even though we have Jack so much, it's still so different than when my kids were small. When my son was Jack's age I was finishing up my nurses training and working four twelve hour shifts in a row.

    I'm older, much more settled and more tired now. I sit with Jack and we talk, not as much as Poppa does, but we talk. It's so lovely.

    I had a cry last night, thinking about my new grandbaby and then I let it go. Who knows what will happen in the next few years? Certainly not me.

    Today Katie went to the hospital for her dental cleaning and check. She gets a general anesthetic. We were in and out in three hours. It was amazing and she got ice cream on the way home.

    Hope you have a lovely evening.

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    1. How did you do it, woman? Working like that with a toddler? I've never had to do it and don't think I could have. I think that children want to be taken as seriously as any adult does. Don't you? Their feelings are so tender. I'm so glad that Jack has you and his Poppa.
      I can't imagine that you wouldn't have at least one weeping session about this new grandchild. But you are doing the right thing, I believe. Who knows how many children your son will sire? You can't possibly be responsible for them.
      Glad that Katie's appointment went well. And hurray for ice cream!

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  7. I am glad that you had such a nice time with Maggie. Your week sounds like it was very busy but I often think you have a hard time not being busy. I have had some good books to read and it has been warm here so I can justify reading but I still might feel a little bit guilty because I know the weeds are growing in the flower beds out front. Maybe next week...if it cools off a bit. :)

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    1. I do have a hard time not being busy. I don't know why that is. Probably my maternal grandfather's genes. My paternal grandfather didn't seem to have as much of a problem with it.
      The weeds will wait for you.

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  8. enjoy these days when they're young. got a tearful phone call last night from grown grandgirl Autumn. everything in her life is falling apart right now and I mean everything. and there is nothing I can do. I offered her money, the only thing I can do and she told me no, she didn't want me to do that. she just wanted a sympathetic ear and for things to go her way for once. she had planned to come spend the weekend with me and had to cancel because she's sick and didn't want to bring it to our house. she's so isolated right now where she is.

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    1. Oh gosh! That must be so hard! You want to help your grandchildren and make everything better, just as you did with your children. Poor Autumn. May things turn better for her soon. It's so sweet that she can call you for cheering up.

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  9. Maggie reminds me of a '20s or '30s film star. Maybe it's the curls, or maybe the cherubic face. She has a Shirley Temple thing going on.

    I'm glad you got to spend time with her, especially the talking and listening -- as you said, the most important thing you can share with those grandkids. And so glad to hear about Japanica! again!

    I like Gibson's blond look!

    Your week has been the opposite of mine, if it's been moving fast. Jesus, I feel like it will never end.

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    1. Japanica is NOT what it used to be. The restaurant smells funky. Like old mop water. It was sad. The food was okay but not quite as good as in the old days.
      I was so sad.
      Maggie does look like a film star from the olden days, doesn't she? And her face is so expressive. I told Glen that she could easily be an actor.
      Yes. My week has flown by.

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  10. After all this big post and all the thinking, and musing and pictures, all I can think of is those dear little Maggie feet! They say everything.

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    1. Aren't they precious? And she had her first pedicure when Lily and the family went to visit Lauren's parents who spoil those children with great happiness!

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  11. I think it's lovely that Manolia got to spend the evening with you on her own. She sounds like such a darling. And isn't she just the spitting image of her momma!

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    1. Maggie loves to spend the night and have her Boppy and Mer all to herself, not to mention ALL THE TOYS! She really is a darling. And she does look like her mama but I see her other grandmother in her too.

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  12. that Magnolia is like a madonna.......such an expressive face. And the boys....Gibson looks like his father .....where Owen looks like Lily (IMO). You are the perfect Mer......listening, sharing and discussing........ they will all remember this. My only puzzlement came in hearing that Maggie opted for a purple cow over peach cobbler! she'll learn, eventually LOL
    Susan M

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    1. Her voice and face are incredibly expressive. I just love to watch her face as she talks. Owen does indeed look like his mother for sure. Gibson? I'm not quite positive about where most of his looks come from but he is a lovely boy.
      Purple Cows are de rigueur around here, it seems, for a sleepover. Boppy has taken to adding M&M's to them which only makes them better.

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  13. Maggie is such a classic beauty, and how she shines. My mother used to have long conversations with my children, and think you are right, it was this that bonded them most of all. They were friends across the generations, and it was moving to see. Funny how literature and art can leave us bereft when our active engagement with it comes to and end. It can be an actual ache.

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    1. Yes! Friends across the generations! You put it precisely! Grandparents can be friends in ways that parents cannot be. This is one of the best things about being a grandparent, I think.
      You are so right about the ache of missing that engagement with a story, its characters. Whenever it's bedtime now, I feel such a pang.

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  14. Those kiddos are some hearty eaters, I've got a fussy eater here, so it's a challenge to get her to eat most things or try new things. The kiddos are also growing up so fast. I Smiled at Maggie washing the paper mache' dolls, she's such a Helper and that's so Sweet!

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.