Monday, January 3, 2022

Here Came The Sun


That pretty little anole was taking what little bit of sun was to be had on the porch yesterday. I do like his green legs and the blue eye shadow. Such fetching little creatures. I bet he was cold today though. We went from being gray and gloomy for days to a full-on storm with thunder and pelting rain last night with plenty of wind and drama and then right after that, the temperature dropped. We had the AC on when we went to bed and turned on the heat this morning as it was down around forty. It was still depressingly gray this morning but around noon I decided to take a walk and by the time I got home the sun had come out and it turned into a beautiful day. Mr. Moon worked outside on the fence all day long and I even got out for awhile and picked up fallen branches and twigs that had come down in the wind. 
I'm going to be sore tomorrow, I'm sure and truthfully, I'm in a bit of pain tonight. Although I know that walking is good for me in so many ways, it cranks up what I suppose is arthritis my hips and back. Some sort of inflammation, anyway. I'm sure it's not going to kill me. This has been going on for decades and I'm still walking. 

So- air fryer update! 
Last night I cooked four little bream (pronounced "brim" for some unknown reason) that my husband pulled in from a river on New Year's day. Those little fresh-water fish may be my favorite type of fish, their meat so white and tender. I've always pan fried them whole as they're too little to filet but last night I decided to try them in the air fryer and hoped for the best and actually, they may have been the best I've ever made. I just did the flour, then egg, then flour and cornmeal thing with salt and pepper, sprayed them with a little olive oil and put them in the air fryer basket and they came out so beautifully. No grease to fight with the fish, just sweetness. We ate them with lime juice and hot sauce- perfect. 
Today I used the air fryer to make some tuna melts and they came out nicely too. Tonight I'm going to make Mr. Moon some chicken wings because I think that's what he had in his mind when he bought me the little appliance. He does love Buffalo wings and he knows I'm never going to fry any for him and figured this might be a way to get me to make him some. I have a feeling he's going to love them. 
I don't really care much for them so I made a smallish pot of soup with leftover beans and greens and corn and celery and onions, a sort of southern minestrone because I'll add some macaroni to it and sprinkle the top with parmesan. And that will be supper along with some heated up cornbread, perfect for this chilly evening. 

We've been watching the Beatles documentary, "Get Back" a little bit at a time and it's just depressing the hell out of me. It is so damn obvious that they were all weary of being Beatles, the music, the act of creation no longer being much of a joy. Paul saying, "I'm tired of having to tell everyone what to do," and George leaving for lunch one day and just not coming back. It's impossible for anyone who did not live through the time when the Beatles were actually playing, on the charts, the radio, our record players, to know or understand what they meant to us. 
They were...well, magical. 
They made the music that we danced to, made love to, got stoned to, tripped to, came into a sort of universal awareness to. 
I suppose that the brightness of the flame which they were could not burn for long. Or perhaps that's just a very polite way of saying that they ran out of juice for it all. 
I've been pondering all of this and thinking about what Paul McCartney (what a pretty boy he was!) said recently about the Rolling Stones which is that they were a blues cover band. I can't imagine why he'd say that- he obviously knows that really, no, that's not what they were and it's not what they are. But perhaps deep in his soul, he knows that like the Stones, the Beatles had that magic, the four of them together, and that unlike the Stones, the Beatles' time together was just so short. 
I don't know. We'll watch the whole thing but just as what those dear boys were doing in the studio did not bring them joy, it's not bringing much to me, either. Sometimes, when they play a song that I remember with such deep, deep love, I sing along very quietly but none of it makes me want to dance. 
Speaking of which, I do love the parts where John and Yoko dance in the documentary. 
I wish they were still able to do that- dance together. 
Well. 

Love...Ms. Moon


31 comments:

  1. Get Back was a curious watch. a reality check and reminder to not romanticize that which is really just a job. They were kids really and at the time I thought they were cool grown ups. I loved the ending and it was an ending...The Beatles were a neck up band I reckon , the Stones everything below the neck, non cerebral except for a few- "pleased to meet you, hope you guessed my name"
    I have been ingesting
    Charlotte's Web "recovery" for inflammation and it works for me, very well.
    AND by the way, I ate the best pickle that I have ever eaten in this life- just so you know! Thank you so much, MMMMyum

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    1. Which kind of pickle did you eat?
      I have to say that I think the Stones did get rather cerebral sometimes and we have to admit that many of McCartney's works were really just very poppy pop songs. Splendid pop songs, but pop songs nonetheless. And it doesn't seem like the Liverpool lads had that bond the Stones had and do have. And they just were not a performance band after the first few years. They might have become one if they'd stayed together but that never happened. The Stones definitely ARE a performance band with Mick as frontman.
      It's complicated.
      I'll see if I can get my hands on some "Recovery". Sure can't hurt.

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  2. I doubt that Paul was being malicious or peevish when he said that about The Stones. It would have been cheeky, ironic Liverpudlian humour. The fact that The Beatles had effectively folded by 1971 only serves to emphasise the amazing endurance of The Rolling Stones.

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    1. I don't know- I think he may have been rather serious. But you could be right.
      Abbey Road was released in 1969 and as far as I'm concerned, that was the end for the Beatles. It was a glorious ending, though!

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  3. Well, you just helped me understand why I couldn't get through the Beatles documentary myself, no joy, it felt like a slog. I though I must be missing something but no, I wasn't. So different from the rollicking infectious spirit of the Stone, even now. It kind of sad the way those boys from Liverpool sputtered out. They burned bright and then they were over. Meanwhile Mick and Keith and the rest flamed on. Still, both groups are giants of musical history, just in different ways.

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    1. Exactly. They are chalk and cheese and you can't really compare one band to the other except that they both arose from England in the early sixties. I love how in Keith's book he wrote about how John would sometimes get weary of being a Beatle and come hang out with him. They had some wild times together. I think he enjoyed being one of the bad boys for a little while.

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  4. We do wings in the air fryer and they are quite good. But in this case the capacity is very limiting. Glad you are liking it.

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    1. Yep. We could only do six wings, cut into twelve pieces. But they were very good.

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  5. There is a air fryer here, but I've yet to see it in action.

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  6. I melted my air fryer by accident on my stovetop. Stupid thing to do and I cried, not for my air fryer but because it's been a day of shit and abuse from Gracie's friend and Gracie's sister. I'm so done with this.

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    1. Oh god. I know you are done with it. Why in the world would Gracie's friend and Gracie's sister give you shit? That makes me so angry.

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  7. cant comment on the Get Back documentary, but am still fixating on your air fryer updates! I have NO counter space...... coffee pot, knife block....... that's it. However, I am intrigued! Can't believe you were using AC and heat in the same day. REALLY? Our high today was 52, I met a friend for lunch out, wearing 4 layers of clothes, as was she. Came home and started fire........have peeled off one layer. Cripes.
    susan M

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    1. Oh, gosh, Susan. I do not know how you do it.

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  8. I couldn't even finish the first episode of the Beatles documentary. I thought it incredibly self-absorbed and boring. I've never forgiven Peter Jackson for turning four beloved books of mine into those gigantic commercial enterprises, so I went in with a distinct bias. I do love the Beatles, though, and found Yoko the most interesting thing to watch.

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    1. I felt like Yoko was doing performance art the entire time. And I loved it.

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  9. Oh what I wouldn't give for some sunshine (and warmth) here. I love where I live but if it could only be more sunny... I guess we all want perfection one way or another. Lovely lizard though - I wonder what type?

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    1. The little lizard is called an anole. You can check here for a few facts about them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anolis_carolinensis
      Your comment about all of us wanting perfection reminds me of one of the reasons I'm afraid to ever visit Hawaii. I fear that it MIGHT be perfection and I would grieve forever to have to leave.

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  10. We enjoyed the documentary. I thought it was interesting how they composed songs and ideas. Paul was pretty overbearing, micromanaging George and Ringo, even John to some extent. What I noticed was that George wanted to have input in the creation of the work while Paul just wanted him to play it the way Paul wanted. No wonder George walked out. And Ringo never had any input really. Paul backed down somewhat after they had to convince George to come back. Another thing that surprised me and I don't know why was that they all could play all the instruments, not just their own.

    Finally warming up here today after 3 nights below freezing.

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    1. I don't blame George for walking out either. And when they all went their separate ways and he made his album, "All Things Must Pass," I felt that it was the result of all he'd had to keep pent up inside him all those years and that it was a glorious album.

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  11. I was wondering why I couldn't keep watching the documentary about the Beatles. So many people raved about it but I just couldn't get into it. And I was a huge Beatles fan when I was young. Screaming for George when I went to their movies. Silly now when I look back at it! I found the movie sad and couldn't keep watching...

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    1. I wonder if those of us who loved the Beatles most are the ones who are having the hardest time with the documentary?

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  12. I couldn’t get into it either after a while. I did however listen to both sides of Abbey Road the other day for the first time in many, many years. There’s no denying the genius and musicianship, we love our air fryer, wings are the perfect thing to cook in it!
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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    1. You're right- "Abbey Road" is a work of sheer joy whether it was created in joy or not.
      Our wings were very good!

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  13. He is a fetching looking little Creature. The Lizards and Geckos here are having a difficult time staying warm enough with our Weird weather, it's been Cold and very wet, they're not used to that in the Desert... poor things.

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    1. Poor little lizards. I hope they can survive.

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  14. Just catching up...ended up with 15" of snow yesterday (only 3-6" initially predicted) and 26 hours of no power (or water, or toilets since we have a well/septic). Just came back on within the last hour. Went down to 14f° last night...after having been 65° on Saturday. Your lizard would have frozen solid. Luckily, we have a wood stove, so had heat. The old song comes to mind...what a difference a day makes.

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    1. Oh Lord! That is so much snow! I can't imagine it.
      Keep that home fire burning, lady!

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  15. Your reflections on the Beatles movie are interesting. I haven't seen it and honestly, I'm not sure I want to. For one thing it just sounds too darn long, and I say that as a lifelong Beatles fan! It's funny because it's been billed as a more joyful look into their creative process than the previous "Let It Be" documentary based on the same footage -- and yet from what you said it's not all that joyful.

    Paul was pretty. They were all lookers in their way.

    We used to catch bream in the lake behind my house in Pasco County! We always pan-fried them. They WERE yummy, but yeah, there was a certain grease factor.

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    1. Oh, and here's my cynical take on Paul's comment about the Stones: He was just trying to get press. He's been in the business long enough to know that if he said something like that it would get attention.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.