Saturday, January 29, 2022

So Much Sweetness


This is the picture I sent to Lily last night when she texted to ask how it was going. I love that picture. I can see the woman in it that Maggie will become and yet, she is still such a little girl with her princess book, wearing the nightgown I made her. 


Asleep she is still a rosy cherub, those rosebud lips, that baby nose. 

She was a good bed partner, only waking up once and I think she was just dreaming then. She woke me a little after eight this morning, which was good because she had to be at dance at 10:30 and I had to make pancakes and bacon and eggs because that is what the woman baby wanted. She was absolutely a perfect guest up until it was time to go and oh! How she did not want to leave. I had to resort to my old bribe and distract school of child tending and promise her M&M's if she would get in the car without fussing. 
And she did. 

It has been a beautiful day. 


I spent a lot of time inside today, despite the sun, because it has been so chilly but just the sight of that blue sky outside my windows and doors has cheered me so. I did another cleaning project and tackled the old vanity in the hallway that holds many treasures and pictures and things that are meaningful only to me. I took everything off of it and dusted it well, cleaned the objects, washed the doilies, and put everything back. 


It may still look a mess but it is not in my eyes. Hell, I even washed the lamp and the lampshade. I googled "how to clean a lampshade." This is far beyond my usual cleaning. I remember once a woman I knew complained to me because her cleaning lady did not dust the lampshades! I was stunned- I had no idea that one was supposed to clean lampshades. 
I have never forgotten that. 
As you can see I also picked camellias. The freeze we're going to have tonight and tomorrow will kill all of the blossoms so I gathered them while I could. 


I am so glad I bought that vase. It's already given me far more than ten dollars' worth of pleasure. 


One of the very last of the pink perfections. At least for now. It doesn't even look real, does it?


Can you see the ants? Strangely, some of the varieties seem to draw ants while others do not. I'm sure there is a reason but I don't know it. 



So much pink. 



And finally, two pretties in the little Fiesta Ware pitcher. 

I also cleaned a window. Yes. One window. Guess what? It's making me so happy that I may in fact clean another one tomorrow! 

And I did lots of laundry and dried and folded it and put it all away. All day I've been listening to Cloud Cuckoo Land and I cannot say enough about the way Anthony Doerr can craft a tale that spans centuries and continents, characters, sagas, and dreams, and weaves them all together into a glorious, tight, bright whole-ness. Maybe it's just me but I find no false steps, no moments or even seconds of disbelief or confusion, just an incredible story written by a master of his craft. 

My iPhone gives me memories in my photos app daily and here is one that showed up today. 


Not only was it timely, but it is an absolutely wonderful picture. Oh, how our little Maggie has grown! And yet somehow, May looks exactly the same. Two beauties. 

All right. Off to make soup for this coming-on very cold night. Creamy cashew, acorn squash and sweet potato. I am pretty excited. 

Love...Ms. Moon

37 comments:

  1. Oh - let me know how that soup turns out, it sounds wonderful. You have beautiful camellias. And daughters. And granddaughters.

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    1. It is a delicious soup. I've made it many times. And it was as good as ever last night. Thank you for the compliments on my camellias, daughters, and granddaughter!

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  2. I like your hall table very much and the reflection of Maurice curled up in the chair to keep you company is sweet.

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    1. I hope I'm seeing that right, that is Maurice, yes?

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    2. I second Maurice, on the hall high chair.

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    3. Oh yes. That is definitely Maurice. She sleeps on that chair because it is just above the heating register. Lately, that has been her spot.

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  3. I made a big ole pot of chicken noodle soup this morning!
    That pink perfection camellia is simply that ... Perfection!

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    1. Chicken noodle is hard to beat, isn't it?
      And I agree with you about the camellia 100%.

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  4. Is there anything more precious than Images of a Sleeping Child... I think not. The Hall Vignette is perfect, if everything means something to you then it is a much more interesting gathering of objects than anything contrived just for a 'style' or a 'trending phase' that will pass.

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    1. I wouldn't know a style if it smacked me in the face. My "decor" is eclectic to say the very least.

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  5. I love the camellias. And the pictures of Maggie, who is going to be a knockout. Good thing she has plenty of personality to balance those looks.

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    1. She has enough personality for four or five children, I believe.

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  6. I bet your house smells like Fabuloso and elbow grease. Wonderful.

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    1. I did not get out the Fabuloso to clean. But there was a nice smell of glass cleaner and wood polish!

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  7. oh, the beauty of flowers, Maggie, gorgeous May.........and tales of your day. Sigh..........
    Susan M

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    1. It was a very sweet sigh-producing day for me.

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  8. I love all of your treasures! The little basket vase is just perfect with those camellias. Maggie truly does look like a cherub. Stay warm, we’re getting the falling iguana forecast in this part of the state.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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    1. I hate it when the iguanas fall out of the trees! I'm afraid that my tree-roosting hen is going to do the same in this cold. She survived last night but it's going to be colder tonight.
      Maggie has always looked like a little cherub. Our own little darling.

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  9. I love Little Maggie's sparkly purple shoes :)
    In my entire tiny home I have only two windows (not counting the narrow strips of glass either side of the front door), I can clean the inside of those if I want to, but the outsides are covered with security screens, so can't be cleaned. I'm fine with that. Your vanity looks lovely.

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    1. Well, that certainly makes cleaning windows easier!
      I started to count the number of windows in my house and gave up. There are seven doors. This I know.

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  10. Beautiful flowers, and I love that tall glass vase. My 4 grands were all together here yesterday and it was so good to see the 3 older ones playing together. Em, 11 G, 9 and Z nearly 4 had a wonderful time playing hide and seek. The baby slept through it all!!

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    1. What a good baby! Isn't it lovely when the kids all play together?

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  11. That picture of May and Maggie is just lovely! As for cleaning, I only recently learned that you can clean skirting boards!

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  12. I am so glad for your day of sweetness! They really are a balm to the soul, aren't they? Off to google cashew acorn squash and sweet potato soup.

    I do have one question. How on earth do you have a vanity like that in your hall way AND cats? Any cat I ever had would be making it his personal mission in life to knock everything off that vanity on a fairly regular basis.

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    1. There's no room on the vanity for a cat to jump onto! And they never have as far as I know. Weird, I guess.
      The soup actually goes by the name of Creamy Cashew Butternut Squash soup and it's a New York Times recipe. I have mostly used acorn squash though, and always sweet potatoes. I have used butternut and it is good too.

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  13. Sounds like a great day. The vanity looks good!

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  14. Glad you rescued those lovely blooms before the cold got them. They really are so pretty.
    Your Maggie had a great time and you both will treasure this memory!

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    1. Yep. All the rest of the camellias are brown now. We got a pretty good freeze. Another tonight.
      I hope with all of my heart that Maggie remembers these visits.

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  15. What a gorgeous photo of Maggie and May. I've been thinking about how special it is to be a child and have a would extended community of people around you whose love you need never question. As for the bribe and distract method of child rearing, I have been known to use it shamelessly.

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    1. You're so right- how wonderful it must be to have all of these people who love you. And each other! It's a cozy cocoon of love and I wonderful place to grow.
      Bribe and distract works pretty darn well for grandchildren too.

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  16. I loved Cloud Cuckoo Land. And those camelias make me swoon. Everytime you post pictures of them I tell myself I need to get more. My one and only only gave me two flowers this year. Maggie is really growing up.

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    1. Ellen! Get you some camellias, woman!
      Isn't Cloud Cuckoo Land wonderful? I just finished it today.
      Maggie will be thirty before I know it.

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  17. Did you remember to give Magnolia the promised M&M's?

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    1. Of course! I never forget the M&M's. It is part of the ritual.

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