Saturday, February 26, 2022

Down Home In Lloyd


I love this picture. Gibson looking so amused and Boppy giving me the side-eye. He has become the purple cow maker and last night I even gave Gibson the choice between homemade ice cream and a purple cow and he chose the old, familiar favorite. 
A ritual is a ritual and purple cows are deeply engrained into the spend-the-night experience at Mer and Bop's. 
Gibson is an easy guest, willing to help with whatever needs doing, never complaining, happy to be here. He brought the book he's reading right now for me to read some of to him before bed. I can't even remember what the title was but it's a chapter book and I gave it my most dramatic performance. 
I'm so sure he was impressed. 

This morning after pancakes, all three of us did the Wordle. I love that kids are doing it too! Why not? He says that his class is allowed to do it at school during snack time if they want. 

Last night Lily sent us all pictures of Maggie and Jason, dressed up for a father-daughter dance. Maggie had wanted a purple dress and Jason had looked and looked for one he thought would do and none seemed right and they all cost upwards of fifty dollars. 
So, Lily went to Goodwill, found a white dress, bought some purple dye, and created this. 


She added the ribbon and rhinestones belt which she made with a pair of ninety-nine cent earrings and added trim to the socks which she had also dyed. I think Maggie loves it, don't you? She looks so proud. 
Here she is with her daddy. 


The little tree there is the magnolia they planted over our own Magnolia's placenta. I would never call Lily a hippie but she has taken on a few of her mama's old hippie customs. 
I love that. 
And I love that she can create her daughter a dream dress with thrift store finery, love, and Rit dye. 

I got the front porch all sorted out today and the covers I used for the plants during freezes washed. A few are still on the line and they will be fine spending the night there. It always feels so very good to reclaim my porch and I've also mostly cleared out the plants which have overwintered in the laundry room although a few of them are doing so well in there that I see no reason to stress them out right now by setting them outside. And knowing how the chickens just do love to nip and peck at so many of my plants, it's become harder to find places on the porch for all of them because the chicken-favored ones need to be placed up high where they can't get to them. But anyway, here's what the porch looks like right now. 


I am most definitely going to replace the ferns. They are just so very sad. 

Maurice has been sleeping with us fairly regularly. She runs to our bedroom at night when she knows I'm going to take my shower and waits on the vanity for me to get in bed. I pat the covers and and make my tongue-clicks to her, say, "Come on then, baby," and she jumps down from the vanity and then up to the bed. She generally lays on Mr. Moon's pillow until he gets in bed and then she settles down by my legs where she sleeps sweetly until I try to move at which point she makes her horrible, snarling warning sound but settles down again when I have found my new position. 
This is not to say that I do not hold my breath though, visualizing her slitting the blanket with her razor scythe claws to find my calves and slice them up. This morning she stayed in bed and stayed in bed and stayed in bed and I did not move her to make the bed until afternoon. 


Funny little bed tiger. Next thing I knew she was following me around as I went out to hang laundry and then she slinked around the porch while I was working there. 
That cat is a fine example of the belief that it's only love if it hurts. 

Meanwhile, here we are, every day bringing more buds, more flowers, more greening of the oak trees which have finally let go of last year's leaves, now brown and brittle and rattly, as the chickens scratch through them. I find those dry leaves in my line-dried laundry, in my plants, and of course carpeting the ground. We do not rake them unless we plan to use them as mulch in the garden. We have no grass anyway, as the yard is way too shady for it to grow. 
La-di-dah, la-di-dah. 
This is Lloyd where thankfully, we are not judged for our lawns or lack thereof, but where people do appreciate the sight of flowers and of chickens busily going about their business from one station of the cross to another in their routine of daily exploration whether for spiritual gain or simply to satisfy their appetites, I do not know. Perhaps for both. Chickens are curious and mysterious creatures, carrying the genes of dinosaurs within them and who am I to try and define that which has survived for eons? 

Love...Ms. Moon




27 comments:

  1. Magnolia's mom is also an artist! How inventive that outfit is. And magnolia's so happy wearing it.

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  2. Nice bunch of accompanying images
    1. Mr Moon should be playing a banjo.
    2. Magnolia shall go to the ball!
    3. Who's the daddy?
    4. Ernest Hemingway steps onto the porch, doffs his straw hat and asks for an iced tea with a shot of bourbon.
    5. WAKE UP MAURICE!

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    Replies
    1. 1. You can't play banjo and eat a purple cow at the same time.
      2. Yes! She shall!
      3. I think this is quite obvious.
      4. And then goes and sits in the Glen Den with Mr. Moon and they drink bourbon (forget the tea) and discuss fishing and hunting adventures.
      5. Seriously.

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  3. I love your description of your chickens at stations of the cross. Lily has created a magical ensemble for Maggie! How perfectly Jason’s shirt coordinates with the princess attire. It’s so nice to see this sweetness today.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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    Replies
    1. Maggie is our little woman-baby princess! I just love how happy she looks.

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  4. Maggie's dress is adorable! Daddy is looking rather dapper, too! I hope they had a fabulous time!
    Your porch looks like it's waiting for the Southern folk to show up for tea!
    Maurice is a wonder ... enjoy her kindness!!

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    Replies
    1. I agree, Marcia!
      Tea or a martini. We can do both.
      I do enjoy Maurice's kindness and I love her when she's mean, too. Sort of.

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  5. I love the purple dress and hope they enjoyed themselves. I have porch envy and maybe Maurice is mellowing?

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    Replies
    1. I love my porches. I am so lucky to have them.
      I do not think Maurice is mellowing that much. She just tried to hook my ankle when I walked by her in the kitchen.

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  6. Your life grounds me as mine is so unsettled...my husband is about to undergo surgery for cancer...looking at a colostomy and removal of a section of his liver. I am calmed by your serene outlook on life. You're a friend of mine. I am an introvert and love your blog.



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, Dianne! That is too hard! I hope all the best for your husband and for you. I would be a complete wreck if that was my husband. I do not think of myself as having a serene outlook on life but thank you and I am glad to be your friend.

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  7. Maggie's dress is as beautiful as she is. How exciting to go dancing with Daddy :)
    I love your porch and often wish mine was bigger so I could have more plants and some seating too. Mine has no shade at all, even the small balcony of the upstairs tenant doesn't provide shade. But I have plenty of plants in the side garden, so that will have to do.
    What is a Purple Cow please?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My plants, as you can see, have taken over the sunniest part of the porch. They have their own secret life out there, I feel.
      A side garden is nice.
      A purple cow in our house is sherbet, ginger ale, and grape juice. And Mr. Moon has started adding M&M's to them for some bizarre reason. Treats in a treat.

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  8. I had to look up " purple cow". It seems that there is an adult version with vodka!!

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    Replies
    1. I just looked it up too. AND I suspect I would like the adult version in particular!

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    2. I had never heard of a purple cow, only a brown cow, which is vanilla ice cream and root beer. Because ours have ginger ale and grape juice in them, we call them purple cows. I'll have to check out the official adult version.

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  9. Lily is one of those moms who a great boy mom, but she also really needed a girl. I love her purple dress solve.

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    Replies
    1. What an astute comment! Exactly! Lily so wanted her baby girl and she sure got one!

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  10. Lily did a fine job with Maggie's dress. All my plants are still inside because of this miserable weather. Years past they would already be outside.As soon as it warms up again, out they go. The nun's orchid already has one flower open.

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  11. Aren't Maggie and Jason just so adorable! And what clever improv to make Maggie look like a princess!

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    Replies
    1. I think most importantly, she FEELS like a princess. A very sassy, pretty princess.

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  12. Lily did a beautiful job creating a perfect outfit! And the way Maggie and Jason are gazing at each other is so sweet! Your porch may look bedraggled to you, but I think it's lovely
    Susan M

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    Replies
    1. I think Lily did a great job, too! And Maggie and her daddy love each other very much. They are lucky to have each other. Thank you for liking my porch!

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  13. Maggie looked radiant in her creatively inspired Couture Dress Mama made for her, how Special to go to a Father/Daughter Dance and feel positively like a Princess. I can see the Grands love the time spent there with you and all the special things that have become rituals and will give them cherished Memories all their lives. The Porch looks inviting and lovely... I need to reclaim my back Porch and transform it into something welcoming and more functional. I'm still contemplating Chickens.

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  14. The purple dress came out great! I am so impressed!

    I wonder if your ferns are just in a winter slump. We cut ours back in the early spring and they come up again with new fronds and look so much better.

    Glad Gibson had a good visit!

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.