Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Things That Are As Cute As A Speckled Pup. As We Say Around Here


Well, I tried with the Chinaberry tree. The individual blossoms are so tiny that the bloom truly does look like a cloud of pale smokey lilac. It's subtle but it is beautiful. My man keeps threatening to cut that tree down. It loses branches constantly and he has to pick them up before he mows. I won't let him though. My granddaddy had a Chinaberry tree in his front yard in Roseland and an owl would come in to roost every evening when Granny and Granddaddy sat on their front porch and watched the sunset and had their tiny coca-colas or ginger ales in glass bottles. Granddaddy would talk to the owl with whistle words and the owl would answer. It is one of my sweetest memories. 

The knee has been so much better today. My calf was actually bothering me for the first part of the day, probably because of the way I'd been walking to protect the knee, but it too has relaxed and I feel almost normal. I figured the best thing I could do was to just have a normal day with not too much walking but some, and that is what I've done. 

Tomorrow is the day that Jessie and Vergil are getting on a plane with the boys to head to Wyoming to meet up with friends and go cross-country skiing. And of course Levon came down with strep on Monday. He's on antibiotics now and feeling better and Jessie talked the doctor into sending in prescriptions for all of them because the odds are real high they'll all get it and no one wants to have to go to an urgent care in another state to be diagnosed with something they already know they have. So they'll take those with them, just in case. But I had to go see them before they left and so I took the three kid books I'd gotten at Wag over there today. August was still in school but I got to see the other three Weatherfords. We stayed outside and I did not hug them or kiss them. 
I do not want strep. It is a nasty thing.

Levon was feeling almost all better. 


Although it looks like he is hanging by his pants from a fence post, he is not. 




It was nice and cool here today and while everyone else was wearing long sleeves, that was what Levon chose to dress in. We joked about him wearing the same thing but with flip-flops, on his snow skis. That boy does not fear the cold. 
While I was there, I told Levon a story about one time when I was a child about his age and had strep throat and went on an airplane. I was actually just thinking about this the other day. It truly was a formative experience for me and I'm not quite sure why. It was rather horrific which is probably why I remember it. 
My mother had left my father and taken my brother and me down to Roseland to stay with her parents and I am not sure how long we were gone. But my father sent all sorts of affidavits stating that he had quit drinking and was going to AA and so on and so forth and he convinced my mama to take us back to Chattanooga where we had been living. 
I do not remember the details but I was sick when I got on that plane. I was miserable and I'm sure my mother was very worried. One more thing, right? 
Anyway, she had my brother sitting by her as he was the younger of us and I sat across the aisle by a man. I remember he was wearing a suit and reading a newspaper and was quite pleasant to me. This was in the days when people dressed up for flights. The flight attendant brought me some orange juice and I will never forget how that felt going down my throat. Like razors. And then...I vomited it all back up ON THE MAN and I felt terrible and was more embarrassed and ashamed than you can imagine a five-year old being capable of. I think I may have been born with more than my share of guilt and shame. 
But here's the thing- the man was so sweet about it. He did not fuss or get angry. He was calm and comforting. 
I will always remember that and be grateful for the way he reacted. 
And as soon as we got back to Chattanooga, my mother took me to the pediatrician who was a WOMAN, which was quite unusual in 1959. 

Maybe I shouldn't have told Levon that story. 
Oh well. I did. 
It's so odd to me how I feel such a compulsion to tell my grandchildren stories of when I was young. Mostly the cool, fun stuff, but sometimes the hard stuff. Not the real hard stuff, of course, but things like puking on an airplane which, if viewed the right way, could be funny, I suppose. 

I went to Publix and I got to hug Lily there. Can I just stop here and say that hugging Lily is about my favorite thing on this earth? My head fits on her bosom perfectly and I could hold those hugs all day long. I could fall asleep hugging her. I hope I made her feel that way when she was a little girl, hugging me. 
We talked about Easter. She said that she will definitely make the pineapple casserole for our dinner. Hurray! 

Here's one last picture. 


That's what my fully opened wild flame azalea looks like. Isn't it pretty? 

And oh, what the hell. Here's something else I think is pretty.



Naan bread. Last night I made the creamy cashew curried butternut and sweet potato soup that I love so much. Mr. Moon supposedly does not like curry flavor so in order to dull the pain of him being presented with a big bowl of it, I made him naan to go with it. 
He ate the whole bowl of soup and I don't even want to tell you how many naan. 

Tonight- pizza! The dough is rising as we speak. I better go chop up some vegetables. 

Love...Ms. Moon



21 comments:

  1. Flame azalea wow! What a stunner! Going to Wyoming for any reason is pretty terrible. Boycott that damned state! Death penalty for abortion and next birth control , those fuckers are hand in hand with crazies in Florida and Utah.
    Georgia.
    Idaho.
    Oklahoma.
    South Carolina.
    Tennessee.
    Colorado.
    Kansas.. Women should boycott everything everywhere. Strep throat is no fun but antibiotics kick in so quickly- saved us all!

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    1. TEXAS!!!! How could this one be left off the list?

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    2. Linda Sue- I don't know what to say to this. I mean, I live in Florida and the people I know and love are fighting diligently for the rights that our currently insane state government is trying to quash. I think it's so much more complicated than just boycotting a place.

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    3. Vacation in the states that are not Nazi states.Wyoming is horrendous, I think my Dad was the only democrat in the entire state but that was back when the Republican party had not become what ever the hell it is now. Those states do not deserve your dollar!

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  2. I had strep a couple of years ago, and the np tried to insist it wasn't possible, only kids got it, and I hadn't been around any. I insisted she do a swab, and before I got home she said, sorry, sorry, did the rapid test and you have it, rx called in. Penicillin, which I'd never had. Boy, did that work fast!

    There are so many states where, if I were traveling, I'd never set foot! When you see who they've sent to Congress! And what they're doing to women and minorities. Don't get me started!

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    1. That NP was out of her mind. I've had strep as an adult. It was as bad if not worse than having it as a child. But yes, thank god for Penicillin.
      I have to say to you what I said to Linda Sue. I think it is far more complex than boycotting states whose politics are horrible.

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  3. That was such a kind man on the airplane! I would not have reacted as well.

    That flame azalea is stunning. And your story about your grandfather and the chinaberry tree and the owl makes me love the chinaberry, though I've never seen one.

    As one of those in the list of offending states, I can only say that some of us are trying really, really hard to make things better. And even we wonder how long we can stick it out here.

    Chris from Boise

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    1. You're right, Chris. The states trying to quash the rights we should all believe in and support have many, many good people in them who are fighting for those rights. They should not be forgotten.

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  4. Oh my, I can just imagine how mortified your mom was when you threw up on that man. But wasn't he a sweetheart not making a fuss about it! Probably a dad (a good dad, I mean)!

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    1. I know my mother was mortified. I hope that man was a dad.

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  5. I have never seen an azalea as gorgeous as that one. So sorry to hear about the strep throat though, hopefully they won't all get it. Pineapple casserole?

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    1. Isn't that azalea just beyond heavenly?
      Pineapple casserole. Yes. It is definitely a thing. Here's a recipe that is at least very close to what Lily makes: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/214024/southern-pineapple-casserole/

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  6. I've had strep one time. it was horrible.

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  7. What a beautiful flower! My daffodils are just starting to show a peak of their yellow blooms. I think they might flower by Easter!
    I forgot the recipe for Lily's pineapple casserole...

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  8. Your Home is so Picturesque, like a Postcard that new Banner Pix of it is. I Love Naan, they used to carry a Curry flavor of it at Trader Joe's and recently you can't get that flavor anymore... sob. That Boy is Adorable... glad he's feeling almost all better.

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    1. It is very easy to make your own naan. You could definitely mix in some curry spices with the dough.

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  9. That flame azalea is beautiful and so unusual. I wonder how I would react if some kid on a plane threw up on me? I'd like to think I'd be just as patient and charitable as the man in the suit, but who knows. Anyway, hopefully you and Mr. Moon and Jessie and the rest will avoid it and Levon will fully recover ASAP.

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    1. Oh, Steve. You would be just as sweet to a child who threw up on you as that man was to me. You would.
      Levon's doing great, I hear!

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  10. Your new header picture tells me that your house is named after someone but because of the shadow I can't quite tell who but their surname was Bond. Could it possibly be James Bond - the spy created by Ian Fleming?

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.