Soul's Food

I just sent this photo to a friend of mine who loves figs with all her heart and said, "My annual photo of baby figs."

It is at this point in the season when the figs are all pretty sass and promise. Of course, as soon as they start getting ripe, the birds and the squirrels will feast upon them, gorge upon them, and send out engraved invitations to all of their local relatives to come and join them in their figgy revels. Last year I did get enough to make a few jars of preserves. They are a wonder on biscuits. 

My visit with Lis was absolutely splendid and yes, we did say- "I can't believe we're getting away with this again!" Oh my goodness. Martinis were consumed and we had our first ones on the front porch and then moved to the back porch for our second ones. 
Oh, my soul. It was so wonderful, having her here. 
We talk and talk and talk and giggle and say, "I know! Me too!" and "Remember when...?" and giggle some more and we discuss husbands and love and age and music and plans and dreams, those both lived and let go. We may cry a little or we may not. We are each other's biggest cheerleaders and staunchest supporters. We know what the other one is going through, has been through, down to our bones. 
We are profane and we are holy, we are funny and we are serious, we are bitchy but mostly grateful, we are old Florida girls who know what it's like to dig in the dirt and grow vegetables and flowers and be in love with the same men for most of our lives and have age spots from the sun and who love trees and rivers and native plants and our children and grandchildren. We both love to cook and we're both good cooks. 

In short- we love each other tremendously. And I am more than grateful for every moment we get to spend together. 

I remember years and years and years ago we took a little jaunt down to St. Petersburg where we stayed in a B&B and there were two little old ladies there who had been friends forever and they told us the best stories. Lis and I were still fairly young and we must have been gorgeous because when we walked downtown that night where some sort of festival was going on, we got proposals of marriage. And now, we would be those old ladies, telling our stories and laughing at the lives we have led, delighting in our memories and the joy we still find in each other's company. 

The tomato pie was superb. I heated up some bread to go with it and we had the salad, too, and oh my- it was a feast. And when we were full and happy and knew it was time to go to bed, we did and got up this morning and Lis had another piece of the pie for her breakfast and then she had to leave to go to a funeral in Tallahassee and then she had to drive on back to Gator Bone because of events and responsibilities there. 
I sure hated to see her go. I sent her with pickled beans and mulberry preserves and fig preserves and she had brought me homemade granola and blueberries from her yard. I do not think it is a mystery as to why we gift each other with good things to eat. It is pure love and nurturing in the form of food. 

Sigh.

It was such a beautiful day that I decided to get out and risk kneeling on my old, battered knees to do some weeding and that's what I did. I enjoyed it for a few hours and then my knees yelled at me and said, "That's enough, for fuck's sake!" and yes, it was. Not for the garden, but for me. And now I can barely walk. I probably should not have done that. Or at least for not as long. But I do so love being outside on these days when it's not yet hot as blue blazes, pulling the little weeds and making my rows look so clean and tidy while listening to an audio book or a podcast. I listened to a book of Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie detective series earlier in the week. I had thought I'd read all of these but it would seem not. After I finished that one, I just went ahead and borrowed another from the series, even though this one I have definitely read before but hell- I can barely remember what I read last week so it's still fun for me. When an author's writing is as damn good as hers, it would almost be a sin not to reread her books. And that's what I listened to today as I weeded and then as I folded some laundry and tidied the kitchen and did a little work on the jigsaw puzzle that requires the magnifying glass which I am still very much enjoying. 

It's really not that difficult of a puzzle but I am taking my time with it. 

Lis told me about an app she has that can identify birds in various ways including by sound. I am downloading it now and I am very excited about it. I am not good at bird identification but how fun it will be to just record the birdsong from my back yard and have the app tell me what all the different birds in my yard are. Here's some information about the app in case you might be interested. 

Yet another cool use of the phone. 

Which my poor husband is having to do without. I have not heard from him since last night but all was well then. I'm sure the men are fine. I mean- they have an entire dang casserole, right? 

Tomato pie for my supper. I am excited. I'm living slow and easy right now with the man gone but I will be so happy to see him when he is back. 

And so will Maurice whom I can tell is grieving his absence. Poor baby. I am such a poor substitute for her beloved human. 

Love...Ms. Moon