Today was one of those days where everything took three times longer than it should have for no apparent reason and really? Who cares? It's not like I'm getting paid according to tasks accomplished. It's just frustrating, you know.
However, seeing Rainbow Princess Magnolia was an unexpected sweetness in the day. Lily and Lauren came over to borrow Mr. Moon's trailer to haul some furniture back from Lauren's parents' house when they go down to visit next week. Maggie came with them and wanted to come in the house and check on all of her friends.
"Oh, Zippy! I have missed you so much!" she said, cradling my old precious chimp to her bosom. She also wanted to play with some miniature furniture that Linda Sue sent a while ago. She loves these things.
It's a little dress-making shop, I think, and there is a small bear she creates scenarios for using the props. She asked me to glue that tiny lamp to the sewing table by the sewing machine and I promised her I would and I did. I'm pretty sure that she thinks that Linda Sue made every one of those items with her own clever hands and I would not be surprised if she had.
Lauren and Mr. Moon finally got the trailer all hooked up and the tail lights working to his satisfaction. Lily has had strep again and is recovering nicely but stayed in the car in order to prevent any sort of contagion.
"Thank god Lauren can do all of this," Lily said. "If I had to haul that trailer the kids would have to wear diapers because there's no way I could stop and park it."
This would be true for me too.
Lauren is rather unbelievably handy and good at things.
When they got here I was out in the garden, finally doing a little weeding. It took me over two hours to weed two rows of field peas. I swear to god. And when I was done I was soaking wet from sweat. It's brutal out there. I have a very specific process when I weed, including using only the correct trowel (one Kathleen gave me) and my favored weed pan. I had put the red potatoes that Mr. Moon had dug into that pan and set it in the pantry for a few days to give the potatoes a cool, dry place and when I went to get it and move the potatoes to a sheet I'd stretched out on the porch, I discovered that the FUCKING CATS HAD PISSED ALL OVER THE POTATOES AND THEY REEKED OF AMMONIA!
I was furious. The fuckers had already ruined about twenty-five pounds of raw peanuts by pissing on them. I ranted and I raved and then I cried because of all that work and it had come to that. Glen asked if they could be washed and I told him that yes, I had washed them but I really don't think they'll be edible. I mean- potato skins are not impermeable. If we were starving I might consider it but I just don't think that would be prudent.
And please, please, do not offer suggestions as to how I can keep the cats from peeing in random places unless your suggestion involves getting rid of the cats. It is a complete mystery why they have taken it upon themselves to mark the pantry as their territory but they have. I do not keep a litter box. They have access to the outside at all times. They are not crippled or lame. I personally let Maurice in and out of the house at least twenty times a day according to her whim. I'll let her out and if the wind is blowing the wrong way, she'll decide she wants to come back into the house.
Damn. Just...damn.
I was furious. The fuckers had already ruined about twenty-five pounds of raw peanuts by pissing on them. I ranted and I raved and then I cried because of all that work and it had come to that. Glen asked if they could be washed and I told him that yes, I had washed them but I really don't think they'll be edible. I mean- potato skins are not impermeable. If we were starving I might consider it but I just don't think that would be prudent.
And please, please, do not offer suggestions as to how I can keep the cats from peeing in random places unless your suggestion involves getting rid of the cats. It is a complete mystery why they have taken it upon themselves to mark the pantry as their territory but they have. I do not keep a litter box. They have access to the outside at all times. They are not crippled or lame. I personally let Maurice in and out of the house at least twenty times a day according to her whim. I'll let her out and if the wind is blowing the wrong way, she'll decide she wants to come back into the house.
Damn. Just...damn.
So I did the weeding I could do, finishing it up when Lauren and Lily and Maggie left, and Mr. Moon went back over to Tom's to work on the table. He is possibly going to the coast tomorrow to go fishing for the weekend if the weather looks decent. So you know what I had to do- I made him cookies. They are not just sustenance and treats, they are also his Father's Day present from me which is why I had to make them. At the same time I was doing that, I made up the dough for a loaf of bread (not sourdough) that will go with our supper of corn chowder tonight. Yes, it is too hot to eat soup but I had five ears of corn in the refrigerator and that's what I'm doing with it.
Thank god for air-conditioning. I cut the corn off the cobs and scraped the back side of a knife over the kernels to get all of the goodness out of them, just the way my grandaddy taught me to do.
Thank god for air-conditioning. I cut the corn off the cobs and scraped the back side of a knife over the kernels to get all of the goodness out of them, just the way my grandaddy taught me to do.
I guess I feel so compelled to pass on little tidbits of life lessons to my grandchildren because that's what Grandaddy did with me. No huge philosophies of life but true and important things like how to scrape an ear of corn properly.
Well, that's neither here nor there.
I am so very tired. As god is my witness, tomorrow I am not going to do a damn thing that requires being on my knees or sweating profusely.
I am so very tired. As god is my witness, tomorrow I am not going to do a damn thing that requires being on my knees or sweating profusely.
I better go make supper.
Love...Ms. Moon Who Really Needs A Shower
Wow, your phone camera takes mighty fine pictures. It seems little Miss High Fashion is also being schooled in the fundamentals of sewing, though I hope she knows it will be mighty hard to sew on that machine with the current location of the lamp. However, it probably is to let us know a light source is required and the table lamp is the best she can dol
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Maggie will be interested in sewing? Her other grandmother is a very talented crocheter. And her mama is becoming the arts and crafts queen. One never knows.
DeleteOh Mary I’m so sorry about your potatoes. All those hours digging in the dirt. Love, Rebecca
ReplyDeleteCats do not care. They do not care at all. And yet, they are probably the highest gods of all the animal gods and we must serve and love them.
DeleteMaggie looks adorable and yes it is terrible when cats pee where they should not. I hope you have a good evening.
ReplyDeleteAnd these cats have no excuses not to pee outside!
DeleteFar be it from me to give any advice regarding cats. They have their own agenda. But i understand your fury. Ehat a waste.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly do have their own agendas. And ways. And who are we humans to question them?
DeleteI had a dream about your orange cat the other night- She was sleeping with me and my horse was on the other side sleeping with me- They balanced one another but the horse , all in all, was so sweet and so nice the cat took a back seat. I suggest that you get a horse.
ReplyDeleteOur miss Maggie is an astonishingly great dresser! Sewing her new outfits could be challenging as she gets more into the fashion world- Project runway- ish!!
Haha! Okay, Linda Sue. I'll get a horse. It will have to be about the size of cat though. Do they make those? Or maybe a miniature donkey. Those are the cutest.
DeleteI can see Maggie on Project Runway. She would rule. One way or the other.
Princess Rainbow Magnolia is indeed stunningly delightful.
ReplyDeleteCats are truly a law unto themselves.
That is the dang truth.
DeleteThat Maggie will be a force of nature. You can see it unfolding in her right now.
ReplyDeleteOh, she already IS a force of nature! And has been since she was born.
DeleteMagnolia is a queen.....your cats are vermin at the moment. REALLY? Pissing on the potatoes? Good heavens, cats......get a grip! May tomorrow be a calm and peaceful day for you........just *chill*
ReplyDeleteSusan M
Today has been so much easier. Thank you, dear Susan.
DeleteSuch a crying shame about the potatoes and peanuts. I love Maggie's rainbow princess dress and that tiny furniture.
ReplyDeleteAren't miniature real things the cutest? I love them.
DeleteI think Lily got that dress online somewhere. Let's not tell Ron Desantis about it, okay?
I would be mad as hell at those cats too. I'm surprised cat wasn't on the menu!
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine that cat would taste awful.
DeleteLast week when I showed the young woman who will be house sitting for us the bedroom downstairs, there was a huge yellow cat piss stain in the middle of the comforter. Cats are just assholes sometimes. One time she had peed in our pantry, in the plastic box that is filled with my plastic bags, that I use for poop scooping. I was angry as hell.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got to see Miss Maggie. I would have love that miniature stuff when I was a kid, or now:)
Oh god! Damn cats! Why, why, WHY? We have no idea. But they obviously do.
DeleteThe older I get, the more I can understand old people's obsessions with things like miniature railroads and doll houses. Tiny worlds we can build and control.
Maggie is the rainbow queen in her lovely dress!
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me, tho, that some jerk stole my niece's Pride Flag from my brother's house! Asshole! I am looking to buy her another one but it seems as they are hard to find now. Shit! Two swear words in one comment so you know it has upset me. :(
This is a cuss-friendly place, as you know. So- swear away!
DeleteWhat sort of fucking asshole would steal someone's rainbow flag? Good grief!
I’m ever so sorry about the vegetables the cats ruined. Yes, they do that. A cat we had for many years suddenly decided to mark our entire house when we put it on the market. I had to slither on my belly, sniffing the walls and floor with a special urine detector light to scrub clean all the areas. My cousin is dealing with 2 now mostly indoor cats she has had for years who refuse to use a litter pan and randomly soil her plsce. Yeah, I’ve had it with cats. No more for me. Tempted all of the time but do have 2 big dogs who are trouble enough. My pantry is a closabke door closet—all I can say is the obvious of putting food items where the cats can’t reach them. We have to be extra careful about our dogs. They’ve devoured non food items that have a whiff of food in them. Just their way.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading about your endeavors!
Do you think the cat somehow knew you were going to move and was not happy with that idea? Who knows? Not me. But imagining someone (you) crawling on your belly to sniff floors and walls is at once completely understandable and also absurd. You poor thing!
DeleteSee- after my last dogs died I said, "NO MORE!" They take so much care. Almost like children in some ways.
Thank you for coming by!
Danm those cats. Just damn, damn, damn. Animals can be real assholes.
ReplyDeleteYes. Animals are not always noble beasts.
DeleteWell THAT's infuriating. I don't blame you for not wanting to wash them. I am loath to throw out any food but I think cat piss crosses the line. It's got to be especially heartbreaking when it's home-grown food.
ReplyDeleteMaggie looks suitably empridened, if that can be a word, but she seems skeptical of the picture-taking, especially in that first shot.
"Empridened!" Yes! I love it! We shall make it a word. I think Maggie was quite happy to have her picture taken but she just wanted to be serious in it.
DeleteWe left the potatoes out on the walkway and it's been raining on them for about 24 hours. They smell fine now...
Oh my god, Mary...your potatoes!! I'd be furious at first, then I'd probably cry. All that work, down the drain.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I love and adore my pets, sometimes they're real assholes. You have my sympathy!
Yeah. If the cats had peed on store-bought potatoes I'd be pissed but I sure wouldn't cry.
DeletePeople can be real assholes sometimes too but generally they do not pee on potatoes.