Maurice Is Fearless. I Am Merely Feckless

I did not realize until after I had taken that picture that it made Maurice look rather weird- as if she has no back legs. Trust me, she does. And as usual, her face is scarred and healing. She is a fighter, not a lover, that one. A little while ago she and I were both on the back porch when a wind came up and began twisting branches which caused pecans to fall. Some of them hit the AC unit which made a noise so loud that it startled me. Maurice woke fully from her doze, looked out into the backyard and then jumped down from the table and dove out the cat door, as if she was on a mission to defend us from whatever evil force it was that was flinging those pecans. That girl is not just a fighter, she is a warrior. 

Yes, we did get a nice little storm this afternoon. That wind began whipping and the thunder began booming off to the south and then it poured. It did not rain for too long but it was enough to push the temperature down almost ten degrees which is a heavenly blessing, a righteous relief, although the humidity is only worse and my skin feels sticky. I remember when I moved to Denver to go to college when I was eighteen. I could not believe the dryness. I couldn't wear my contact lenses comfortably which was a huge blow to my ego, and I probably bought more Vaseline Intensive Care lotion than was legally allowable. I had no experience with that sort of climate and it was shocking to me. I was used to the swamp-like temperatures and humidity of Florida which makes heat feel hotter and cold feel colder. When it snowed, I was the stupid Florida girl who went outside after she'd washed her hair without drying it only to discover that even though it didn't FEEL that cold, wet hair will freeze. 

I went to Publix and Costco today and got enough food for weeks. I think. No doubt trips to the GDDG will be required to pick up things like milk but when it comes to all of the basics and much of the not-so-basic, we have plenty. 
I think I need another pantry. I am not sure why I am such a food hoarder. Well, not really a hoarder. I just want to make sure that I always have enough of certain things to assure not running out of them. Things like olive oil and all the vinegars I use, coffee, pasta, rice, flour (bread, all-purpose, and self-rising), corn meal, grits, beans,  ketchup, mayonnaise, taco sauce, soy sauce, canned tomatoes, chilis, beans, and on and on and on. And my freezer is stocked with fish (of course), and some venison, and Tennessee sausage, and chicken, and ground beef, and, and, and...

I think that covid made this tendency of mine to stockpile foods worse than it was. And it's not an especially great thing to do. It gets to the point where even though I KNOW I have an item on one shelf or another, things are so crowded that I can't find it which leads to me buying another which only makes the problem worse. 

Ah lah. This is definitely an old person first-world problem- i.e. - not really a problem. I have the money to buy the groceries, I have the ability to drive to stores to buy them, and I have the strength to pack them into my car and then unload them and put them away when I get home and then the ability to turn them into delicious meals. 
I am grateful.

So today was better in that I didn't have to do anything out of the ordinary and nothing happened that disturbed or upset me. It wasn't one of those days wherein I end up going back and forth between the rows for items I may have forgotten that I meant to buy but which weren't on my list. Do any of y'all do this? Think of something you want and put it on your list when you enter the store? Or is that just me? 

Ay-yi-yi. My mind. 

Our fish tacos and spaghetti ended up being a delicious supper last night. A bit odd in flavor combination but we enjoyed the heck out of it. I bought more mangos today at Costco and I think I'll probably be making more salsa with them. It is so good. I bought some Dungeness crab claws, also at Costco today, and I asked the guy at check out if he'd ever tried them as I don't think I ever have. 
"I don't eat seafood," he said. 
"Oh, I'm sorry," I told him. 
"Mercury," he said. 

Yes. I suppose we should be worrying about mercury. We are eating so much fish these days. But as I told the check-out guy, I'm sixty-nine years old and going to die of something. 
"I'd like to reach the age of sixty-nine," he said. 
Which gave me much to ponder. I get that. Meanwhile, I went on to buy shrimp at Publix. 

I have thrown caution to the winds. Gumbo will be made tomorrow.

Love...Ms. Moon