Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Soul Food For The Soul


I went on an adventure today! Liz Sparks picked me up and drove us down dusty, red dirt roads to Metcalf, Georgia to eat, of course, at Mary's Kitchen. 


The prices have gone up but they needed to. I had the roast beef, fried okra, and peas and snaps. It was amazing. With that came a sort of pan-fried corn cake as bread, and a slice of lemon cake. 
A nap should always be scheduled in after lunch at Mary's Kitchen. 

As good as the food was, though, it was not nearly as good as catching up with Liz. That woman! Since late last spring she has been to England twice, to Kentucky, Virginia, (I think), Chicago, and North Carolina where she worked for two weeks as a nurse at a summer camp. Those are just the places I remember. She took the the trips to England to take her mama home for a visit. She was born in the UK, and became a war bride when she married Liz's father 67 years ago. She still has a little cottage there with the most beautiful and charming garden you can imagine and as you can also imagine, she misses it so when she is here in the States. So Liz took her home to prune her roses but then her dad, who was still over here, had some rather dreadful experiences that challenged his health status so back to this country they came but when things were figured out with him, they flew back across the pond. There is a LOT more to this story but it's not mine to tell. 
But as I have often said about Liz, she is absolutely the most say-yes-to-life person I have ever known. There is no adventure she will not embark on, no road she will not travel, no experience she will not try. Let's put it this way- her mildest, least adventuresome experience would kill me with anxiety and fear. 
And yet, she does not judge me for my semi-agoraphobia, she understands, she never gives up on me, she takes me on these little trips to places where she knows I will be comfortable. I can say anything to her, I can tell her anything. We are old country hippies who laugh about different hippie ways. 
I simply love and adore her as does everyone who knows her. You could not have a better friend in this world. Not only would she help you bury the body, she'd paint your house, make you soup, help deliver your baby, cast out your demons, decorate for your daughters' weddings, serve you high tea and lend you the perfect hat to wear for the occasion, and take you kayaking down the most beautiful rivers in Florida. 
I could go on for days. I'm not kidding you. 

So that was wonderful. 

When I got home, I did a little weeding in the garden which is coming along pretty nicely. The collards, which we started from seedlings, are big enough to start making meals of. The rest of the greens and lettuces are big enough and plentiful enough to start supplementing  our salads with. I think that tomorrow I might make some focaccia baked with tomatoes and mozzarella to serve with a perfect micro-greens and basil salad on top. We have not had rain in weeks and there is none in the forecast so I am having to water the garden but not too much. The winter garden is tolerant of heat, drought, and cold. To a degree. No pun intended. 
It is supposed to get down to the low forties, upper thirties tonight. So guess what I did?


I got out the Goodwill cashmere. And actually, I even have a newish sweater that I got last year when they went on sale. I am wearing cashmere as we speak and it is cozy and so soft and so warm and there is no fiber in the world that I am aware of which is finer for winter. It is not bulky nor scratchy. It is a tiny bit of heaven you can wear on your body. 
The Duck may also be involved tonight. Mr. Moon suggested that we either do not leave the window in the bedroom open or else we only open it a crack. 
A crack it is. 

Tomorrow I'll go see the kidney stone doctor and we shall see what he has to say. And then I'll come home and make my focaccia and pick my teeny-baby greens and smash up garlic to mix with vinegar and olive oil to dress the greens and basil in, and my husband and I will feast on things that we grew, eating on the table he made us. 
And life will proceed from there. 


Love...Ms. Moon

29 comments:

  1. Dinner tonight sounds divine, sort of like those cashmere sweaters. Best of luck with the kidney doctor tomorrow.

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  2. This sounds like an enormous adventure. O know you're near Georgia, but it sounds like you crossed the great divide! Good luck with the kidney doc tomorrow.

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    1. We are so close to Georgia. And the backroads don't have any signs to indicate when you've crossed over. I sort of like that.

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  3. Yesterday you told us about the death of a great doctor. Today I read the obituary of Bill Besser, one of the doctors who attended me at Handsome Son's birth. Another great guy, who, when he did an aftercare visit, told me the docs had a bet that I must be Swiss, partly my accent, partly the total silence as I labored with a difficult delivery. He said that stoicism was Swiss! :) He lived to , living every day.

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    1. Boud, ARE you swiss? I am swiss...... first generation born in US. I still miss speaking my dialect.....which was my native tongue originally. since my folks passed 7 yrs ago, have not been *using* the language...tho...like riding a bike....it's still in there!
      Susan M

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    2. No, I'm originally from Northern England, so my accent is nothing like the BBC sound and general Southernness a lot of Americans think is British. I sounded then more Dutch, but now many years later, I don't know!

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    3. Boud- Wow! I guess it is the time for fine and good doctors who have lived long lives of service to go on. Perhaps the veil does really get thinner at this time of year. Who knows? Not me.
      I was not stoic in labor. No m'am. But I didn't yell or curse at my husband. I did make a lot of noise when it came to pushing. Especially Lily who was such a big baby. Most women, I have found, do indeed cry out in labor. As I said the other day- you are perhaps the strongest woman I know.

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  4. 92, age vanished when I hit enter!

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  5. A fun day with a fun friend and a nice lunch and dinner. Not bad! Good luck with the doc tomorrow!

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  6. What a brilliant day. And how clever to arrange something delicious and soul warming to look forward to after your visit to the stone man.

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    1. My focaccia is rising. My greens are washed and in the refrigerator.

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  7. true soul food day with Liz and cashmere.....! I will keep you in my heart all day tomorrow and hope news from Doc will be favorable
    Susan M

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    1. Not really much news but sent for an X-ray that should tell us something.

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  8. I hope things go well with the kidney doc tomorrow. I'm glad you got to visit with your friend. Friends like that are priceless.

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    1. Friends like Liz are indeed priceless and rare too.

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  9. I envy you your friends. Has anyone lectured you on low oxalic diets? Good luck tomorrow.

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    1. No. But I should look that up. My urologist just says to drink lots of lemon water.

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  10. A day with Liz is just what the doctor ordered - or would have if he'd been me. Sitting with you tomorrow if you need a cyber-soul to keep you company.

    Chris from Boise

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  11. First thing I thought when I saw those prices was "oh, how reasonable they are", and then you go and say that the prices have gone up!!! Just goes to show how different our prices are! And Liz sounds just like my kind of person. I have a friend a bit like that - a permanent dynamo. I swear she runs on Eveready batteries!

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    1. Oh my gosh. A few years ago I think that lunch was about $6.95 there. I do not think the owner of Mary's is getting rich.
      I don't know what Liz runs on but whatever it is should be bottled.

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  12. You just HAVE to love a friend that would help you bury the bodies.
    I may have to visit an upmarket store one day and feel some cashmere for myself.

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    1. Absolutely. And who owns her own shovel.
      I get a lot of my cashmere at thrift stores. It's a treasure hunt!

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  13. What a yummy lunch! Good luck with the doc!

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  14. how can you tell if it's cashmere? you make me want a cashmere sweater. we had out coldest night Wednesday night. warming back up now.

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