Guess what I did today?
As I have said before, if you don't keep up with that shit, you're in trouble. Also, it's impossible to find it all. Easy enough to find the shoots that are in the field or an open area, but they pop up in areas like the camellia bed and old kitchen garden too, blending right in with what's already growing by invitation and then suddenly you realize you have a six foot tall bamboo growing behind the Pink Perfection or underneath the Japanese magnolia and there is no kicking that.
It was raining when I first got up which was absolutely fine with me because I did not want to do anything so I spent some time in the house just lazing about, working on the puzzle I've been trying to finish for about three months. Not that I care when I finish it. I'll just have to find another one then. I also did some online shopping. I bought two new pairs of overalls, both bright iris blue, one pair short, one pair long. I'm pretty excited.
"Heirloom gardening shorts." All the pockets. Duluth Trading Company. On sale with a 15% off discount AND free shipping. And no, of course I get nothing from them for posting that. They just make good products that are durable, practical, and comfortable.
With pockets.
With pockets.
But I finally got off my butt and went outside to kick the bamboo and then, because I have a neurotic need to feel as if I am getting something accomplished, I did this.
And god, did that refrigerator need it. Even before Easter it was the biggest mess you ever saw and there were meals I had to replan because I couldn't find the necessary ingredients in the dank, dark den of hidden and mysterious foods.
Seriously.
So, I began to pull things out and bring them to light and take out and wash the various parts and put them back in, and then the food after I'd combined same-same foods that for some reason I had two of (looking at you- sweet and sour sauce), trying to create a more organized situation but you know how long that'll last.
Anyway, now it looks like this.
Seriously.
So, I began to pull things out and bring them to light and take out and wash the various parts and put them back in, and then the food after I'd combined same-same foods that for some reason I had two of (looking at you- sweet and sour sauce), trying to create a more organized situation but you know how long that'll last.
Anyway, now it looks like this.
I have so many pickles, mostly homemade in mason jars, and so many olives, some for martinis and some for salads, and SO MUCH CHEESE! And that's not entirely because I shop at Costco. I buy cheese at Publix too. And cheese was left here after Easter. Parmesan, cheddar, Havarti, Blue, Mozzarella, goat, cream...all the cheeses! Whole cheeses, sliced cheeses, wedges of cheeses.
It's ridiculous.
It's ridiculous.
But it feels so good to get that chore done and isn't it a joy when you open your clean refrigerator and the light shines like a disco ball and you can almost hear Gloria Gaynor singing "I Will Survive"?
And you can find your blue cheese olives and nutritional yeast?
And you can find your blue cheese olives and nutritional yeast?
A sort of housewife moment of complete satisfaction.
And that's been about it today. The rain left us with cooler temperatures and I can see blue sky with fluffy lambs of white clouds drifting by looking for all the world like some sort of Hollywood special effects screen.
While I was outside I took a picture of my wild azalea.
A friend sent me this today.
It's a link to a FB post and my favorite comment on it was, "False. Everyone knows Keith Richards was on tour in 1504."
People send me Keith Richards memes all the time and I've usually seen them and I may have seen this one but if so, I don't remember so it's as good as new to me.
Gosh, it's getting pretty outside. According to the weather widget on my phone, it's going to be cool and sunny tomorrow. I do believe I'll be working outside. Be still my heart. I am as serious as I can be.
Love...Ms. Moon
Congrats on cleaning your refrigerator! I cleaned mine this weekend. It's so nice to open the door and not feel you are in an unhygienic zone.
ReplyDeleteI know! And how do refrigerators get so funky? Everything we put in there is wrapped or in a container or both. What the heck?
DeleteWhen we lived in Georgia we had bamboo growing right next to the house. I cut and chopped and hoed for a couple of years to get it a little tamed, but you know how misleading THAT is. Finally our neighbor came with his backhoe and dug out the whole 50x15 foot section to about 3 feet deep and I physically sorted through that mess to pull out the rhizomes. And each time a little point of green poked up through the earth I pulled that sucker out for 2 more years. Finally transformed it into the fern garden of my dreams with a lovely brick path meandering through it.
ReplyDeleteNot THAT is a nightmare bamboo story but with a good ending. That was a lot of work.
DeleteOh, the clean refrigerator is a thing to behold isn't it? Re: the bamboo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp_6ecDf388
ReplyDeleteBamboozled! That's what you can call it when you're out kicking bamboo.I don't know why that tickles me. I just think of you every time I hear that word.
I will now think of YOU whenever I hear the word "bamboozled." Thank you, Debby!
DeleteYour fridge is packed! Mine practically echoes. But I'm not feeding the five thousand.
ReplyDeleteWe have an inordinate amount of condiments that take up a lot of space. As you may have noticed.
DeleteThe bamboo looks spooky, like spikes from hell popping up randomly to stab anyone that comes near. You really need a panda.
ReplyDeleteKeef- I watch the new video at least once a day, can't seem to get enough. You know how that is!
After seeing that incredible blue- went to Duluth to order a couple of tank tops and a pair of pants on sale- none of the colors go together the sale is limited but I hope the quality is decent! Never know, as you know...
I really do need a panda! You're right! The kids just told me that if you give a mother panda an apple, she'll trade it for her baby. They don't seem to have a lot of maternal instinct. That's how they get the babies away from mamas in captivity to examine them.
DeleteKeith. I do know how that is. I am so grateful that I have at least one sister who understands my deep level of devotion.
I think you will be happy with your Duluth purchases. They seem to resist aging better than any other brand I've ever tried.
I always laugh when I see the meme that says that we need to leave a better world for Keith Richards and Willie Nelson!
ReplyDeleteI like the one too, that shows Keith's daughters and says, "Just think. One day Keith Richards will inherit all of their wealth."
DeleteWhy do you have two open and partly used bottles of milk? Are they different kinds? I think you should make a few cheesecakes to use up some of that cheese. I like a tidy clean fridge myself.
ReplyDeleteLove the Keith Richards Mona Lisa picture.
That's a LOT of bamboo popping up all over.
One is buttermilk! I have to have buttermilk, you know. I don't even drink milk but I use it sometimes in cooking. Mr. Moon uses it on his cereal every morning.
DeleteCheesecake, huh? Well, maybe.
The bamboo has a very determined life of its own.
Ah, thank you. I hate buttermilk, but very occasionally buy some for my chicken burgers recipe, which is too fiddly to make often.
DeleteGosh, not being accustomed to bamboo I'm shocked at how quickly that stuff grows!!
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy. I am not using hyperbole when I describe it.
DeleteWe planted two different kinds of bamboo on our property in San Diego. But both were clumping (and not running) bamboo, and so much easier to control. They made great privacy screens. Our refrigerator stays in fairly good shape because SG is so slow to go supermarket shopping that it empties out completely quite often.
ReplyDeleteI have heard that even clumping varieties do not really clump here but spread. Perhaps not as much or as fast as the non-clumping types. I do like bamboo but it gets crazy. The stuff grows all up and down the railroad tracks and I wonder if it all came from this yard.
DeleteThat is one way to keep a clean refrigerator!
My fridge is much emptier than yours and now I will have to clean it today as you have made me feel guilty about how long it has been since I cleaned it! Thanks, Mary! :)
ReplyDeleteUpdate: I did wipe it out and it looks great! :)
DeleteIt is nice when it's all fresh again, isn't it?
DeleteNice to come back and find your blog again - I have not been writing enough on my own recently, or reading others as I should. Too much going on... But I miss it here in blog land.
ReplyDeleteAs for bamboo - don't get me started. Our neighbour planted some on her side of the wall and soon it invaded our garden. She has since removed hers but in remains in ours like some unwanted anti-social disease. so annoying!
Ha! Love the Keith meme. My refrigerator never sings Gloria Gaynor to me, sadly, even when it's at its happiest. You aren't kidding about that bamboo -- that first picture is almost scary!
ReplyDeleteOkay. I may have been exaggerating a little bit about the Gloria Gaynor but isn't it a nice image?
DeleteOn the other hand, I have not exaggerated the way the bamboo grows.
Your bamboo seems to grow randomly everywhere and anywhere it wants to grow. I have to tell you, my bamboo died entirely. I bought a pot of bamboo at a garden center it was supposed to grow 6-10 ft. tall black stalks with green leaves. I thought how beautiful, I must have some. The sales person told me to dig a plastic trash barrel into the ground and plant the bamboo in the barrel to help contain it to one spot. I did exactly as instructed and by the end of the Summer everything died. Given your invasive bamboo (success), what could have possibly happened to mine? I will clean my fridge tomorrow because I want mine to look as great as yours.
ReplyDelete