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This is the house that Lily and Lauren, Owen, Gibson, and Magnolia June will be moving into. Lily, Lauren, Jessie, Glen, and I were able to meet the realtor today for a tour of the house. Lauren hadn't even seen it! I asked her at lunch before we went to see the house, "What if you don't like it?"
"Then I guess I won't like it," she said. 
Zen Lauren. 

My two favorite things about the house are the very spacious back screened-in porch and the oak tree next to it. 

The tree needs some tending. It is covered and almost smothered in vines that need to be taken out. I told Lily that that's going to be her new hobby- tending to her oak tree. There are also a few crape myrtles in the yard along with two Japanese magnolias of good size, a very large azalea, and a camellia. 
Lily spotted this little guy on a camellia leaf.

It was tiny, about the size of my little finger from tip to first knuckle. Just hangin' out, being a frog. 

I've been in a dark mood today. One of those days when Mr. Moon asks me what's wrong and I say, "Nothing's wrong. Everything's wrong." It did cheer me to get to see such sweet women and the new house but I'm still not in the best of moods. I think the news from Arizona has upset me a great deal. The idea that a 12 year-old girl who has been raped by a relative cannot get an abortion is beyond my comprehension. Did you know that one of the things that all these 23 And Me DNA tests is showing is how prevalent incest is? Can you imagine being in a situation where you are a literal child being forced to have a baby fathered by your own father? Or a brother? Or an uncle? Or a stepfather? For a second, let's forget about the deep and everlasting psychological damage done to the girl who has to bear that baby and think about the baby itself. Who in hell would want to be raised knowing (or even not knowing) that they are the product of incest? 

But it's not even just that scenario. Once again, women are being told that we cannot make the most vital decisions concerning our own bodies. Not just kids or teenagers who are in no way ready to have and raise a baby but grown women who perhaps already have children and who know exactly what it takes to feed, clothe, and tend to a child and who can not, or even do not want to take that on at this time in their lives for the sake of the children they already have. 
Okay. I'll stop.
No. Actually, I won't. I won't stop talking about this. I believe that every woman has the right to choose whether or not to bring a pregnancy to term. 

I am so upset and so furious and so bewildered (how did we get here?) and so terrified for our daughters and granddaughters and their daughters and granddaughters too. 

I can't even think straight about this. 

Well, hey! Let's talk about some cheerful stuff! 

Look at that beautiful squash blossom! 

Can you see that little pepper? So cute.

And here's a little story- I was in Publix waiting my turn at the pharmacy counter to pick up a prescription. There was a tiny little lady ahead of me and I admired her tropical print shirt and her crocheted hat. I had a lot of time to observe them because it was taking a long time for the pharmacist to help her understand what medications she had been prescribed and and what they were for. I mean, a lot of time. But this pharmacist was SO patient and explained everything more than once and even put a post-it note in the woman's bag to remind her to call her doctor about an issue that needed addressing. When the lady walked away and I stepped up to the desk, I said to the pharmacist, "Thank you for being so patient and kind with that lady. Before long, that will be me." And she said, "Oh, but that's why I do what I do. And in time, that will be all of us."
Humans can be amazing. 

And for those of you who have never known the joy of shopping at Publix, here is what I was looking at as I waited. 

Just thought I'd share a little Florida culture with you. We have palm trees, we have springs and rivers, we have white-sand beaches, we have alligators, pythons, crocodiles, and mosquitoes. 
We have Publix. 

It all evens out.

Except for Mar-A-Lago.

Love...Ms. Moon