Same As It Ever Was

That's the very large live oak in the front yard that Glen's been clearing around. The left of center plant there is a camellia so we're not cutting that down. That was the only camellia planted in this yard when we moved here. Of course I remedied that situation soon after we settled in. We've let the bamboo grow up around the tree as well as a plant called nandina which is yet another invasive import. Nandina also has the charming quality of being highly toxic. 
And it ain't even that pretty. Also, it's scratchy. 
So Mr. Moon's been cutting bamboo, some of it as big around as my wrist, and pulling up nandina, and also cutting and pulling vines that have been trying to strangle that tree for years. We have not been the greatest stewards of our trees. 

Here's a picture of it from the other side. 

That's what it looks like from the swing porch. To get any sort of scale look at the ferns growing up the trunk. They are your regular-sized ferns. It is probably an ancient tree and although you can't see it, the branch reaching out to the right has a hole in it so big a large dog could crawl through it. With every storm that comes we figure that branch will fall but so far, it has not. I have no idea how old the tree is but live oaks can live to be over five hundred years old and even up to a thousand or more. 
If I were to worship something, it would be live oaks. 

I went to town today to get my shopping done. I met Jessie for lunch at a Cuban restaurant and it was fun and it was good. She wanted a Cuban coffee so I got one too and what a delicious treat that was! Thick and sweet and guaranteed to power you through the rest of your day. 
For possibly the first time in my life I did not order a Cuban sandwich in a Cuban restaurant. Except for when I was actually in Cuba where I never saw that particular delicacy on any menu but boy, did we eat some good food there. 
Sigh.
What I got today was garbanzo bean soup and a PORK sandwich with grilled onions and they were both excellent. I brought home some soup and half the sandwich which showed a great deal of restraint on my part. 

We both went to Costco which of course is always a joy. I mean, in a way. If by "joy" you mean walking around in a huge space looking at giant packaged amounts of everything from cereal to asparagus to garlic to onions to cheese to pickles to shampoo, vitamins, toilet paper, milk, eggs, waffles, salsa, and individual containers of chocolate mousse. 

"Why don't they ever sample chocolate mousse?" I asked Jessie. 
She didn't know either. We agreed that they definitely should. 

Sometimes the containers are just too big for me to deal with. Case in point: I wanted some Cascade dishwasher detergent. The liquid kind. And they had a HUGE plastic bottle of it for about ten bucks which is a very good price but it was so big and so heavy that I just said, "Nope". I got a normal large bottle later at Publix for about nine dollars which was probably half the size of the Costco bottle but fuck it- I just didn't want to deal with that much weight and size. 
We had a good time, though, strolling about, looking at babies, laughing at stuff. And then we saw Brenda and I got TWO hugs from her and that was wonderful. 

Costco is always an adventure. 

Jessie had to go pick up the boys for piano lessons and then karate lessons, after which she had a staff meeting for her unit at the hospital. She also has to work tomorrow. I told her that I would die if I had to do all of that. I used to do all of that. How in the world did I do it? 

I don't know. I surely don't want to do it now. 

I made a run through Publix and a very successful one if you ask me. I did not have to retrace my steps for forgotten items once and I got everything on my list. Victory! 

And now here I am, waiting for my husband to get home from cleaning windows at our rental place. At four o'clock he texted me that he'd be leaving in a hour or so and it is now 6:20. 
That man. I swear. 

Tonight I'm frying that mullet. I'm going to make cole slaw and heat up the rest of the okra and tomatoes and I may just go crazy and make hushpuppies. I've never made decent hushpuppies in my entire life but who knows? Tonight could be the night. 

Sorry that all of this is just reheated leftovers like the okra and tomatoes. It really is. By now y'all could just write these things yourself. I'm grasping for something, anything, new to give you but really, there's nothing. 

Let's see what happens tomorrow. 

Love...Ms. Moon