Too Much?

 There you see just about the sum total of what I've done today. And some of that was already cleared. I really cannot overemphasize how thick the bulbs of the crocosmia are in that dirt. It would have to be sifted to get them all out and even then, I'm not sure it would be enough.

La-di-dah. 

I'm sitting over here sifting dirt with my fingers like it's a job and meanwhile, there are people sifting through the debris left by Hurricane Milton to find their dearest possessions. Or...anything. 
The best thing you can say about that storm is that it traveled fast. I still have not heard from my Roseland landlord about their safety and the status of their properties and I am hoping with all my heart they are okay. I hear there were terrible tornados in that area and I've seen some photos of Vero and surrounding communities (of which Roseland is one) that are so frightening. 

Well. I am sure I will hear something soon.

When I got up early to get to the dentist on time this morning it was so chilly (for us) that I put on a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of long overalls. Did I put on shoes and socks? Hell no. It wasn't that cold. It's supposed to get down to something like 54 degrees tomorrow morning and that is almost unbelievable. 
I didn't wear my overalls to the dentist although give me a year and I probably will. I do really like the new dentist in the office. Dr. Jones. I imagine she may be at least thirty but she sure doesn't look like it. She's just a sweetheart. She looked at my tooth and said that the enamel is chipped and it's chipped in such a way that trying to build it back up may turn out to be useless as it will chip again. A crown may be needed. However, since it's not hurting me, we have decided to just take a wait-and-see attitude about it. She did say that a crown would be a permanent fix and I pointed out that I am seventy years old and permanent is getting shorter all the time. She laughed. I love that she's not trying to sell me expensive procedures that may not be needed. My old dentist didn't either. That office has always been pretty laid back and easy going and by golly, that's what I need. 

So that was a relief. I came home and found and bought a slip online to go under my dress for Hank and Rachel's wedding. My mother-of-the-groom dress. If it turns about to be really cold, I'm going to have to wear thermal underwear under it. Least of my worries. 

Mr. Moon got everything squared away with the new tenant in the plaza and that's a huge relief for him. Now he can go to Canada with a song in his heart and lightness in his step. Or something like that. As I said yesterday, he's already gone. His physical self isn't leaving until Monday but his mind is there now. 

Vergil has gotten so much done that he may be able to come home in a day or two. He's figured out how to get water to his mother's house which is huge. His family here is doing well but I know they miss him, not to mention that he's going to be going to India in a few weeks for work. Yes. India. 

All right. So our family lived in a house in Tallahassee for 12 years. They were very formative years. In fact, Jessie was born in that house. We did a lot of living in that house. I have some of the best memories from when we lived there and I have some very, very painful ones too. The people who bought the house from us have lived there all this time which is about 25 years or so but have now put the house on the market. I thought I'd share a few of the pictures from the real estate web site. 

This is the front of the house. Glen built that garage in the back. The main difference between what it looked like when we lived there and what it looks like in that picture is that we had a bunch of scraggy bushes in front and also, there was a type of ivy growing all over the house. I loved that ivy but it was not good for the bricks. 

This is the back of the house and as you can see, the front is somewhat deceptive in that it makes the house look smaller than it is. Jessie was born in that room to the far right. The door down there at the bottom leads to the basement which is a very unusual thing to have in a house in Florida. And yes, it flooded. I think that problem has been taken care of by the city which had to redirect some sort of water drainage problem. One of the things I loved about that house was that it was sort of like living in a doll house with one entire side without a wall. At night, when the lights were on, you could stand in the back yard and see all of the activity going on inside. After having spent my childhood in houses where what it looked like outside had no relation to what was going on inside, living there was, to me, a big fuck-you to that. 
Of course, instead of a lawn in the back yard, I had planted a garden where I grew vegetables and herbs. I loved that garden. 
Our dog Pearl would sometimes escape out that upstairs window and walk around on the roof of the house. People would knock on the door to tell us that there was a dog on our house. 
Sigh. 

This is one of the two sunroom areas of the house where those glorious windows are. They were great spaces. And by the way- Mr. Moon and his Daddy put in those floors. All. By. Themselves. When we moved in, the windows were not the kind you could open and I pleaded and begged and then insisted that we replace them with windows that we could open. And it happened. 

This is the other sun room area. The owners after us did fancy it up. I spent a LOT of time in that room which connected to the kitchen via the door to the right. I loved the sink and all those cabinets. 

And this was my kitchen. I am somewhat shocked to see that the cabinets are exactly the same. They were even painted blue when we lived there. The stainless steel countertops were there when we moved in and boy, did I love those things. I must have made a million meals in that kitchen. I can remember Jessie crawling around on the floor, playing with pots and wooden spoons as I cooked. All four children were at home then and we frequently had spare teenagers whose parents had kicked them out of their houses for one reason or another. There was a room right off that kitchen to the right where a whole lot of people stayed at one time or another to recuperate from illness, wounds, or various other situations that needed attention and care. Our friend, Anne-Helene stayed in that room for six months after we met her in Cozumel and invited her to come and live with us. That was a beautiful time.

We also had all of the holiday meals there for my family and Glen's family too. 
My god, but I was so different then. In a way, it's no wonder that I crave time to myself now, desire peace and quiet so desperately. 

Looking at these pictures brings back so many memories, so many feelings. 

Ay-yi-yi.

Yep. Time to make supper.

Love...Ms. Moon