Sometimes You're Just Tired

The confederate jasmine is having its way with our olfactory receptors right now. I wonder if there's a new, more PC (or dare I say...woke?) name for this plant, which, when it flowers is nothing less than an assault on our noses. The blossoms have a deeply sweet and somehow pungent scent that travels for yards and yards, especially when the sun is warming them. They are lovely little white pinwheels, interesting in design. 

But they can become overwhelming, both in scent and in their growth. And yes, they are one more plant which grows completely out of control here if not pruned regularly. The vine can pull over chain link fences. 

Mr. Moon kissed me goodbye this morning sometime before six. I know he was excited to get on the road and head on up to Nashville which is where he grew up. I told him what I always tell him when he goes on these trips- "Be safe, be careful, come home to me, I love you."

That says it all. 
And then I add, "Let me know when you get there." And off he goes into the inky darkness, his cookies and roasted peanuts by his side, his thermos of coffee, hot and sugared in the cup holder. 
And I fall back asleep. 
I slept so hard this morning that I didn't wake up until 10:00. I have no idea how that happened. Maurice was right there with me, looking mildly annoyed when I got up and flung the covers back as if I could regain some of today's time that I'd spent dreaming away. And boy, did I have a dream! Sometimes I'm almost proud of my brain for coming up with the epic stories it spins while I'm asleep. This one had almost all the cliches of my life I generally dream about except that for once, I was not responsible for a child or a pet or any other being. Instead, I was the one seeking help. I was at FSU, where I did attend nursing school, and I was supposed to be taking classes with my old friends with whom I truly had been very close to but in this dream I decided that really, I was too old to start anything new and so I tried to leave campus but I could not find my way out. I somehow got myself into buildings whose hallways and stairs and rooms went on forever and I could not find the exits to the outside. There were so many characters in this dream who tried to help me. This was a completely different element in my dream world. But no one really seemed to be able to help and when I did finally get outside, I couldn't find where I'd parked my car and no one could help me there either, although many tried. And of course I lost my purse which had my phone in it. 
It is possible that the shooting which happened there week before last influenced this dream. I do not deny that possibility. 

When I finally woke up I was so grateful. Usually when I have dreams like this, I realize I'm dreaming and that fact incorporates into the dream and it helps but in this case, I had no clue that I wasn't actually living the experience so I was also exhausted and bewildered. I found that I'd missed a call from Glen who likes to call and check on me when he knows I'll be up although of course I wasn't up this morning. He ended up texting Jessie so she was worried too and I'm surprised they didn't arrange a wellness check on me. 

Good Lord! 

And I did absolutely nothing for most of the day except feed myself and Maurice and turn the water on in the garden. I read some of a New Yorker and watched far too many reels on FaceBook and read all the blogs I read and commented on those. I did a crossword online. I think perhaps I was just detoxing from from the past week. There has been some unusual stress and strain and busy-ness too. Later on in the afternoon, I decided to check off one of the things I wanted to do while Glen was gone and I did. I cleaned my bathroom and his and dusted the furniture in the bedroom and swept those three rooms, even taking up the big rug in my bathroom and washing it. Did I mop? Come on. I am not insane. 
I really hate housecleaning. The only joy I get from it is the satisfaction I feel when it's done. 

And now I don't have to think about any of that for a little while. 

When I was shaking out rugs I saw this in the front yard.

Do you see it? No one has kicked bamboo since the kids did it last Sunday and it's not done with its annual attempt to take over the world. I kicked that one over and a few others but I really need to do a real search and destroy tomorrow. 

When I went out to turn the sprinklers off in the garden, I could not help but do a little walk-around. Ask anyone who loves to do a vegetable garden and they will tell you that there is a real satisfaction in taking at least one daily stroll around it to see what is coming along, changing, blooming, growing. I am proud of the arugula I planted a few weeks ago. It's ready for me to start using bits of in salad. 

The bare spot is where fire ants came to live after I planted. Those fucking fuckers. They've moved on now, probably to the okra. While weeding yesterday I came across quite a few. And they are called fire ants for a reason.

Glen has made it to Nashville and I believe he is a very happy guy. I'm glad he has these friends. It says a lot when someone can sustain relationships for half a century or more. 

I'll try to do something interesting tomorrow. 

Love...Ms. Moon