Day Date

I am really failing at the butterfly photos this year so far. They just won't sit still for me! But here we have a Gulf Fritillary, in deep communion with a zinnia in the same color range. 

I'll try to do better and I will have the opportunity as both the zinnias and the phlox are big butterfly attractors. 

Glen's been talking about us going up to Bainbridge for an outing and today we went. I was reluctant for several reasons, one being that going to Bainbridge is not part of my routine. Sad, I know.
The other main reason was that I felt as if he was trying to placate me for all the time he's been gone in the past few weeks. Sort of like a mercy date, I guess. 

Anyway, I really could not say no and we drove up to Georgia which is not that far and to Bainbridge we went. What a pretty little town! The downtown area is just charming as all get out and it's surrounded by a square of old brick buildings in good repair and almost all occupied by different businesses that look to be thriving. There are beautiful old houses and the smaller funkier ones that call to me, massive churches, tiny churches, many trees, and brick streets. 

We wanted to go to lunch which was also a little anxiety-producing for me. So much of the food in little town southern restaurants is fried and/or highly sugared or barbecued or smothered in something delicious. But we found a place that was a tiny bit classy on the Flint river and the menu offered a few things that wouldn't hurt me much. Today was a Zepbound injection day but I was hungry. I ordered a Caesar salad with grilled salmon and it was absolutely fabulous. Well, the salmon was. The rest of it was just romaine lettuce and some shaved cheese that purported to be parmesan and quite a few croutons that may have once been crisp but weren't anymore and some very decent dressing. That doesn't sound so great, does it? And yet, the salmon was as good as any I ever ate and that made up for everything. 
I ate half the salmon and a lot of the lettuce and a little of the dressing and a not-crispy crouton or so and I was absolutely satisfied. I have brought the rest home. 
The Zepbound kicked in. Phew! A thing I am really beginning to understand about this drug is that in my case, at least, it calms my appetite enough for me to make the better choices when I eat. 
Lord, it's a beautiful thing. Glen's po'boy came with fried onion rings which, as we all know, are the food of the gods and I just didn't have much interest in them. I could have eaten one but given the choice, I just as soon would not. Weird but wonderful. I feel free in ways I never have before. 

Bainbridge has many antique stores and we went to one as a first stop after lunch that was also a gift shop and a place to find new furniture and sorta classy home decor accessories and so forth. When we first walked in, I saw a pillow that I really liked and I checked the price. 
One hundred and seventy dollars. 
Oh my. 
I'm surprised I didn't turn around and walk out. But what the hell, looking is free.
And then, I found my dream sofa. 

For at least thirty years I have been yearning for a green velvet sofa. And there it is. 
Sigh, sigh, sigh. 
I sat down on it and the cushions were soft, yet supportive. They were...dreamy. 
Glen asked the very sweet store lady how much my dream sofa was and well, let's just say we did not buy it. Perhaps I should have told him that if we did buy it and put it in the cabin, I'd be far more apt to spend a great deal of time there. 

Well. 

And we continued to look at beautiful rugs and all sorts of furniture, old and new. There was a light fixture that we really should have asked about. I didn't get a picture of it. I do not know why. 

When we left, we thanked Store Lady and as all shop proprietors in small town Georgia do, she said, "Thank YEW for coming in. Come by and see us again!" 

Next we decided to go a little more downscale and found a place called something like Carol's Junk and oh, Lord. It was at the opposite end of the spectrum from the shop we'd just left. 
The smell of despair and defeat dripped from the very walls and ceiling. 
They were really into Elvis though! 

Just three of the many, many Elvis collectibles in the store. 

There was also a whole lot of yes, junk. They had not lied or falsely advertised. It was such a depressing place and we didn't spend much time there. We were told by an old guy who seemed to have something to do with the shop that there was another shop right next door that sold antiques. Whoa! Let's go! 

And so we did. 
We opened the door to find a shop with less junk in it, but no less existential darkness. The proprietor there was a younger man than the one next door but I know without a shadow of a doubt, this man has many, many stories, none of them with happy endings. 
But. He was so pleasant and I had to give him a great deal of credit for being there, for having a business which seemed to be his own, and for just goddamned trying. If I judged him for anything, it was his courage and strength to not give up. 

After we went through the small front room, I headed to a door that said, "More Here" and I pointed at it with a questioning look on my face and he said, "Sure. But we call that the oven." 
It was a cement block building. The back room had no windows and no air conditioning. It was over 95 degrees outside and he had not lied. The heat hit like an NFL tackle. 
Don't ask me why I said that. But I can only imagine an NFL tackle hits real hard. 
We knew immediately we were not going to be spending much time back there and we didn't. We did a quick walk through and there was more sad stuff but on our way back out the door, I saw such a pretty little drop leaf table. It called to me. 
I stopped and checked it out. It was very solid, seemingly pretty old, and in good condition. The drop leafs worked with a metal hinge that clicked satisfactorily in place. 
It cost $45 dollars. 
If it had been at an antique store in Monticello, it would have been given a good wood treatment and priced at $150. At least. 
It came home with us. 
I'm not sure whether it will stay here or go to the cabin. I am thinking to the cabin. Something there for me to love. 

Here it is. 

I posed the lamps I bought about a month ago on it. 

I will give it a little love and it will give me great pleasure. 

We went to one other place called So Much Stuff, I think, and yes. Again, no lie. 
I almost bought a set of china. The Franciscan Desert Rose pattern which I have always loved and it was a decent price. The entire set wasn't there but plenty for us. The cabin needs dishes and at this point, has none but paper and plastic plates. 
I am not sure I've ever bought a matching set of china in my life. And I probably should have bought this one. For those of you who do not know, this is what the pattern looks like. 

I'm already kicking myself. 

Live and learn. 

Mr. Moon has gone to the coast to fish tomorrow which is fine with me as I'll take all the legal gulf seafood I can get. 

The sheets are clean, I have made my own martini, the church next door appears to have a full house, and Hawk is keeping watch. 

I am pressing tofu as we speak. 

Happy Friday, y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon