Just Enjoying The Peace

My baby blue muslin blanket finally arrived today. I washed it and put it on the bed. The color is actually very nice, a true baby blue although that picture makes it look like it's gray. It is not. I am pleased with it. I think Dorothy Anne likes it too. I will admit that last night she slept with me and although I feel foolish for bringing my doll to bed, I also understand myself and give myself grace about it. I remember sleeping with my dolls back when I was a child and the comfort that brought me. I have no doubt that now, as then, I am seeking to comfort this inanimate replica of a baby as a stand-in for my own self. It's not a big mystery. And let's face it- babies are still hugely important in the deepest parts of my psyche. The nights I do not dream of protecting a baby or a child are rare.  

I was mostly domestic today, doing little things around my house. I worked in the garden for an hour and then suddenly, I knew it was time to come inside and I did. I don't mess around with heat. I finished pulling up the last of the cherry tomatoes so that's it for our tomatoes this year. I weeded. I mulched a little. The bags of mulch are so darn heavy that it takes all of my strength to move them around. I often end up opening them a distance from where I want to spread the contents because I can't even drag those commercially-sized and extra thick black bags packed with damp mulch. I then generally just scoop out the mulch with my hands and carry it to where it needs to go until the bag has lightened enough to pull it closer. It's a pain in the ass. And back. I suppose it is good exercise though. 

I finished listening to this book today. 

I have no idea if even one of you would enjoy reading it either through ears or by eyes. I thought it was beautifully written though, and perfectly narrated. I will be reading more of Mr. Brown's books. His knowledge of rivers and forests and also history and the ways of men are vast. It had three storylines which sometimes I find annoying but not in this case. One storyline was about two men, taking their father's ashes to where the river he worked on and loved and knew meets the ocean. Another is the story of the father. And the third is the story of some of the first explorers in the wilds of Georgia, French men who came to find the riches and wealth so widely believed to be waiting for them in the new world. These different storylines are beautifully braided together or, are they like three rivers which converge, finally, at one point?

This picture,

which has been reproduced many times and with which every Florida school child is familiar, has a place of importance in the story. History tells us that Le Moyne's travels were actually in Florida but Taylor Brown posits that some historians now believe the fort that group of soldiers built was not in Florida near St. Augustine which has always been believed, but in Georgia. 
Florida, Georgia. Whatever. Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues was a fascinating character in real life, an artist tasked by the King of France to record and capture what was to be found here. And who. Look him up if you have the desire. 
There are also ancient, giant cypress trees in this book and the people who would cut them down and who have cut them down. The rivers in Florida and in Georgia are very similar in many ways and share a great deal of both flora and fauna. So of course, this book spoke to me. 
And I will add that there is a very prominent art gallery in Tallahassee named LeMoyne Art Gallery and it is indeed named after Jacque. 

So. That's my pathetic attempt at a book report. Sometimes I read or listen to a book that I find extraordinary, as all readers do. And although I realize these books might not really interest many others, I feel I have to give them a shout-out.

Okay. Here's something that happened in our family today. 
There's a murder trial going on in Tallahassee and I'm not going to name any names but this case has gotten national recognition. There have been podcasts. Possibly documentaries. I don't know for sure. But they're selecting the jury right now for the case and May was one of those in the pool called for jury duty for the trial. 
She did not get selected and is both glad and a little disappointed. 
Now the crazy thing about this is that Lauren was actually on the jury of another murder trial that was directly related to this one. 
What are the odds? 

Mr. Moon is still at Lake Seminole. When I talked to him earlier he said he still didn't have water, but he did not seem overly concerned. He is getting some water from the neighbors who are very kind people. 

Tomorrow is our first day back at pottery which means I have to get up at an insane hour. But it's always worth it. I watched some "easy projects for beginners" videos today because in all regards I am still very much a beginner. I have acquired no skills whatsoever. I found one project which I know will challenge me but I swear to you- I am going to follow the instructions completely rather than decide that oh, I don't need to do it exactly like that. 

Because I'm special? 

All right. There's already one thing I'm not doing and I know it because 

A. I do not have the piece of linoleum suggested to use, and 

B. I don't see the damn point of using it for the reason the (professional) potter claims is necessary. 

This is why I have problems. I am not fooling myself about this. 

But it'll be good to see who's in the class and of course I will love being with Jessie. Lily has decided that since Wednesday is her day off, she's going to skip this series of classes so she can attend to other things. We will miss her. 

I got so excited at lunchtime today. I really, really wanted a salad. A real salad like the ones I was making and eating with such enthusiasm a few months ago before I sort of burned out on them. So I spent the forty-five minutes it takes to make a salad like that, including the dressing and it had all the vegetables and garbanzo beans and leftover quinoa and it absolutely could not have been healthier. I made a delicious dressing with miso and tahini and all the good stuff and I was like, "YEAH! THIS IS GOING TO BE GREAT!"

And then I realized, when I sat down to eat it that I wasn't that interested in it after all. 
Oh well. 
For supper I'm making a red lentil and chicken soup with brown jasmine rice, garlic and lemon and I am going to put the leftovers of my lunch salad right in that pot with everything else. Why not? What is lettuce but a sort of spinach? And there are carrots and cabbage and cauliflower and onions and tomatoes and peppers and...

All that stuff. And also maybe some spinach. 

That's bee balm, aka horsemint, that Liz Sparks gave me seedlings of last spring from her yard. It has done quite well. 

I am doing okay myself. I'll let you know how the salad soup came out. A two-course dinner, all in one. 

Love...Ms. Moon