In Praise Of Strong Women

Well, feast your eyes on this because that's the only visual sustenance you'll be getting here tonight. In case you can't tell, it's the backside of an elephant ear leaf with the sun sort of shining through it. 

There are some pretty cool designs in it. You just have to slow down and appreciate them, I guess. 

When I got up this morning, it was 60 degrees. It was an Arctic front. I swear to you. I had to put on a sweater! So, yeah, it was the thinnest sweater I have in my closet, practically gossamer, but still- it had sleeves. Amazing. Unheard of for this time of year. 
When Glen and I were eating our Sunday morning breakfast/lunch (there were no mimosas or cantaloupes involved so it couldn't be brunch) he said he'd like to get the gas tank filled up. Not the car gas tank. The natural gas one that runs the stove and generator. 
"Just in case one of the H-words happens," he said. 
It took me a second. H-word? I immediately thought of Hawaii and that made no sense at all. And then I got it. 
"Oh," I said. "Yes." And we both knocked wood that the hurricanes all stay away. We knocked wood as if we meant it. Because we did. 
But. Best to be prepared. Right? 
It is indeed wonderful that no storms have formed and become deadly and a threat to anyone. I just knocked wood again. And no, I am not superstitious but I do knock wood and I do throw a few grains of salt over my left shoulder should I spill any. This is not so much superstition as it is common sense. Do what you can do, right? 
There is still a lot of time left in hurricane season. It ends November 30th and we have indeed had horrible storms in November. The hurricane lilies are shooting up and blooming everywhere which is a fancy, biological reminder of where we are on the calendar. 
Meanwhile, we are loving the cooler, dryer weather with all our hearts, even as we know that something is off. 
And it's not a bad idea to get that tank filled. 

I stayed inside, most of the day, flitting from one domestic chore to another. This is not to say that I really did much of anything but laundry is washed, floors are swept, that breakfast/lunch was made, and I've been very sweet to my husband. 

I cooked snapper last night and knowing there would be leftovers, I planned on making a seafood chowder tonight with that and some frozen shrimp. Well, after I thawed the shrimp. Right now I have the shrimp shells simmering in water to make a stock with Old Bay seasoning, salt, and some garlic and onion powder. Don't worry, the chowder itself will have real onions and garlic in it. I may even throw a can of clams in there. Why not! Clam chowder is delicious! The more seafood the better! 

I don't have much more to talk about but I will tell you a funny story about Ms. Magnolia June. Lily texted all of us the other night to tell us that Maggie told her that she wished Lily had named her Bubbles June Hartmann rather than Magnolia June Hartmann. And she would be called "Bubbs." 
Oh dear god, I was so charmed. 
She didn't know Lily had told the family this, which I was aware of, and so I haven't called her Bubbs, but yesterday Jessie did. At first Maggie was a little bit put off. 
MY MOTHER! she said in a scathing fourteen-year old's voice. But then she added, "Yes. I wish I'd been named Bubbles."
I so want to call her that now. When we introduced her to the next-door neighbor at the lake house, she told the woman her name was Magnolia June Hartmann. And then I said, "But we call her Maggie, mostly." 
The woman, who is pretty darn cool, said, "Well, what would you like to be called?" 
"Magnolia," said Maggie. 
"I didn't know that," I said. And so now I suppose I will try to remember to call her Magnolia unless I find out she'd rather be called Bubbles. Or, you know- Bubbs. 
Another thing she said, this time on our way home from the cabin, was that she can't wait to learn to hunt. 
Ooh boy. But hey- if the boys can learn, why not the girl if she wants to? 
And then she said, "But I want the safest person to teach me and that would be you, Boppy." 
I doubt Glen could be any prouder. 

Maggie/Magnolia/Bubbs is truly her own woman and I hope she grows up to be at least as tall as her mama. Maybe even taller. Lily told me a few months back that she has never felt threatened by a man. 
I don't think I've ever heard one of my children say anything that has brought me more comfort. How many women can say that? 
Not many. I sure can't. 
And the more women who are strong enough to be unafraid, the better off we'll be as a society. 
So you go, Magnolia Bubbs June Hartmann. Change the world because it sure needs it. Perhaps you really need to be known as Diana, the ancient Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon, the animals, childbirth, fertility, and chastity. 
That last one may be harder than the rest. 

Love...Ms. Moon/MerMer