Friday, November 14, 2025

In Which I Totter And Dodder Through My Day


That is the only picture I have taken so far today. I've been having Christmas and Thanksgiving Cactus envy and when I saw a display of them budded up at Publix for about three dollars, I bought one. I have killed every other one of those things I've ever had but I'm going to repot it and then ignore it and see how that goes. 

I can barely remember what I did today. It being Friday we can assume I washed sheets. I did something I don't usually do which is was to put different sheets on the bed than the ones I took off and laundered. When I made up Ms. T. Joy's bed last week, I used the "good" sheets which are so soft and yet crisp and delicious and that reminded me of how much I do love good bedding. Lately I've been getting mine at Costco which is fine, the sheets are very adequate if a little skimpy when it comes to the width of the top sheet but they're just not that...mmmmm...you know. I only have two sets of the higher quality sheets which are both years and years old and I put one of the sets on the bed today and I have made a vow that I will absolutely be buying another set in January when the white sales happen.

If I don't spend all my money on new overalls and Crocs. 

I also washed my porch tablecloth and that always feels good. I don't do it nearly enough. Mostly what gets on it is cat hair and dead insects and the occasional spider poops. 
Yes. Spiders poop. 
Here's a picture I just took of Maurice perched beside the MacBook on it.


Remember when I got this tablecloth at Goodwill? Why would anyone want to get rid of it? I don't know but I'm glad they did. 

I went back to Publix and also to Costco today. I was almost out of Temptations which Maurice would not stand for. Also I wanted to get cranberries and an orange and pecans for the Thanksgiving cranberry relish. Plus I got other stuff. I think I am becoming a food hoarder. That must be a thing, right? 
It's not completely out of hand yet but let's just say my freezer is full and the pantry is close to that. I really need to not buy anything else until we've eaten through a lot of what we have. I don't know why I've become this person. I've always had enough to eat except for a few periods of time back in the old, old days and that was never very serious. I did learn, however, that sweet and sour garbanzo beans are not very good. 
Lesson learned. 
So I don't know where this compulsion to always have a lot of food on hand comes from. I'm not even eating that much these days! I really need to pay attention and not get as crazy about it as I could.

So remember on Wednesday when I felt so good because one woman called me "pretty lady" and another woman told me how much she loved my overalls? 
Well, I came crashing back down to reality today when I had not one but TWO people ask me if I needed help. One at Costco, one at Publix. 
Excuse me? 
The situation at Costco was that I had self-scanned my items and was loading them back into the cart. All had gone well. I tapped my card in the right place. I'd even remembered to take my receipt. But as I was putting the stuff in my cart I noticed a cart in front of me parked in the snack bar part of the place which had at least thirty pounds of bananas in it. I guess I was studying those bananas pretty closely, wondering why someone would buy that many bananas and figuring maybe they had a smoothie business or a restaurant where they made a lot of banana pudding or a bakery where they made banana bread. Something. 
But as I was pondering, the woman whose cart it was asked, "Do you need some help?" I thought I'd misheard her. And then I thought she was really asking me why the hell I was so fascinated by her bananas but when I said, "I'm sorry, excuse me?" she said "Do you need help?" again and she sounded very sincere. 
"Uh, no. But thank you," I said and wheeled on out of there. There wasn't even anything heavy in my cart. I told Jessie about this and she suggested that I may have had a look of bewilderment look on my face. That perhaps I have resting puzzled face. This was news to me. I told her that I thought it was more of a curiosity face. That I PONDER things. She agreed this could be true, meanwhile probably updating her research on care facilities.  
The other incident happened when I was reaching for some espresso on a top shelf at Publix. I wasn't having any damn problem at all getting that coffee off the shelf when a woman, who was not young herself, said, "Would you like me to get that for you?"
What the fucking fuck?
I'M the one who asks people if they need help. I'm the young and spry one. Right? RIGHT?
Jesus. 
Oh well. People just trying to be kind and help the elderly. 
But I do admit it that it hurt my pride a little and I need to get the fuck over that because I will be needing help at some point and when that happens, I hope it's as graciously offered.
I'm not really as nice as that last sentence makes me sound. 

Here's a picture of Mr. Moon. 


He really is a handsome man. 
He's having a wonderful time, tromping through the snow, being happy. But he does say he misses me. 
He probably misses his bed and his cat and his chair, too. But hopefully, he misses me the most. 

And that's it for tonight. I'm going to make a pizza-like dish with leftover naan dough as a base, some roasted tomatoes, pesto, artichoke hearts, etc., etc on it. I will eat it with fresh garden greens on top. 
I think it will not suck. 

Happy Friday, y'all. 
Love...Ms. Moon













50 comments:

  1. Because I'm a bit taller than some of the folks at the store, I will often ask if I can reach something for someone really stretching to grab an item! It's a matter of courtesy ... offering a little help!

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    1. I have often asked someone having trouble reaching something if I could help. I'm not especially tall but taller than some and also, there are the people in the electric carts who have a very hard time standing up so it's very weird to me to have someone ask ME if I need help.

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  2. I just take the help now, what the hell. And it probably makes the other person feel quite good. People often assume I'm older than I am because of my hair. It's kind of like the first time you get called ma'am. WTF.
    I've had the same problem with food hoarding for most of my life too. I've always thought it goes back to my parents not having enough food during the depression and the war, or even further back than that. Who knows? I'm trying to clear out my freezer and eat the stuff before it gets freezer burn. I have some success and then my husband comes home with stuff that needs to go in the freezer:)

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    1. In the situation at Costco, I wasn't struggling or reaching or anything. I was just putting my few items in the cart so I don't know what was going on there. And at Publix, my hand was already on the coffee I was reaching for. Jeez.
      My mother, too, had food insecurity when she was married to my father. But she didn't keep as much food around as I do.
      Glen never brings home anything from the grocery store. Just the fields and water.

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  3. The astonished banana gaze- that made me laugh- I do identify with that. The older I become the more I am allowing my granny bewilderment to take charge. Stumbling is kind of not alright but being a bit titched is hilarious. Fun with dementia! It is all the craze these days.

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    1. "Fun with dementia!" Oh yes. Thank you for reminding me of the humor to be found in these odd and unexpected events.

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  4. I find, odd exchanges are reality today, especially from complete strangers. Nothing that someone says surprises/bothers me. I just take it in stride. There is no telling what is going on in somebody else's head.
    I think we tend to over buy if we can. Plus, today with grocery shelves running out of some things, I find myself stocking up just in case the item disappears again.
    Canada must be cold hunting in the snowy woodlands. I'm thinking if hunting gives a glow like the one on GM's face, I need to consider it (maybe).

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    1. I suppose I have to make peace with these sweet offers of help.
      Sigh.
      Yes. I overbuy. That is exactly what I'm doing.
      The only other time Glen really looks that happy is when he's fishing. So maybe that would be an alternative?

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  5. Hoarding food? Um, you’re a mom! Also, this kind of instinct helped our ancestors survive long enough for us to exist…

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    1. Well, you're right about that. Both of those things.

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  6. I'm only in my late 60s, but I'm learning to shamelessly play the Old Lady Card like a true pro. Earlier this week I had three (three!) people scurrying around the Bulk Bin Section at the grocery store trying to help me access pumpkin seeds. Good times!

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    1. I suppose we need to take whatever perks come with the aches and pains and memory loss, right?

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  7. Yes I think that neglect is what makes Christmas/Thanksgiving cactus thrive because they do well for me and that is definitely my M O.

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  8. You may feel young and spry but when help is offered take it and smile and say thank you, it makes the other person happy to know they have helped a little old lady. You get used to it and one day you realise you are grateful that younger, taller people notice and help out. I would have stared at thirty pounds of bananas too.

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    1. It was a LOT of bananas. Stems of bananas. Multitudes of bananas. Who wouldn't wonder where they were all going?
      I think I feel most like a little old lady around Owen. But in a good way. I'm his little Mermer.

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  9. Nice cactus, but I wouldn't re pot it while it's in bud/flower. ....also I read somewhere that you shouldn't move them while in bud.....ie keep the same side to the light! No idea if that is true. Good luck anyway.
    Oh and yes........he is a handsome man !!

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    1. Thanks, Francis. Probably very true about not repotting until the blooming time is done.
      Honestly, I think Glen is getting better looking every year. How does this happen? And it is NOT fair.

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  10. I know your pizza-like dish did not suck. In my case, whenever I have to prepare something to eat, that’s a serious concern. I’m good with plants, as you clearly are, and never have any luck with Christmas cacti. Mr. Moon is a very handsome man, and what a lush beard!

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    1. It was so good, Mitchell.
      It's funny- everyone always talks about how easy it is to care for succulents and I have almost always had terrible luck with them. I find this amusing.
      Mr. Moon decided to let his beard grow until he was done hunting in Canada. I'm sure he'll trim it way back when he gets home but I love it.

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  11. Good for you for using your better quality sheets on your bed. I learned a long time ago that I shouldn't keep my lovely dishes etc "for best" because we're meant to enjoy them in the here and now, not like an aunt of mine who kept the plastic covers on her dining room chairs forever and we used to stick to them in the summer!

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    1. You are so correct! Same with jewelry! Why don't we wear the good stuff? Wear it to the damn grocery store. It's for our enjoyment and no one else's. They'll probably just think it's fake anyway.

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    2. When we were married, my mother-in-law gave us the crystal goblets she had wanted so very badly when she married in 1935. They were unused, still had the maker’s labels on them. That was 53 years ago and of the twelve, we still have nine. We have used them. We use all the good stuff all the time. Why not?

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    3. I am the unanonymous Margaret drinking from those goblets.

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  12. Your man certainly looks right in his element. And I hope your cactus will thrive and bring you joy. My houseplants do well when I neglect them as much as possible.
    Recently, a woman stopped me with a big smile and said, oh look at you, you remind me so much of my granny. I almost hissed at her.

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    1. Yes. Glen is almost worryingly happy up there in the snowy wilds.
      Okay. What that woman said to you is just fucking rude. You should have hissed at her and also informed her that if she's lucky, she'll remind someone of their granny someday too. And it'll be sooner than she thinks.

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  13. I am like you, my freezer is full, my cupboards are full and I am eating a little less. I keep telling myself to eat up before it gets freezer burnt but I never learn. I blame it on Costco. Their packaging is so large Too many of one thing but the prices are so much better that I get sucked in. I am short and old so often have to ask for help as what I need seems to always be on the top shelf. Your hubby looks more like a northern Canadian than a Florida man. Gigi

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    1. I can't even blame it on Costco. I do get a lot of cheese there but it's lasting for months and months now. There are things which, when they go on sale at Publix, I buy even when I know I have more at home.
      I am still perfectly capable of reaching things on the top shelves at the grocery store. The day will come when I can't though, I'm sure.
      You're right about Glen. He looks wild and wooly, doesn't he?

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  14. I have learned to accept help, reluctantly, but I still object when friends in their sixties insist on comparing me to their parents, even when I come out of the comparison well. It's ageist, as if all people in any age group are comparable! Bad enough when we were at school. I should be exempt by now.

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    1. I am so with you on this. I get almost enraged when people put baby boomers all together in one category or another. As if when we were born determined our entire philosophies and beliefs, likes and dislikes. And it's not just boomers that get slotted. It's Gen X and Gen Z and Gen X and millennials. Why do humans love categories so damn much and why do we think that once we've put someone in them, we have defined them?

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    2. Hear! Hear! Margaret

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  15. I was going to write this comment: "I could understand somebody staring at a woman shopper's melons but not her bananas" but then I thought it might appear both lewd and sexist so I decided not to.

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    1. Has anyone ever told you that your sense of humor never progressed past the age of seven? Seriously, Mr. P. What's going on?

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    2. I am wondering the same thing because this is newish, a few years ago none of YP's comments were lewd or sexist. Is this his true self or the beginning of dementia?

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  16. Well, your pantry and freezer could be full because you are eating less and Mr. Moon has been away on hunting trips and cabin trips. Once he is home, I bet you will start emptying out those shelves. Your dinner naan pizza sounds delicious!

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    1. Oh we'll eat more when he gets home but I always cook too much and yes, buy too much.

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  17. I think you're like Dave. Your "love language" is food, and when you stock up on food, you're expressing love for the people around you. That's my theory, anyway. Dave buys WAAAAAAY too much food for my taste, and we are overstocked on some things, but we always end up eating it. (Usually because after a while I tell him, "STOP BUYING PEANUTS"! Or whatever the food in question is.)

    I think the banana woman was really saying, "Get away from my shopping cart!"

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    1. I understand Dave. There is also the element of forgetting whether or not you have another bottle of ketchup on the shelf so if you run out
      you'll have more.
      Banana Woman may have actually been saying, "Why the hell are you so interested in my cart? "

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  18. Being on the short side (5'3" or probably shorter as I have not been measured for a long while) I often have trouble reaching things on tall shelves. I search for a person taller than me (another buyer or a store employee) and say, "Excuse me, Tall Person. Can you help me? They always laugh and come over. I tell them I am not short, I am height-challenged. and they laugh. Being a little old gray-haired lady has some advantages. I look like a grandma. Now if I could just remember to tell the bagger not to fill the bags so full and heavy....

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    1. If I really cannot reach something I will find someone to help me. The last time this happened to me was at the Dollar General and even the employee had to go and find a ladder. They stack stuff to the ceiling.
      I look like a grandma too. I know I do.
      Baggers are now asking me if I want my bags packed lighter or not. I tell them to go ahead and pack them heavy because if they pack them light, I'm just going to carry a whole bunch at one time.

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    2. *SNAP* I say that exact same thing "excuse me tall person, can you help me please?"

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  19. The dayglo orange hat sort of completely negates the camo he's wearing. But I suppose it's so he won't get accidently shot. Smart man.

    I changed my sheets yesterday too. My night to do dinner, not as elegant as yours...mustard greens, sautéed yellow squash, and leftover twice baked potatoes from Tuesday. Though they weren't twice baked and not put back in the skins. I peel and boil them first, mash and add all the stuff, then put in in a dish and 'bake' it which mostly all it does is warm it up and melt the cheese on top.

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    1. I believe you may be required to wear the dayglo orange things. Like a vest or a hat so that other hunters will not kill you by accident, thinking you are a buck. Haha!
      Not really funny. It happens.
      Your dinner sounds good to me.

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  20. I loved reading this post so much! Mr. Moon does look sooo happy in the snowy woods, but I bet he does miss you the most. And Maurice is so adorable in all ways. And I laughed about the grocery store instances and I feel like I get reactions like that more and more nowadays, which is an odd feeling realizing how people see me differently than I see myself. So relatable. -Nicol

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    1. Glen IS happy in that picture. No doubt about it. Maurice is being pretty sweet these days. For her, of course.
      Yes! We do see ourselves so differently than others may see us and that is weird as hell.

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  21. Regarding the offers of help, you're getting profiled as an old person, it happens to those of us who have collected a lot of birthdays.

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  22. Replies
    1. Thanks! It was definitely time to change it up.

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  23. That is a great Photo of Mr. Moon, he looks Happy. I often have Younger people offer Help so I think they're just being Kind, even tho' I don't need Help yet, like you, one day I might so I appreciate that enough people seem willing to offer it to their Elders. I Love that Tablecloth pattern and Maurice seems very comfortable up there... I wish I could be as comfortable anywhere as a Cat is.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.