How We Do It And How We Did It

I woke up in such a way that I felt very well physically and extremely cheerful and loved this morning. It was a terrific way to start a new year and because I am such a fabulous wife I had taken the angel biscuit dough leftover at Thanksgiving out of the freezer to thaw last night with a plan in mind for dear hubby's New Year's Day brunch. (By the way, I hate that expression and DH is even worse.)

In looking for images of the perfect housewife, I found this picture and chose it above all others because this kitchen makes me drool with desire.

Back to our regularly scheduled program. 

So there I was with the thawed biscuit dough and I crumbled and cooked some of his favorite Tennessee sausage, drained it, grated some cheese and made the most decadent sausage, cheese bread anyone could imagine. I swear- I felt guilty rolling all of it up into a tight little loaf. I mean- dear god, the cholesterol! 

But I baked it and made scrambled eggs and he loved every bit of it. 
I love making him happy. 
Usually. 

Next I moved on to the New Year's Day good-luck feast and that went pretty well. I think I overcooked the peas and rice which made for a sort of cloggy dish, but it was pretty tasty. The greens may have been the best I ever cooked. I chopped up some smoked turkey thigh to cook with them, added vegetable Better Than Boullion, salt, pepper, a little bit of oil, and some soy sauce. Also balsamic vinegar and my secret ingredient which is about a little less than a tablespoon of sugar for a very large pot. I cooked not only the beautiful collards but also some mustard greens I picked from the garden. And there was cornbread. 

And that's about what it looked like. Jessie and the boys came out to share the love and the luck with us while Vergil stayed home and had some quiet time. He's still recovering from the crud. I had thought Rachel and Hank might come out but they chose to stay in and be cozy and I certainly understand that. Lily had to work, her kids were at their Dad's, and May was working too. 
So I had made too much food (surprise, surprise) but sent a lot home with Jessie so that Vergil could have his luck and they could all get extra luck for the next few days. 

It was good to see the boys. August is still coughing but hasn't had a fever in days. Levon seems entirely recovered and entirely back to being...well, Levon. 

Jessie is still coughing a little too but overall, she's much better. Whatever this crap is, it is brutal. 
I remember my mother calling unidentified illness as the hoopacudis, and I do believe that is exactly what's going around and making so many people miserable. Not flu, not Covid. The hoopacudis. 

When I saw the boys at Costco earlier this week, Levon asked me if I still had any of "that pie." He was referring to the chocolate pecan pie I'd made at Thanksgiving and I told him that no, I did not, but that I thought we might still have some regular pecan pie in the freezer which I went rooting around for and found. Before they left, I asked them if they'd like a little piece of that pie and they said that yes, they would. I even got out the whipped cream in a can. They ate that pie like little beasts and used their fingers to scrape up every bit of goodness on the plates. 

 I was told it wasn't as good as the chocolate pecan pie but whatever. 

So that was our New Year's Day and it was fine and good. The day itself was another cloudless day, the sky so blue, the air so nice and cool. Jessie and I went out to the garden to look around and as I told her, I just love standing in the garden. It feels good even though the heartiest thing growing is the arugula and as I've said, I've planted way too much of that but who cares? The collards are finally putting forth their tiny little ear-shaped sprouts and I doubt they'll reach any sort of maturity, but just seeing the little babies who are brave enough to break through the dirt and expose themselves to the sky and air makes me happy.

I know that people like to make resolutions or intentions for New Years and Jessie actually asked me today if I was thinking about any changes or plans I might make. 
"No," I said. "I'm old enough to know I'm not going to change." 
And that is true. 
She said she was going to try and do one new thing a week, whether it was to try a new workout or a new recipe. That sounds good and doable to me. 
I remember the year that my resolution was to say the word "cocksucker" more frequently. We were watching a lot of Deadwood at the time and I don't think my use of the word increased by any noticeable amount. One year I resolved to wear less black and more colors. 
Same-same. Didn't happen. And if I can't even keep resolutions like those, why in the world do I think that I could change something about who I am or what I am or what I do? I believe that real change mostly comes from unexpected motivation, sometimes welcome, sometimes not. Every year for the past decade I wanted so desperately to lose weight and do the things that required such as more regular exercise, more fiber, less fat in my diet and the complete elimination of processed foods. And less food in general. 
Yeah. I tried. For awhile. 
And then this year, after reading all of these articles about the GLP-1's and how so many people were benefiting from them, I finally made a decision to ask my doctor about them and he enthusiastically supported them. 
And that journey began. 
I will admit that although I have not been exercising the way I should, I have become far better at eating the most nutrient dense, fiber rich foods and eschewing the processed ones. And I do not crave carbs every waking moment of my life and I have no desire to eat more when I am full. 
This is not a change I was able to foresee. 
And yet, here we are. 

Who knew this would be something that would change my life so radically? That this miracle would be available? 
Not me. 

Tomorrow I go see the urologist. I wonder how that will go. Owen is going to go fishing with his Boppy and I trust that will go very well. Here's a picture of the boy, cleaning his mother's ceiling fans. 

And a picture of Lily and her kids eating their own New Year's Eve crab boil supper. 

And finally, the picture Missy May sent from her New Year's Eve in which she actually went out and danced!

I am so very proud of her, and the place she went dancing is a place where I used to dance quite frequently. The American Legion Hall where all the best bands played and the disco ball slowly rotated above the dance floor. 
Sigh.

The memories I have of dancing with my friend Sue there will always be with me. 

Lon and Lis called last night and we had very good good NYE chat. I told them that I wasn't going to go out because my black velvet dress was at the cleaners.
We all laughed but the truth is, we did, at one time, gussy up for New Year's Eve and other celebrations too and oh, what fun we had. Here's a song Lis wrote and recorded some years ago about just that. 

"Paint the Town." 

" 

She sings like an angel. She is a damn fine songwriter. 

I'm so glad that I have painted the town a time or two myself and that now, I am so content with my bed, my books, my sweet husband, my cat, and my memories. 

Love...Ms. Moon