I Talk Too Much

Yesterday when I was rearranging plants in order to 

1. Get them all safely inside again, and 
2. Clear off the dining room table so we could eat our supper, 

I moved that Swiss cheese plant which I guess is more formally known as a monstera Adansonii, into the guest bedroom. There is no way it's going to stay there because it won't get nearly enough light but when I walked through that room this morning I liked the way the leaves looked against the light. I'd draped that particular tendril over the curtain rod just to get it up off the floor. Those dang plants can sure  snake across distances if you turn your back for a few minutes. 

I did exactly two things today. One was a major pain in the ass and caused me great agita and one was simply a pleasure.
The pain in the ass thing was a continuation of the banking problem I've been having since when...last November? I think so. I was trying to pay the balance due for my credit card which we use due to the cash back factor online from another account and I've been attempting to get the card's balance paid with a transfer of funds so I don't have to go through the hassle of it and it's seemed to have been an impossible task even though Glen, in the exact situation but with a different account, got his transfers automatically approved. 
So, okay. I figured at least I can just pay online with the card from the other account like EVERY OTHER BUSINESS IN THE WORLD MANAGES TO HAVE A VERY SUCCESSFUL PROCEDURE FOR, instead of taking my Wilma Flintstone check to the bank to pay the balance. It is not easy chiseling out that check every month from a big ol' rock and filling it out with another chisel, not to mention hauling it to the bank to stand in line and hand it over. 
But even this alternative, by which I mean paying online with my debit card from the other account, required me to follow many steps and these required me to know my user names and passwords for both accounts and the phone number on file for me to get texts verifying shit was actually Glen's phone so I had to figure that out and also...oh, fuck it. Who cares? 
Well, I did. 
I had to make several phone calls and I have to say that I was shocked, SHOCKED I TELL YOU at how helpful Michele was at one of the banking institutions and also that another woman at the other banking institution was also knowledgable and patient when I had to call them. 
But here's the kicker- turns out that the process for the funds to be directly moved from Account A to Account B has indeed been approved and unless everyone is lying to me, I had just spent about two and a half hours trying to accomplish something which was already in place. 

And y'all. I'm not going to lie. This stuff has never been exactly easy for me, but the older I get, the less I'm able to simply trip the light fantastic (or "Trip the Light Fandango" if you are referring to the song performed by Procol Harum in 1967) through the processes required to get done what I need and want to get done. And I'm sure I'm not the only older person who experiences this. But look- we weren't issued a smart phone the second they'd made sure we were breathing after birth and besides that, yes, goddammit, some of us have brains that are a little bit glitchy. 
To say the least.
And I know that when the tech person is verifying that you are who you say you are and you have to give your date of birth, they hear something like 1954, they are thinking, Fucking A. Here we go. I need a gummy.

Anyway, that is enough of that. 

The other thing I did today was to get my fish dish glaze-painted so I can take it into pottery tomorrow for firing. And I probably spent more time doing that than I did dealing with financial institutions and passwords and verifications and Michele but it was a very different experience. Pleasant as could be and the time passed as if I was in a dream. I listened to my audio book ("Don't Let Him In" by Lisa Jewell) and I Stroke-and-Coated with my new glazes, my new brushes, and I was a happy, contented woman. 

I am so interested to see how it turns out. 

So yes, tomorrow is pottery and I hope that Jessie is up for it, knowing that she's going to a nine o'clock basketball game with her daddy tonight. That is late for both of them. 
I plan on finishing up the glazing of my flower bowl and probably starting a new fish spoon rest for Billy. We only have two more classes this session but you can go back and get the things you've made that hadn't gone into the kiln before the last class. 

Tomorrow, Mr. Moon is heading to Orlando to hang out with his sister and go to all the volleyball tournaments that his sister's granddaughter is in. 
A week's worth of volleyball tournaments. 

Although I can't even imagine such a thing, I'm sure they will all enjoy themselves and it is a beautiful thing for him to get to spend time with his sister and some of the family on her side. Glen is taking his fishing gear in order to find ponds he can drop a hook in. 
I am always invited to these events but at this point in our lives, everyone knows I am not a team player in any sense of the word. I bet they call me Uncle Glen's crazy wife. 
Which is fine by me. Speak the truth and shame the devil. 

Oh hell. I was going to discuss how I make chicken and dumplings but this has already gone on too long. I did a little blog search and I have already written about how I made my chicken and dumplings in 2011. You can find that post HERE. I no longer include the step wherein I thicken the broth before I put the dumplings in. I have found that the flour in the dumplings somehow magically makes as much gravy as it needs. Another important thing to remember is that you need to use a pot as wide in circumference as possible in order to get the most dumplings in. The pot I use is one I don't think I use for any other purpose. One more change in how I make this dish today is that I do not use packaged chicken broth. I use water and Better Than Bouillon chicken broth but I still use the soy sauce (or coconut aminos or whatever), the same spices, and hot sauce. 

Look- cooking is like dancing. You learn the steps and then you just use them as a template for however your very own soul feels like flying. 

At least that's what I think. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Just for fun. 
And to remind us all that nothing sounds like a Hammond B3 with a Leslie speaker. 

MM