Here are two more camellia blooms I picked off the original bush in this yard. The one I showed you the other day was pink and these are more to the red side of the spectrum. The bush has both colors. This is not completely unusual. If you are interested enough to find out about this phenomena, you can go to THIS LINK wherein you'll find a little explanatory video. It's only 1:36 minutes long and hell, I learned some things from watching it.
Not to insinuate that I know a damn thing about the cultivation and breeding of camellias because I don't. I really need to drive over to the other side of Tallahassee to go visit Maclay Gardens which is a state park. They have bazillion camellia shrubs, some over a hundred years old. And you can read about that HERE.
The gardens really reach their peak sometime next month when the azaleas are also in bloom. If the azaleas have survived these freezes enough to open this year.
It's been an anxiety day. I believe the reality of this proposed development has hit me hard.
Y'all- I'm scared. As if we weren't all scared enough at this particular point in time. I'm trying not to freak. It's quite possible that the county commissioners and city planner will see the absurdity of this proposal and deny the whole rezoning plan.
And it's quite possible the opposite will happen. And no matter what happens this go round, something is going to be built on that land and probably sooner rather than later. It's inevitable. The exit and entrance from and to I-10 there is just too juicy of a money-making possibility to pass up. It's the first exit for west bound traffic before you get to Tallahassee and on top of that, the property has been empty for ages. There WAS a truck stop there for many years but it was a small affair and the "restaurant" was closed and finally, when it was discovered that there was a great deal of contamination of the site, the whole thing was shut down, torn down, and supposedly some of that contamination was ameliorated although I truly doubt it was. There's a shitty hotel right next to the interstate and I don't have the slightest idea why it's still in business.
And here we are.
So what did I do today? I had a great yearning to go thrift shopping. I felt that if I could lose myself in the leftovers of others' lives I might be soothed. So I went to the closest Goodwill but nothing caught my eye or tempted me in the least except for a very small vintage dish that was quite beautiful and of English origin. It was three dollars and I carried it around in my cart for an hour while I looked at place mats and napkins and dresses and skirts and shirts and when I decided there was nothing on those racks for me, I put the pretty little dish back to let someone else find and delight in it.
And no, it did not help with my anxiety. The entire time I was there I was wondering why in hell I WAS there and I finally left and went to Publix and got a few things and came home and was so very glad to be here.
So very glad to be in my home, the place that shelters and comforts me. The place I love.
The place that is being threatened.
I have decided that I already own a dress pretty enough for any occasion. It is, in fact, a Johnny Was dress and May got it for me years ago. She found it at...Goodwill. I've hardly worn it, it's in perfect shape, and although it's a little big on me now, it will do.
It will do.
Who WAS that woman?
The dress is quite sheer and I have to wear a slip under it and I need some sort of jacket to wear over it because I don't think it will be THAT warm where I'm going and I'm always cold these days anyway. And to put the cherry on top of the cowgirl (thank you, Tom Robbins, may your memory be a blessing) May also sent me a link to a site that sells tights and hose that are absolutely mind-blowing.
These are just a very few that have caught my eye.
I believe with the right pair of those gorgeous tights and a Levi's jacket over that gorgeous frothy confection of a dress, I might feel like myself and yet...well, pretty okay at the same time.
I seem to be all about the links tonight.
I'm tired. Anxiety will do that to you.
Pottery tomorrow. I am so glad. I need that like a traveler across the Sahara needs the sweet water of an oasis.
And so forth.
Love...Ms. Moon
Ms MOON -You look beautiful in that dress!!
ReplyDeleteI felt beautiful in that dress. The huge margarita did not hurt in that regard.
DeleteBeautiful dress! I know for a fact that i could never wear the tights but good on you! I’ve had a day where there’s a low hum of depression. Just enough to dull my day. I was thinking today, that it’s like the pandemic where we knew it was going to get worse before it got better. Like we’re waiting for something. FUCK TRUMP AND ALL WHO ADORE HIS FAT ASS! Tomorrow, i will wake up and hope that it’s more joyful.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious- why can't you wear tights? I mean, I haven't worn them in forever, but I can if I want to. Especially tights like that.
DeleteI know that low hum of depression. It seems like every day has it these days. And we are waiting for something but what will it be? A nuclear war or a massive arrest of Epstein criminals including POTUS (more like POS) or...well, a cardiac event?
Or something we haven't even imagined yet.
That dress is gorgeous and looks beautiful on you. Paired with a jean jacket and some tights (like you said), you'll fabulous.
ReplyDeleteAnd McClay Gardens, wow. If I lived nearby, I would be spending a lot of time there.
Hopefully tomorrow is better.
I'm feeling better today, felt so depressed yesterday, but today was a good day. Now I'm just tired. I hope you have a good sleep and a lovely time at pottery.
I wish Maclay was closer to here although, if I took the interstate the whole way, it would be less than half an hour drive, most likely. And I do use the interstate. I have just never gotten into the habit of it. It is a beautiful, peaceful place as most gardens are.
DeleteI'm glad you had a good day. I hope tomorrow is one too.
That dress is really pretty....and wow, those tights are the coolest things I've seen in a while. I didn't even know they made tights like that...but I don't shop for them...yet. LOL.
ReplyDeleteI hope the 'powers-that-be around Lloyd come to their senses about that piece of property. You're probably right...where $$$ is involved...panties drop. That would certainly invoke anxiety for me, too.
Have fun at pottery class and post a pic or 2 of your art. It was 50 today here in Ohio. A frickin heatwave! More please!
Paranormal John
Oh, John! You know you want some of those tights! Go crazy, man! There are only about a thousand pairs to choose from.
DeleteSpeaking of panties, I wonder if there have been any studies on the increase in sex workers in an area when a truck stop is put in? Or drugs, for that matter.
You did have a heat wave! Enjoy!
Funny that you had the right dress all along. And it's a name brand. And it works for you. Cool!
ReplyDeleteYes. I knew it was in the closet and it was at the back of my mind to use but when I pulled it out and looked closely at the lacework and so forth on it, I swooned a little and thought, "This'll do."
Deletethat dress looked lovely on you in Cozumel and will suit you well again..with addition of sash? leggings? and of course jewels in your ears and on your wrists and the perfect denim? jacket/cover up lest it might be coolish? You will slay in that! No worries!
ReplyDeleteSusan M
No. I don't do sashes. And I will probably order some of those tights.
DeleteThere will be jewelry of some sort, no doubt.
It is a beautiful dress. You will rock it. I have never seen tights like those. They are amazing!
ReplyDeleteAs Paranormal John said. It was warm here too. 49°! My spirits were surely lifted by that. They were also lifted by the public naming of six redacted abusers: Leslie Wexner, Sultan Ahmad bin Sulayam, Salvatore Nuara, Zurab Mikeladze, Leonic Leonov, Nicola Caputo. They are vowing to make those files public.
Yes, Debby! Slowly, at a snail's pace, names are coming out and more will follow. This was hardly an all-American situation. I am thinking there will also be proof of a Putin connection as in blackmail and policy. We'll see. I hope.
DeleteLove the dress! Hope the developers somehow don’t abuse your environment too badly. We’re going through a similar situation where an interstate exit is planned to be added to our little road, with an amazing land eating traffic circle.
ReplyDeleteI'd trade that any day for a mega truck stop/travel center. I know you hate to see road construction on something like that going on on your road and I would be too.
DeleteYou look gorgeous in that photo wearing the Johnny Was dress and the tights are amazing.
ReplyDeleteI too have low motivation/energy/anxiety weeks especially this time of year. The winter blues or perhaps what they label as 'SAD'. It's exhausting and frustrating in equal measure. No doubt the cold and low sunlight days add to the equation.
Hoping the developers of the proposed project will be sent packing. Your community does not need that shit.
Our days have been mostly sunny, even when cold, so I can't blame my moods on SAD. The cold does seem to sap my energy though. I'm sorry it all affects you so much. It hits some people worse than others.
DeleteNo. My community does NOT need that shit.
Oh yes, that is a gorgeous dress -- dressy enough for any occasion!
ReplyDeleteI think you are right! Well, maybe not a ball, like the one Cinderella went to but my invitations to such events have dwindled to almost none.
DeleteSigh.
I keep thinking about your post from yesterday. As it happens, I do know that it's more economical to run a diesel engine all night than to shut it off and restart it in the morning. I know that because when I was a kid, we lived right by the CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) tracks in our town. And I mean RIGHT beside. They were across the street from us. Anyway, if they had a couple of diesel engines parked on the tracks by the station, they ran 24/7 until moved again. We were so enured to it that we didn't even notice the noise or smell of diesel. When a train passed, everything in our house shook. We scarcely noticed that either. But if we had a visitor, they would jump about 3 feet in the air as the train went by. Hmmm, haven't thought about that in 50 years now. Lot of water under the bridge since then, if that's not mixing metaphors.
ReplyDeleteWe have a railroad track in our back yard! Literally. I could walk from my back porch to the track in less than a minute. And it is SO loud and it shakes this old house. Visitors are alarmed and even after all these years, I am sometimes surprised when the train horn suddenly blasts. We live right near a crossing so we hear that a lot. The good news is that we only get 1-3 trains a day so it's not constant. When I was a kid we lived quite close to a track too.
DeleteAh, I had some tights along these lines but of course more colorful and gaudy that went under my rather staid mother of the groom dress about 10 years ago. It was very long and opaque so they were really my secret. Something in a similar color to the dress would be wonderful for your upcoming occasion.
ReplyDeleteAbout the proposed development, I think the history of contamination sounds quite hopeful - I would suspect your state doesn't have much of an environmental watchdog agency (just a guess) but perhaps some private group could be interested in the case? Enough to make it too much trouble to pursue for the developers who want a quick killing vs a protracted series of cases and bad publicity?
Ceci
I don't think Florida's environmental watchdog agency is one of the best. I really don't know but it seems to me that overdevelopment in endangered areas is the norm. I have a feeling that money changes hands to the benefit of all. Except the citizens, of course. As to a private group- Not sure anyone would take it on. This isn't endangered woodlands or wetlands or anything. It was stripped and leveled many years ago.
DeleteI guess what's endangered here are the lives of the people who live in this little vicinity.
I love the thought of you letting your freak flag fly under your mother-of-the-groom dress. What a great thing to do!
Oh my goodness, I've been offline for a couple of days again and have only just learned about that planning proposal. I'm praying so hard for you all that it doesn't go through as a Love's Travel Center looks truly horrendous for such a rural area!
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm pretty sure it would be horrendous for this rural area.
DeleteYou definitely outdo me on the silver bracelets......I only have 4 on at the moment! Do you still wear them?
ReplyDeleteI used to wear my silver bracelets frequently. Every Friday night Glen and I used to go out and I would polish them up and put them on. Now I rarely wear them but I keep thinking I should and that I WILL. I do love them. I've been collecting them my whole life.
DeleteYou are so beautiful in the dress which is completely you. Hoping the Love’s Travel Center keeps traveling. If I were the tight wearing type, I’d buy all those.
ReplyDeleteAre you SURE you're not the tight-wearing type? I mean, give it a shot! Although, they probably do not have them in your size.
DeleteSigh.
Can you believe May got that dress at Goodwill?
I like the dress too!
ReplyDeleteConsider wearing a short waisted Sherpa jacket with the dress for warmth.
A friend's daughter got married in CA by the sea and she wore a Sherpa jacket over her dress for the outside reception dinner. She's wearing the Sherpa with jeans now, but it worked well over the wedding attire too.
I would start transplanting some Camellias to the lake house...just in case you decide to move.
Oh, it won't be cold enough for a Sherpa jacket. But that it is an idea.
DeleteMy camellias are way too big to transplant. I would just get a few more at a nursery if I had any interest in growing camellias up there. I can pretty much guarantee you I won't be moving to the cabin.
I think I need those purple and blue with the white flowers hose. They look sheer and light enough to be hose and not tights. Where on earth would I wear them and what with? Pretty dress, the kind of thing I always wished looked good on me. Stuff like that doesn't. I'm more of the tailored look. Still, I might wear it and probably feel uncomfortable in it the whole time.
ReplyDeleteI hope like hell your county commissioners come to their senses but we all know the only thing that talks is money.
They have lots and lots and LOTS of different patterns. But I hear you on personal styles. I wonder if you really don't look good in that sort of dress (and how do you define "look good"?) or if you have just convinced yourself you don't? But if you wouldn't feel comfortable in it, it would not be worth it.
DeleteGood news on the proposed development this evening!
That is indeed a Lovely Dress and you looked lovely in it.
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful dress.
DeleteLOVE your dress. I do not feel the same about change and development.
ReplyDeleteYeah. None of us really loves change, I think, and only those who are making the money out of development really love that. ALTHOUGH, there are huge housing developments in Florida (think of The Villages) that have destroyed so many thousands of acres of our land that a whole lot of people just love living in. House after house after house after house...
DeleteUgh. You could not pay me enough to live in one of those places.
That dress will work great.
ReplyDeleteI can understand why you're nervous about the truck stop, for sure. All you can do is learn about it and resist it. For now, everything else is conjecture. Maybe even if it gets approved (God forbid) there are ways you can force changes to the plan to lessen its impact on your neighborhood. (Change the access road or alter the size etc.)
There's a more positive spin on it this evening. Will share in my post.
DeleteThe photo of you in your special dress is beautiful! Not sure if I can send a link in a comment but the walk for peace videos of the Monk's Walk for Peace on You Tube always brightens my outlook on the current situation.
ReplyDeleteI just watched a video about their arrival in Washington, DC. What an emotional and powerful moment and what a beautiful thing to have done.
DeleteLovely dress!
ReplyDeleteGosh, I'm trying to remember the last time I wore stockings or tights and I think it was my sister's wedding in 2013! Those are really pretty ones you pictured, though!
I surely can't remember the last time I wore panty hose. I have two pairs of tights that I love. One pair is purple and one pair is teal and I have worn those some over the years.
DeleteColor!
Love the dress and those funky tights. They look very you. Gigi
ReplyDeleteI have always adored the funky.
DeleteBeautiful dress and you have an occasion to wear it to. Good job May! I like to wear that sort of thing as an over dress, with tights or leggings and a fitted t-shirt (long or short sleeved) underneath, light or dark color to show off the lovely pattern of the lace. You Will Slay.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you have some good news saying the development can be stopped. Sometimes enough people showing up makes a difference.
Sending hugs from la France. x0x0 N2