Friday, April 3, 2026

Do You Ever Just Wonder If Maybe You're A Little Bit Insane?


Everyone's been showing off their orchids so here's mine. 
By all rights, that plant should be dead. I won't even go into how mistreated the poor thing is. However, Oh, life...it's bigger than you and you are not me, as Michael Stipe sings on one of my favorite songs ever and which REM made into what is definitely the best video ever. 
I do love that little bitty orchid but I can't claim to have a thing to do with its purple beauty because all I do is water the insignificant vessel it's in about once a week. It likes its window, I think. 

Good god, I did a lot today. Oh, speaking of gods, Happy Day They Crucified Our Lord. For those of you who have known me for a very long time, you may be either thrilled or disappointed that I have not written my annual Easter diatribe. I kind of want to because my animosity towards religion grows ever stronger, the longer I live. But not today, Satan. Perhaps tomorrow. 
I just do not have the energy tonight. 
I believe I may have become just the slightest bit obsessive about clearing areas of monkey grass and other unwanted plants. This reminds me of when I was probably about seven or eight years old and my friend Helen and I decided that we would rid Roseland of ALL the cactus because we hated it that much and were tired of getting stabbed by it, both the huge spike spines or the almost hairlike ones. The big ones were hell to pull out because...huge. 
The little ones were worse because it took hours for someone with a pair of tweezers (us if they were in a place we could get to) to pull all those damnable things.
We'd get off the bus from school every day and jump right to our task. We probably only worked at it for a few days before we realized that we might as well be trying to pluck all the stars from the sky. I wish I could remember the technique we used. 
So, I've always had this (I'll say it again) obsession with getting rid of plants I do not like. 
Today I decided I wanted to get rid of a plant in the kitchen garden area which is a fine plant as plants go but I do not like it and I did not want it but felt guilty about killing it if indeed, that's what I did. It's a leopard plant and they have pretty cool leaves and an insignificant bloom stalk (at least mine did) of small, daisy like flowers at the end of the summer but nothing about them really appeals to me so I finally decided that hell, it's my yard, my dirt, my garden, my plant and so I dug it up and, okay, I didn't just throw it out, I transplanted it into a pot although NOT VERY CAREFULLY! 
Die my darling. If you want to. 

There's a lot more to the story which involves me planting it in the dirt in the area I've cleared by the hydrangeas first and then deciding that no, that's not what I wanted but before that decision, I cleared out more of that monkey grass and chenille plant and also, I figured I better get my silver palmetto in the ground and so I planted that in the same area and it is still there but I'm going to move it. I know I will. 
So all of that, plus watering the porch plants, took at least an hour and then I got back to work in my supposed herb garden. I dug, I stabbed, I pulled. I made some progress but at some point, I was done for the day and knew it so I went ahead and planted my poor pathetic little herb plants in there. I wonder if any of them will do any good. The bananas have come up and at some point will probably shade some of them and the rose in there grows like a wild house on fire so I had to take all of that into consideration. I didn't bother with any of the bricks because I really don't have that many and did not have a vision of what I wanted to do with them. I've seen pictures of spiral herb gardens built of bricks and those look cool but that will not be happening in that little garden any time soon. 


But it definitely is something to keep in mind. 

So this is what it actually looks like as I was watering it just a little while ago.


Not that impressive, is it? Well, let's give it a month or so and see what happens. 
Besides all that, I did laundry and there are clean sheets on the bed. I didn't hang them outside because the forecast was calling for rain which never materialized. Oh well. 

I undressed my new child, whom I still have not named and I found no markings on her indicating who she might be, when and where she might have been made. But I did find that her little knees, the backs of her hands, and her elbows had been painted the same rosy glow as her cheeks. 





Her clothes were filthy so I carefully washed them and while she is waiting for them to dry and be mended in a few places, I put her in a dress that I am sure Linda Sue sent me along with a bonnet whose origin is the same. I brought out Dorothy Anne and Emily from their bed under my vanity where they sleep in luxury under a homemade quilt and on a down pillow and made a new place for them to hang out together in my bathroom on the rocking chair I got a few weeks ago. 

I gave them my special pillows. I hope they are happy there for now. It is the most colorful and cheerful and light-filled room in the house so they should be. 


Mr. Moon took my car to get new tires before the sun was truly up and then he gave it another washing after the one he'd given it last week and vacuumed it and put new windshield wipers on it, and y'all- that is his love language and I believe he really does love me. As he said, I have a brand new car. 

I may have mentioned recently, perhaps in a response to a comment, that I haven't seen any snakes this year. Well, today Mr. Moon saw one in the back yard and it is a beauty. 


I do believe that is an oak snake or a gray rat snake, same-same, and they are very good at eating rodents as their name would suggest. Snakes, on first glance, will always give me a start but I very much appreciate them for their beauty and for their help in keeping down the rat population. 
Unless, that is, I find one in a nest in a hen house, with an egg halfway down its gullet. And that hasn't happened for quite awhile. Overall though, I am living on snake property, not the other way around. We have killed one rattlesnake that was right up by the house when August and Levon were little. I do not feel bad about that. 

Martini being sipped, clean sheets on the bed. 
Why, it must be Friday. 
Hope yours is a happy one. 

And here it is. The reason the music video was invented.


Love...Ms. Moon

36 comments:

  1. I enjoyed R.E.M. It’s been awhile and i never remember the artists behind the songs. I have no love for snakes. When i was a child, my grandfather caught one in the garden, rattler, put it in a large glass jar, and brought it in the house to show us! My grandmother was fit to be tied. My heart is thumping just remembering. Hate them! Although, to be fair, that picture makes that particular snake look kind of cool.

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    1. "Fit to be tied!" That is an expression I've heard all my life and it's so nice to hear it from you. I just looked up the origin and here's one story from The Grammerist:
      "There are no exact origins of “fit to be tied,” but the phrase originated in the United States sometime during the late 19th or early 20th century and came from the concept of mental patients being so violent that they had to be tied down or tied up with rope or straight jackets."
      Yep. That's what I thought.
      I wonder if we should change it to "fit to be sedated."
      Anyway, I would have felt the same way as your grandmother. Was your grandfather in the early stages of dementia or what?

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  2. Wow. That's some snake! Had I seen that I'd be about to Santa Monica by now! LOL! I do appreciate what you said about snakes and the ecosystem. I understand your area is more conducive to snakes than here. Glad you're OK with them and they help you out.
    In terms of doll stringing, YouTube has detailed videos on doll stringing so that will help if you decide to tackle that. She does look in good condition. Being composition, they often got crazing d/t being stored in hot attics/garages and damp basement. The composition contracts and expands which causes the crazing. Yours looks to be in very good shape.
    Mr. Moon indeed does love you! You basically got a new car today!
    Paranormal John

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    1. She looks to be in really good shape to me except for the stretched elastic holding her joints in place and also, her hair. It has worn off in a few places in the back. I will definitely check out restringing videos.
      That's what Mr. Moon kept saying, "You have a new car!" I imagine I'll be driving it for the rest of my driving life.

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  3. You are accomplishing a lot in the garden. Weeding is tiring but clearing an area of weeds and unwanted plants shows a good result quickly. It is satisfying work.
    Your new doll looks lovely in her pastel yellow dress. She was a lucky find.

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    1. It IS satisfying until the weeds start popping back up in the same places.
      I love that Mr. Moon found it and knew I'd want it and brought it home for me, safely buckled in the seat beside him. He doesn't tease me about my doll children. He understands.

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  4. It's pretty disappointing that the blogpost did not include a picture of you in your homemade Easter bonnet, carrying a basket of eggs while singing, "There is a green hill far away". Are you sure that is a snake and not a garden hose?

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    1. I'll try to do better next year.
      Today I thought a snake was a branch!

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  5. I strongly suspect your very skilled Mr Moon would make you a beautiful spiral herb garden just like the one in the photo if you wanted! And that REM song and video are faves of mine too.

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    1. I'm sure he would make me a spiral herb garden but I'd have to take out the roses in there and I don't know where I'd put them. There's only so much sun I get here due to the trees which I love.
      REM was special, weren't they? Athens, Georgia is where they were from. I think about them every time we're there which is usually about once a year as that's where we stop on our way up to North Carolina. Athens is a very pretty town, seems pretty left-leaning too, probably due to the university.

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  6. That's a lovely snake! Also the doll with her friends and a new dress. She may not give it back. The rosy knees tickled me! That was actually a make up idea in the twenties when short skirts came in. I think it was a daring touch -- see my knees!

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    1. I really think I love that dress more than the other one. She may NOT give it back and that is all right.
      I had no idea women put rouge (I'm guessing that's what it was) on their knees. How daring, indeed!

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    2. It was indeed rouge. Margaret

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  7. I have bricks...and I love that spiral. You are a dangerous woman, Mary Moon!

    Religion...I have lost my faith, but the one thing I know for sure is that everyone's beliefs are their own. I never want to be responsible for someone else's loss of faith. That's between them and their God.

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    1. Do it, Debby! Then tell us about it and show us pictures. Please?
      I figure that if by writing about my attitudes towards religion causes someone to lose their faith, they didn't have much to begin with. I'm not THAT convincing.
      Now...Neil deGrasse Tyson? I think a few of his videos might cause at least a bit of doubt.

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  8. I was raised in the Baptist Church. My mother was a Sunday School teacher. No argument, up early for the Sunrise Service. White lilies on the stage. Fancy dress. Hats. Until I was 18 and stopped going. But from then on Easter meant Spring, sunshine and hopefully the end of snow. I still see the holiday as a milestone of hope for brighter days. People who believe the rest do not bother me.. To each his own.

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    1. Carol- you are a rare and strong woman to have managed to wiggle your way out (or launch yourself out) of so much childhood training. or propaganda. Whichever word is most applicable.

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  9. Great work and gorgeous orchid. I love the spiral bricks. And this is one of the most brilliant songs and videos in every way.

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    1. Isn't it, Mitchell? I thought maybe you would like it.

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    2. I’ve included it on a blog post at least twice, I think. It really SINGS to me. Thanks.

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  10. You dug up something you don't like, yay!
    but then you put it in a pot instead of on the burn pile!! Ay-yi-yi!
    The new doll looks lovely in yellow.

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    1. I know! I'm as bad as Steve Reed.
      Not really. He's far more determined to save plants' lives than I am.
      She does look good in yellow, doesn't she?

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  11. I saw a short video about "weeding" and thought of you, Mary. - Karen in Pittsburgh

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    1. Yes, Karen! That is me. I have been known to start pulling weeds in the flower beds of medical clinics and other places like that. Little bit obsessive, some of us are.

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  12. I remember that video. Haven't seen it in ages!

    I don't blame you for potting the leopard plant. I'd have done the same. And I've also used that "sink-or-swim" technique, putting the onus on the plant to survive! Sometimes it does.

    I remember prickly pear cactus from around my great-grandmother's house in Avon Park. We didn't have much of it in Pasco but it loved that dry scrub in the center of the state. Were the cactuses you were pulling up in Roseland prickly pears?

    Beautiful snake!

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    1. And I have found that the plants I care about surviving the least are the ones who refuse to die.
      No. We didn't have any prickly pear cactus growing wild in Roseland that I ever saw. However, there was a HUGE one growing outside of the one restaurant in the area- the Anchor Restaurant- and my brother and I used to poke the red pear things with toothpicks we got from the dispenser at the cash register. I felt guilty about it, though.

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  13. I've only seen one snake this year as it scurried past me in the front yard and out of sight. Didn't even get a good look at it.

    Mar went to the library Thursday and when he checked out a book our favorite librarian told him she put a puzzle sheet in the book for him. When he looked at it in the car it was titled Resurrection Day Word Search, all religious words. I wish they would start calling it Resurrection Day instead of Easter (Eostre). Can't come up with their own holidays, had to rededicate (steal) ancient beloved celebrations to trick people into their religion.

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    1. Well, none of it makes any real sense, does it? I mean, the Christian part of it. Take this bit of an old religious celebration and that bit and kick the other bits to the curb. And think about the places in Mexico where there are huge cathedrals built atop sites where the ancient gods and goddesses of that religion were worshipped. It's pretty crazy.

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  14. I do not like snakes. I have inherited my fear of snakes from my Mom who could not even look at a snake on television without having nightmares about it. Ugh!
    I was raised Catholic and went to Catholic schools from 1st grade through college. But I no longer believe. I've always liked that song.

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    1. You, like Carol, are to be admired for thoughtfully and carefully considering the lessons taught to you over and over as a child and concluding that no, it was not for you. A lot of people never really can.
      I think most people have an inherent and immediate negative reaction to snakes. I've always wondered if there's any connection to that and the origin story in the Old Testament about the snake representing the devil and tempting Eve.

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  15. I love that song, and "Everybody Hurts".
    I'm pretty sure Mr. Moon would build that brick herb planter for you. It's very pretty.
    I've been thinking about frog phobia and I don't think I knew anything about it because we don't have many frogs around here. We have Wood frogs, which sound like ducks talking to one another, and Boreal Chorus frog, but I haven't seen them, only heard them.
    You sound like you're giving your garden what for, time to smarten up! Gardens do need that from time time.

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    1. "Everybody Hurts" is a great one too. Absolutely.
      I bet Glen would build me that planter but he's mighty busy with his own projects right now. Especially the...CABIN.
      Okay- your theory on why people don't have frog phobia around your parts due to there not really being many reminds me of when I moved to Colorado where I realized that many people were prejudiced against Native Americans. I had no idea! Most likely because where I lived, there wasn't a population of them. There was in the more southern part of Florida (the Seminoles) but we always thought they were just really cool.
      And they were.

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  16. Memory lane. We built a small brick spiral herb garden about 45 years ago...it did quite well....and then we moved and obviously left it behind. It was fun and just the right size. Snakes...ugh. Well here in Calif. the greatest hazard is the rattlers. Anytime one steps out the door one has to be uber cautious for sight and sound of them. I will not deal w/ them unless they are very small and laying inert in the sun...otherwise....I call my nearest neighbor and have them come dispatch. My husband had no fear an used to capture huge ones.....but I'm not him... Both of our dogs got bitten by rattlers in their lifetime and thankfully both survived.... but rattlers scare the shit out of me
    Susan M

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    1. I just sent Glen a picture of a spiral brick herb garden and suggested that we build one some day.
      He's a little busy these days though.
      I do not like rattlers. They scare the hell out of me. And we do have them (and the pygmy kind too) but they're not as numerous as where you are, it would seem.

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  17. I am probably a lot Insane, but some of the best people are, so I don't have any concerns if I am. Your Orchid is Lovely and so is your Antique Doll Collection.

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  18. the dollies are so dear! We just LOVE the new girl and she does look like she will care for Dorothy especially. What an incredible find she is! Rosy knees! OMG, so sweet it makes me ache!
    I admire and respect rattlers! I am sorry that so many people are terrified of them- they are shy.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.