I Guess The Good Lord Was Willing And The Creek Didn't Rise

I did something today that I've been thinking about doing for a long time which was to use my beach umbrella in the garden for shade. The reason I've never done it before is because every time I'd think about it I would also think, "That is ridiculous." 
For some reason though, today I decided that the possible benefits would outweigh any ridiculousness. I think my biggest concern was that it would only cast shade on a small area but after considering this once again, I realized that moving the thing would not be that big of a hassle. I could simply pull it up and put it where it would shade the place I wanted to weed next. The soil in the garden is fairly loose and not hard to screw the umbrella down into. 
And so that's what I did. 
It worked out quite well. 
I didn't get that much weeding and mulching done but I put a few hours' time into it and I am happy with that for now. I crawled around on my hands and knees and I listened to a Mormon Stories podcast and then I mulched the area I'd weeded. 
I've almost quit listening to Mormon Stories podcast after years of having a fairly genuine addiction to it. To this day I am not sure why but I did and I don't regret all those hours. I mean, I was always doing something else while I listened. Weeding or sweeping or making the bed or folding the laundry. Whatever. And for some reason, I just must have needed to learn about The Church of Latter Day Saints of Jesus Christ. 
And boy, did I!
I feel quite certain that after listening to a few thousand episodes, I know more about the history and present day practices of the church than most of its members do. I had a little crush on the man who started the podcast and hosted it, John Dehlin. He started the podcast in 2005 which was early days for podcasts and when he began it, he was trying to help members find reasons to stay active in the church. He had had his own crisis of faith after having spent his life as the very best Mormon boy of all times and could not imagine a life without the church, nor could he believe that he and his wife could possibly raise their children without the church as a way to guide and shape them. 

Well, eventually he gave up on the trying to stay active part and got a PhD in clinical and counseling psychology. His dissertation was on the the Mormon experience for LGBTQ+ individuals. 
Spoiler alert: The Mormon experience for LGBTQ+ individuals was not and still isn't good. 

The church excommunicated him for apostasy in 2005. 
They've also now sued him for using the word "Mormon" in the name of his podcast. 

Okay. Enough of that. Obviously, I am still a fan. 

So yes. I weeded, I mulched, I listened to an interview John Dehlin did with a woman who has recently written a book about her experiences being brought up in the Seventh Day Adventist church and her eventual leaving of that religion. The similarities in the Adventist church and the Mormon church are striking and sometimes humorous and you know what they really have in common?
They are both cults. As are so many other high-demand religions. 

Besides doing those things, I got to visit with the Weatherfords who came out to return some tools Vergil had borrowed so that Mr. Moon can take them to the cabin to use there. And Jessie brought me a new supply of clay because she is so kind and sweet to her old mother. She won't be attending classes this summer as she'll be in North Carolina for most of it but I will and she has handled every bit of the clay purchasing for me since I started taking pottery. 

The boys tussled like puppies on the little couch in the library between Jessie and me as we tried to talk and she said, "It's the first day of summer vacation and I already wish there were more camps I could put them in." She's got them in two different day camps (basketball for Levon and art for August) for the two upcoming weeks so she can get ready for their annual trek up to Black Mountain. 
Those boys. They are exactly who they are and I love them immensely. Of course. They're funny and smart and sassy but not rude. 
They couldn't stay long because Jessie needed to take a nap as she's working tonight. When they left I gave the boys a bye-bye treat which I haven't done in quite awhile. Today that treat was three peanut M&M's apiece. Surprisingly, they did not groan or ask for more or accuse me of being stingy. They just said thank-you and ate them with pleasure. It took awhile for the tool transfers to take place and then there was a trek out to the garage where the ground wild pork is being kept in one (yes, one) of the freezers and the boys, who were in the car, began to do the puppy thing again. When all had been taken care of and we were well and truly saying good-bye, Boppy told those boys to be good. 
"You don't want me to come over there and give you the side-eye, do you?" 
Somehow the side-eye has become a thing for the three of them. 
Here are some pictures of those boys demonstrating the side-eye.

They're getting good at it. 

That area around August's scar between his eyebrows which is red? 
That's paint. 
He got the scar from an accident involving a Nerf missile launcher or something like that. He will have it all his life and I hope he tells anyone who asks that he got it protecting his family from a bear. 
You may also notice that Levon has his hair in braids. He asked his mama to do that, wanting to look like one of his favorite musicians and she did. Levon's a guy who loves to experiment with hair styles, jewelry, his clothes, and other fashion elements. 

Jessie took this photo right after she gave him his braids. I believe that although Levon is front and center, it is the slight sight of August behind him that makes the picture. 

Off to go cook some...triggerfish! I'm not sure I've ever cooked triggerfish. This should be fun. And hopefully tasty. 

Love...Ms. Moon