Another Report

Yesterday I had the best experience. I got to meet Barbara Rogers from When I Was 69. 
Barb's been living in Black Mountain for a lot of years but she's moving to Colorado next week and so it was by by chance and by luck that we got to meet during my visit here. 
When we first saw each other she said the very best thing which was, "You look just like you're supposed to!" and I said, "And you look just like YOU'RE supposed to."
And we did. Which is how it should be, isn't it? I remember the first time I met Steve Reed. He stopped in Lloyd on one his trips to Florida to visit family and after a little while of us chatting and me showing him around I asked if he thought I'd represented Lloyd correctly. 
He said I had. 
And that made me happy. 
And just as when I met Steve and every other blogger I've met in real life, I felt as if I'd known Barbara forever and in some ways, I have! When someone writes about their life, the ups and downs, the fears and joys, the sicknesses and health, we come to feel a part of that life. We have invested time and thought and energy into them. 
I think it's a beautiful thing.

Jessie went with me, of course, because I am NOT driving these mountain roads. No way. Also, I wanted her to come. And we both enjoyed our visit with Barb so much. She's as sweet and as funny as I imagined she would be. She's also incredibly positive and cheerful, i.e., just about the opposite of me, and I loved that. 
So we drank our coffee and chatted and learned new things about each other. It was a stellar experience. 

After we'd hugged goodbye and went our separate ways, Jessie and I did a little bit of thrift shopping before Glen was due to bring the boys into town to meet us for lunch. Vergil had been out spreading something like four tons of gravel on their property on the mountain but he came in and met us too. 
The thrift stores in this area are so far superior to the ones we have in Tallahassee and Monticello that it's ridiculous. They not only have all the good brands, the prices are lower, the fabrics are more on the found-in-nature side, and a lot of people around here obviously have really good taste, which means like mine. We rushed, rushed, rushed through a Kiwanis thrift store and then a Goodwill. I got two very nice sweater things, a slip because I forgot to bring one which rendered two of my dresses unwearable, and...a pair of in excellent condition Converse low-tops! I've been wanting a pair of those forever. 
And, okay. 
This.

Just the sweetest little pottery vase and you know I can't pass up a lovely vase that steals my heart. Here it is with the other things on the window sill in the kitchen.

Can we cozy-up a place or what? The greenery on the right is basil the lady down the road gave Jessie from her garden yesterday when she was out walking Sophie. Some of it went into our salad last night and it was so good. We bought the peaches on the way here and the tomatoes are from our garden. They went into the salad too. 

After lunch, Jessie and I did another grocery shopping because that is what we do. When it comes time to pack up on Tuesday morning we're not going to be thrilled but what are you going to do? We have six people to feed, two of them growing boys. Growing by the second. And they do not deliver pizza to the place we're staying. 
Just like Lloyd!

The young boys and the old boys and Jessie have been using the basketball court.

The first night we were here Levon beat both his father and his grandfather in H-O-R-S-E. Last night Glen won a round and he felt a little better about himself but not as good as he feels about Levon's skills. 

Pictures.

From supper last night which was Boppy-caught grouper and grits. 

Boppy has a rule that for each bone a child finds in the fish he caught, he'll get a quarter. 
Both boys made two dollars. Glen left the rib cages in. 

More food. Breakfast this time. 

Y'all- we're eating at MerMer's restaurant. This morning was pancakes of course, bacon, and eggs. There was so much fruit in the pancakes they were totally health food. 

And then this afternoon we took a teeny hike up a trail that parallels the little creek that flows through the yard here. It was the sweetest time. 

Sophie was ecstatic, running, running, running and then returning to her people, having a cool-off in the creek.

Boppy panning for gold. He didn't find any. 

Mountain laurel. 

Rattlesnake plantain.

Coral fungus.

Possibly Red Chanterelle Mushrooms?

It was just a short little hike. The boys scrambled about on the rocks in the creek and Levon hunted for salamanders. It was so very peaceful. It was also a powerful lesson in the calming and grounding abilities of the woods. I noticed so many more things on the way down than on the way up. These woods are quite different from our Florida woodlands although they both have their own beauty. 

This has been such a good little getaway. I've had so little stress and so much pleasure. I've loved cooking for everyone. It gives me a sense of purpose and satisfaction to see everyone fill plates and enjoy the food I've made. The little guys have been tremendous, open to everything, enthusiastic, and very, very funny. They make me laugh all the time. They are so different and yet never really fight, they adore each other. It's a beautiful thing to watch as is the way Jessie and Vergil parent. 

We leave on Tuesday which means tomorrow will be our last day here. I can't believe the time has passed this quickly but it has and always does, no matter how hard I try to be present and in the moment. 
This is the way of it, isn't it? 

Love...Ms. Moon