A Different Sort Of Birthday Celebration

Tomorrow Magnolia June will be ten years old. 
Can you believe that? August turned ten in September and now Maggie is hitting the double digits too. It was so lovely, seeing Jessie and Lily go through pregnancy and birth at essentially the same time and watching the little bebes as they grew and changed together. 
Here's one picture from when they were three years old. 

Sorry. I lied. One picture is not enough. 

Look at those blonde curls, those darling smiles, their little feetsies, the way they were already connecting. 
They have known and loved each other their entire lives. 

So when I asked Magnolia if she wanted to go out with me today to celebrate her birthday, I figured she might like to include August and Levon, too. The cuzzies. They've had no time together this whole past holiday because of the hoopacudis the boys had. 
And she very much wanted them to be there too. 
Jessie agreed that was a good idea and our little adventure was a trip to Oak Tree Treasures so that Maggie could pick out a present and then lunch at the movie theater!!!! before we watched Zootopia 2.
Jessie arranged that part, buying the tickets beforehand as one does these days. 
I'll just say that the movie-going experience has changed so much in the last decade or so that I don't even think it's worth it to go. But the kids love it and Jessie swore that Zootopia 1 was pretty darn good with lots of jokes for adults that kids didn't get and I knew the kiddos would love it so what could I do but agree? 
And the kids did love it. I did not hate it but my Lord, it was busy and the plot ranged from, well, maybe to what the fuck is going on now? 
But you know, plot is vastly overrated sometimes. 
It was also loud. I cannot believe the volume at which theaters play their films these days and the preview trailers are the worst. I finally had to take my hearing aids OUT and stuff bits of paper napkins in my ears, just as I used to do when I went out to hear loud bands. 

Of course the seats in movie theaters recline now and are so comfortable that it's almost impossible not to fall asleep in them, no matter how loud the movie is. I deliberately kept my chair in the upright position for almost the entire length of the movie but in the last fifteen minutes or so I got very drowsy, thought, "fuck it," reclined like a boss, and did indeed fall asleep. 
Sort of. 

But it was not about me although the way I've written about it makes it sound as if I think it is and, okay, yeah, from my own body and my own set of eyeballs and ears and so forth, it was about me. But I got to spend birthday time with my granddaughter and the cousins got to spend time together and all three of them got new-ish Smushmallows (look 'em up if you don't have grandchildren) and watching the three of them hug before we got in our separate cars to go home was worth all of it. Maggie thanked me many times, not just for the day out but also for inviting August and Levon too. Tomorrow night there is a supper planned but since Glen's out of town and I don't drive at night, today's outing was how I got to spend time with Maggie and hopefully, make her feel special. 

And tomorrow I plan to stay right here in Lloyd and pull weeds. I want that and I need that more than words can say. 

Oh- many of you asked for a picture of me in the garment I got yesterday and I took this one

but of course the back is where the interest lies and for the life of me, I could not get a picture of that. Oh well. I will say that when we were in Oak Tree Treasures buying Squishmallows, a woman remarked on the jacket/dress/tunic and told me how unique it was. I told her I got it at Goodwill and she said, "You have a good eye."
"Thank you," I said. I knew I wouldn't regret buying that thing. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Glory, CT Scans, Intelligent Conversations, Dessert Buffets, And Treasure Hunting. In Other Words, Quite A Day

The sky put on another show this evening and I got a few pictures. I like that one because it absolutely looks like the sky's on fire. It amazes me how quickly it changes. 

These two pictures were taken within thirty seconds of each other. I have been fortunate enough to watch many sunsets in my life and they are all so very transient and ephemeral which only adds to the glory magic. When you watch a sunset over the water, the time it takes for that last quarter of the sun to slip beneath the horizon is nothing more than a blink, a short breath, the smoothing of a wave as it comes to shore. 

Sigh. 

I sent Mr. Moon those pictures and he went down to the dock at the cabin where he is tonight and took this picture of his sunset. 

Now that is not so bad, is it? 

I went and got my scan this morning. One thing I can say about that office/clinic, is that it's run like a fine Swiss watch. My butt had barely touched the seat after I signed in before they were calling me back. My appointment was for 11:00 and at 11:08, I was headed out the door. 
Not kidding. 
The doctor will presumably be calling me although I was told when I went in on Friday that he is seeing fifty patients this week and I am sure he has at least that many calls to make. If I am not happy with how this comes out as to getting explanations, I will absolutely make a follow-up appointment for whenever he's available. 
I want to know what is going on and I want to know why I keep getting symptoms ranging from merely annoying to rather more serious discomfort and if there is anything to be done. 

August and Levon had regular check-up appointments with Dr. Zorn this morning and after they were done with those and had gotten their flu shots, we all met up at Chow Time. They brought their mother with them. 
For some reason, it was just a most enjoyable lunch. The level of conversation you can have with these kids is sort of crazy. They're funny, they can be serious, they listen, they mostly get the jokes, and I just love them to pieces. I admire how serious they are about selecting their food. We all have our own preferences about what to get first and then what comes next. Levon always gets pizza first and I always get hot and sour soup and boiled shrimp first. 
Today Levon asked me why I always get the shrimp and I told him I get it first because I like it and it is very good. (And it is. And I know my shrimp.) And then I asked him why he always gets pizza first and he told me because he likes it and it is very good.  
A meeting of the minds. 
I can't remember all of the things we talked about but the conversation never lagged. One of the things I know we talked about was a Youtube channel called Joonie and the Birds. We did not watch any of the videos at lunch, but Jessie sent me a link to one they especially like. It is the most charming and lovely place to visit and here's what I THINK is the first episode in the whole series. 

It is so sweet and the videography is terrific. I will watch more. 

So Chow Time was fun and especially when I accompanied the boys to get their desserts. I let them have whatever they wanted and we discussed each choice as to true desirability. They both got the same things. Mint chocolate chip ice cream because it is simply delicious and a large cube of red Jello and one of orange Jello because it is so pretty and they never get Jello at home. To top it all off, a moderate spoonful of chocolate pudding, nestled up to the mint chocolate chip ice cream because chocolate pudding is absolutely the best. 
When we were saying good-bye I told them that I was so glad that I had given birth to their mother so that she could give birth to them. 
They laughed and laughed. 
And then I assured Jessie that she alone was totally worth being grateful for. 

After lunch, I stopped by the Goodwill where I took pictures of things I might want to use as inspiration in pottery. 

RED! Yes. And very much like the colors in the Noel sasangua camellia blooming now. 

On to this bowl made in Portugal. 

I want to study that one. I know without a doubt I am not the artist it would require to fill a ceramic space with those beautiful flowers but it an example of shape and design from which I might be able to start. 

I did get a few things at Goodwill. Six new cotton napkins because I am a napkin junkie, a Geoffrey Beene linen/rayon jacket or is it a shirt? Whatever, it was made in Italy and it has pockets and it is lovely.

And then...

...whatever this is. 
It is sort of sportswear, sort of fancy, and very, very intriguing. It reminds me slightly of my mother-of-the-bride dress at May's first wedding. If that dress had had a zipper down the front and cords in back that tightened up to create a lace ruffle. 

It is extremely clever as well as utilitarian, and although I left it on the rack at the first go round, I could not stop thinking about it and knew that if I didn't buy it, I would regret it. 
I bought it and have no regrets. I am going to wear the shit out of this...garment. 

So I am home and yes, Mr. Moon has gone to Lake Seminole and I am really missing him. You know me. I'm fine by myself. I LOVE to be by myself but the last few weeks with that man have been so especially sweet and loving that I miss being able to hold him and be held by him whenever my heart desires. And also, to make him laugh. 
Oh well. 

I will survive. 

And I am not going to talk about...

Well. 
Just no. I can't. My head is in the sand, my heart is surrounded by brick walls, attack dogs, barbed wire, concrete, and a radar-assisted weapons response team. 
So to speak. 
Let us all be well. 

Love...Ms. Moon

A Very Decent Sunday

I decided that it was finally time to take down my Christmas decorations today and so I did. 
Well, I sort of did.
I unwove the vintage Santa lights from the stairs and wound them up and put them in their vintage Santa box although not in the way they were meant to be arranged. Rubber bands were involved. 
I say I "sort of" took down my Christmas decorations because I have yet to take the little battery twinkle lights off the Norfolk Island Pine. But hey- how much holiday stuff can a woman do in one day? 
If the woman is me, not much. 
Besides, I really like those twinkle lights. They might stay up for awhile. 

While I was in decor mode, I hung the darling Rolling Stones ornament that Rachel and Hank got me for Christmas. I could not figure out where to put it because it doesn't exactly fit in to what I perceive as my vision when it comes to hanging random items on walls and from...things. 
But then it occurred to me that I was being completely ridiculous. AS IF I had a vision of anything used as decoration in this house. So I gave the ornament a place of high pride which is above the kitchen sink. That lacy thing behind it is indeed lace, a runner, I think, that I picked up somewhere which works perfectly to block some of the horrendous fluorescent light which is behind it. And give that area a little Classy McClassness. 

Am I right? 

Haha!
I do not mind Christmas decorations at all, and in fact, I like many of them so much I keep them hung up all year, every year. 
For example.

I've discussed those star lights which have been shining on and off for so many years it seems impossible. 
The vintage ornaments above the doorway were ones Glen's parents owned. I love them so much I could not fathom putting them away for fifty-one weeks of the year and so I didn't. They are hung from over the door to the library, across the stretch of kitchen wall behind a bookshelf where I keep cookbooks and the refrigerator and then over that doorway into the hall. They end here.

There is a story to those little cherubim but no need to go into that tonight. Bottom line is, I love them. 

I got Owen's jeans sewn up today. They're not going to rip in the same place again, I will tell you that, but my needlework leaves a lot to be desired. I feel that it was a learning experience and as such, was quite valuable and Owen won't care a bit. 

Maurice doing quality control, as she does. 
She didn't seem to care either. 
But now I think I know how to better do what I was aiming for and have a pair of Mr. Moon's overalls that are also ripped to test that theory out. 

The sun came out again today. When I went to the garden to pick salad for tonight's supper, the sky was gray and dismal but by the time I'd filled my basket, I looked up to see this.

Wait. What? 
And before too long, all of the clouds from our patch of sky were gone. We did get a nice amount of rain yesterday though, and I will not begrudge gray skies which bring that. 

Here are what the tiny collard sprouts are looking like. 

Oak leaves for scale. 
Nah, they were just there. 

It's been a sweet day and although I have not completely done a news blackout for myself, I have tried to take everything in stride, knowing that resistance is NOT futile and knowledge is power. 
And then threaded my needle again. 
I did watch the short little video HERE and it at least made my heart a little lighter. I do indeed love Seth Rogan. He speaks the truth and fears no man which is something we could all aspire to. 

Spaghetti sauce on the stove, one of the ingredients being a jar of golden cherry tomatoes I canned two summers ago. They are as sweet as jam, no sugar needed. 

Tomorrow I'll be getting my scan at 11 and then we'll go from there. 

See you tomorrow.

Love...Ms. Moon

The Unbelievable Has Happened Again

It has been raining most of the day which is something we need so badly. I had hoped to get out and do some garden and/or yard work but instead, spent a lot of time sitting on the couch with Tiger Girl, mending Owen's jeans. I decided today that Maurice has somehow, with her feline magical and technical skills, been able to insert a chip in me so that she can locate me at all times. How else can she find me whether I'm in the garden or pulling up crocosmia or hanging laundry or even in my bathroom? 

Although the rain is so welcome, it does make for a dreary day. It's not cold but I get chilly. Just the damp will do that to me. But I would not be in great spirits even if the sky had been as blue as the head of a lazuli bunting. 
Waking up to the news that the president bombed Venezuela and snatched the president of that country along with his wife to bring here to charge with crimes including being in possession of machine guns, can certainly affect a girl's mood and not for the better. 
No, wait. It's for "possession of machine guns and destructive devices; and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices."

Now don't get me wrong. Maduro is probably one of the worst examples of human being ever to creep the earth and has committed a vast amount of crimes against humanity and I don't think anyone is denying that. 
But.
The administration has used the military to abduct the leader of a sovereign nation, to order and carry out air strikes on that sovereign nation because the administration wants control of Venezuela's vast amount of oil and nobody in the world is fooled by the crap coming out of the pig's anus mouth. Or of Karoline Leavitt's machine gun mouth either. 

And then Trump announced that we will be running Venezuela until such time as order can be resumed and if any of this is legal either by constitutional law or international law, please enlighten me. 

I have no real idea what's going on. I don't think I'm an exception in this instance but it seems so obvious that the oil thing is huge and, let us not forget that going to war is a fantastic distraction from the Epstein files. 
It's a twofer! 

I know we all keep saying this but it seems impossible for anyone to believe that Trump could possibly sink lower than he already has but my god, he manages to find ways to plumb depths we never even knew existed. 

Who's going to stop him? I sure hope it's not a country aligned with Venezuela ordering air strikes on Washington DC or Palm Beach, Florida because that's where the bastard spends most of his time. 

I'm done. For tonight at least. I can't begin to even imagine what comes next but I will say that there have been threats made towards Mexico too. 

Meanwhile, let us try to keep our balance, to remember to take care of ourselves and each other, whatever that may mean to you. 

At some point, there will be an end to this situation. Perhaps not in our lifetimes (speaking to the older among us, of which I am most definitely one) but there will be. Change is the only constant. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Hope

Because the only pictures I have today are ones that Mr. Moon sent me of the fishing trip, I will give you those. 
Here of course, we have Owen, firstborn grandchild, the giver of my grandmother name, an intelligent, gentle, funny soul, cleaner of ceiling fans, and strong carrier of the Moon height gene. I think he is holding a Florida bass which is the state freshwater fish of Florida. I had to look that up. I didn't even know Florida had a state freshwater fish. 
I did know that some asshole legislator is trying to get the state bird changed from the mockingbird to the flamingo which is absurd. 

Anyway, here's a picture of Boppy himself, holding up one of his catches. 

I do believe he may be holding it closer to the camera. He's an old dog and knows old dog tricks. His hand does look immense but then again, his hand is sort of immense so...

I went to see the urologist today. He's the referral I got from Dr. Zorn when I told him I wanted to see a different urologist for at least a second opinion. The office this doctor works in with other doctors and NP's and PA's, etc., is run entirely by an army of women who appear to have it all together. Also, they called me "sweetie" and "honey" which made me happy. I mean- I know some people would get their knickers in a twist about that but not me. I would if there had been the least bit of condescension in their tones but there was not. It was more of a kindness. 
Another thing I liked was that I didn't get weighed and no one took my blood pressure. 
Phew. 
Gotta love that. 
The doctor came into the exam room shortly after I'd been put there and I liked him too. He's a local guy, Dr. Z. told me, from Wakulla County which is right down the road. I did my best to explain my issues in the shortest way possible while hitting all the pertinent details. Or at least what I consider to be the pertinent details. He listened, he asked questions, he made remarks. I won't go into all of it here but the best part is that they have the ability to do CT scans in that office which beats the hell out of having to go to another facility AFTER they call you and set up an appointment and then send the results and film over to the doctor and so forth. What this doctor wants to do is for me to get another scan so that he can see the size and position of the stones. He told me that very small stones cannot be blasted but very large stones can be. He also told me that a very large stone which cannot possibly pass can indeed get in a place in the kidney which causes irritation and discomfort so that's one of the things we'll be looking for. 
They didn't have an open spot today for me to get a scan but I have an appointment on Monday. 
Of course me being me, I apologized profusely for being paranoid and worried about something which may never happen but I think he understood. 
I hope so. 
He was very calm and to the point. One of the things I really liked about him is that when I told him I hate going to the doctor he said, almost under his breath, "I do too."

And...once again my urine was pristine although he didn't call it that. I think he just said it was fine. 

Mr. Moon's Christmas present finally got here! It's a Happy Birdy Smart Feeder which gets video of the birds which come to eat at it, identifies them, and sends the videos to your phone. 
This was literally the only thing I could think of to get him that he would not think to get himself but might possibly enjoy. 
We told Lon and Lis about it on our New Years Eve call and it turns out that Lon's sister gave him one last year which was great and he really enjoyed it until...

A bear took it out. 
Gatorbone does have bears. I'm surprised we don't too, actually. 
As Lon said, it's squirrel proof but not bear proof. 
But of course you have to register the damn thing online and download the app and do all these things with bluetooth and I don't even know nor do I want to. But if it works, it will be so cool. It has real-time phone alerts and night-vision capabilities. Do birds even eat at night? I know owls do but not at a feeder as far as I'm aware. But best of all, it's solar powered. 
How cool is THAT? 
Steve Reed, you may need one of these. 

 

So Mr. Moon spent several hours trying to get the whole thing set up as to the bluetooth/internet situation. I think he's got it figured out. I went to the store today but forgot to get the bird food Lon says attracts the most birds in his experience, which is Publix Bird Seed for red birds. Lon says the cardinals do love it but so do many other birds. 

I really hope this thing brings Glen some pleasure. He loves the birds and feeds them regularly at a plain old wooden feeder in the back yard. 

Before I leave tonight, I would just like to give my honest appreciation and respect to New York City for electing its first Muslim, social democratic immigrant from Uganda, and youngest mayor ever elected to hold that office in the city. 
He has promised to govern expansively and audaciously. 
I wish him all the success in the world and I am grateful he had the courage to step forward when everyone was wondering where the candidate who would and could change things would come from. 
He is young enough to have the spirit of youth and intelligent enough to have the mind to deal with the issues that are so important to all, and not just the people in New York City. 

Hope. There it is. What we've all been so afraid to even believe we might ever feel again. 

Inshallah. 

Happy Friday, y'all. And yes, there are clean sheets on the bed, a martini at my elbow. 

Love...Ms. Moon

 

How We Do It And How We Did It

I woke up in such a way that I felt very well physically and extremely cheerful and loved this morning. It was a terrific way to start a new year and because I am such a fabulous wife I had taken the angel biscuit dough leftover at Thanksgiving out of the freezer to thaw last night with a plan in mind for dear hubby's New Year's Day brunch. (By the way, I hate that expression and DH is even worse.)

In looking for images of the perfect housewife, I found this picture and chose it above all others because this kitchen makes me drool with desire.

Back to our regularly scheduled program. 

So there I was with the thawed biscuit dough and I crumbled and cooked some of his favorite Tennessee sausage, drained it, grated some cheese and made the most decadent sausage, cheese bread anyone could imagine. I swear- I felt guilty rolling all of it up into a tight little loaf. I mean- dear god, the cholesterol! 

But I baked it and made scrambled eggs and he loved every bit of it. 
I love making him happy. 
Usually. 

Next I moved on to the New Year's Day good-luck feast and that went pretty well. I think I overcooked the peas and rice which made for a sort of cloggy dish, but it was pretty tasty. The greens may have been the best I ever cooked. I chopped up some smoked turkey thigh to cook with them, added vegetable Better Than Boullion, salt, pepper, a little bit of oil, and some soy sauce. Also balsamic vinegar and my secret ingredient which is about a little less than a tablespoon of sugar for a very large pot. I cooked not only the beautiful collards but also some mustard greens I picked from the garden. And there was cornbread. 

And that's about what it looked like. Jessie and the boys came out to share the love and the luck with us while Vergil stayed home and had some quiet time. He's still recovering from the crud. I had thought Rachel and Hank might come out but they chose to stay in and be cozy and I certainly understand that. Lily had to work, her kids were at their Dad's, and May was working too. 
So I had made too much food (surprise, surprise) but sent a lot home with Jessie so that Vergil could have his luck and they could all get extra luck for the next few days. 

It was good to see the boys. August is still coughing but hasn't had a fever in days. Levon seems entirely recovered and entirely back to being...well, Levon. 

Jessie is still coughing a little too but overall, she's much better. Whatever this crap is, it is brutal. 
I remember my mother calling unidentified illness as the hoopacudis, and I do believe that is exactly what's going around and making so many people miserable. Not flu, not Covid. The hoopacudis. 

When I saw the boys at Costco earlier this week, Levon asked me if I still had any of "that pie." He was referring to the chocolate pecan pie I'd made at Thanksgiving and I told him that no, I did not, but that I thought we might still have some regular pecan pie in the freezer which I went rooting around for and found. Before they left, I asked them if they'd like a little piece of that pie and they said that yes, they would. I even got out the whipped cream in a can. They ate that pie like little beasts and used their fingers to scrape up every bit of goodness on the plates. 

 I was told it wasn't as good as the chocolate pecan pie but whatever. 

So that was our New Year's Day and it was fine and good. The day itself was another cloudless day, the sky so blue, the air so nice and cool. Jessie and I went out to the garden to look around and as I told her, I just love standing in the garden. It feels good even though the heartiest thing growing is the arugula and as I've said, I've planted way too much of that but who cares? The collards are finally putting forth their tiny little ear-shaped sprouts and I doubt they'll reach any sort of maturity, but just seeing the little babies who are brave enough to break through the dirt and expose themselves to the sky and air makes me happy.

I know that people like to make resolutions or intentions for New Years and Jessie actually asked me today if I was thinking about any changes or plans I might make. 
"No," I said. "I'm old enough to know I'm not going to change." 
And that is true. 
She said she was going to try and do one new thing a week, whether it was to try a new workout or a new recipe. That sounds good and doable to me. 
I remember the year that my resolution was to say the word "cocksucker" more frequently. We were watching a lot of Deadwood at the time and I don't think my use of the word increased by any noticeable amount. One year I resolved to wear less black and more colors. 
Same-same. Didn't happen. And if I can't even keep resolutions like those, why in the world do I think that I could change something about who I am or what I am or what I do? I believe that real change mostly comes from unexpected motivation, sometimes welcome, sometimes not. Every year for the past decade I wanted so desperately to lose weight and do the things that required such as more regular exercise, more fiber, less fat in my diet and the complete elimination of processed foods. And less food in general. 
Yeah. I tried. For awhile. 
And then this year, after reading all of these articles about the GLP-1's and how so many people were benefiting from them, I finally made a decision to ask my doctor about them and he enthusiastically supported them. 
And that journey began. 
I will admit that although I have not been exercising the way I should, I have become far better at eating the most nutrient dense, fiber rich foods and eschewing the processed ones. And I do not crave carbs every waking moment of my life and I have no desire to eat more when I am full. 
This is not a change I was able to foresee. 
And yet, here we are. 

Who knew this would be something that would change my life so radically? That this miracle would be available? 
Not me. 

Tomorrow I go see the urologist. I wonder how that will go. Owen is going to go fishing with his Boppy and I trust that will go very well. Here's a picture of the boy, cleaning his mother's ceiling fans. 

And a picture of Lily and her kids eating their own New Year's Eve crab boil supper. 

And finally, the picture Missy May sent from her New Year's Eve in which she actually went out and danced!

I am so very proud of her, and the place she went dancing is a place where I used to dance quite frequently. The American Legion Hall where all the best bands played and the disco ball slowly rotated above the dance floor. 
Sigh.

The memories I have of dancing with my friend Sue there will always be with me. 

Lon and Lis called last night and we had very good good NYE chat. I told them that I wasn't going to go out because my black velvet dress was at the cleaners.
We all laughed but the truth is, we did, at one time, gussy up for New Year's Eve and other celebrations too and oh, what fun we had. Here's a song Lis wrote and recorded some years ago about just that. 

"Paint the Town." 

" 

She sings like an angel. She is a damn fine songwriter. 

I'm so glad that I have painted the town a time or two myself and that now, I am so content with my bed, my books, my sweet husband, my cat, and my memories. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Two Hugs

This is Sasha, the sweet dog who lives with a neighbor on the church side of us. As in, the church is right next door and the neighbor is right next door to that. Sasha has visited us twice before and I invited her in for a little exploration of the house which turned out not to be a good idea last time because Maurice did a full blown, full ninja leaping attack to her face with all twenty claws at the extended slasher position and teeth bared too. Remember that? 

So I didn't ask her in today although she did whimper when she stuck her head in. She trotted off and I called her caretaker who did not answer her phone but I left a message and then my other next-door neighbor called to ask me if I knew where this dog came from and that she'd seen it almost get hit crossing the street so I went down to Carolyn's (Sasha's caretaker) and got a leash from her. She answered the door when I knocked but only cracked it enough for us to barely talk through. She and her husband both have severe health problems and many other problems too, and I think there is probably some hoarding going on there and Carolyn didn't want me to see it. Or who knows? Maybe they have a pet lion. 
So I walked back to my OTHER neighbor's and she told me where she'd seen the dog last (across the street) but then, she told me that she'd lost her mother in October and I could not just walk away. We are not close with these neighbors except for in the physical sense, especially since they cut down all the bamboo between us. He's a Jefferson County Sheriff and I'm not sure what she does and we talk occasionally, but not a lot. Still- this is a woman who was obviously suffering some intense grief and she began to tell me the story of how her mother had died and what the last few months have been like for her and because I have been there and because I knew she needed to tell the story again, I listened and let the dog do what the dog would. I knew there was nothing I could say to assuage her grief but that listening and assuring her that everything she was feeling and doing were normal and to be gentle with herself and to not push herself were things she needed to hear. And Glen called twice while this was going on and I finally answered the phone and of course he had Sasha but my neighbor and I were not done with our encounter and that's all there was to it. I could not just walk away nor did I want to. When she had reached a point where I felt she'd said what she needed to say for that moment, I told her that although I knew there was nothing I could do, really, to make her feel better, I could give her a hug and she opened her arms to me and we did hug deeply and well and I kissed her cheek and told her if there was anything I could do to let me know. 
And THEN I went to get Sasha and take her home and that neighbor was now outside and we discussed how Sasha had been dumped at her house and how the dog was very good at getting out. And so forth. And then she gave ME a hug and that was nice, really. This is the neighbor who had all the Trump signs and with whom I had a few words years ago which didn't make either one of us feel better but really enough water has passed under that bridge and she and her husband are just obviously NOT doing well, and the Trump sign disappeared from her yard some time back and I was glad we hugged. I was glad I could bring Sasha home to her. 
While all this was going on, a tree service was cutting down a very large tree that had just up and died this summer and so there was all that noise and activity and as I walked from my house to hers and back, the smell of weed was strong in the air (don't take my word for it but I believe a lot of tree cutting guys smoke a lot of weed) and well, there was just a lot happening in my tiny little speck of the world. 

But my overall thought on all of this is that I am NOT a very good neighbor but I was glad to be able to listen to one today and to help another with a lost dog. 
The rest of my day was spent in just doing little things like making the chili crisp and I am not happy with the way it tastes because I tried to add more authenticity to it and make it a garlic chili crisp and somehow I fucked up the cooking of the garlic although it was not burnt or anything. 

Oh well. 

I suppose I could write a long and philosophical post with much humor, and at least a little hope, trying to wrap up my year here but fuck it. If I haven't said everything that needs to be said about 2025 in the last almost 365 posts I've written, then I don't have the slightest idea what more I could say. Instead I think I'll go make our supper.

Of course I wish all good things, happiness, and health to all of you and all of us here at the Church of the Batshit Crazy but overall, I think what I most want to say is thank you. Thank you for being here for my ramblings and my fears and my profane language and my irreverent and disrespectful take on so many things. You allow me to be me and that is a gift beyond measure. 

So. Bless our hearts, y'all, because if anyone ever needed their hearts blessed, it is we, the people, trying to hang on to democracy with our bleeding fingernails, trying to find the light in what appears to be some of the darkest times, trying to keep on, not give up, and work with what we have to the best of our abilities. 
Let us listen to those who need listening to and take home the dogs who wander. And hug like we mean it when we mean it. 

That is the best I can do. 

Love...Ms. Moon