I Can't Even Title This

The pine cone lilies are shooting up their stalks and the "cones" are forming nicely. The little buds you see there are the actual blooms, the flowers. In the next few weeks the bracts, the cones, will turn from green to scarlet. I honestly did not know what a bract was until I just looked it up. They are specialized leaves which sit below a flower, a flower cluster, or a stem. They come in all shapes and sizes. An artichoke, the part we eat, is a bract. 
Seventy-two years old and I did not know this most basic of botanical facts. 

I did know that these lilies are part of the ginger family. I have never used their roots for culinary purposes but I just read that they can be, although their taste is more pungent and bitter than the kind we buy in the store. Still, I might try it sometime. 
I have never been a forager but I admire those who have the knowledge, eye, and skill to practice that art. The only thing I can really say I've ever picked from the wild to ingest with the exception of berries are mushrooms of the psilocybin variety and that I have indeed done. Luckily, they are easy to identify and since they grow out of cow shit, or at least the ones in Florida do, there's that as an identifier too. 
I often wonder who the first person was in Central Florida who introduced us to these mushrooms. All I know is that suddenly, there were...mushrooms. We did not call them "shrooms" and we didn't call them "magic" mushrooms as far as I can remember. Cow pastures were everywhere in Central Florida where I was living then as they are in most of the state. Before long, everyone was out gathering the mushrooms. The authorities (to be respectful) took awhile to catch up on what was happening and for awhile, it was pretty darn easy to hop a fence and gather them. I think for some time they weren't even illegal because they had not been classified as a drug yet. 
Oh, the good old days. 
I've written about my first experience with mushrooms before (what have I NOT written about at this point?) and you can find one of those posts here. 
There's a lot I could say about the powerful and often incredibly healing experience of ingesting psychedelic substances but Michael Pollan, a very fine author and journalist wrote what I consider to be one of the best books on the subject and that book is entitled How To Change Your Mind.
I have written about that, too, of course, and recommend it highly if the subject interests you. 

Dear god, how did I get here? 
From pinecone lilies to psilocybin mushrooms and beyond. 
My mind is a wandering, wondering fool of a mind. 

I took a mostly restful day today. Being as it is Sunday, Mr. Moon and I had our regular date-day which basically means we both took it easy and loved on each other a lot. It seems silly to schedule a day for such sweet attentions but just because you have an empty nest, it does not mean you take the time to focus on your love. We become complacent about such things sometimes, taking each other for granted, not stopping to truly appreciate each other. And forgetting to tell each other how much the other means to us. 
Kisses don't hurt either. 
Mr. Moon spent most of the day shucking scallops. I am not kidding you. And yes, that can be a part of date day. 

As I said in a response to a comment on yesterday's post, when you figure in the effort it takes to find and collect these delicacies (and that's the fun and easy part), the gas for the boat, and mostly the hours and hours of shucking required, it makes whatever they charge for them a bargain. 
But as with the garden and the food we eat from it, there is another kind of reward to the whole thing and that is what makes it all worthwhile. Tonight I'll be simply sautéing some of them with butter, garlic, and a little bit of lemon juice and serving them over pasta, and making a salad. A shallot might be involved if I get all crazy with it or maybe I'll just go as basic as I can and let the scallops be the stars and supporting cast of the meal. The salad will be utterly simple too. I might toast some of the bread I made a few days ago, trying to recreate and improve on the bread I made before with the oats, the flax seed, the cottage cheese, etc. It turned out pretty nicely if you don't mind a heartier texture to your bread which I do not. 
And that will be that. 
Here are some roses.

They are putting forth another bloom. These old heirlooms never quit. Not entirely. The late-ish summer garden is not as exciting as the spring or even fall garden with their quick promises of what's to come but even as some things brown and become brittle, other things continue to produce, albeit in a far less dramatic way. Mr. Moon keeps telling me that we can still plant okra and tomatoes and I'm fine with that. Let's do it! But today when he told me we could plant one more crop of green beans I vehemently said, "No!" I love my green beans and I was so grateful for them but I have picked and cooked and processed all I care to pick, cook, or process until next year. 
I think he was a little shocked at my immediate response but I am quite certain of how I feel about this. I have plenty of canned green beans and pickled green beans to last us and other family members until the next planting. 
Thank you, but no. 
Sometimes too much is just enough but sometimes too much is just too much. 

Would you look at this? 

Five pounds of scallops according to my granddaddy's scale if you figure in the weight of the bowl. And that scale may be old as hell but it is still pretty accurate. 

I guess I better go cook some scallops. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Let's All Go Scalloping! Or Not

 

Mr. Moon took the Weatherfords out scalloping today. We have a scallop season here and a certain amount of them can be taken per person or per boat. I don't know. These are the small bay scallops, not the large sea scallops but they taste very much the same only sweeter and more tender. Here's what they look like underwater. 

As I always say, they have Paul Newman eyes. And lots of them. 
As you probably know by now, Glen Moon loves to get food from the woods and the seas and the rivers and the lakes and scalloping is a once a year opportunity to gather those sweet little delicacies. After a quick blog search I see that I've written many, many posts about scalloping, all of which have mentioned the Paul Newman thing and if you'd like to know any more about how one goes about scalloping, just do a blog search of your own and you will be taken to a wide variety of those posts. 
I was invited to join the group today but I stayed home. There's no covering on that boat and I was just not in the mood to bake in the sun all day. Of course I would have spent a lot of time in the water, too, but I decided it would be just fine for them to have a Boppy day doing a Boppy activity on Boppy's boat. With Boppy. 
They had a good day, actually getting quite a few scallops. Here are some pictures. 

It looks to me like everyone had a good time and Jessie reports that they did and that the boys loved it. 
I think it is so fabulous that those little guys get to experience and do the same things their daddy did when he was a boy and the same things their mama did when she was a girl. 
So it was a very fine day for them. I know Mr. Moon was so happy to be able to take them. 

Meanwhile, back here at the ranch, I basically attempted to succumb to heat stroke by working in the garden but I could not go one more day without doing something about the mess it was in. I cleared a good strip where the zinnias and peas were. The zinnias are done, the peas as well. 

Instead of gathering and keeping the heads of the spent zinnias for seeds, I just pinched and rolled them between my fingers and spread them on the dirt in hopes that they'll be back next year. 
I am lazy. 
Actually, no I am not. But why not skip a few steps and let next year's plants come up on their own? I scattered some in the kitchen garden too. 

All I could handle outside was about two hours and that was plenty for me. I didn't even wait until I started feeling weird this time. There's plenty more weeding and clearing to do but at least I've made a start. I need more mulching material. I'll have to consult with the mulch guy on that one. 
When I came in and cooled off, I watched a few more episodes of "The Bear" while I hemmed a few more sweat rags I make from laundered cheesecloth. Those things are great. Such a very simple thing which serves such a utilitarian purpose. 

I've been a little down today. A little anxious. I don't want to feel this way. I really don't. I would so much rather feel the way I've been feeling the last few weeks which is pretty darn content and even happy but I no more know how to make that happen than I know how I've somehow let the anxiety back in. I certainly don't go to bed and turn out the light and think to myself, "Gee. I believe that tomorrow I'd like to wake up a little depressed and worried."
I probably should have gone scalloping. 

So anyway, here's a pretty funny picture of what's going on with my hair. I lost quite a bit of it when my weight loss was at its most dramatic and now it seems to be trying to grow back which is pretty darn thoughtful of it. 
However. 

And yes, those are my gardening-without-gloves fingernails. 
Do you see the little wisps of gray hair? They're about, what? four inches long now? And that is happening all over my head. 
Dear god, I am going to have my granny's hair. 
La-di-dah. 
La. Dee. Fucking Dah. 

The sooner I have all white hair, the happier I'll be. 

And look how freaking curly it is!

What did Mary Englebreit say? 

Life's too mysterious to take too serious. 

Amen. 

Love...Ms. Moon
 

More Examples Of How Easy Technology Makes Our Lives Today.

I found this cicada on the floor of the back porch this morning. It was lying on its back and I figured it was dead. I bent and picked it up and it moved a little so no, it still had life in it. I took it outside and put it on a plant. I fear it was at the tail end of its life though. 

I didn't walk this morning. I decided to ponder this situation some more. Thank all of you for your suggestions. The ones that could pertain to me are being pondered. The main thing I'm worried about is the possibility that my walking can cause the kidney stones to move into the ureter. I do not want that to happen at all.
No. 
Please.
No. 

So when I start to feel that specific feeling, I get very worried and very wary. I don't LIKE or enjoy limping but it's not scary. Kidney stones are. 

Not only did I not walk this morning, I also did almost nothing else except sit with Mr. Moon while he spent about two hours on speaker phone with the Costco AT&T helpline to try and get this phone trade done so I can take decent pictures again. And, if all goes as planned and the universe approves, I should be getting my new iPhone 17 Pro on Monday or Tuesday. 
I really can't tell you how excited I am. 
Glen dealt with the two different women and one man he spoke with with far more grace and patience than I ever could have. And persistence, which is really the key. The customer service representatives were very, very responsive, patient, courteous, and willing to give him all the time necessary to get this done. 
Which did not make it effortless or even especially easy but it surely helped. 
And it turns out that yes, the trade-in will not result in a huge up-charge on our monthly bill. In fact, it's quite reasonable. And the phone cell service and our internet which they provide both here and up on Lake Seminole, seem very reliable and problem-free. 
So it's all good, although I hate that phrase because nothing is ever ALL good but in this case, it's as good as it can get, I think. 

After it was all over Glen told me that this is exactly the same thing he's been doing for the past few weeks, dealing with Tom's finances and his trust. Talking to people far away and trying to do, technology-wise, everything that needs doing. And being put on hold. As we all know, this can be so fucking frustrating. At one point today, I wanted to throw my phone across the room. I did not. 
When I asked him later what he wanted for supper tonight he said, "Seventeen martinis."
That will not be happening but I know what he means. 

And then I went to town and did a tiny bit of shopping at both Costco and Publix. I wore my new beautiful shirt and here is a picture. 

I'm also wearing the black linen skirt I got at Target. It's a wrap skirt with a nice pocket and I am very glad to have it. The pocket is cleverly placed and I'm not sure that would be easy to do on a wrap skirt. Target and Walmart both seem to be quite aware that women want pockets and unlike expensive brands, they don't seem to be quite as concerned with the "line" of the garment. I understand both perspectives and each has validity. 

I feel like it's my birthday or Christmas all over again, reading about the iPhone 17 pro. The way Apple describes it reassures me that along with all of the other new technology on any and all iPhones, it is far above and beyond anything I'd ever understand, need, or use, and isn't that just a comfort and a thrill? It's like owning a Maserati when the only place you ever need to drive is the two miles to Publix. 
Go ahead and judge me. I am giving myself grace. There's not that much about the newest technology on offer that I care about at all but there is a sort of magic to me about having all of this possibility and power in my pocket and if I can take a decent macro shot with one hand, sign me the hell up. 

And honestly, I think that's all I have to discuss today. Well, that and the fact that our fearless leader got a new toupee. That's about as far into politics as I can go right now. I am not proud of that. At all. 
I am, however, definitely considering ordering this T-shirt. 

Is this not perfect for me? 
Perhaps for you, too. 
Here's the website. 

Clean sheets, a martini, and wishes for a happy Friday, y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon

I Swear I Am Not Being Just A Whiney Baby

Another baby pumpkin. 

I woke up in the predawn this morning to the sound of rain and I figured there would be no walk today. About that time Maurice came in, announcing herself with her cry that usually means she has hunted and killed and that I'd find a nice tasty tidbit somewhere she'd left me. Then she jumped up on the bed and did her little circling of my head and body thing before she settled down in the nest of my crooked legs and went to sleep. 
And of course I went back to sleep too. There is hardly anything in the world cozier than being in bed with a cat with the sound of rain outside the window. 

However, by the time I got up, the only sign it had rained at all was all the water in the garden cart and the sparkle of wet leaves. The rain came and the rain left. 

Getting out of bed this morning I had a realization and a revelation and it was not a good one at all. What I realized was that the main reason I have not been walking isn't necessarily the heat or the time it takes or the effort it takes or anything like that at all. 

It's because when I walk regularly, my hips, my knee, my lower back, and my right leg all hurt. I was going to doctors thirty years ago for hip pain which they never found the cause of and yes, I was a regular walker then. I was such a regular, long-time walker that I just thought I had something wrong with my hips because they always hurt. I did notice that if I could not or did not walk for a period of time, I wasn't in pain. But I sort of always just accepted that one came with the other, pain came with walking, and that was that. Walking was (is) good for me. It's so good for my cardiovascular system. It's good for preventing osteoporosis, it's good for my strength and stamina. It's good for my mental health. All of those things, right? Plus more. 
And although I kind of realized it caused me pain, I figured that the benefits outweighed the fact that I hurt most of the time. I was used to it. This is simply the way I was. 
Am. 
As I got out of bed this morning, that familiar stiffness and discomfort was there. This was not the sort of pain you're in when you first start an exercise routine. This was...that old thing again. 

I walked anyway. I enjoyed the walk. It doesn't really hurt when I walk. I am not in great discomfort and the effort is not a big deal. I feel fairly strong when I walk. I like feeling that way. I stopped and talked to Mr. Abraham who lives near the fally-down house and who actually lived in it many, many years ago. He is 92 years old. 
Ever since I've lived here, I've seen him parked in his blue truck at the end of Main Street, the street he lives on, where it joins Highway 59. He sits and I guess he watches. This is not an unusual thing here in the south although usually the sitting and watching happens from a front porch. There is very little traffic on Main Street though, and so I guess he prefers the activity from where he parks his truck to the activity from his front yard. 
It has taken Abe all these years to feel comfortable talking with me, I think. I have always waved and said, "Hi!" as I passed and he has returned my wave with a brief one of his own, never really even making eye contact with me. 
One day, however, I believe I initiated conversation with him and he was obviously not enthusiastic about talking to me but he did tell me that he didn't like the fact that I walked a path that went through the woods. He was worried about bears and also about...well, men. I think. I thanked him and told him I'd never felt threatened at all walking that route and he just said something like, "Well. Okay."
He is a private person. 
But in the last few years he has warmed to me. One day I stopped on my walk when he was working in the yard across the street from his house where his sister Liola used to live and we talked for a very long time. He told me about the work he'd done and an accident he'd had which ended his career. I think he managed construction projects. He told me his wife had died and he told me that he had children. I asked a lot of questions because I am nosy and also, curious. 
He was a little looser that day. He told me not to stop walking because if I did, I might not be able to start again. I have never forgotten that. 
And in our encounter today, he was so very friendly. He felt like an old pal to me. We laughed and talked about not being able to tolerate the heat in our older age and how both of us were outside people who love working in our yards, our gardens. Of course he asked me how I'd been doing and he asked why I hadn't been walking. I gave him the same answer I gave the other guy on Tuesday which was that I am a lazy slob. 
I enjoyed that conversation more than I can say. I felt so very, very comfortable with him because I think he feels comfortable with me. 
And if I don't walk, I won't have these encounters. I won't feel strong and able. I won't see the ditch ferns and ditch lilies, the morning glories and the wild azaleas. I won't pass the house with the palm trees, the yards with crepe myrtle and azaleas and camellias. I don't get waves and hellos if I'm not walking. 
But. 
I do not like this pain. Since I lost weight my joints have felt so much better. I won't say I leap out of bed or out of chairs, but it's no problem at all and it doesn't hurt. 
It doesn't hurt.
Or it hasn't hurt up until yesterday. 
And on top of all of that, I've had a return of the pain I associate with damn kidney stones which have been quiet and well-behaved for months. It's a sort of pukey pain. That's the only way I can describe it and I do not like it. 
So what do I do? I'm not going to use a treadmill. Trust me. 
For years and years I did stretches and yoga to try and alleviate the hip and leg and knee pain. I got quite bendy in yoga and enjoyed it but it did nothing to help with that pain nor did the stretches. I went to a chiropractor. Or, several to be exact. That did little to nothing to help me. 
I'm not going to take up swimming laps. Perhaps bicycling would be a good substitute. Maybe. 
I don't know. I do know I cried when I told Glen about all this when he got home this afternoon. 

And that's my story today. 

I got the peas I picked the past few days shelled, combined them with peas I'd already shelled that were in the refrigerator, and blanched them and put them in freezer bags. They have joined their pea sisters and brothers in the garage freezer, all labeled and tidy. 

I watched a few episodes of The Bear. 

I made another bread dough and this time I'll be lining the baking vessel with parchment paper. 

And I picked a few of the last zinnias. 

And a phlox.

Oh, how I will miss their cheerful faces. 

The crows have just shown up. They are dining very late today. I wonder where they were earlier. Perhaps they had a family counseling appointment. Or they went to a crow movie. Or maybe their truck had a flat tire. Who knows? 
Not me. 
As usual. 

Love...Ms. Moon

I Did It Again

Walking day 2. 
My route this morning was simply up the sidewalk to the county line and back. That's a two mile walk. It's not a lot but it ain't nothing, either. I did that route because I wanted to get a closer look at a yard that's just before the county line. This yard has intrigued me for all these twenty years because of the amount of trash in the yard. I simply could not understand how one small patch of ground could be so completely and utterly filled with every sort of trash you could imagine. Like...how did they even arrange it so that it was so dense while being so spread out? I can't even begin to describe the types of things that were lying in that yard. Just unbelievable amounts of detritus ranging from machine parts to old plumbing parts to buckets of something to bags of who-knows-what? 
But I'd noticed, driving by in the last few months, that at least half of the yard looks to have been somewhat cleaned up by someone. The house itself shouts poverty and I am honestly not judging here. I've seriously just been so curious about it. I've never once seen a person in the yard. 
Walking by it today, I saw that yes, there is at least 75% less trash but the weeds and grass have grown up to great heights. Still...I can't help but wonder what the motivation was to get started with that project. They may have been ordered by the county to do it if the one adjoining neighbor had complained about rats or something. 
Who knows? 
Not me. 
One more Lloyd mystery. 
And here's another. 

That is Harvey's property. That's what it has looked like since Harvey got put in jail last winter and I still do not know why. 
Except that it's not exactly what it's looked like since then. Can you make out what looks like an arrangement of outdoor furniture in front of the trailer?

Now that is new. 
And look at it- I mean, someone took the time to place it all as carefully as you might place it on your own patio.
And still no sign of Harvey. 
I have absolutely no idea what's going on there. 
I know people have often dropped off things at Harvey's place that he could possibly sell but not one thing since he's been incarcerated. 

Yes. Lloyd is a curious and interesting place. 
At least to me. 

After my walk I did a few things around here and then met Jessie and Lily and all five of my grandchildren at the Wacissa and it was just a very, very sweet time. The temperature under the shade of the cypress tree where we set up camp was pretty perfect, especially with the breeze blowing off the river. All of the kids, except for Owen, spent almost the entire time in the water doing kid water things. Jessie had brought the two little kayaks which all the Weatherford/Moon kids used and then the other kids who were there all got turns paddling in them. It's that sort of place. 

It was blissful. I only totally immersed once which is unusual but I was so comfortable, sitting in my chair in the shade, enjoying the breeze and the conversation with Lily and Jessie and Owen that I simply did not feel the need. We took picnic foods and enjoyed those but the kids didn't really even want to waste the time. They were just way too happy in that cold, cold water. 

I stayed for a few hours and then started getting itchy to get home and finish up my cleaning the refrigerator and freezer project. The kids all gave me freezing cold hugs and Owen hauled all of my things up to my car for me. He's such a dear and loving grandson. 

I did indeed get the freezer completely unloaded, cleaned, and reorganized. I discovered I have far more frozen corn and spinach than I had realized. I carried all of my blanched, bagged, and frozen field peas out to the garage freezer which made a lot more room. That felt good. 
Then I hauled all the garbage from yesterday's refrigerator clean-out to the trash place and folded a bunch of laundry and I feel quite satisfied with myself. 
Cleaning toilets may have been involved too. 
Ooh Mary! You go girl! 

And now I want to show you this.

Can you see the label? Can you see the beautiful embroidery? 

That, my darlings, is a Johnny Was tee-shirt that Lily found at a Goodwill and bought for six dollars. And you know what? I don't think it had even ever been worn or washed. New, that shirt new would have sold for over a hundred dollars. And she found it on the rack outside the dressing room where people put what they've tried on and didn't want. 

I have now given it its first wash and I can foresee wearing this beautiful thing for the rest of my life. It's not just a garment. It is a work of art. 

The thrift store gods and goddesses were smiling on both Lily and her mama when she found that. I can hardly believe it. 

Mr. Moon is still at the cabin. He was going to come home today but when he got up there last night he discovered the mower had a flat tire and he spent most of the day getting two new tires. By the time he got back to the place and started mowing, it began to rain. 

So I'll see him tomorrow. 

My plan for tomorrow is to try and get at least a few more things on my list checked off, the number one priority being the shelling, blanching, and freezing of the peas. Yay! More The Bear!
Guilt free. 

What a good day it's been. I hope yours has been too. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Back Out On The Street

 

I'm sure some of you have noticed that I have not been taking my usual walks for a long, long time and I really haven't been able to figure out why. I have either been a runner or a walker most of my adult life. That's just what I did. And I was faithful about it. When the children were really young and couldn't be left alone, I'd get up before the rest of the household, get dressed, put on my shoes, and walk out the door. Often in the dark. I'd get in my miles, come home, drink coffee, and then start the rest of my day when the kids and the man got up. I look back on that now and wonder how I did it. 
I do remember that in those days, naps were the what gave me life and there were many mornings when the promise of getting back in bed for a nap later in the day was the only thing that got me out of bed. 
When we moved here, twenty two years ago, I figured out routes to take in the woods and on the highway, down country roads, and just around Lloyd. For awhile I was walking a road that I had to drive to and park to access. I was doing pretty good milage then, four or five miles a day at my most dedicated. 
And then, for whatever reason, I just started slacking off. The heat got to be too much and I stubbornly refused to get up early and get out there quickly. I just had too much to do in the mornings! Most of which involved reading blogs, commenting, and reading other things online and then doing a crossword. And of course I had to eat breakfast and finally I'd put on my sports bra and shorts and T-shirt by which time it was already at least 85 degrees if not in the 90's. In the summers, at least. 
And then there was the kidney stone which prevented me from walking for awhile and then...
Oh, who knows? 
I just could not force myself to get out and walk. 

But last night, for no apparent reason, I decided that it would be a good thing for me in so many ways to get up and stop fucking around and put those shoes on and just walk out the door. 
Just walk out the door. 
Simplest thing in the world. 
And the bizarre thing is- I did it. 
I didn't walk very far but I spent about forty minutes doing it and I wasn't just strolling. I wasn't speed-walking by any means, but there was no lallygagging. 
And I really enjoyed it. There wasn't anything new going on that I could see but every season brings different blooms and the sky changes minute by minute. I've been missing that sort of thing, that subtle and undramatic cycle of everything around us that is only truly noticeable when you're on foot. 
It wasn't noticeably different than when I walked before, as in I didn't feel that I was completely out of shape, although I probably am. This evening, though, I will admit to being tireder than usual but I also did a tiny, tiny bit of garden work in the heat when I got home and then I cleaned the refrigerator which, if you do it properly, requires some physical effort. So there's that too. I am not a completely inactive being but I would like to become more active once again. 

Those morning glories up top there are growing in my neighbor Carol's yard and you can see the blurry pink of the crepe myrtle behind it. These two blooms are some of the things I've missed the most. The blue of the morning glories is simply...a glory. Isn't it? 

Does that not look as if it's emitting its own light? A tiny sun, glowing through its own celestial blue sky. 

I passed the fally-down house which, oh my Lord, finally, after all these years of watching as it has grown closer and closer to becoming one with the earth, is just about there. 
I did not see Abe but right about where he lives I crossed paths with a neighbor I see walking past the house sometimes. 
He greeted me and said, "Haven't seen you out in a long time. Where you been?"
"I've just been a lazy slob," I told him. "But I want to start walking again."
He nodded and told me that he, too, has not been very faithful about it but wants to get back into the habit. And then he asked me how I've been, but not in a polite-conversation way. In a I'd-truly-like-to-know-way. Like he's been concerned. I told him that I was good, really good and asked him how he's been. He told me that he's been good too. 
"All right," I said. "Let's do this thing! Let's get out here and walk!" 
He agreed that was a good idea and then he went on his way and I went on mine. I do not know this man's name nor does he know mine but there is a connection here. There just is. 
I was a little way farther down the road when a car passed me and honked, and a guy I didn't recognize waved his arm out of his window. I think it was probably another neighbor who knows me from all those years of walking. 
Those two encounters made me feel so good. I am sure that when we first moved here I was looked at askance. Lloyd is not exactly filled with what you might call truly health-conscious people. Listen- people used to stop their vehicles and ask me quite sincerely if I needed a ride. 
But that was a long time ago. They are used to me now and have noted my absence. This is a comfort to me. 
Now. Will I get up and walk tomorrow? I surely hope so.

I made another list when I got home. It has six things on it and I only managed to get one half of one thing done. The item was "Clean refrigerator and freezer."
The refrigerator was a fucking mess. Just nasty. I mean, I doubt the health department would shut me down but it was truly overdue for a cleaning and that I did. This involves taking out all the food, throwing away anything that needs throwing away, pulling out all the shelves and drawers, washing them and drying them, putting them back in the refrigerator, and then putting all the food back on the shelves and in the drawers. 
At one point I told Glen that from here on out, whenever the refrigerator needs cleaning, we just need to buy a new one. 
"Good idea," he said. 
He didn't mean it. 

By the time I'd done all of that, I had a lot of garbage due to the things I'd thrown away and although I thought I really should take it to the dump, I just didn't have the energy. It's bagged and ready to go tomorrow. 
I was also going to clean the freezer and although the most stubborn part of me insisted that I finish the job, achieve my goal, the human 72-year old woman part of me insisted that nah, that too would wait. 
And it will. 

Mr. Moon has driven up to the cabin. Tom's final illness and death and the aftermath of that has kept him here, dealing with all the things that have needed dealing with. There is a lot more to do but as with the garbage and the freezer, it will all still be here when he gets back. He's just going to mow and do a little relaxing. I hope that involves fishing because I know he needs some of that. 
It's odd, not having him here. He'll be back tomorrow so it's not going to be a prolonged situation. 

And tomorrow I plan on going to the river with Lily and her babies and Jessie and her babies. We are going to picnic. I am looking forward to this with all my heart. 

You know I had to take a picture of my refrigerator. Here it is. 

Yes. Yes. I am a bit of a food hoarder. And yes, yes. I am the condiment queen. And I don't even use the salad dressings except for once in a blue moon. 

Sigh.

For your viewing pleasure. Should you need a little joy in your life.

Love...Ms. Moon

Still Obsessed With Food. Obviously

Last night's supper. I think this is becoming a feature here at Bless Our Hearts. I see that my placement was poor when it came to the avocados and eggs. 
Presentation has never been my strong suit. 
But it sure was good. 
On the other hand...let us discuss the bread I tried to make. I mean, I did make it but there were problems. 
I've been getting a lot of recipes on social media for recipes with cottage cheese in them and the purpose of cottage cheese in food is to up the protein in them. You know how it is- every few years we're told there are certain nutrients that are truly the important ones and right now, the trendy winners are protein and fiber. 
Am I right? 
Well, I don't really worry about not getting enough protein but I thought I'd give the cottage cheese in a baked good a try and so I made up a bread dough with bread flour, yeast, ground flax seeds (fiber!), old-fashioned oatmeal, and cottage cheese. Oh, and honey. I made the dough in the food processor where I make a lot of my bread dough, especially things like pizza crusts and focaccia. 
I processed all of this until it was a good consistency and then I kneaded it by hand a few times and set it to rise. It was a lovely dough. Quite punchy and so forth. It rose nicely, I gave it a second rise. Again, good rising, and then I baked it in a Le Creuset pot which I'd sprayed with some avocado spray. I put it in a hot oven and it looked great. It rose a bit more in the heat of the oven and browned well. When it came time for me to check it for doneness, I tried to do what I always do which is to take the loaf from whatever I'm baking it in and tap the bottom. If it sounds hollow- it's done. If it doesn't, it ain't.
However. There was no easy removal of this loaf. It had stuck to the sides and bottom of this pan with a crust at least a third of an inch thick. It took a knife, a spatula, and a lot of work to get that thing out of there and I ended up putting it back in the oven on a piece of aluminum foil because it was obviously not going to do well if I put it back in the pan. 
Well, I didn't bake it long enough. That was one problem, the other problem being the extremely rough exteriors of the bread. 
However, the parts that did get baked were lovely and delicious and I am going to try this again but I will be using a different baking vessel. 

Oh well. La-di-dah. 

I ended up going to town today to meet up with Jessie and the boyos for lunch and a Costco shopping. We asked Lily if she could go on her break but that wasn't happening until 2:00 so she told us to go on without her. The boys chose Chow Time, of course, and as always, it was NOT BAD! At all. I had boiled shrimp, some hot and sour soup, a few green beans and some cabbage, a piece of baked salmon, a bite or two of chicken and the same of beef. With a little rice. 
It was perfect! 

And then on to Costco. Now y'all- I don't think I'd left Lloyd in at least three or four days so Costco was a bit of a neuro-blast for me. So much going on there. And, two very energetic boys who bounced about like Energizer Bunnies. At one point, they begged Jessie to let them sample the Liquid Death drink. Liquid Death is an energy drink and Jessie and I both said, "NO!" at the same time. They were cool with that. They were actually very good little guys and entertained me well. I tried to get them to pose in front of a Halloween decoration which was a dracula-looking guy who moved and made scary noises. 
Here's what happened. 

That just about says it all. And we need to get Levon on the stage. Immediately. He is such a natural born performer and entertainer. 
And check this out.

I don't even know what to say. He really is going to be taller than me before I know it. 

All right. Here's a picture of their Boppy when he was probably about the same age as August. I'd say ten or eleven. Or maybe even twelve. 

I believe we can safely surmise that Levon and August are direct descendants of Glen Moon. 

By the way, Glen hates that picture so don't tell him I posted it. I love it.

And so it goes and so it went today. 

Here's the last picture.

The Seminole Pumpkin vines that are taking over our universe here in Lloyd. See that tendril on the left side there? It's heading right towards a boat parked in the yard and obviously, by tomorrow the vines are going to be climbing Tom's Subaru and will also be on and in the boat. I have got to cut it back. Again. Despite its obvious inability to know when to stop growing, I am not finding many pumpkins. I think perhaps we're not getting the number of pollinators we usually do. I'm not seeing much action on the basils, either, but I keep telling myself that they're not really putting out that many blooms yet. 
The pumpkins, however, are. 
I hope I'm wrong. I really, really do. 

Meanwhile...

Love...Ms. Moon