I Talk Too Much

Yesterday when I was rearranging plants in order to 

1. Get them all safely inside again, and 
2. Clear off the dining room table so we could eat our supper, 

I moved that Swiss cheese plant which I guess is more formally known as a monstera Adansonii, into the guest bedroom. There is no way it's going to stay there because it won't get nearly enough light but when I walked through that room this morning I liked the way the leaves looked against the light. I'd draped that particular tendril over the curtain rod just to get it up off the floor. Those dang plants can sure  snake across distances if you turn your back for a few minutes. 

I did exactly two things today. One was a major pain in the ass and caused me great agita and one was simply a pleasure.
The pain in the ass thing was a continuation of the banking problem I've been having since when...last November? I think so. I was trying to pay the balance due for my credit card which we use due to the cash back factor online from another account and I've been attempting to get the card's balance paid with a transfer of funds so I don't have to go through the hassle of it and it's seemed to have been an impossible task even though Glen, in the exact situation but with a different account, got his transfers automatically approved. 
So, okay. I figured at least I can just pay online with the card from the other account like EVERY OTHER BUSINESS IN THE WORLD MANAGES TO HAVE A VERY SUCCESSFUL PROCEDURE FOR, instead of taking my Wilma Flintstone check to the bank to pay the balance. It is not easy chiseling out that check every month from a big ol' rock and filling it out with another chisel, not to mention hauling it to the bank to stand in line and hand it over. 
But even this alternative, by which I mean paying online with my debit card from the other account, required me to follow many steps and these required me to know my user names and passwords for both accounts and the phone number on file for me to get texts verifying shit was actually Glen's phone so I had to figure that out and also...oh, fuck it. Who cares? 
Well, I did. 
I had to make several phone calls and I have to say that I was shocked, SHOCKED I TELL YOU at how helpful Michele was at one of the banking institutions and also that another woman at the other banking institution was also knowledgable and patient when I had to call them. 
But here's the kicker- turns out that the process for the funds to be directly moved from Account A to Account B has indeed been approved and unless everyone is lying to me, I had just spent about two and a half hours trying to accomplish something which was already in place. 

And y'all. I'm not going to lie. This stuff has never been exactly easy for me, but the older I get, the less I'm able to simply trip the light fantastic (or "Trip the Light Fandango" if you are referring to the song performed by Procol Harum in 1967) through the processes required to get done what I need and want to get done. And I'm sure I'm not the only older person who experiences this. But look- we weren't issued a smart phone the second they'd made sure we were breathing after birth and besides that, yes, goddammit, some of us have brains that are a little bit glitchy. 
To say the least.
And I know that when the tech person is verifying that you are who you say you are and you have to give your date of birth, they hear something like 1954, they are thinking, Fucking A. Here we go. I need a gummy.

Anyway, that is enough of that. 

The other thing I did today was to get my fish dish glaze-painted so I can take it into pottery tomorrow for firing. And I probably spent more time doing that than I did dealing with financial institutions and passwords and verifications and Michele but it was a very different experience. Pleasant as could be and the time passed as if I was in a dream. I listened to my audio book ("Don't Let Him In" by Lisa Jewell) and I Stroke-and-Coated with my new glazes, my new brushes, and I was a happy, contented woman. 

I am so interested to see how it turns out. 

So yes, tomorrow is pottery and I hope that Jessie is up for it, knowing that she's going to a nine o'clock basketball game with her daddy tonight. That is late for both of them. 
I plan on finishing up the glazing of my flower bowl and probably starting a new fish spoon rest for Billy. We only have two more classes this session but you can go back and get the things you've made that hadn't gone into the kiln before the last class. 

Tomorrow, Mr. Moon is heading to Orlando to hang out with his sister and go to all the volleyball tournaments that his sister's granddaughter is in. 
A week's worth of volleyball tournaments. 

Although I can't even imagine such a thing, I'm sure they will all enjoy themselves and it is a beautiful thing for him to get to spend time with his sister and some of the family on her side. Glen is taking his fishing gear in order to find ponds he can drop a hook in. 
I am always invited to these events but at this point in our lives, everyone knows I am not a team player in any sense of the word. I bet they call me Uncle Glen's crazy wife. 
Which is fine by me. Speak the truth and shame the devil. 

Oh hell. I was going to discuss how I make chicken and dumplings but this has already gone on too long. I did a little blog search and I have already written about how I made my chicken and dumplings in 2011. You can find that post HERE. I no longer include the step wherein I thicken the broth before I put the dumplings in. I have found that the flour in the dumplings somehow magically makes as much gravy as it needs. Another important thing to remember is that you need to use a pot as wide in circumference as possible in order to get the most dumplings in. The pot I use is one I don't think I use for any other purpose. One more change in how I make this dish today is that I do not use packaged chicken broth. I use water and Better Than Bouillon chicken broth but I still use the soy sauce (or coconut aminos or whatever), the same spices, and hot sauce. 

Look- cooking is like dancing. You learn the steps and then you just use them as a template for however your very own soul feels like flying. 

At least that's what I think. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Just for fun. 
And to remind us all that nothing sounds like a Hammond B3 with a Leslie speaker. 

MM

This Is Us

 Christmas/Easter cactus which I thought was on its way out (and it may be) blooming in the morning sun. 
I mean...those blooms are like neon. They shout at me. 
"Hello! Hello! We are here!"
And I whisper back, "Oh. You most definitely are."

Glen asked Owen and Gibson to come over this evening to help him install some cabinets in the garage. Maggie wanted to come too. 
Dinner, of course, would be involved.
So they are all here and I, being an idiot, told Maggie when she called to ask if Xena-Marge could come too, "Of course!"
Haha!
You haven't lived until a puppy the size of an adult Labrador has gotten itself wedged behind a love seat in the library trying to get away from an insane spitting cat hiding under a table. What fun! I could NOT coax or pull that poor dog out and I surely was not going to come anywhere near touching Maurice. 
I may have a death wish but I do not wish to die by cat attack. 

Bless Maggie. She got the dog out from behind the couch and has taken her into the Glen Den. I've got a giant pot of chicken stew simmering and am about to make dumplings. The kiddos say they are excited. 

I brought in the porch plants I'd taken outside except for three extra-large ones that I have just covered up. I'm going to be pissed as hell (at myself) if they die in this freeze after having them safely inside until just a few weeks ago. 

And it has been a good day. I met Jessie in town as we both needed to do Costco and Publix and of course we had to get lunch. Her best friend from way, way back is newly pregnant for the first time which has Jessie all aflutter. The friend lives an ocean and a continent away and Jessie plans to go be with her when she has the baby if she can. And of course all of this led us to discussing childbirth and nursing and babies and doctors and midwives and all the stuff we love to talk about. And then we stopped by Lily's work to visit with her and do the shopping we needed to do there. 

******************

Supper was good. Perhaps the best chicken and dumplings I ever made. No one complained. Many subjects were discussed at the table and it was just pretty sweet. 

Owen cleared the table and got the bowls and spoons put into the dishwasher. And I made everyone pose for a hallway selfie that Mr. Moon took. 

Maggie will be taller than me in a nap's worth of time. 

I can't believe how fast they're growing, how incredibly smart they are, how kind they are, how they listen, and how gracefully they show their love. 

And then Owen drove them home! 

As I have said so many times, I am the luckiest woman in the world. And I damn well know it. 

Azaleas. 

We shall see how they look tomorrow. 
There will be burrowing under the duck tonight. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Gathering Ye Camellias While I May

Here we have today's beauty offering. I am wondering what tomorrow night's freeze is going to do to the blooming camellias and their buds. 

And the azaleas. I definitely need to get in there and tidy things up. Not a great example of an azalea but the sweet little raggedy thing is doing its best in the midst of such chaos. 

The sky was winter blue again today. I suppose we get skies as blue in the summer but I think perhaps the much lower humidity in the winter sharpens the color. Not so much water to filter what we see when we look up. I swear, sometimes in summer it's so humid that as Liz Sparks says, you need a snorkel.  

I've been cheerful all day. And once again, for no apparent reason. Yes, it's been clear and cloudless and cool which is very nice, although I've had horrible, terrible times, emotion-wise, on just such days. But I've felt rather light-hearted and happily made our biscuits and eggs and grits and bacon this morning. And speaking of cooking, the soup and naan I made last night were perfection. Have I posted the recipe for that soup? The New York Times could probably sue me if I did but I doubt they'd bother. Their legal department is probably busy fighting the lawsuit that good old You-Hurt-My-Feelings Trump Baby brought against them for defamation. He wants 15 billion dollars. 
Who doesn't want 15 billion dollars? 
What more does this man have to do before someone has the guts, gall, and balls to start proceedings to invoke the twenty-fifth amendment on his ass? Just today it has been reported that he stated the US is sending a "great hospital boat to Greenland to take care of the many people who are sick," which is just a complete fabrication in every detail. 
Not only that, the real sick person called into a C-SPAN show, identified himself as "John Barron" which is a pseudonym he has used before, saying he was a Republican from Virginia to bitch about the "worst decision" the Supreme Court has ever made to deny him the right to demand tariffs. He didn't even attempt to change his voice. 
Now. If this is an AI situation, I apologize. 
If not- TWENTY-FIFTH AMENDMENT! 
Okay, even if not, TWENTY-FIFTH AMENDMENT! 

Every day I think "this has gone too far for someone not to do something" and every day no one does something and he just gets worse and worse and more and more insane. 

Let's talk about other things. 
Like...purple violets which I discovered today are indeed blooming in the yard.

Can you see them? 
So of course I made a few tiny flower arrangements which I have been doing since I was a child. 

Those are a few of the bottles I've found on this property. 

I did more garden weeding today and not much else. I didn't even do any pottery glaze painting. When I was in the garden I noticed that the sugar snaps peas Glen planted a few days are coming up. Just barely, but they are. 

Again, I hope they survive the freeze.

Mostly I've simply enjoyed my decent mood, my sweet husband, and the beautiful day. 
Ain't nothing wrong with that. 

A tiger, stalking through the violets. I will be sad when she loses that luxe winter coat of hers. And not just because there will be cat hair everywhere. Although yes, that too. 

Another shot of the flowers. 

I am glad to have gotten such sweet proofs of life today and to be able to post them here, even if there are probably hundreds before this post, of the seemingly same things. 

Dang. I should go bungee jumping or something to give myself something to write about that I've never written about before. 
Okay. Let's face it. THAT will never happen. Not in this lifetime or any other that this soul is involved in. Evolved in? 
Probably DEvolved in. I might come back as a housefly or something and that would be cool because at least I would know what it's like to have wings. 

Love...Ms. Moon

 

Just Little Things

Here's a another variety of camellia opening up. The blossom on that one is usually HUGE but this year they are not. I am sure there is a biological explanation for the smaller size of the flowers this year which has something to do with not enough rain and too much cold. 
Possibly.
The azaleas are beginning to color up in my yard. I have been seeing them blooming all over the place on my drives into town. Last year, as I recall, they had the most prolific output of any year I can remember. They were nothing short of glorious. 
We, however, got almost none because Mr. Moon decided to prune our bushes when it was really too late. He never believes me when I tell him he's doing that. But this last year he left them alone and I hope this freeze we're supposed to be getting on Tuesday doesn't nip 'em all in the bud. As Barney Fife used to say. "Nip it, Andy. Just nip it!"
Y'all remember that? 

I swear to you, this is going to be a very short post. I want to make the creamy cashew butternut squash soup I love so much for our supper and that takes some time. I don't have a butternut squash so will be using an acorn squash and sweet potatoes and that works perfectly. I also want to make some naan bread and that's time consuming too. 

It was another beautiful day and I weeded some in the garden and am starting to feel a little more excited to start planting. The potatoes from last year I planted a week or so ago have, bizarrely, started coming up. 

Look at that pretty little potato plant. I love its green sandy face. I'm sort of shocked they're coming up at all. The potatoes I planted looked like something that came out of Miss Havisham's pantry. 
Life does want to live though, doesn't it? 

I started glaze-painting my silly fish dish. I immediately discovered that using brushes that don't come from those beat-up jars in the studio results in a much easier application. I know I must have known this but stubbornly didn't buy my own. I think I haven't been taking myself seriously in this regard but once I ordered all those sweet little bottles of Stroke and Coat glaze, I figured I might as well get some better brushes. 

I enjoy this so much, even as I despair at my clumsy hands, my rough and uneven fish. 
Well. La-di-fucking-dah. I am having fun. 

Glen's spent all day long clearing the vines and trees from that area between our yard and the church. It's a horrible task. You think you've got an armful of trunk and branches and vines freed up and ready to load into the trailer, only to find that no, there are still vines connected to all the others not yet pulled or else you're standing on one of them or else...well. I wouldn't want to do it. Frankly he hasn't wanted to do it either which is why that part of the yard has been a mess for many months. I admire him for returning to the task and his persistence in getting it done. 
Which he will eventually. 

And that's all I think I'm going to discuss tonight. It's time to get in that kitchen and cook things. But before I go, I'm going to give you a link to a post I wrote eight years ago about the first time August spent the night. I came across it looking for something else and oh, my heart and soul! Of course no one needs to go back and read it but it is a post that is perfectly precious. I have forgotten so many things! 
And this is perhaps why I blog. Not just because I HAVE to write, but because in these ridiculous numbers of posts, I have captured the biggest events of this family and some of the tiniest details, too. 
And if any of my grandchildren want to ever know what they were like as little's, being born and growing up, they can come here. 
I suppose I should be more serious about backing things up, shouldn't I? 

Eh. Maybe tomorrow. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Another Friday Comes And Goes

Would you look at that mess? It's going to be 81 degrees F tomorrow and by Tuesday, the temperature is dropping to 27. 
Make up your mind, Mother Nature!
Now this may or may not be a direct result of climate change but I know that forty years ago or more this exact same thing happened. Sunny, warm enough for the kids to play outside barefoot and in shorts, go to bed, wake up, and find icicles hanging from the eaves. I remember this distinctly because we had friends visiting and we all had young children. This was when my first husband and I were living in Lloyd in a little house we'd had moved from Monticello to a small piece of property we owned, basically in the woods. I loved that house which was a small cracker house. 
But we heated it with a wood stove and because some people are not really cut out to be back-to-the-land hippies but are more comfortable with playing guitar, we ended up buying our firewood which shamed me to death and probably him too but you do what must be done. 
The point of all that though, is it was so late in the spring we were sure we would not need any more wood until the next fall and so we did not have a scrap. 
There was even talk of busting up and burning an old oak table I had. 
This did not happen.
I don't remember what the solution was but I know we did not die. 

Of course now, Mr. Moon and I are privileged enough to have a little box on the wall we can adjust with one finger so that either heat or air conditioning comes in through the registers on the floors. 
And right now the air conditioning is on. 
By Sunday and Monday, it will be the heat. 
It really isn't hot out but I was not in a mood to tolerate discomfort. I was discomforted enough in my head that I didn't want to be experiencing it in my body too. Also, Mr. Moon was fixing my washing machine and had worked up a sweat. 
We are such spoiled humans. 

I woke up rather angry this morning and I do not know why. Most likely I was angry at myself which is pretty much a constant emotion in my life. Not for anything in particular but simply that stupid voice which demands I pay attention to it so that it can tell me again and again about what a failure I am at so many things. What a despicable human being who has frittered away her life and who continues to do so. I am selfish. I am self-obsessed. I can talk the talk but I cannot walk the walk. I am of an age where I should be at least partially content with who I am and where I am in life. And sometimes I am. 
But mostly, I feel I am not. 
And today I felt it on HiDef. I did not want to get out of bed. Maurice was fine with that. She did a quick assessment of me when she knew I was awake and even KISSED ME ON THE LIPS. SEVERAL TIMES, which she does once in a blue moon and when I went to pet her she gave me a claw to the forearm.
Jesus Christ, I can't even get my pets right. Or, pet, to be more specific.

Glen got home around one and I decided to go to town, just to get away from...myself? That never works, does it? 
So I tried that. I took some library books back and then I went to Oak Tree Treasures, the resale shop at Moon Plaza. I have got to get some new clothes for summer. I just don't have much of anything that will work. Of course I found nothing there I wanted although there was a rather sweet experience wherein a woman was shopping with her daughters, or a daughter and her friend, and the daughter's newish baby and suddenly, there were things being said with great enthusiasm like, "It's perfect!" "You look beautiful in that!" "It's so pretty!" by both the other young woman and the mother. Finally, when the mother said, "It's MAGNIFICENT!" I piped up and said, "And now you KNOW we are all dying out here to see this." There were at least three other shoppers in the vicinity. They all chimed in too.
And the young mother, with no hesitation at all, stepped out of the dressing room, raised her arms in a Ta-Da! move and we all agreed quite enthusiastically that yes, this was a great garment and she did indeed look magnificent in it. It was a black, flowy sort of tunic top with sleeves that were open at the shoulders and gathered midway down the arm by a pearl button, to then swirl like butterfly wings down her arm. 
It was a moment and I loved it. Women supporting women. Women cheering women on. 

Here's another New Yorker cartoon which expresses the way I feel about how I might have to handle my wardrobe dilemma. 

In reality though, that would be far more like Boud than me. And no one would knit a wardrobe for Florida wear. Still, it tickled me.

I stopped by Lily's Publix and gave her some shorts I'd ordered for Mr. Moon which didn't work for him, thinking that Owen might be able to use them. Of course we had a sweet little chat and then I did a small grocery shopping, buying mostly produce but other things too. 
I came home, I made up the bed with the sheets I'd washed. I have been able to use the washer but only under certain settings. The leak was literally a drip. It is fixed now. 
Mr. Moon is a wonder. 

I am not exactly crackling with excitement tonight, am I? 
No. No I am not. 
Perhaps tomorrow will be different. Well, of course it will be, one way or another. 
But you know what I mean. 

Clean sheets on the bed, martinis being enjoyed. 
Yes indeed. It is Friday.

Hope it's a good one for you.

Love...Ms. Moon

Signs Of Life, Signs Of Death, And All That Stuff In Between

I was looking out the front door window this morning and saw that. For a moment I could not figure out what in hell I was seeing. Had I teletransported to the Addams' Family Home? Was that a new ornament that someone with a weird sense of humor had gifted me? 
No, no. It was just a plain old buzzard or vulture or whatever you want to call them perched on my fence post. There were four more in the yard, just this side of the gate and a few outside. I figured there must have been some sort of roadkill there, which is not unusual. 
I went out later to get the mail and checked for any dead animals but saw none. Maybe it was just a little social meeting. I know people have very negative feelings about buzzards but we must all admit that without them, we'd be in a heap o' trouble. A literal heap. O' trouble. Things would get real stinky. Buzzards will do the dirty work and then move on to the next dead thing. I would not mind having them pick my bones when I go. I'd rather that than a polyester velvet lined coffin with my dead self lying there, eyes closed by the mortician, hands folded over my bosom. 

And yes, there are cultures where bodies are put on outcroppings for the vultures to come and take care of and in those cultures, they are considered to be sacred birds. 
Context is everything, isn't it? 

Y'all. I got shit DONE today. What happened? 
No idea. And nothing I did required much physical exertion but was mostly just things I've been putting off or forgetting to do (conveniently?) or actually needed to do before I collapsed into a ball of shame and degradation. I started off by pulling everything out of the cabinet beneath the sink and cleaning that area. Last night I kept smelling something I can only describe as "funky." Not like something had died, which would not be an unprecedented occurrance. 
Thanks, Maurice.
So I figured the cabinet needed a good weeding out and organizing anyway and got to it after breakfast. I found nothing at all of a funky nature and I didn't smell the smell anymore but what I did discover is that I have at least two of every cleaning product I use, and also quite a few cleaning products I never use and have no idea why I bought in the first place. 
I got rid of some things, not too many, but what is the expiration limit on roach motels? And now everything is much more orderly and easy to see and I know what I definitely do NOT need to buy in the foreseeable future. Of course I will have forgotten in a month or two and so the cycle shall continue. 

And then I took the trash to the dump place and stopped by the post office. We get mail at both our mailbox and the post office which is redundant and they have different addresses. I actually have to pay for the post office box but I like going to the post office and twirling the little dials on my box and opening it to retrieve my mail. Plus, if I don't visit semi-regularly at least, who is going to clear the counter of flyers, both commercial and religious? These things are not permitted to be on the counters but of course no one pays attention to that. 
Except me. 
Today there was even a pair of shoes. Very small women's shoes. I am sure someone thought that would be a good place to leave them for anyone who might want them but...come on. 
Have we no standards? 
I could not bear to throw them in the trash so I just set them neatly below the counter. Problem solved. Correct? 

I made the bed of course, because I always do that and then I tackled my shower. Every night when I step into it I remember that the tile floor of it is not exactly a housewife's dream image of a tile shower floor. It is stained and a bit cracked where I'm sure the floor has settled where mold has crept in and stubbornly made a permanent home, and yes, there was mildew on the walls because this is Florida which, as my mother used to say, is not the Sunshine State, it is the Mildew State. So for a long time I've been meaning to get in there with bleach and other deadly chemicals to try and regain some control and I did that today. 
It didn't help much if at all. I sprinkled Comet with bleach on the floor, I scrubbed with a brush and even a toothbrush. And then I sprayed other bleach-containing products and scrubbed some more and I did the best I could but it still looks like hell. 
At least I tried. I did my best. 
And I did remove a wig's worth of hair from the drain. This was a gross but somehow satisfying thing to do. 

From there I moved on to plant watering. I still have plants in the house and I am not taking any more out at this point because next Tuesday, we're supposed to get another freeze. Now, that freeze may or may not happen but I'm not risking it. This is hard to believe because it has been another sleeveless, barefoot day. So first I watered the plants inside and although I cannot believe it, the Christmas cactus I bought with the full acceptance that I would be killing it, has blooms on it, even though the cactus itself does look as if it may be teetering between this life and no life. 

Insane! 
And then I watered the plants we have returned to the front porch, giving them a good soaking. I also turned the (new!) sprinklers on the garden to give the peas and potatoes Glen just planted a nice drink of water. We're supposed to be getting some rain but who knows? 

On to the outside where I finally laid down some pine straw mulch in the camellia bed. It now looks almost...landscaped? 
Well, yes, until you actually look at the plants which need pruning and the border grass which has completely taken over large parts of the bed. But it does look tidier. 

It's not really that big of an area and it was truly easy to do. The weeding of the bed was much more difficult and time consuming. 

I'm not sure I've ever seen as many blossoms on the camellias. They are smaller, I think, than usual but sometimes it IS quantity, not quality. And anyway, larger is not always better or an indication of better quality, is it? 
I cut a few to replace the ones in the hallway that had begun turning brown at the edges. 

I swept the kitchen, the hallway, my bathroom, and our bedroom. And then, to top it all off, I did a cleaning of the coffee maker and my little espresso machine with vinegar and water. Then I ran the vinegar/water through the dishwasher because a repairman I trust once told me that was a good thing to do and why waste good vinegar water? 

So that's it, I guess. Last night I sort of went crazy and upon realizing I had an eggplant in the refrigerator which had about two hours left of life left in it, I made a sort of eggplant parmesan/lasagna/white bean casserole with halloumi on top. I had bought the halloumi quite a while ago just because I kept reading about it and had never tried it and it was still there in the cheese drawer. It was sort a ridiculous thing to make for one person but it fit nicely in the air fryer/toaster oven and was delicious. That will be my supper again tonight. And quite possibly my lunch tomorrow. 

Oh my goodness! It is raining! I thought I smelled it coming. I don't think it's going to last very long but it is certainly nice to hear. Just as good-old-god gave Noah hope when he sent the dove with an olive branch to him as Noah and his poor family floated about the planet on the ark, trying to keep the elephants, koalas, iguanas, coyotes, skunks, armadillos, bears, panthers, rattlesnakes, and T. Rex alive, even a short little rain shower strong enough to slap the ground and release the dirty, sweet, funky scent of petrichor is enough to comfort and reassure us.
Or at least it is to me and I am grateful. 

Love...Ms. Moon

I Should Copyright The Term "Prairie-Fairy", Don't You Think?

Here we have Xena (aka Large Marge) and Lauren whose head I chopped off due to trying to focus in on that sweet, delicate, little pup. 

Sorry, Lauren.

Xena is not delicate or little but she is sweet and her ears are those velvet puppy ears that you just want to keep loving on forever. As you can see, she has grown since the last picture I posted of her, which of course she has, but she is already now bigger than any dog I'd ever want but which I can appreciate being her human granddog mother. Lily and Lauren brought her to our after-pottery lunch today. The restaurant we went to allows dogs in the outdoor seating area and so she was welcome. She was quite well-behaved, mostly just looking for love from anyone who walked by but not in an annoying, whiney way. Lauren did put her in the car when our food came so she would not harass us. It was a coolish day and Xena was in no danger of dying from heat stroke. 

Pottery went way too fast today. I had hoped I could finish the glazing on my flower bowl but I knew that was not going to happen and it didn't. It's not far away from completion, though. 

I hate even posting a picture because it is so messy, so weird looking. Believe it or not, there are six distinct colors there but until they are fired, it won't look like it. I've still got to put more green on the outside and finish up the center. I'm not sure what I'm going to do there. 
Ah well. Another who made THAT? piece and not in a good way but it is what it is and please don't tell me it's going to be fine. 
As I told Mr. Moon quite soon after we met, "Don't bullshit me, man."
I suppose he'd given me some sort of compliment which I found less than based in reality and I was being a tough bitch which I viewed my 29 year old self to be. 

There were seven of us in class today including our teacher, and everyone seemed to be serious about what they were doing. Not as much chit-chat as happens sometimes. We only have two more classes for this session and I need to glaze my fish dish, which made it out of the kiln alive, and I surely would like to make another fish spoon rest for Billy. I brought the fish dish home with me, along with my glazes, in hopes that I can finish that up before next Wednesday. I realized I had no brushes except for what was possibly in the $1.50 watercolor sets I've still got from when the grands were little so after lunch, I went to Michael's and bought an assortment of brushes and I have no idea if they're up to the task of handling glaze but I think they will be. The brushes I've been using in the studio have seen better days and those better days were sometime in the last decade, I do believe, so these can only be an improvement, right?
I should watch a video or something. 

Marshall's is right next door to Michael's and so I dropped in there too. Nothing was appealing. Who the fuck is designing clothes these days? Here is an example of what it appears we should be wearing. 

Are we to be prairie-fairy princesses? Okay, these dresses were in the junior section but the ones in the women's section were pretty much the same. 
No thank you. I did not see one blouse, one shirt, one sweater that I'd have the slightest desire to wear. Or dress. Or pair of shoes for that matter. 
As I wrote a friend in a text, I should probably try shopping at a store that is not aimed at struggling college students. Jessie keeps telling me I need to just suck it up and go to the mall and look at some decent clothes. 
Jessie is the boss of me but so far, I have not gone to the mall which seems like something I'd only do in a dream of my past life and it IS something I did in a past life. I used to love to go to the mall. I'd take my children and we'd get some delicious Dole Whip and I'd hit the Gap and look for new T-shirts or whatever. Sometimes we'd go to Dillards and smell the perfumes and I might try on some shoes or a dress or whatever. Real shoes and real dresses. Not crap destined for the landfill within a year. I would lust after beautiful purses and take the kids to a toy store or Claire's where treasures were always found and occasionally bought. 
Even then, though, the kids knew I had a time limit when it came to being in the mall and they could always tell when I'd reached it. But until that happened, we had some good times, some of us had some tantrum times (not naming names), and I knew where every restroom in the mall was. 
And who knows? Maybe I'd enjoy an hour or so of shopping there again. I hear there are far fewer people now...

I did not answer comments from yesterday. I may still or I may not. I don't know. I'm tired. I woke up quite a long time before my alarm went off and couldn't get back to sleep. This is the way of it, isn't it? Glen's up at Lake Seminole, making a salad in one of his new bowls. 

The lady who sold them to Glen said they were unused which sounds preposterous but that bowl looks pretty fresh. Supposedly her mother got them as a wedding present and never used them. I do not disbelieve her. 

And that's it for today's report. I'll get some good sleep and tomorrow I'll be perkier. The word "perky" always makes me think of Mary Tyler Moore. Know what I mean? 
But in a very good way.

Love...Ms. Moon