Saturday, January 16, 2010

Day Trip

It is warm and it is raining and Kathleen and I are going to Apalachicola for the day. She went over there a few weeks ago when her friend Vicki was here and she left a bag of things she'd bought in a shop and they still have it and we're going to retrieve it.
That's the short story, of course.
Mr. Moon trembles a bit when he knows I'm going to get anywhere near Apalach without him. It's the shops. They have some of the best shopping in the great Northwest (of Florida) there. There's one shop in particular which strikes the fear in his heart. It's called River Lily and I have seen women almost swoon in ecstasy when they walk in the purple doors of that particular establishment. The jewelry, the body care products, the rugs and lamps and pictures and cards and clothes and doo-dads and incense and candles and purses and, and, and....

Men walk in and look around with a face full of bewilderment and often turn around and go right back out. Luckily for all concerned, there is a fine drinking establishment not twenty feet away. The men can go fortify themselves there while the women have their way with the credit card in River Lily. The numbing effect of the alcohol is a good thing in this instance and when the women join them after their shopping with armsful of purple bags, the men are less apt to lose their shit.

But Kathleen and I are flying solo today. Neither one of us is a huge shopper. Kathleen is more likely to buy gifts for others and I am more likely to look, admire, and realize that I really do not need whatever it is I am looking at. One never knows though...

Anyway, that's where I'll be today as the rain falls down on us and the frogs have thawed out here in Lloyd and are making little trilling noises and the roosters crow to get their hens out of bed and the birds are calling and it's not spring. No, certainly not spring. But it is not freezing and we can pretend and no matter how we look at it, spring will come and the world, not unlike River Lily, is filled with jewels and pretty things for us to admire if we just get out and find them.

15 comments:

  1. yes, if we just get out and find them. because like your thawing frogs now singing with the new light, like owen's new tooth. there is treasure to be found.
    in any given moment.

    sometimes treasure comes in bright purple bags, or unexpected packages from friends we have never met in the physical realm, but mostly...
    it blooms in the heart,
    and is the gift of seeing. truly seeing.

    you have that gift.

    and share it so generously.

    why look, my purple bag is full again just for stopping by.

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  2. It's going to be Spring so soon

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  3. Have fun on your Gal's Day Road Trip! I agree that getting out and about with a friend and just looking at nice things can often fill me up by itself, no need to purchase a dang thing.

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  4. I would give almost anything to be in a place where I could hear frogs...

    Though now that I think about it, I'm sitting at orchestra practice and the kids warming up do sound a little chirpy...

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  5. Enjoy the day, it sounds wonderful to me.

    It won't be spring here for 3 - 4 more months. I console myself with the thing we tell ourselves. A very cold climate kills all the bugs. So why do I have a few errant flys in the house?

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  6. That is certainly true! One never knows! Have a fun, fun time and enjoy the company.

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  7. I hope you and your friend are having a wonderful time. Sounds perfect.
    I will be going out shortly to see Crazy Heart with my man.
    Thinking of you!

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  8. Sorry I haven't written in forever Ms. Moon. I still heart you!!! :)
    Quietgirl :)

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  9. Here's a sign I saw in a store in South Carolina: 'If you see something you like, buy it when you see it.' Yeah, I know it was a store and their business was selling, but it struck me on a different level: you could SAY you'll get it when you come back, but will you really go back and will it be there if and when you go back?
    I hope you treated yourself to something.

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  10. Happy hunting, happy admiring.... well, just happy happy!

    Round here we're just trying to make it to the potty in time... sigh... it is getting better though. Will call.
    xo

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  11. I like to shop like you, I think. Go inside and look around and sort of want a little of everything but then realize I don't. Sometimes stuff (especially at Target) makes it into the cart only to be dumped at the end.

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  12. Today I survived the St. Augustine outlet mall with my 2 teenage style maven daughters and full-fledged "gotta have this" shop girls. I bought a book of Marge Piercy poems (and some skinny Gap jeans).

    Wish I'd read this post before I went. Glad to meet you Ms. Moon.

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  13. Rebecca- Awwww.... Thank you.

    Jo- Might as well be here.

    N2- Exactly.

    Michelle- I would say there are a lot of similarities there.

    Sandra- Because they're inside!

    Angie- I did. I really did enjoy it.

    Michele R- Tell me what you think about it. I can't wait to hear a "real people" review.

    Quietgirl- I love you too! Where have you been? Are you posting at all? I miss you so.

    Lucy- Well, it's true. The problem is you just never know what you're going to wish you'd bought until you've left. Dammit.

    Ms. Fleur- Lord I hope you and Marc don't get that bug.
    How sad for Harley that he did.

    Elizabeth- That reminds me of Lis (Elisabeth) who puts things in her cart and "owns" them until it's time to check out when she takes most of them out.

    Girl Fires- Indeed we did have oysters for lunch! And they were wonderful.

    Stephanie- I'm so glad you've come by here! No purchase necessary! I've been to that outlet mall. It's a wonder.

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  14. I love little shops, where everything is perfect and beautiful, and you lose yourself for awhile. I hope you had fun.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.