Monday, December 31, 2012

I Am Not Getting All Emotional About The New Year Thing

It's after ten in the morning and all I've done is make four breakfasts and help Mr. Moon take a splinter out of his finger and watch some Pawn Stars with Hank.
"What do you want to do today?" I ask him. "What do YOU want to do today?" he says.
Oh god.
I am trying to force myself to go up those stairs and open the closets and start hauling stuff out.
Stuff, stuff, shit and stuff.
Actual real shit because mice have made that their nesting place for quite some time and please don't judge me- this house is old and yes, we have mice and so what? I'd rather live in this old house with mice than in a hermetically sealed modern place where no wildlife ever intrudes. We've had bats and mice and rats and squirrels and on Christmas morning the chickens walked right into the kitchen door but that's not quite the same, is it? Jessie and Vergil live in downtown Asheville, North Carolina and a possum sometimes walks boldly through the cat door. And the cat doesn't mind one bit.

Anyway, la-di-dah.

Mr. Moon and Jason have been up since yonks for hunting and now they're cutting up Mr. Moon's doe from his last hunt in Georgia. For some reason, this makes me happy. I think it's a gene thing. The same gene most likely that makes me happy to find eggs in the nest and see greens growing in the garden.
FOOD!

But obviously I don't really have much to talk about and yes, it's the last day of 2012 and quite frankly that doesn't mean much to me as I am of the opinion that time is so ephemeral that trying to measure and chain it down into years and days and moments is a human frivolity and so I'm not giving that a whole lot of credence or importance. Yes, a lot of really cool stuff happened in 2012 around here, mainly that Gibson was born and Jessie and Vergil got engaged and yes, Obama got re-elected but mostly, I'm just glad to still be alive and living in this old house with the mice and rats and squirrels and bats and chickens in the yard and husband who cuts up deer and loves me.

I wonder how many deer heads are buried in my back yard.

Hard to say.

So good morning and happy new year and so forth and so on and get your new calendars out of their wrappers and go ahead and write in everyone's birthdays and anniversaries and we'll just see what happens to fill in the rest of those little squares. One never knows.

Do you have a plan for this evening? Do you put on a little black dress and go out and celebrate or do you, like us, think that New Year's Eve is amateur night and so tend to stay in and be safe and go to bed at a reasonable hour, convinced of the fact that time will pass and the ball will drop whether you are watching it or not?

I'm going to make spaghetti today. That's what I've got planned.
Spaghetti. Not pasta. Spaghetti. I have ground venison and mushrooms and peppers and onions and garlic and probably some cheat-ass spaghetti sauce that I bought buy-one-get-one-free. It'll be delicious.

And clean out the closets. Yes. Maybe. We'll see. Just like for the rest of the coming-up year.

We'll see.

Love...Ms. Moon

14 comments:

  1. I don't go out for New Year's. Too expensive and too crazy. There's a big downtown celebration in Austin that's kid-friendly but it's such a hassle, I'd rather stay home. I'm having a movie marathon with my boy and we'll make popcorn on the stove and maybe order a pizza. Woo-hoo!

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  2. We laid eyes on each other in a retail establishment. That is notable for 2012.

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  3. We're going out tonight, to an early dinner at a neighbours's who has already warned us that it will be an early night and for that we are grateful.
    I guess.
    I love the sound of your old house and venison in the larder.

    happy new year dear lady.

    xo dd

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  4. I'm with you on so many levels:
    So much Shit to clear out, and yes, lots of it is actual mouse shit. This house is maybe 16 years old, but we have a serious mouse problem. This winter's death toll is over 30 in the basement and the attic. Last year, they invaded the kitchen. Ugh.

    I don't get too worked up about arbitrary Gregorian calendar dates either, I think about how Chinese New Year is in February this year, and its either the year 4710 or 4649 or something, nobody knows for sure. It makes more sense to celebrate the solstice to me.

    No, we don't go out either, amateur night is right. I don't like to go out New Year's Day either, as I figure anybody out driving around is likely to be still drunk.
    We stay in and watch those year in review shows, or the top videos of the year, hopefully something musical.

    I was really hoping for a great 2012, but it left me a little disoriented. 12 was always my lucky number, but this year didn't feel half as lucky as I wanted it to.

    I'm glad that even when you don't think you have much to say, you talk to us anyway. It's one of the best parts of this year for me.

    Hope you have a lovely at home party and the food will surely be wonderful. Wish Hank well for me.

    xo

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  5. Those blasted closets are tormenting you aren't they? Go up and get rid of 17 thing. Just 17. They come downstairs and put your feet up.

    Happy New Year whether you will be awake or not. xo

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  6. Here's my day so far Mary -- got up, turned on the computer and am still in the same place 3 hours later. Don't feel bad.
    Lately new year's celebrations just seem like a reason for kids to drink too much in this college town. You know I never did that when I was in college.

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  7. Yea, the mouse shit is a real pain. They shred up stuff too and that is also a pain... Good luck. I had to do the same before we left and repack a bunch of boxes that were mouse houses. Ick! Oh well, old houses. Nothing to do about it but live with it.

    Happy New Year Ms Moon and to all the Moon /Thigpens.
    xo

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  8. Maybe those mice should be christened so they don't feel inferior to your "grand mice." Rodents are regular visitors here in So Cal, too. Rats, though, more than mice. It's the fruit. And they will get into your walls--old house or new. My cats were always the first responders. When the cats stare at the wall for an hour--you know the rats are beginning to scratch their way in.
    As for New Years, well, no party giving for me this year because I don't want to put my friends on the road for such a long drive. Good food here at home though for the three of us. Always good food. And champagne.
    Happy New Year Mrs. Moon. I look forward to another year of reading your blog.

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  9. Happy 2013, Ms. Moon. Hope it's all you wish it to be.

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  10. I will be staying in where it is safe. Putting a puzzle together with my mom. I am joking that tonight I will party like it is 1979. Might make it until midnight. Might not.

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  11. We never go out on new years. and on new years day we have a late fancy breakfast and mimosas. but you are right. this is an arbitrary day picked by someone long ago for an ending and beginning. and I also prefer house that are open to the elements and critters.

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  12. We stay in on New Year's Eve. Too much craziness out there and no one wants to deal with crazy. But we did get the Hoppin' John, collard greens, and corn muffins cooked. That's a good thing to do on New Year's Eve. Not a creature will be stirring here at midnight, not even a mouse.

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  13. Blue Gal- That sounds perfect!

    Juancho- That is 100% correct.

    Deirdre- And happy new year to you, dear lady. I know you have wild meat in your larder, too. I hope you slept well and warm as the new year came in.

    Mel- Hank is doing much better. Thank-you. I hope 2013 brings you much good luck.

    Birdie- I got rid of WAY more than seventeen things. It felt good.

    Rubye Jack- Not me. In college. I was too busy getting stoned.

    Ms. Fleur- They DO shred up everything. I sort of can't that them for that, though. They are just making cozy nests. Which is something we can all relate to.

    Denise- And I look forward to reading YOURS! You had am amazing year and I can only image what this next one will be like.

    Angie- And to you, sweetie.

    Jill- I made a concerted effort not to be awake. And I succeeded.

    Ellen- Completely arbitrary. Yes. Enjoy your mimosas!

    Syd- As I said to a friend, if I was going to be awake at midnight, it would be because I was having a hot flash! And you know, I think I slept right through it.

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  14. I have a cat named Kamir that takes care of any potential mice that would ever enter this house. Since I live in the country, the potential is high and I'm afraid he is quite the killer so it often looks like a little mousy graveyard on my front step. The crows like the carnage.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.