Monday, May 27, 2019

I'm Old And I Know It

Went outside this morning with my little bowl of chopped up grapes for the babies only to discover that one of the chicks had escaped from the peep coop.


Of course she was frantic, trying to get back in to Mama and Mama was frantic, trying to get her baby to come back in. There was a little place that had been scratched out and the tiny Houdini had escaped through the opening there. This will NOT be the last time one or all of them get out. It's impossible to keep the frame securely on the dirt with six chickens scratching around the edges. 
Later on today I was reading August this story by Richard Scarry


which, by the way, is one of the best stories I've ever read. I mean- check out that first page. You just know you're in for some romance and adventures, right? 
"Mistress Mouse is a bold little hussy," I told August after I read that page. 
"Don't listen to your MerMer," said Jessie. And we both laughed so hard. 
Anyway, Mr. Mouse takes off in his car to try and find the lady mouse who wrote him that letter because she neglected to give him her address and in one of the houses he knocks on the door of in his search, this is going on:


I laughed at that too because mother chickens do spend a great deal of time teaching their chicks to scratch but they don't usually use diagrams as far as I know. 
But I was charmed. 

I managed to get the little yellow chick back with her mother and her siblings and I put a brick where the escape route was and we'll see how long that works. 
Not very, is what I'm thinking. 

So yes, Jessie and the boys came out and it was pretty perfect after being all by myself for two entire days. We read a bunch of books, some in the library and some on my bed. As soon as he got on the bed August got right under the covers as all of the grandchildren do. I pretend to fuss about dirt on the sheets and say things like, "I just made this bed!" but they know I don't really care. In fact, there is very little in this world that I love more than the knowledge that my babies feel safe and secure, cozy and comfortable in Mer and Bop's bed while I read them books. It's such a joy for me. We read another story by Richard Scarry's wife, Patricia Scarry, about a little baby rabbit who wants to grow up to be a daddy who takes care of his children. 
I asked August if he was going to be a daddy when he grows up. 
"No," he said. "I'm going to be a mommy."
Well, okay then! He's going to have lots and lots of children and later on in the day he told me that there were going to be many daddies in his house when he grows up and has children. Many daddies. 
Sounds cool to me. I asked him if I could come and live with him and all the daddies and children. He said I could. 

Jessie and I couldn't figure out what to do. We both needed to go to Costco but Costco is closed on Memorial Day. Publix would have to do for the short term. It was also lunch time. Where should we go? Could we fit in a trip to Target to return some things Jessie recently bought? Could we find time to go to the Goodwill bookstore? 
As we pondered all of this, Levon and August formed a boy band in my kitchen. 


Do you see that Revere Ware pan that Levon is banging on? That was his great-great grandmother's pan. That's a little hard to believe, isn't it? They used to make that shit to last. I use it all the time. 

We finally got it together and drove to town in separate cars because I didn't want Jessie to have to drive me all the way back to Lloyd. We first went to lunch (priorities, people!) and then to Publix. 

As we walked around the store with two boys in a race cart, I told Jessie that you know you're old when going to Publix with your grandchildren is about as much fun as you can imagine. If their mother is there too, of course. 
But how could this not be a merry time? 



And after that, Jessie was ready to take those rascals home. Forget Target. Forget the Goodwill bookstore. And actually, one of the dresses she was returning worked quite well for me and so I bought it from her so that was nice for both of us. In fact, I wore it on our outing. It's incredibly soft and I'm sure I'll wear it until it's a rag. 

So those were the high points of my day. I came home and got the clothes off the line and folded them and put them away and cleaned up the kitchen and started the dishwasher and replanted a maiden-hair fern that some damn chicken plucked out of its pot and and watered some plants and planted two nice succulents in my hen pots. 


I had other plants in there but I transplanted them to other pots. 

Mr. Moon is back in Las Vegas and here's a picture he sent me from the journey between St. George, Utah and Vegas. 


What can you say about that besides, magnificent
The United States has some amazing landscapes and that is the honest truth. 
Of course, we also have this. 


That's the view from his room which is also magnificent in its own way. And yet...SO Las Vegas. 
There's a tiny part of me that wishes I were there with the crazy cacophony of the slot machines' dinging and ringing and the insane craziness of a golden pyramid and a miniature New York city, not to mention the fountains of the Bellagio and its lobby with the unbelievable glass ceiling sculpture by Chihuly which has to be seen to be believed but mostly, I'm just so glad I'm not. 
I've been there. 
I've done that. 
And I've had some very good times in Las Vegas but I think those days may be behind me. 

The cicadas are tuning up for their evening choral presentation, the chickens are getting settled in the roost. I have the most comfortable bed in the world and a good book I'm reading. 
I'm content right here in Lloyd. 

I'll check back in tomorrow. 

Love...Ms. Moon








26 comments:

  1. my baby did love Richard Scarry books, he would not let me send them off while clearing out the bookshelves, no, those had to stay, even though there will be no grand babies. I am so pleased that you are content in your nest, it does sound peaceful.

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    1. It is, Linda Sue. As long as the AC keeps working, I'm happy.

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  2. A good day it sounds like. I went over to see my grandson this evening after supper and fed him a bottle. It's always good to see him. He's smiling now and so sweet.

    I'm reading a good book right now "Losing Clementine" by Ashley Ream. It's about an artist with bipolar disorder who decides to kill herself. Probably not the best book to be reading right now but it is a very good book.

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    1. Oh, those baby smiles! There is nothing on this earth quite as sweet and pure. I just made a note on my phone about that book. Thanks.

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  3. My mother in law had a duplicate of that very Revereware pot and gave it to me, together with lid. I've had it since 1966. I let Laura select a great number of the cookwares she has used to take with her, but that pot was specifically excluded. But I think that Grandma Noragon is Laura's great grandmother. I am her grandmother, so my mother is her great grandmother, as would be my mother in law. Nevertheless, a superb pot. I used it last night to make stewed tomatoes, which I have not had for three years.

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    1. I have no idea how long my grandmother had that pot but I sure am glad to have it. Granny kept house back in the twenties and thirties so...
      I do love stewed tomatoes. I make them when I cook fish. I have no idea why but I do and they are so good. Fish, stewed tomatoes and grits- one of our favorite meals.

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  4. I loved that Richard Scarry book!

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  5. My mother got Revereware in 1957. I use it all the time. It is the one thing in my place that is older than I am. I'm glad you had a sweet day.

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    1. Good for you, e! Aren't we lucky to have these inheritances? I did have a sweet day.

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  6. It sounds like a perfect day, boy band and all.

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    1. The boy band was fabulous. I think that Levon might turn out to be the true musician. As soon as he hears music playing he lights up like crazy and begins to dance. But August has a really good ear. And Maggie can carry a tune like nobody's business, to tell the truth. She has a lovely voice.

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  7. I think you should be thanking your lucky stars not to be in Vegas. I personally hate that place.

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  8. Your succulents look good...have you tried propagating them from a leaf? I have got several little plants coming on.....I love them. My whole front windowsill is succulents. 22 all different shapes and sizes..I just counted!!

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    1. That's so cool, Frances! I have indeed started them from a leaf. I have one coming on right now that I'm paying good attention to. You must have a very good window for such a good showing of succulents!

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  9. I could do without ever seeing Las Vegas again. But I'd love to see all that surrounding wilderness. THAT's what's spectacular about the West.

    Glad you rescued that poor terrified chick! I loved Richard Scarry books when I was a kid. And my mom has Revere Ware, too. I believe she got it when she got married in 1962!

    August is such a character. He's certainly envisioning a unique family structure for himself!

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    1. I watch for Revere Ware when I thrift shop and all I have to do to identify the older, good quality stuff is pick it up. If it's light, it's newer and I don't mess with it. If it has a heft, I buy it. If I don't need it, I pass it on to one of my kids.
      Isn't August being incredibly non-conformist in his family planning? I love it! I am not about to tell him that he cannot be a mommy or that he can't live in a house with lots and lots and lots and lots...
      of daddies.
      I have a feeling that he's actually going to end up being a daddy himself, coupled with a nice mommy but who knows?
      It's a brave new world.

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  10. I don't think we had a single Richard Scarry book when my kids were growing up. lots of books but none of his. and Las Vegas in good for about an hour then it's just too too much. and yeah, manufacturers used to make stuff to last. I have some revereware I liberated from my mother.

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    1. There are amazing things in Las Vegas. I mean- really! But I'm just not up for the stimuli.
      Glad you have your own Revere Ware. It's good stuff. Or at least the old versions of it are.

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  11. We've been to Vegas once and we are never going back. The entire place just offends me. It's in the freaking desert and they're spraying water with wild abandon. Plus, they do the lights inside so that people lose track of the time, and stay to lose more money. The entire place reeks of perfidy and malfeasance. The surrounding area is pretty stunning.

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    1. You're exactly right, Allison, although I think they get all the energy they need from the Hoover dam. I don't even pretend to understand if that's a good thing or not.
      I think that people like that reek of perfidy and malfeasance. It's sort of a huge excuse to do whatever you feel like doing. It's not real life but it's real.
      I've often wondered what it's like to live there.

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  12. Just recently found your blog and I absolutely love your sense of humour. I know exactly what you mean about hanging out with the grands, my grandson turned 2 in March and he is just the best thing that has happened in my life.

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    1. Thank you, Ms. Maebeme! Grandkids are a sort of miracle, aren't they?

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