Wednesday, October 21, 2020

A Boy And His Dog, A Woman And Her Skillets


 There's a nice picture of our gorgeous Gibson with Pepper that Lily sent on our text-family posts. I can't believe how grown-up Gibson is becoming. Pepper, on the other hand, is as big as she's going to get. She's a spritely little doggo and I hear that when she's not surrounded by people and chickens she can do quite a few tricks. You can tell she's smart just by looking at her. Or perhaps I just feel that way because I think she's smart and so there you go...

Lily also sent this picture.


Don't ask me their names. I don't know them. But the text that came with the image said, "Did y'all know that rats really do love cheese?" Well I certainly did not. She says that she has come to love the little rat critters. They do look soft, don't they? And what big ears they have! 

It's been one of the most flat days I think I've ever had. Well, probably not. I just cannot seem to get started doing anything. I took a walk but it was horribly humid and still so hot and I hated it. There was not one thing about it that I liked except being waved at by a guy driving a very old, very noisy tractor down the road. He looked joyful. So that was nice. 

I've already started obsessing about what to take to the beach. Not clothes-wise but things like flour and salt and olive oil and vinegar and should I take baking powder? Yeast? Rice? Potatoes? Cheese? Surely I have to take onions and garlic. When I go to town tomorrow should I pick up fruit and vegetables to take? There's a Piggly Wiggly Jr. on the island but we won't want to have to buy everything there as surely things will be more expensive. It's not quite like going to Dog Island where if you want it, you better bring it. We'll be able to buy seafood, I'm sure, and probably decent meat if we want it or hotdogs if we don't. As with all of my neuroses, I can tell myself until the cows come home that it doesn't make a rat's ass of difference if I take things or buy them there. We're not going to go broke if don't take ketchup and horseradish and have to get them at the Little Pig. And we won't starve no matter what. So what's the problem, old lady? 
Same as it ever was- I'm freakin' crazy. 
And obsessed with food. I remember how all the patrols in our Girl Scout troop would make up menus for our camping trips and one of the moms would take us shopping for the things we needed. We made delicious dishes like campfire stew (ground beef, canned soup and canned vegetables- I think) and well, I don't remember what else. Basically campfire stew. Although I do remember pancakes for breakfast and also once when our leader showed us how to make doughnuts by making a hole in pop-out refrigerator biscuits with our fingers and frying them in a huge skillet of oil and then dusting them with powdered sugar. 
Surprisingly delicious. 
Also? I still have that skillet and use it all the time. 
Speaking of skillets, last night I made skillet spanakopita from a NYT's cooking app recipe and it looked like this. 


Yeah. I should have baked it a little longer. But it was delicious. I didn't have a few of the ingredients like feta and leeks so I substituted onions and shallots and goat cheese and also added some artichoke hearts and I have to say those things did it no harm. Ever since I saw the recipe I've been wanting to make it which is why I bought phyllo dough last time I shopped. I used a small skillet and basically halved the recipe so I cut the roll of dough in half before I thawed it and it worked beautifully. 

Maurice news: Last week after the boys had been here with their matchbox cars, Maurice found one under a piece of furniture in the hallway, I guess, and spent about forty-five minutes PLAYING WITH IT! I couldn't believe it. She'd bat the car and then chase it and sit beside it for awhile as if trying to make up her mind whether or not to continue or perhaps to try and pretend she wasn't playing, and then she'd bat it again. I was stunned. Maurice does not play. Not in any sense of the word. And then last night, she went to sleep with us on a pillow at the head of the bed and when I woke up this morning, she was cuddled up next to my hip. She stayed in bed for quite awhile. Until she got hungry, I guess. 


The most amazing part of that whole story is that JACK LET HER SLEEP ON THE BED! He didn't challenge her all night long. In fact, Mr. Moon said that when he got up once to visit the bathroom, she jumped off the bed, went into the kitchen to eat a few friskies and then got back on the bed. 
I am gobsmacked. Perhaps she is mellowing a bit? Perhaps Jack is too? Although I have to say I did hear them have a bit of a yowling, hissing confrontation at one point today. But I don't notice any new bleeding on the poor girl so I guess it didn't come to that. 

And as much as I'd like to have something of more vital interest to talk about, I just don't. Mr. Moon has been building sidewalls for his trailer all day long so that he can haul a load of mushroom compost for our garden and for Lily's garden. That man knows how to live during a pandemic. Start projects that take all of your attention and which lead to other projects and do them. Meanwhile, I ripped out some embroidery and watched a documentary about a guy who treated his suicidal depression by finding a shaman in Peru and spending a huge amount of time with him, taking various plant medicines including ayahuasca. He spent 119 days isolated in a hut, talking to no one and only ingesting the shaman-prescribed plants, fish and rice. That was only part of the journey. And he feels better now! There was a lot more to it but that was the gist. As he said at the end of the film, "I'm still here." 

I'm still here too. I may be floundering and I may feel lost and I definitely feel useless and the high point of my day may be (is) going to bed but I do get out of bed and I suppose there is something to be said for that. 

Love...Ms. Moon
 

30 comments:

  1. I hear you, my friend. I hear you. The best part of my day, more often than I would like, is getting ready for bed and crawling in, as my mother would say. This will pass, they say, but it looks like it's going to be awhile. I so want to hug my grandchild in KY.

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    1. I don't blame you. I stealth-hug Lily's kids. If I'm caught I say, "We didn't breathe on each other!" It's true. I sniff them, not blow on them.

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  2. Omg I have often wondered at the delicious anticipation I feel when it’s time to climb into bed. I have company in this, I see. I just watched Obama’s rally in Philly. It jolted me right out of the flatness I was feeling, the anxiety and despair. I felt that fragile thing, hope. I felt lighter. Gibson has a smile like the sun breaking out.

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    1. Barack Obama has been and always will be the most potent symbol of hope I know. Just saying his name these days brings tears to my eyes.
      Gibson is my darling boy.

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  3. Oh sweet Maurice. And now I think I fell in love with those two cheese eating rats too.

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  4. Bout time Jack developed some respect for a woman who can drive a car the length of the hall and back again.

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    1. Absolutely! Unfortunately, for whatever reason the feud is back on.

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  5. I'm so happy to hear about Maurice! She deserves to have equal rights around the house. Our two cats have a hot wheel car that they play with. They like anything that rolls. I love what Joanne said about a woman that can drive a car!

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    1. Can you imagine if cats were so big that they could bat real cars around? This would be a problem. Also, cats would rule the world. Obviously. They probably already do.

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  6. Rats, cats and beautiful kids, what could be better? Wishing you a sweet

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  7. Cats will always catch you by surprise. They train you to expect one behavior then suddenly do another. I think it's one of my favorite things about them.

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    1. You are so right. You can try to classify a cat but you'll never be correct 100% of the time.

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  8. Gosh that spanakopita looks divine!

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  9. I love Spanikopita. Definitely make it again with feta and ricotta and leeks, though. I imagine the artichokes were a delicious addition.

    Good news about the cats, though you should never state these things out loud - that your child is sleeping through, that your dog is behaving well, that your cats aren't fighting - they hear you, or the universe does and it all goes to hell.

    I'm so glad you're still here.

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    1. You're right- Maurice was nowhere to be found at bedtime last night and Jack jumped his huge body on the bed just as we were about to turn on the light.
      I will make that spanakopita again with the leeks and feta. I promsie!

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  10. Seems that all kids (both the human and cat variety) appreciate a good ole matchbox car.

    Great photo of Gibson. Clearly, he is such a loving young man.

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    1. Matchbox cars are classic.
      Gibson is a cuddle bug for sure.

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  11. I think we're all floundering a bit right now. I had a sad bout thinking about how I always thought that retirement would allow me to spend more time with my little grandaughter. I didn't factor a pandemic into that. She's two now. I have seen her 2 times this year. A child changes a great deal over the course of a few months. I distracted myself by setting up supper plans with my sister and b.i.l. I'll make a couple quiches and fix a salad. It's all we can do, really: keep on keeping on. We're lucky to have the wonder of technology at our fingertips.

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    1. That's the thing that kills me about not seeing the kids- how much they change in such short periods of time! It's like we're missing out on so much that we never would have if this virus hadn't been allowed to rage so long out of control.
      I'll stop now. Soapbox put away.
      Yes. Thank goodness for technology.

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  12. We need video of Maurice and the car! Maybe you should give her one or two for her very own?

    Love the picture of Gibson and yes, that looks like a smart puppy. (Dog!)

    I think your anxiety about the food is (obviously) just a focal point for your anxiety, generally. But you're right -- whatever you forget, you can buy. When we went to Longboat Key every summer we used to drive down to Bradenton and shop there, then cross over to the island. So maybe the answer is shopping somewhere halfway -- closer but still cheap?

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    1. We'd have to go to Apalach and I doubt it's much cheaper over there. We've decided not to worry about it all so much and just go for it however is easiest.
      I think you're right- Maurice deserves her own toys.

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  13. Gibson is such a beautiful child! All of them! Great genes!
    Watched President Barry last night and felt like I had just had a brain bath- WOW ,we did know how lucky we were didn't we?

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    1. We absolutely did know how lucky we were but maybe not QUITE as much as we should have. Every day of his presidency I was grateful for him.

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  14. we get our spanikopita from Costco.

    cats. my cat has always considered being in the same room with you as showing affection but she has sat in my lap two nights in a row for about half an hour. unheard of!

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    1. I'm sure that Costco's spanakopita is great. I used to love the stuffed grape leaves they carried. I just do like to cook.
      Maybe the planets were aligned weirdly which made our cats more...loving?

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