Wednesday, March 10, 2021

A Really Nice Day


Levon and August came over this morning because Jessie had some things she needed to do and those little guys were so sweet. I made a big pot of oatmeal for their second breakfast with raisins and toasted pecans and honey and they ate with their Boppy. I made up a loaf of sourdough and set it to rise and then I was mostly at their service. I sat on the couch for awhile and finished up August's blanket while the boys were watching two of the most annoying kids' shows I've ever seen in my life. One of the shows, P.J. Masks, kept talking about how these blighted tiny super heroes were going to "save the day" and I told the boys that super heroes have been saving the day since I was a kid. We tend to think that the shows we watched were a lot better and some were pretty great but some were horrible. Do you remember Roy Rogers? I could never figure out how it was that half the time Dale and Roy and the good guys were on horses and the rest of the time they were in Jeeps. And the dang bad guys were always doing something that required the actions of a posse. It made no sense whatsoever.
Still, the cartoon shows we watched were superior and that's just the truth. From Bugs Bunny to Yogi Bear, from the Flintstones to the Jetsons, we had some excellent viewing choices. 

Levon went and found the fabric I bought with heavy equipment printed on it and said that I could now make his blanket since August's was done. I told him that I would start working on it later, after they went home which inspired him to ask when they were going home about every five minutes. He didn't really want to go home, he just wanted me to make his blanket. And a pillow. After they left I did wash the material but I have to admit that the sewing machine is still in its case. 

Levon helped his Boppy dig some holes to plant tomatoes in. August was not interested in that activity but he did want to look at my make-up and jewelry. I remember how fascinated Owen used to be with my make-up. I do tend to have interesting and sparkly eyeshadow. Not that I ever wear it. Anyway, he picked me out a lovely necklace to wear as well as a pair of earrings and then he wanted me to put eye shadow on. He picked out the colors and I complied. I asked if he wanted some and he said he did and he picked out his colors and I carefully brushed his eye lids with sparkles. 


While we were doing these things, we had some nice conversations. I adore talking to kids. They have the most interesting things to say and topics can range all over the map. At one point he asked me how many times I'd been hurt. "Millions?" 
No, not millions I told him. We talked about that a little bit and I said that people do get their bodies hurt sometimes but sometimes we get our hearts hurt. I asked him if he'd ever gotten his heart hurt. He asked me what that meant. I tried to explain by saying, "Well, what if you had a really good friend and you asked him if he wanted to play and he said that no, he did not want to play with you. Would that make your heart hurt?"
He considered. 
"No," he said. 
August is an exceptionally pragmatic child. But we went on to talk about how important it is not to make other people's hearts hurt like by calling them names. He told me he already knew that. I'm sure he does. 

When Levon came in, we moved out to the porch swing and each boy brought a stack of favorite books for me to read. What an incredible joy to sit on the porch in this cool-ish weather, reading to my grandchildren beneath the tin roof which is beneath the spreading branches of an ancient oak tree, the sentinel of our front yard. We were still reading when Mama Jessie showed up but August and I finished reading the joke book again which he is fascinated by even though he still doesn't get some of the jokes. He wants to so bad. 
He will. 
I really cannot tell you how much pleasure it brings me to spend time like that with my babies. I think of Owen and Gibson and how it was when they were very young and came and stayed with me a few times a week while their parents worked. How I would read the same board books over and over to them, how I would rock them on the swing and sing to them until they finally fell asleep. 
How incredibly lucky I am to have been able to do that. To spend such sweet time with my grandchildren in my grandmother house. 

After they left I finally got around to cleaning up the kitchen and making the bed. My sourdough is just not rising nicely. And I even fed the starter yesterday! I'm going to let it rise all night. I feel as if I've lost my dough juju. The dumplings I made last night were not right. They looked good, they rolled out beautifully, but I could feel that the texture of the dough was just not right. They looked good and tasted fine, it was that damn texture. It was not dumplingish. 
Sigh.

There are far worse problems to have. Of this I am aware.

I see that the covid relief bill has been sent to Biden's desk. 
It surely is a glorious thing to have a real leader in the White House, and a majority of Democrats in the House and Senate. What will the die-hard Trumpers and conservatives find in this bill to bitch about? I do not know but not one Republican voted for it. Even in the political sense, I don't see how they couldn't. According to one poll, 75% of Americans approve of the bill. 
Hateful versus helpful. Hmmm....
Pretty much sums it up.

Love...Ms. Moon



27 comments:

  1. The main thing to know about cowboy movies is that the good guys have clean white hats and the bad guys have black hats. Clearly, as Oscar wilde said, a work of fiction!

    I think your dough standards may be just a teeny bit too high..

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    1. You know, I sometimes think about a movie I saw once in school, probably the 4th grade and it was, believe it or not, about racism. Now that I think about it, my teacher that year was quite outspoken against racism. And one of the things they pointed out in the movie (and this was probably 1965) was the black hat/bad, white hat/good thing. I've never forgotten it.
      The dough is finally about to go into the oven!

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  2. I agree with those two young men, you can't beat a second breakfast.

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  3. Thanks for sharing your lovely day. I tried making Matzoh balls- they were like golf balls!

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    1. I've never made Matzoh balls unless that's what I've been making my whole life and calling dumplings.

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  4. Biden signed the bill ... it's a done deal!
    Your days are so interesting and fun to read! Thank you for sharing them with us! ❤

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    1. Oooops ... I guess he will be signing that bill on Friday! But it has passed, no thanks to the GOP.

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    2. Yes m'am! I am so happy about that.

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  5. Beautiful boy! Lovely day spent with you.

    300 bikers headed to
    Daytona, glad you live far from there

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    1. Yep. Daytona is nowhere near me and thank goodness.

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  6. I have a love/hate relationship with sourdough. I worked for years on trying to perfect the process. I tried many different ways to mix the dough, add the water, do this, do that. It came down to my house being too cold and my patience too short. I finally dried some starter for ‘maybe in the future’ and hung up my apron. If you can get a loaf of bread within a day or two of starting the process, you are a sourdough God in my book! It beats store bought any time! And, the more sour the taste, the better!
    Love the picture of August with eyeshadow! What a cutie!
    Debbie

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    1. I have hopes for this loaf after all but it's been in the rising process for about two days now. About to pop it into a hot dutch oven! It should be mighty sour by now.

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  7. To be a really good grandmaw you have to keep your promises. Come on dear - no prevarication now - get out that sewing machine and get cracking with Levon's blanket! After all, it is only fair as you have now finished August's blanket! Poor little Levon!

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    1. Blanket done! And you have to understand- August's blanket is his NAME blanket which has its own importance and tradition. Maggie is actually next up as it is time for her name blanket, too. But Levon will be getting a new blanket by this weekend.

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  8. Levon is so funny about that blanket. Kids want what they want when they want it!

    Bugs Bunny transcended most other cartoons, as far as I'm concerned. There's a wry sophistication to that Warner Brothers humor that's missing in the Hanna-Barbera shows. Bugs was made for adults, too.

    Oh, I'm sure the Repubs will find things to complain about, but the God's honest truth is they just don't want the Democrats to have any successes, and they'll block anything and everything they can.

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    1. Boy, you nailed it on the head with kids wanting what they want when they want it.
      You are also completely correct about Hanna-Barbera shows. They were the creme de la creme.
      And- you are also right about the Republicans blocking anything that comes from a Democrat. Shit heads.

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  9. Your grandchildren are lucky to have a grandma who loves them and reads to them. I didn't grow up with grandparents, it would have been nice.

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    1. Grandparents come in all shapes and sizes and ways of being. I was lucky to have mine although they weren't quite like I am. They did their duty by my brother and me, though. And I appreciate that.

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  10. When my grandsons were visiting last weekend, 4 year old Thomson was so sad when they were leaving. He loves me so and it is a wonderful feeling. They grow so quickly, you do want to treasure those moments.

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    1. Is there anything on this earth as sweet as being loved by a child? I don't think so.

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  11. You are indeed lucky to be able to spend time with all your grandchildren - and don't those boys have the most beautiful eyes!

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    1. They do! August has very dark brown eyes and Levon's are lighter but they are both beautiful. And of course August has lashes like a Vegas showgirl.

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  12. Just wondering....is "hurting your heart" a Southern expression? Up northwards, we'd be more likely to say "hurting your feelings". August apparently didn't know what you meant, and maybe your explanation was interpreted by his literal little pre-engineer's mind as a friend's being mean to him somehow giving him an actual pain in his chest-- so he said "no".
    Gotta introduce that kid to metaphors!

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    1. No, it's really not. I should have said feelings but I suppose I was being poetic. He's heard so many books though and I'm sure he knew what I meant. I hope so! We talk about metaphors a lot, although not with that specific word applied.

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  13. republicans have done nothing but obstruct for so long that they no longer know how to govern. they think the whole point of being there is to stop the other party from getting anything accomplished. I think they made an error not voting for this when 75% of the country is in favor of it, even a majority of republicans.

    well, my grandbabies are not babies but my neighbor has three little grandgirls aged 7 and under that spend a lot of time there and when they see me coming down the street with the dog they run out to see me. Amaya, the 7 yr old, colored a lollipop and cut it out and gave it to me today.

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  14. Just wanted to chime in a bit because i am not sure if you saw this. The CDC has said that fully vaccinated people can start back with getting together with family without masks and distancing, if the family are taking the usual precautions elsewhere. The article i read specifically talked about vaccinated grandparents should be safe seeing their grandchildren again.

    Since you and Mr. Moon have been vaccinated, i wanted to make sure you heard that, it might be possible for you to have the other grands visit again soon, if you all feel comfortable about it, of course.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.