Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Birthday Eve Day For Mr. Moon


So after bragging about the glory of the crepe myrtles this year, I took that picture this morning and it looks like it was hand-tinted by someone not very enthusiastic about color but trust me- in real life it looks much more vibrant.

Humidity back up to the upper 60 percent today and temperature back up into the nineties so of course I decided to take another walk after yesterday's pleasant experience and I chose to walk down to Lloyd Creek Road which is lovely and shady once you get there but hell on this earth when you're on the road to it. When I started out, it was a bit overcast and I thought that would help but the clouds saw me coming and said, "Hey! Let's get out of the way! This woman needs heat stroke!" 
Or something. 
But I did it and discovered when a friend texted me that there was a special Jan. 6 hearing today starting at one so that gave me a great reason to go sit down for a few hours which was heavenly. I started patching a very, very old favorite blue linen shirt but it's a wonder I got anything done on it. The witness today was a woman named Cassidy Hutchinson who somehow had an entire political life in the White House before the age of 26 which is how old she is now. She was top aide to Mark Meadows who was Trump's chief of staff for a few years and my take-away from her testimony is that as crazy as we all knew that 45 is, we now know that he is a true and genuine madman.
Look. I can't even begin to go into it all but if that man isn't hung for treason there is no justice in this world. As I keep telling my husband- I do not believe in capital punishment but in this case I will make an exception. 
Okay. Not really. I truly do not believe in society's right to kill a human being but if anyone deserves it, it would be the man who brought this country to the brink of an overthrow and whose presidency will be a curse to this nation for decades after he lost the election in 2020. 
You know what I'm talking about. 

So. That was an interesting afternoon. I can't believe I still have the capacity to be shocked by these reports of his actions and behaviors but I will admit that I am. 
The thing that scares me is that Trump's supporters are going to take this testimony which includes him trying to grab the wheel of the presidential limousine (The Beast) to force the driver to take him to the Capitol to meet the rioters and urge them on, as proof that he was willing to do anything to keep his promise to be there with them as they stormed the Capitol. With weapons. That he knew they had. That he obviously encouraged them having. And to possibly murder Mike Pence. 

It's all just so unbelievable. 
People ask me why I'm watching these hearings and all I can answer is, "History." This all makes Watergate look like bird poop at a picnic. And that was bad. 

Sigh. 

Tomorrow is Mr. Moon's birthday. He claims he does not want to acknowledge it. "It's just like any other day," he says. But- hey. I want to celebrate the birth-day of the man I love. I've made three layers of a German chocolate cake today and will make the sinfully, beautifully decadent filling tomorrow. I had forgotten how many steps there are to German chocolate cake. Chocolate must be melted, of course (and I always use twice the amount the recipe calls for), the eggs separated and the whites whipped, the flour and baking soda and salt sifted before adding to the creamed butter and sugar and egg yolks, and then the egg whites folded in. I made him the same cake the first year we were together. We were staying at the beach with his parents, his sister, her husband, their children and Hank and May, and I was overwhelmed, truthfully. But his parents were so very kind to me and I will never forget how, while I was making this complicated cake in a rental kitchen, his daddy put his hand on my shoulder and said, "Thank you for giving our son back to us and making him so happy." 
I think that Mr. Moon's first marriage had been a bit difficult for their family. And it was on that trip that I saw how Glen's daddy treated all of the children as if they were blood-kin, mine and Mr. Moon's sister's step-daughter. No difference. And I knew that he had told Glen when we first got together that it wasn't enough for him to fall in love with me. He had to fall in love with my children, too. 
And that is what I think of when I make German chocolate cake. 
Food is not only love, it is also a conjurer of memory. 

I think we're going to meet up with Lily and her kids at the river and he's talking about taking the kayak. That'll be sweet. We can all eat cake and swim and paddle about and take a day off to honor the man who is husband, father, grandfather. 

I am looking forward to it. I hope my husband is too. 

Love...Ms. Moon




30 comments:

  1. So both of you made a great second marriage. And happy birthday to him! This week is rich in birthdays of good people.

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    1. We did! And I am grateful that our first marriages helped us to realize what we really wanted and to cherish that when we found it in each other.

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  2. I was shocked to hear that beautiful young woman tell us how nucking futs The Orange One really is! He tried to grabbed that agent to force him to drive to the Capitol! That agent should have decked his sorry ass. But on a happy note, Happiest of birthdays to Mr. Moon! My hubby’s favorite is German Chocolate cake, too, and I’m ashamed to tell you I buy the box mix and canned frosting. 😱

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    1. I was flabbergasted, listening to her testimony.
      And yeah, that agent should be given a medal of citation for having the self-control not to punch out POTUS.
      Ain't nothing wrong with a box mix and canned frosting. It's all about the love.

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  3. That is the most dear memory, and if a German chocolate cake can do that then i say y'all might want them more often. I LOVE your family! Happy Just Another Day to Mr. Moon. Celebrate your awesomeness!!
    I was glued to this particular hearing today! Articulate and clear , that young lady may just send the Orange toddler to the slammer!

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    1. And in this case, just the making of it evokes the memory. For me. I love our family too.
      Wouldn't it be amazing if a 26 year old Republican woman was the one to do it?

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  4. Mr. Moon will be tickled pink that his birthday is being celebrated, and with German chocolate cake.

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  5. 37paddington: What a beautiful thing your father in law told your husband. No wonder he raised such a fine and loving husband, father, grandfather. Happy birthday Mr Moon! There is love in every morsel of that complicated cake. As for today’s hearings, I was riveted. We knew 45 was crazy but it turns out he was even more unhinged than we imagined. I truly believe he put a hit out on his VP. I really hope that brave young lady today is well protected. She’s weathered some pretty awful threats on her life. These 45 acolytes are the worst.

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    1. I thought of the same thing- is this woman being protected? I said to Glen while we were watching the hearings, "Trump just thinks he's a mob boss." And as such...
      Damn. He is batshit insane.

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  6. Happy birthday Mr Moon! Food truly is a conjurerer of memory and that’s a particularly sweet one. I wish there were more men as fine as those Moon men. The news gets more jaw dropping by tue day as his base just gets more fanatical. What makes people abandon all reason and decency? It’s beyond frightening.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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    1. "What makes people abandon all reason and decency?"
      A question which has been puzzling us for the history of humans.

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  7. I got teary-eyed reading about Glen's daddy treating all the kids like blood-kin, such a wonderful man! No wonder Glen is so kind and loving. I'm so glad you two found each other. My daughter's husband and in-laws are the same.
    We have crepe myrtles here as street trees, mostly pink, but some white ones and a few of the newer red ones that aren't prone to diseases like the older pinks are.
    Are those hearings on youtube at all? I'd like to listen a bit if I can.

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    1. I've been watching the hearings via YouTube on PBS. You may be able to find them there.
      I was so fortunate to find myself in Glen's family. There are good people. Finding them is a blessing.

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  8. From what you say about Mr. Moon's dad, you can see where his son got his kindness from, can't you! How lucky to have a family like that!

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  9. I am sure Mr. Moon is looking forward to it too! The cake sounds wonderful and I like your descriptions of the memories it evokes.

    The right-wingers actually seem to be basically disavowing everything Hutchinson said -- despite the fact that she has no reason to lie and, in fact, every reason to protect her own career. They say the steering wheel incident isn't true. We shall see!

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    1. I wonder if the driver and the secret service agent will step forward. I hope so with all of my heart.

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  10. Oooohh!!! German Chocolate cake!! That sounds fabulous. Mr. Moon is a lucky man, and of course you're going to celebrate his birthday!! Please wish him a happy one from me today. :)

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  11. I missed the first 20 minutes or so, came in as they were listing the weapons they had either confiscated or had knowledge of. Finally, something I did not have an inkling of. Of course we knew his supporters were armed with various things during the riot but to learn that Trump and his inner circle knew about the quantity of people with weapons before his speech and Trump wanting the metal detectors taken down because 'they aren't here to hurt me' and then exhorting them to attack the Capital, refusing to send reinforcements to the Capitol police, and saying that Pence deserved to be hung, holy fucking shit. That so many people were warning him, knew things were going to get violent, tried to get Trump to call it all off but wouldn't because he didn't think they were doing anything wrong but NONE of them had the decency to go public to try to stop him.

    Our crepe myrtles were brilliant this year but with the heat they didn't seem to last very long. I was surprised to see the ones along the side of the barn already fading.

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    1. I am torn in my wonder why these people didn't go public with their knowledge. I mean- they would be talking about POTUS who is basically in charge of everything. I think that enough members of congress were alerted and aware (due to the capitol uprising) to threaten using the 25th amendment (after the Capitol was breached) to make a difference. But you're right- they could have alerted Congress before the Jan. 6 meeting to verify the votes.

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  12. What a beautiful memory to have to go along with the cake. As for 45 and his lunacy, nothing surprises me. What does surprise me is that others went along with it.
    Happy Birthday to Glen!

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    1. Me too, Pixie, on wondering why in hell so many people went along with Trump's insane plans.

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  13. Happy Birthday, Glen! I know he will have a terrific day with family and yummy cake! Wishing him a happy, healthy year filled with lots of love and fun adventures!
    The hearings have been great but I am always left feeling anxious about the next elections. Our future is so shaky...

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    1. I, too, hope that Glen has a beautiful, happy, healthy year this next year. And forever.
      Our future is incredibly shaky. I'm scared too.

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  14. wishing Mr Moon a Happy Birthday and SO many more (with you) yet to come! May the day be perfect from beginning to end. And....I might say, with a 3 layered home made german chocolate cake.....and icing..........ooh la la.......doesn't get much better. Family love and cake!
    Susan M

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    1. I will take every minute, much less year that Glen and I have together. We are not unaware of our good luck.
      Also- German chocolate cake is pretty darn amazing. As is family love, of course.

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  15. It's super interesting to me why some people "just don't want to watch them" -- they are so riveting and necessary to watch for others. I'm in the second camp, and your words are my thoughts. I just can't believe how insane all of it is, and that there's a great number of people who just don't think so or who think nothing of it at all.

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  16. Everything feels so terrible and hopeless and unfixable and that lovely story about Glen and his daddy and the cake made me tear up in a good way.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.