Monday, October 10, 2022

Domesticity


To the left there, you can see a row of arugula, to the right, the baby collard greens. I watered the garden today for a long time. I'm afraid that the things I replanted before we left are not going to come up due to the lack of rain. But there will be some lettuces, collards, mustards, a little broccoli, kale, the arugula, turnips, and maybe even some artichokes. The carrots and chard look very sad, the few lonesome sprouts barely hanging in there. 

Although Mark left the house in terrific condition, I spent most of the day being domestic. I had laundry to do from the trip and I decided to wash our sheets. I had laundry hanging outside and laundry in the dryer, too. I watered all the porch plants and admired greatly the front porch that Mark had swept in case Mr. Moon and I wanted to sit out there. I have to pinch myself when I think of all he did while he was here. Is he real? 
It would seem so. 

I left half a Publix roasted chicken in the refrigerator, thinking that Mark would like it but he didn't touch it as far as I could tell. Was it still edible? I smelled it and it smelled like...chicken. And so I proceeded to simmer it for hours and then slipped the meat off the bones and added them back to the broth and that's in the refrigerator for tomorrow's supper in the form of a soup. It felt good to be back in the kitchen, even for such a small chore. Tonight I'm cooking us a little mahi-mahi that was in the freezer and I think that will be good. 

And although it seems as if I have been busy all day with one thing and another, I can't really think of exactly what I did. I realized that the tea olive is blooming the way I always do- I smelled it and then I smiled. Oh, the perfume of those tiny blooms! The bed that tree is in has been horribly overtaken by both border grass and a horrid plant called chenille plant. This is yet another plant that is sold in nurseries but should be outlawed here. To be honest, I didn't even notice the plant until about ten years or so ago and at first it was just an interesting ground cover that had fuzzy red blooms. What fun! Then I realized it was spreading. I tried pulling it, just as I've always tried pulling the border grass to keep it under control. 
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 
Both of these invasives have networks of roots, tough as nylon string, and pulling it is neither fun nor easy. After about forty minutes of down-on-my knees digging and yanking, I had accomplished this much.


Not very impressive, is it? And of course unless I magically manage to pull every plant and root it'll all be back in half a second. And now I don't even have the chickens to help me! They were so good at clearing spots of ground. I'd throw my kitchen scraps in one place and they'd eventually get it all cleaned up AND fertilize the area with their poop at the same time. Such perfection. 
Damn that fox! 
I only really started this project because I noticed that there were great vines of Virginia Creeper in the tea olive and I could not trace them to their sources because of all the border grass and chenille plant. And as so often happens- one thing will lead to another which eventually leads to me, at least, throwing up my hands in defeat and yelling, "I can't do this!" 
And the fucking plants laugh and laugh! 

But at least it is cooler here now and that does give me a bit more impetus to do yard work, albeit slowly. 

So it's been a nice day, slipping back into my life after such a sweet, good time in Roseland. My home here is a fine place to be although there is no pool, no giant bamboo, no dock over a river from which to watch the sunset. 
It'll do. 
Especially knowing that I can go back to that little piece of heaven occasionally. 

And I suppose I have nothing more to say. I thought I was going to find the perfect place for my new lamp today which would require shuffling already-in-place lamps around but I have not. Instead, it is just sitting on my table on the back porch where I can see and admire it. I suppose I could keep it there permanently but I really don't want the humidity to get to it and also, I do love the lamp I have on the table already. 




I got that lamp years and years and years ago at The Bad Girls Get Saved By Jesus Thrift Store and after all these years it still amuses and pleases me. 
Let us hope that the project of finding the right spot for my new lamp does not end up with me redecorating the entire house, tearing out walls, and replacing the roof. I am too old for that mess.

Love...Ms. Moon





 

23 comments:

  1. Yes, I'd be careful that the little lamp doesn't lead to building a new wing to house it.

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    1. Me too! The last thing this house needs at this time is another rambling addition.

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  2. My parents had lamp shades, in that form, in the fifties. the lamps were not at all alike,

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    1. I love funky old lampshades. The ones we see these days are just pure boring.

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  3. Chenille plant grow wild here, I think it is native to these parts. It is not aggressive, like so many things are.

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    1. My yard must be the perfect place for their optimum growth. They make an okay ground cover but they don't have any boundaries! Just like so many people.

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  4. I had to google some of your plants. The chenille plant is very pretty but if it gets out of control then obviously not welcome. It's a bit like agapanthus here. I love them. Council even use them as street planting but the next council down has tried to ban them as weeds. Your yellow lamp is just delightful

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    1. Agapanthus can be invasive? They are planted here and I don't think they're a problem but I've never grown them so don't know. By the way, for some reason, "agapanthus" is one of my favorite words. If I ever get another cat perhaps I will name it Agapanthus.

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  5. I got a little behind but have read the last two posts since you've gotten home and am happy to be back in Lloyd! I really love the lamp you found -- it's cool and charming and wonderful. We need rain so desperately out here as well. It's scary and weird without it.

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    1. We're not to that scary weird place yet with no rain but we're getting close. I do wish sky water for you, dear Elizabeth.

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  6. Just move the lamp from place to place until it says "here! Right here!"
    I wouldn't have touched that chicken after a week, here cooked chicken goes off after about three days even refrigerated.

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    1. Eh, they probably put some sort of preservative in our chickens. But I figured that if I boiled it for a very long time, it would be okay. The soup looks and tastes good! I do realize I was pushing it though.

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  7. Isn't it lovely to have found someone who respects your home as much as you do?? Mark is a keeper!

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    1. Mark's been a keeper for as long as I've known him. I just never knew what a great house-sitter he is!

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  8. How nice to have a house sitter you trust. It's always good to get home after time away. We have three lamps and I really just use one of them every day, my bedside table lamp. The other one I use occasionally is a floor lamp in my bedroom for when I can't sleep at night and get up to read. The third one is an antique and never gets used, mostly because it's not ever needed and the bulb burned out and I haven't replaced it.

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    1. I can't abide overhead lighting except in the kitchen. I even have a lamp in my bathroom! So I use lots of lamps.

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  9. I love the enthusiasm around the new and quite lovely lamp ! There is not an inch of room left in this house for any new additions, I would have to move house entirely, which may not be a bad thing, as we sit on the trembling earth ready to throw up at any second...
    Anyway, welcome home and I am still very sad and sorry about the chicken family.

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    1. There's way too much room in this house. And way too much stuff too. But we love our stuff, don't we?
      I don't want you to be at ground zero when the earth throws up. Maybe you should move. But where? Seems like every place has some horrible threatening situation going on.
      I, too, am so sorry about the chickens. I miss them terribly.

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  10. The cold months are hard here but they do put a stop to a lot of invasive plants and nasty bugs, thank goodness.

    We had thanksgiving here yesterday so I've got turkey and all sort of leftovers in the fridge, until we get tired of them I suppose. I did buy a very small turkey, so that helps at least.

    I also called Jack's old daycare that's near us and they can take him starting next monday. I am so thankful.

    Enjoy the cool weather and your garden, even if the plants do laugh. Tell them to fuck off and then pour some boiling water on them:)

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    1. Yes! It rarely gets cold enough here to kill the unwanted things which is a downside to our climate. I hear that the mosquitoes in Alaska are horrible though, so I guess cold doesn't kill them.
      So glad that you got Jack back into his daycare! It will be easier for him since he's already familiar with it.
      Boiling water would not kill these plants. Not the roots, at least. They'd just come right back.

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  11. so nice to be back in Lloyd LOL! Though I have come to love Roseland too! Mary, you have NO more hens at all now? And I must *second* what River said re: your lamp. I have a dear friend who swears by moving things from place to place and that whatever it is, it will tell you exactly where it *wants to be*. So......give that a try. ;-). Welcome home!
    Susan M

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    1. Susan I have one hen and one rooster and they stay in the coop all day. I think they are severely depressed. I haven't gotten an egg in a month and she was laying every day.
      I will try carrying the lamp around to see where she wants to go.

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  12. That is a FABULOUS lamp. I'd have bought that back in the '80s, when I was very into '50s stuff.

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.