Thursday, November 10, 2022

A Gentle Storm For Us


What a day. It's been pretty okay though, truthfully. 

First off, Jessie made it to Orlando fine and the weather hasn't been that horrible there. She sent me this picture this morning. 


I love how August is wearing a rain jacket while Levon's just dealing with being wet. That's how they roll, those little guys. All the big theme parks down there are already reopened so Legoland will be ready for them tomorrow. 

Lily and Lauren and Jason took the other kids to the fair last night. Lily sent pictures. 


Stuffed animals were won.




Lily got Owen to smile. 



Maggie is milking Miss Molly Moo who is the star of the North Florida Fair in my opinion. They always put her right in front of the cattle barn. They have given her a calf this year which thrills me! 



As you can see, Owen is NOT thrilled about anything having to do with Miss Molly Moo. And yet, he used to love her so much when he was a tiny boy! What happened? 



It does not appear that he is thrilled about riding the carousel either. I would not be thirteen again for all the money in the world. 

Lily reported that a good time was, however, had by all. The best part was the story she told us this morning about something Gibson said last night. 


I've been laughing about that all day long. 

I think that instead of spa day though, Lily had nap day. Which is almost as good as spa day. 

I did not have a spa day nor did I take a nap. I drove to town and the wind wasn't bad and it was barely drizzling. I checked in to the imaging center and first got my mammogram. I recognized the woman who did it from before. She has magical kind hands, I swear. They dance around breasts, gently nudging and arranging them on the plates where they are to be smashed and scanned. Also, she was wearing tie-dye Crocs and a peace sign necklace. Need I say how comfortable she makes me feel? 
She didn't ask me to repeat any of the poses to get more shots and that is generally a good sign, I think. You ladies know what I'm talking about. 
And then I had to wait and wait and wait to get my dexa scan and while I was waiting, there was a going-away party for an employee going on with pizza and cake in a room right nearby and people kept going back and forth for more party food and I got hungrier and hungrier. Finally, the dexa tech came out and got me. She apologized, saying that her computer did not like this weather. 
I do not think I am going to be thrilled about the density of my bones. 
Oh well. It is what it is and they are what they are. 

When I got out of that place, I drove home, filled with a sense of relief and accomplishment. The rain and wind had picked up and rain was skittering sideways down the road. I had truly thought I'd take myself to lunch to celebrate. Perhaps to Japanica! for a tofu bento box, my favorite. But I decided to get on home and I did. The weather was much calmer in Lloyd. Hurricanes and tropical storms have bands that twirl and whirl and affect areas differently and in waves. I actually bagged up the trash and took it down to the trash place and although I wasn't even sure that they'd be open or the attendant on duty, they were and he was. 
And then, feeling as if I had truly done all I needed to do today, I came home and made myself a box of Kraft macaroni and cheese which has been lurking the cabinet for eons, adding a can of tuna to it and some baby peas. 
Didn't we used to call this "tuna wiggle"? 
Whatever. It was delicious. And of course the tuna and peas made it gourmet. 

I couldn't decide whether to go take a nap myself or watch TV and knit and so I fooled around and did some laundry and some crosswords and looked at footage of Nicole hitting the coast near Vero Beach which is just south of Roseland. I had texted my landlord guy down in Roseland to see how they had fared and he said it was not bad at all. I was so glad but damn! Vero got hit pretty hard. Scary waves, rain and wind. St. Augustine and Jacksonville got the brunt of it, though, I think. The northeast side of a hurricane is where the strongest storm action takes place and as Nicole headed north, those parts got brutalized. Parts of highways are washed away as are some older beach houses and people have been evacuated from beachfront condos. We get pretty jaded about hurricanes which are "just" a Category 1, or even tropical storms, but by god- they can wreak destruction and cause hellish havoc. 

But we seem to be very lucky here. Rob Nucatola said that it wouldn't be a huge big deal for us and he was right. We're now getting good rain which we need so much but it's not the torrential sort. At least not yet. And although it was gusty this morning, it's calmed down now. So all-in-all, I've just been cozy today and so grateful for my house and this time that I have of peacefulness, the sound of the rain a comforting thrumming, the knowledge that all of my children and grandchildren are safe and sound. We haven't even lost power here in Lloyd so I am not sure if the generator is working properly or not. I imagine it is. The kids have threatened to all come out here for a storm party if they lose power. 

I did watch some TV this afternoon. When I was at the beach with my girls, Terry highly, highly recommended the movie, "Good Luck To You, Leo Grande," and I started watching it in delicious bites and I watched more of that. I am not going to say a lot about it except that it is a remarkable movie in my opinion and the subject matter, which is basically about an older woman wanting to experience true sensuality while she can is profoundly important and a subject rarely explored in film. Emma Watson and the actor Daryl McCormack are perfectly and beautifully cast. 
I will be watching it again. 

And in large news for my little world, this-


My Gracie hen laid her first egg in well over a month. I had a suspicion she was going to this morning when she seemed to be checking out nesting boxes when I went to let them out of the coop. I noticed later on that she was not with Lucky in the yard and then later, I saw him standing by the hen house and I thought, "he is waiting for her to lay her egg," and when I got home from my appointments, I checked and there it was. 
I am as excited about this as a first-time chicken mama for both Gracie and for Lucky who is learning how to be the sort of rooster that a hen needs. I am proud of them both.

Love...Ms. Moon

28 comments:

  1. I like the household details of the chickens! And I'm so glad Nicole didn't ruin anyone's fun at Orlando.

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    1. They are having BIG fun at Legoland. Serious fun.

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  2. So happy that Nicole is basically leaving you alone. And way to go chickens! You have the most delightful and entertaining grandchildren - and children too!
    Way back when I was a flat broke graduate student, it was gourmet night if I could add a can of chunk light tuna to the store brand box of mac and cheese. No peas for me please. Cheap and tasty, if a little shy of veg.

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    1. Oh yes. I remember those days. And you want to know a secret? I used GOOD tuna in my mac and cheese yesterday. The kind not caught in nets and it's albacore and all that stuff and honestly, I think a can of good old oil-packed Chicken of the Sea would have tasted better.
      My kids and grandkids keep me laughing for sure.

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  3. Back in the dark ages, mac and cheese was a gourmet meal.

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    1. Still is if you eat it with great appreciation and not too often.

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  4. Well done, getting checked up, weather be damned. It was 70 here today and I got that pulmonary function done, in spite of being required to walk several extra buildings for all the check in stations! Wonderful Orlando pictures of those two boys.

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    1. Yay for YOU, Joanne! That's a lot! All I had to do was walk from one room to another and they did all the work scanning me.

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  5. Your grands are a hoot, and you've got all ages and stages. Glad Nicole is being little more than a nuisance. I thought of you all as I watched the news tonight.

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    1. Thank you, Debby. I am so, so grateful that we didn't get rougher weather.

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  6. I loved that movie when I watched it too. It's tender and heartbreaking and wonderful.

    I'm so glad that the hurricane didn't do any damage to you and yours. I worry about you. Just so you know, it warmed up today and was quite nice, sunny and the bite in the cold was gone. Hope Mr. Moon is having a good time. And I'm so glad you liked the quilt. I forgot to mention that.

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    1. I'm going to watch the movie again. You are right- it is tender and heartbreaking and wonderful. Perfect description. I love how they explored some of the guy's background and life too. Just amazing movie.
      Mr. Moon sent me a picture from this morning that did not look like all of the bite was out of the cold. Oh My Jesus! How do y'all live like that?
      Yes. I love, love, LOVE that quilt.

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  7. Yay for chickens. Yay for no damage from the hurricane. And Yay for the kidlets having a wonderful time.
    I was a bit worried when I heard there had been deaths from Nicole but that is the nature of news, isn't it? I wish they would say "but Lloyd is fine".

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    1. Yeah, and why DON'T they say, "But Lloyd is fine"? I mean- we're important, right? There are ones and ones of you out in the world who want to know the status of Lloyd, Florida as pertains to weather.

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  8. Your Monstera is looking very lovely with the raindrops on it. mine are only two years old so aren't all that big yet. I'm glad the boys are able to enjoy Legoland with the storm having passed and the other kids look like they're enjoying the fair, well, maybe not Owen, but that's a phase that must be grown through and there's nothing to be done about it. Mammograms are a necessary evil, but I wish they'd find a better way.

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    1. I got that Monstera at the dump! It was just sitting there and I asked the attendant if I could take it and he said, "Sure! Take this plant stand, too." I split that plant into three and that's what two of them look like. The smallest one isn't as big as the others. Which makes sense since it's the smallest one. Ha!
      The mammogram didn't bother me nearly as much as those damn teeth x-rays. I think my breasts don't have a whole lot of strong connective tissue any more after having nursed for about ten years and having lived for 68.

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  9. Pleased to hear that you all escaped the worst of Nicole.
    My 12 yr old granddaughter looks bored and fed up in all her photos recently!

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    1. Oh, these darling pre-pubescents and young teens. Life is SO hard at that age. It's like being born all over again- what in hell is happening?

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  10. I had my latest mammogram (sp?) a few days ago and you're right - the technicians do have magic hands don't they. I also got my results immediately, which was good. And as for the rain in Orlando, I remember getting soaked in a real humdinger of a storm. My poor, very religious ex-MIL was mortified that everyone could now see straight through her blouse and see her bra!

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    1. I got my results today which is pretty fast.
      Oh no! The world saw your mother-in-law's bra! Maybe that's why Florida is so messed up. We have not recovered from the sight yet.

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  11. A "calf" for Molly Moo? That's just a mini Molly! Would you take it in stride if a fertilized chicken egg hatched a tiny but fully mature chicken instead of a peep? (No more wondering about the hatchling's sex that way!)
    But for little kids, small = baby. I bet Owen's not fooled, though.

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    1. Well, maybe Molly Moo had a miniature calf and it grew up and that's it. I would love to see a fully-formed hen or rooster peck its way out of an egg. That would be awesome!
      You're right about Owen. He probably figured it out and was not impressed.

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    2. There's no way that Robert Frost would look at that so-called calf and be inspired to write "...it's so young/it titters when she licks it with her tongue..."
      For goodness sake, it even has mature udders!

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    3. Uh- why is this a thing? I mean, obviously it's not an exact representation of a real cow in any form. Molly Moo herself is not a true representation of a cow. It's the FAIR! It's for fun! Inside the exposition barn people can see real cows and real calves and smell real cow shit. They can see real people feeding and tending to their real animals. No one is being bamboozled by a miniature plastic cow standing in for a calf.

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  12. Thanks for the Nicole update. I haven't heard yet from my brother in Jacksonville but I'm not too worried. They don't live on the coast, and it looks like most of the damage occurred along the ocean.

    Funny pictures, and yes, that Gibson is a quick wit! Funny how Owen is such a teenager now. I don't remember ever going through that glum teenager phase but I'm sure I did.

    We loved "Leo Grande." I don't know who that actor is but he is BEAUTIFUL. Yay for Gracie and her egg!

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    1. I hope your brother and his family and your mama are all okay. Keep us posted on that.
      I didn't even know Gibson knew what an acupuncturist is! That kid has it going on. He surprises me.
      You are so right about that actor. And he was so very, very good in the part. I never saw him acting at all. He just WAS Leo Grande. Until of course, he had to be Connor.

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  13. Hello, Ms Moon! Thanks for visiting my blog--this is just a quick return visit because I'm heading off to work. And, hm... Blogger doesn't want me to sign in to comment...?
    Anyway, I look forward to reading more.
    And me too--I would NOT be thirteen again. Or fourteen, fifteen, sixteen either. After that, it got better.

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