Saturday, February 4, 2023

Saturday Night In Lloyd

 


Lily sent the group that picture last night along with some others of Princess Magnolia June Woman Baby. She was going to a princess ball at her school with her dad. I'm not sure the school sponsored it but anyway, it was held in the cafetorium where the princesses and their escorts dined and danced. 

Here's a picture of her with Jason, her handsome daddy. 

Here she looks to me far more like a queen than a princess. Queen Magnolia, ready to address her people. Obviously, she is a staunch defender of all in her rainbow dress and crown. She is magnificent. She is royal! 

It was quite possible that today was the most beautiful day of the year. Or possibly in history. 
The air was sweet. I'm sure I overuse that word but that's the only adjective that I can think of that would describe the gentleness of the way the air felt. Again, cloudless and cool and still feeling clean from the rain two days ago. I weeded a little bit in the garden before Gibson got here. If tomorrow is anything like today was, I hope to spend a lot more time outside. Hank sent around a picture that tugged at all our heartstrings. 


That picture is of an oyster bar that I am sure many, many local people grieve the passing of. It was open for a long time but finally, one last hurricane took it out. It was absolutely THE place to go on a weekend day like this one- cool and clear and always a month with an "R" in it which used to be the only months you could get oysters. September through April, every kind of people flocked there to drink beer, eat oysters either raw or steamed, boiled shrimp or smoked mullet. That was the entire menu until a later incarnation of it when other foods were served. 
There was a jukebox, the floors were so uneven they made you feel drunk before you'd had your second beer. The building jutted out over the water of the St. Mark's river and there was a deck out back. May's first solid food was a bite of smoked mullet there she snatched from me when it was on its way to my mouth. My first husband I used to take Hank and May there frequently and they would eat saltines with cocktail sauce on them until they got old enough to really enjoy the mullet. 
You never knew who you'd see at Posey's. FSU professors and students, lawyers, sheet-rock hangers, carpenters, fisherpeople, hippies, musicians, drug dealers, politicians. The changers of the oil and the tillers of the soil, as my friend Leonard used to say. And all the rest of us too. 

Well. Posey's is no more and the Apalachicola Bay, where once some of the finest oysters on earth were raked, is now off-limits to oystering and that's a whole other story. 
God. We miss the oysters and we miss Posey's and I feel so fortunate that we were able to experience those things while they were here. 

There's a very fine article about the oyster situation in Apalachicola HERE with some gorgeous pictures if you'd like to see it. 


Our boy Gibson is with us tonight. He and I played Battle which he won in  record time. He's played with the Oculus. I've made the sauce and the meatballs for tonight's supper and should get in the kitchen and make the salad, cook the pasta. I think he's glad to be here. He keeps giving me hugs and he gives the best hugs. I wonder if he'll let me read "The Little Red Hen Makes A Pizza" tonight. If he does, it'll be out of sheer kindness. He can read as well as I can now. 

Sigh. 

All righty. Y'all enjoy your Saturday night and we will too, here in Lloyd. 

See you tomorrow.

Love...Ms. Moon




35 comments:

  1. Princess Magnolia June Woman Baby Queenie looks smashing! So pretty. I love her dress/gown & her makeup is perfection. Her papa is handsome & proud as he should be.
    Too sweet!!

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    1. Jason is a very sweet and proud papa of Maggie for sure! And he is definitely a good-looking man.

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  2. Magnolia June absolutely STUNS in her gown......... queen indeed, with her handsome and regal Daddy! Lovely photo! Glad Gibson sleeping over......with his preferred meal on tap.......reading.....and Mer and Boppy time. Enjoy! We've got soup on tap here......it's a gray, rain impending day.....what better day for root veggie soup with last remnant of venison loin......noodles.......and tons of veggies. I can't wait! Bottoms up!
    Susan M

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    1. Now that sounds like a REAL soup! A Fuck-You, Jay Leno soup. He said once that he hates it when people try to give you soup for a meal. He's just never had our soup, has he?

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  3. What a great day! I'm signing up as a courtier of Queen Magnolia June, playing the part of a princess.

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    1. We are all in service to Her Majesty Magnolia!

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  4. Princess Magnolia June isn't really a Woman Baby anymore....she's more of a Woman Girl. All of your grandkids are growing up right before our eyes!

    Enjoy your night with Gibson. I'm sure you'll all have the best time. :)

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    1. I almost wept when I saw Owen today. He is just getting so tall. He's almost taller than his daddy.
      I call Maggie a woman baby because once when Lily was getting an ultra sound, that's what the technician said- That's a WOMAN baby!

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  5. Queen Magnolia, indeed. She has such presence. Her dad looks so proud of her.
    The article about the oyster industry was really interesting and very sad.
    Gibson is a fine young man. You are blessed.

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    1. Maggie is rock-sure of her place on this earth. I love that about her. And her daddy is very proud of her.
      I know I am blessed. In so many ways.

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  6. That picture of Magnolia with her father is everything and should be enlarged and kept as a fine art piece. XOR

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  7. Her Heineses Magnolia looks oh so fabulous! The dress is really perfect on all levels! Those pictures are 'frameable'.
    The description of the day was marvelous. I envy you. It was 8 degrees (in Ohio) when I got up this morning. At least the sun was out for what that was worth.
    I've been meaning to ask if the Gypsy Soul store (I think that's the name) is still open? I remember you mentioned once it was closed on a day you thought it should be open ans was suspicious it might have closed.
    Paranormal John

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    1. Maggie and August do love rainbows! Sweet babies.
      I can't imagine living in such cold weather, even with the sun out.
      The My Gypsy Soul boutique is still open. They have just shortened the days and hours of operation.

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  8. It was colder than cold when we woke up today in NE Ohio, but forties are in the works for next week. This weather is past crazy. I guess it's we who are crazy thinking we can have our cake and eat it, too.
    Maggie is so fortunate to have a good sewer in her family. Her dress is lovely.

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    1. Brrrr....
      I would never set foot outdoors.
      Actually, Maggie's dress came from Amazon. Lily said it was cheap but it sure was lovely and perfect for that one night.

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  9. Maggie - wow, she looks amazing in that formal rainbow. Better slow that girl down! What a lovely photo of the two of them together.
    Oysters up here, as you know, are scrisp and fabulous in the R months! There was a time when i could not seem to eat enough of them but I guess i got over it. Haven't had oysters for several years now.
    Also curious- what John asked. The little shop failure?

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    1. I figure that Maggie's true age is about forty-one at this point. Yep. Seven going on forty-one. I do believe she will eternally be at the height of her powers.
      I do love oysters. Not a ton of them raw but a few. And steamed with delicious toppings? I could eat those all day.
      As I told John, the MGSB is indeed still open, but they cut back to five days a week instead of six and the hours are shorter.

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  10. That first picture is adorable and a definite keeper!
    Both pictures will give Maggie a thrill when she is older! Such great memories are being made!

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    1. I should be the one to take responsibility for getting that picture enlarged and framed.

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  11. I didn't really know much about oysters. My dad was born in a place called North Oyster and loved oysters. I didn't realize how they grew and survived, didn't know they needed fresh water. It's so sad how humans keep destroying things. I still want to visit Florida, guess I better not keep putting it off:)

    The grands are sweet.

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    1. Yes. Oysters are quite specific about what they need. They had the perfect environment for eons before we white people started making all our "improvements" and developments. There are literally prehistoric oyster shell middens.
      Yes, m'am. If you want to see "real" Florida you do indeed need to visit ASAP. A little more of it gets paved over every single day.

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  12. Perhaps Gibson will read the story to you instead. I was just thinking how much he looks like one of the brothers my twin grand daughters have, from a different father. He has the same colouring as E.
    Maggie and the dress are both so beautiful!! I hope she had a wonderful, perfect night.
    Sad about the oyster bar, will they build another one?

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    1. I love Gibson's dark hair and eyes. His dad is part Italian and it shows through on him.
      Maggie had a great time at the ball!
      They will not build another Posey's. For one thing, no more oysters in the area. For another- it's just ridiculous to keep building things there because storms are getting bigger and more frequent. The storm that took Posey's out flooded the entire town.

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  13. Such a shame about the oyster bar. It's always sad when a landmark disappears - all the more so if it's through red tape!

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    1. Well, I don't think it was red tape that shut down Posey's. The owners just finally gave up on trying to keep a business going there when it got flooded and storm-damaged so frequently.

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  14. I love Maggie's rainbow outfit! Hope she had fun at the ball. And Gibson has such a noble profile. I've never been to Posey's (or heard of it, to be honest) but I also lament when things change and such good old places are lost forever. Thanks for the link to the article about oysters in Apalach -- I'll give it a read.

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    1. Gibson does have a noble profile. He's such a darling sweet boy.
      That article about the oysters is worth going to just for the photography.

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  15. William can read as well as I can, but he is enjoying hearing Harry Potter read aloud to him.

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    1. I read so much of the Harry Potter series to Jessie. That was one of the best times of my life.

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  16. FRESCA here. Lily & Jason make beautiful humans!
    I asked the AI language model, ChatGPT, if a roomba vacuum is a kind of AI, . . . and it is! So you already OWN one!!!

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    1. I agree with you and Lily and Jason's offspring!
      Huh. I guess I do own a form of AI. And of course, I have anthropomorphized it terribly.

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  17. What on earth is a topless oyster? Actually they are one of the few food items I can't eat without wine. Since going TT five years ago I've never enjoyed them as much - pity really.
    By the way I've been having massive trouble posting comments as Bike Shed - and in some cases at all - from my phone. My laptop went up in smoke (literally) and I'm currently somewhat bereft without it. Using the big office PC tonight but its cold here in the garden office!

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    1. A topless oyster is simply an oyster on the half shell. They shuck them and then serve the oysters on half of the shell.
      Have you ever tried oysters steamed? Or even baked or fried? They can be delicious that way.
      Sounds like you need a new laptop, my friend!

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