Thursday, March 23, 2023

Almost Too Much Excitement For One Old Woman To Handle

 

Well, there you go. I finished the puzzle this morning. It is missing eight pieces which I am sure made the darn thing that much harder to do. 

Ha-ha.

I have truly enjoyed working on it, finding that the searching and studying, studying and searching, does indeed lead to a sort of meditative state. An hour passes before I know it. I have to say though, that when I was taking it apart to put back in its box, I got a rather sad feeling that I had spent all of those hours doing something that was completely useless to anyone at all, except for possibly me and that is not something I'd bet the bank on. I mean, if you spend hours knitting or sewing or painting or writing or cooking or gardening, there are tangible and true results.
I comfort myself in thinking that my knitting is so bad that even when I knit for hours, there is no real benefit to the universe. 

And of course I've already gotten another one off the shelf and started sorting out edge pieces AND I've ordered another from Amazon. I need to start searching out the ones at the libraries. 

I had a lovely experience today! I met Jessie and Lily and Rachel at the Indian buffet for lunch and oh my god, we were rowdy and loud and we laughed so much. The food was fine but of course that's not the point. It's the sweetness of the company, the joy of being together. 

Then I went to Michael's with Lily who was buying a clay pasta machine and please don't be confused. It was not made of clay but made FOR clay. She had read that these are quite adequate to make real pasta with and cost a lot less. Owen, believe it or not, has recently expressed an interest in making homemade pasta so Lily, always thrilled when the kids come up with any ideas for suppers, wanted to help him do that. She says he's been doing a lot of cooking, even making salmon and rice to take to school for lunches. 
Amazing! Our boy is developing excellent taste in food and the skills in cooking it. 
Lily loves Michaels. Crafts are the only things she spends money on for herself. I swear. So we wandered about looking at cool stuff for a little while. I wanted some new knitting needles and possibly a crochet hook but they didn't have what I wanted so I bought nothing. 
And then we went next door to Marshall's but neither one of us bought anything there at all. She had to go home but I thought I'd go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to see if they had Roomba filters but I have to tell you- BB and B has almost NOTHING. Of course that's not really true but if it has half as much merchandise for sale as it used to, I am shocked. Great empty spaces, shelves sparsely filled. Very few employees. Sort of like the GDDG but with a lot fewer things than people actually need. 
They did have some Roomba filters but not the kind Ralph requires. 

So again, I bought nothing. 

On to Costco where I finally spent money. Of course. I bought more of the Sugar Bomb cherry tomatoes and honey and bread and fish oil capsules and about a quart jar of capers. And then I came home and now I am tired. 

Mr. Moon has felt much improved today. The twinkle is back in his eye, he is joking with me again. This morning he declared that he might just go fishing tomorrow but later this afternoon he said he'd probably give it another day or so. 
Thank god. 

I took a few pictures in the yard a little while ago. 


That's a not-yet-opened bud of my precious native azalea. I love that plant. I got it at a local plant sale years ago that I went to with Kathleen. It is growing at a glacial pace, probably because like everything else in this yard, it just does not get enough sun. But it is alive and it blooms and every year it becomes just a tiny bit bigger. They never get huge anyway. 

Now. On to two more patches of my yard where Croscomia is taking over or has already done so. 


That is in the bed in front of the front porch where the sago palms grow. Believe it or not, I weed them out as best I can every year. And yet...


And this nice plot of the motherfuckers is at least 100 square feet if not more. I have read that they are native to South and East Africa as part of the grasslands there. I can only imagine how beautiful they must be, growing wild and blooming orange where they are supposed to grow. However, MY YARD IS NOT PART OF THE GRASSLANDS OF AFRICA! 
I am wondering how much it would cost to rent a back-hoe to just scrape all the dirt and corms out of these areas and then to add back in soil that has not been tainted. 
I doubt even that would work. 

And here you have a cat with its head resting on a bowl of water. 


The black panther kitty has not given up on the dream of living here. In fact, it sort of does live here. I do not feed it but I have put water out and I think the cat is claiming what territory it can. I told you about the fight that Mr. Moon witnessed between this cat and the bleach-spot cat who also comes around. Panther cat whipped the other cat's ass. Badly. And lately Maurice has taken to pooping in the pantry now and then which is most unlike her. I had a strong feeling that the panther cat was involved and my thoughts were confirmed a few days ago when I saw that cat chase Maurice across the yard. I yelled at it and pointed my finger. 
"NO!" I told it. "You will NOT do that!" 
And the damn thing just stood and stared at me with its gorgeous golden eyes even though it always runs from us when we get too close. It was a stand-off between me and the cat and I think the cat won. 
My Lord, it's a persistent creature but the last thing we need is another cat who wants to kill Maurice to claim alpha status. 
That is Jack's job. 

Man. Things really do get exciting here, don't they? 
I will report in on how this issue progresses. 

Love...Ms. Moon







17 comments:

  1. Your family life is a lot more peaceful than the animal kingdom around you. Good thing.

    Let us know how the pasta making goes. I've made pasta a time or two, and the rolling out part is fun. He should like that. It makes great pasta when you do it at home, too.

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  2. Cats! I do love them! 🐱🐹🐈

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  3. So glad MR Moon feeling better! Your day sounds about perfect! other than the cat wars........ugh
    Susan M

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  4. That's Jack's job. Second day in a row that you have made me burst out laughing.

    Glad Mr. Moon is better. Glad he's waiting another day to fish.

    Your yard just looks so...fecund.

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  5. That beautiful rosy-tipped fist of an azalea bud! They're one of my favorite flowers, but like many plants, they don't appreciate our high-desert alkaline, droughty soil. And those crocosmia - oh my saints and stars!

    Your lunch with Jessie, Lily and Rachel sounds absolutely wonderful. Laughter-filled lunches are the best. And glad that Mr. Moon has his twinkle back.

    Chris from Boise

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  6. I barely noticed the missing pieces in that jigsaw and even then only after you pointed out some were missing. I'm happy to hear Owen is cooking, all kids should have time and learning in kitchens, I know some who don't because "they'll just make a mess" but then how will they learn? Anyway, that invasive is a lovely shade of green, though I do hope you will find some way to get rid of it.

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  7. Given the chance I think all kids love to cook. It's when it becomes necessary it becomes a chore. It also teaches them about flavour and where food comes from and so many other things. Go Lily and Owen.
    I feel that Maurice might need a taste of her own medicine but pooping in the pantry does suggest stress. Such a shame. I do love black cats.

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  8. How exciting that Owen is wanting to cook!!! Good lad, it'll stand him in fine stead!

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  9. I have several patches of crocosmia...a friend gave me a clump a few years ago, but none of it has ever flowered. I can see that it is coming up again in even more places this year, so hoping that the first clump might give some colour at last.
    I get most of my jigsaws from the Cancer Research charity shop...£3. When I bought the last one I saw that there were 2 on the shelf that I had previously bought from there and taken back after doing them!

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  10. Doing jigsaw puzzles is good for you. It's okay to do stuff that is just good for you. Taking care of yourself is helpful, not just to you but also to those around you...

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  11. I am so happy to hear Mr. Moon is improving. Wanting to go fishing is certainly a good sign! And your day with your girls sounds just wonderful. I can think of few things I'd rather do than hang out with daughters laughing and sharing a rowdy meal. As for the puzzle, I count nine missing pieces. At least the new one you ordered will probably have all its pieces. As I would say, if a puzzle puts you in a calm, meditative state, then it IS doing something useful, because caring for yourself is a gift you give to the people who love you. I will happily think of you puzzling along as I often do! In fact you just inspired me to open a new puzzle.

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  12. Puzzles remind me of sand mandalas, they remind us of the impermanence of life. Not long ago, I spent five hours finding the pieces necessary to rebuild a beach cottage out of lego for Jack. It was like a puzzle but I enjoyed it so much, even knowing that Jack would take it apart, which he did:)

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_mandala

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  13. I really enjoy a good puzzle but I am terribly picky about the brand and the picture. A puzzle snob I am. Cat updates are always interesting.

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  14. What Pixie wrote. Some years ago, I watched, intermittently, a group of visiting Tibetan monks making a sand mandala over the course of a week and when it was done, they carefully swept all the colorful sand into an urn, walked down to the river chanting and poured the lot into it. Then they clapped their hands and everybody had a good laugh.

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  15. Would a "natural" herbicide help? I mix plain white vinegar, a slop of Dawn dish soap and a generous clump of salt in a gallon jug. A good shking, then let it settle a bit. I pour it on the nettles and a warm sunny day and Viola! Gonzo!

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    1. I don't think so. It might kill the above-ground foliage but I do not think it would affect the underground bulbs or corms.

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  16. Oh, lord, I don't envy you the cat chaos. Or the crocosmia. Yours is definitely way more aggressive than ours, which doesn't seem to spread at all from year to year. (Of course, it's a lot cooler here. Florida is more like Africa!)

    I've never heard of using a clay machine to make pasta, but why not?!

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