Thursday, July 20, 2023

Long Catch-Up


Well, here we are, home again in Lloyd and I am glad to be back in my funky old house with its porch spiders and and our own bed although to be honest, the bed we slept in in the house in North Carolina was absolutely fine. I felt so at home in that house. I truly could have moved right in and been happy. Not only was it fitted out with every sweet touch you can imagine, but it also had that creek that chuckled and whispered as it ran over the rocks, a sweet, soothing sound at every hour of the day and the night. 

But you know- home is home. And you also know how much I love my home. EVEN THOUGH...


My god, it is hot. It wasn't very cool in North Carolina, either, but it wasn't hot like this. The weather widget says it "feels" like 103 but I do realize that there are plenty of places right now where it is actually 103 and probably feels like 129.

I could go into a long tirade about how much we've fucked up our planet but I don't have the energy and you already know all about it. I suppose this is one of the those times you just have to say, "We aren't going to make it, are we?"
No, darling, we are not. 

But we drove through so much green today. Green woods and green forests, green trees jungling the banks of rivers and of lakes. And many, many miles of agricultural green and I am aware that that is not the sort of green that will save the planet, even though it feeds us and clothes us. 

We had such a good trip. Here are a few pictures from our last night. The boys were so tired and so wired and everything they did was hysterical to them and of course we could not help laughing with them. 





It was a fine supper. Vergil grilled some brats made from a cousin's own home-raised pig and Jessie and I made a huge salad with everything in it and I made a salad dressing that Mr. Moon asked me to remember how to make which of course will never happen but I think I can probably sort of recreate it. It was somewhat ranch-like. 

The adults all hot-tubbed for a little while after the boys finally got to sleep but we were in bed by 10:30, knowing we had to get up early-ish to pack up, restore the house to order, and leave. 

Now I have to add something here. When you rent a vacation property from Airbnb, there is always a long list of things you need to do before you leave. They always include things like, start the dishwasher, empty all trash, strip all beds and take sheets to the laundry area. Start a load of towels. Make sure kitchen is in order. 
And more and so much more. I could not find that list in this house. Finally, on Tuesday, when we were really facing the fact that we weren't going to be living there permanently, I looked on the Airbnb app for possible instructions from our host and it said something like, "We do not expect our guests to do chores before they leave. Please just have another cup of coffee while enjoying the creek instead."

WHAT?

The woman who was our host had been the most responsive and the sweetest of all the hosts I've ever experienced. When we needed a propane tank for grilling, her husband delivered it within an hour. She answered every message I sent her in minutes. By the end of our stay, she and I were practically writing love letters to each other. And it turns out that he husband knows Vergil's stepfather and yes, it is a small world. 

So when we got up yesterday morning we did not feel quite the pressure we usually do on those check-out days, but because our host had been so damn sweet we wanted to leave the place as tidy and spotless as we could. And we did. And towels were washing and the dishwasher was running and all the garbage was bagged and all of the toys and books and games were put up and the kitchen counters cleaned. I left her a jar of my fig preserves and a love thank-you note on the dining room table. 
Sigh. 

It was hard to say goodbye to those boys and their mama and daddy but they'll be home soon. And we had disrupted their lives enough. I think the thing I will remember the most about this trip (besides the cat museum, of course) is the night I was feeling the worst with whatever I had and was in bed, reading. The boys came in the room, walked over to me, and August said, "Are you better yet?" 
"No," I said. "But I will be."
And then they both made sounds of disgust not unlike Napoleon Dynamite when he was overtaken by the complete idiocy of those around him, as if I was purposefully being sick and wimpy and no fun at all. 

So yesterday's drive was another one of our drives where we seem to get caught in some sort of back-roads matrix where time and miles lose all of their meaning. We didn't even really stop much! But we finally made it to our destination which was Oconee, Georgia where we had reserved a room at a place called The Oconee Lodge. The reviews for the place had not been great. Many of them spoke of an "odor" in the lobby area. Also, the ice machine on the third floor didn't work. And no one seemed to care very much about the guests. There was also one about how the food at the breakfast bar was okay but that the French toast sticks had not been cooked properly and then went on to instruct us all on how to cook French toast sticks by arranging them in the pan just so. 
I always take negative reviews with a grain of salt, knowing that mostly only the unhappy people bother to post them but when we walked into the lobby to discover not an odor but a STINK, I sort of had to rethink that. Was it sewage? Gas? Was the place going to explode? 
Whatever. We'd already paid and the room didn't stink and it was adequate and the best part was that it was on a lake and after we hauled all of our shit up to the room we made a drink and went down to sit outside where this was what it looked like. 


Not so bad. 

And then, hungry and frazzled and looking pretty rough but too tired to change clothes and gussy up, we drove to a restaurant that the desk clerk had recommended and oh, y'all. It was the best. 


And our server, Johnny, was the best part of all. Just the sweetest man. Before long, Glen and I were sharing that seat instead of sitting across from each other and also sharing a barbecue shrimp appetizer, a spinach salad, and a steak. We felt like teenagers on a happy date. We got a strawberry shortcake to take back to the room and Johnny asked if we had anything to eat it with. We thought about that. No, no we did not. No spoons or forks at all so he suggested that if we wanted to take a souvenir spoon with us, he would not tell anyone. 
And we did although I felt guilty. I will cherish that spoon for a long time. 


When we left, he told us that he hoped that when he is our age, he is loving life the way we do, which was sort of weird and sort of wonderful. We took it in the wonderful way. 

The shortcake was delicious. Real shortcake, fresh sliced strawberries, and whipped cream that never saw a can. And we slept like rocks. 

We never got to test the French toast strips for ourselves as it turns out that the hot breakfast is only served on weekends. We looked at the offerings of most-likely stale bagels, microwavable Jimmy Dean sausage breakfast sandwiches and plastic containers of cereal and said, "Uh. No."
And then, as with all good travelers in the south must do, we broke our fast here. 



And then we drove through all those forests and woods and fields and went through intersections that could have been the original crossroad where Robert Johnson made his deal with the devil. So many beautiful old houses, some not much more than skeletons of themselves, others maintained or restored, all with their own grace. 

And now we're home where it is hot, as I have said. Both Maurice and Jack seem to be happy we're back. The strangest thing has happened. We've had Jack for I don't know how many years and up until just a few months ago I'd never really heard his voice but suddenly, he is giving us a few very quiet meows, and he gave us some of those today. Maurice let me pat her without trying to take off my hand and they both begged for Temptations. Which of course I happily gave them. 

Hank and Rachel and Mark left the house in such good condition. There is much to do around here though, of course. Mostly outside. I took the compost out and gave the garden a quick once-over and Lord, it needs some care. Amazing what can happen to a garden in one week. I've unpacked everything but my clothes and in my case, that is the least of it. I've put away the make-up and jewelry I wore one night (the night we went out for supper in Athens) and my chargers and power strip, my books and New Yorker magazines of which I read exactly ZERO articles. I did finish a library book and then read this which I truly enjoyed.


May lent it to me a good while ago. I'd never started it but once I did, I could not stop reading. It was a great comfort when I was sick. 

All right. That's my report. Of course there is much more but this is already too long. I'd like to mention that we had supper one evening with Vergil's mama and stepfather and that was very sweet. Also, that August is playing chess now and played with his Boppy a few times. And that Glen and I have only gotten through about half of "Crazy In Alabama" and I had forgotten what a good book that is. It is about far more than a woman carrying her husband's head around in a Tupperware container. Far more. 

And that truly, it was a wonderful trip and I will mention once again how much Mr. Moon and I made each other laugh. Oh, how delicate and intricate is the dance of long-time love. The steps are slowly and sometimes painfully learned but well worth the learning as the result is more sweet and tender than anything you can imagine when you are young and falling in love. 
I do not know much but I do know this. 

Love...Ms. Moon 



29 comments:

  1. Glad you are home; sorry you had to be sick for a bit, but glad you had a wonderful time overall!
    Cats are just so difficult to figure out sometimes! Love them for as long as you can!!

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  2. Welcome home and thanks for the update.

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  3. oh my......SO much to love about this adventurous trip! I'm glad you are home sweet home.....with cats to love (LOL).....and garden to tend......and to try not to swoon too much in the heat! Welcome home!
    Susan M

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    1. and that spoon will be a special spoon, for sure!
      Susan M

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    2. so sorry, this may not be entirely appropriate here but I want to send love and strength to Steve Reed and his family..... since I am unable to comment directly to him, I hope he will feel the love this way instead. Susan M

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    3. Yes. That spoon is special to me for sure. I swear- it is too damn hot to do any work in the garden. I haven't even been able to force myself to go pick the peas.

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  4. I'm pleased you went away so you could come home and write this full report. You must have pulled in pretty early in the day to unload everything but your clothes and type all these words. The boys look as happy as ever, and it's great the cats made up with you too, big time. Welcome back.

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    1. We did get in pretty early. We got on a few big highways and made good time but it was so stressful that we hopped back on the backroads. Still, we were home before four.

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  5. Welcome home! Your Airbnb hosts and your server Johnny were like the whipped cream on that shortcake of a vacation. Oh, those boys! Remarkably Bright Creatures is the next book on my list. And your last paragraph was poetry in prose. That is a good thing to truly know.

    Chris from Boise

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    1. We who have learned this dance with our partners are the lucky ones.
      You are so right about the host and Johnny. Couldn't have been sweeter people.

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  6. Such a good time! Glad you are home safe and quite sound, though North Carolina sounds dreamy! Your trip sounds like the perfect road trip - agreeable souls! If ever I were to head down south the cat museum would be my destination I do believe. Oh, and your front yard, of course. Jack , what a good kitty- he missed you so much he spoke!

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    1. North Carolina is incredibly beautiful. The mountains speak to the hearts of some but it is all the rivers and creeks that speak to me.
      Jack was crazy happy we were home.
      And I think the cat museum would be a place that you would truly appreciate, dear Linda Sue.

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  7. I'm echoing the "WHAT" because my eyes certainly popped wide open. What a wonderful host! And a perfect BNB. And of course I would have cleaned up just as you did and been happy to do it by choice not because I was told to.
    The whole holiday sounds near perfect, with being sick the only fly in the ointment and that stinky hotel on the way home.
    I see Levon is close to losing his baby teeth.

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    1. Yes. Levon will be in kindergarten this year so losing teeth is coming up on the big wheel.
      It was a joy to make sure that that house was as tidy as we could make it.

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  8. That sounds like a wonderful trip - except maybe for that last hotel. Whenever I go anywhere I try to leave it as good, if not better, than when I found it. And that's only right isn't it. I will never understand people who trash a place just because they can!

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    1. And I think the older I get, the more I respect the property of others.

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  9. What a lovely trip. I can't help thinking that you need to book a two-week stay at the same Air b&b next year. It looks divine.

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    1. We might have to stay at least an extra few days next time for sure but I don't want to take away from the family's time with their mountain family, either. We get them so often and it's not really fair.

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  10. So glad you had this lovely trip together and so glad you are home! You were mightily missed. My habit of reading you each morning with my late breakfast is deeply ingrained, like having family with me at the table. What a great house you stayed in. I could see where this could be a yearly habit, and I am sure your hosts would be happy to have you. Sending hugs from here. x0xx0 N2

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    1. I think that our host would be very happy for us to come back. She said that exact thing several times and we will absolutely do that. Thank you for telling me you missed me. That means a lot.

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  11. Beautiful post. Welcome home!
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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  12. all I have time for now is...welcome home.

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  13. 37 paddington: those boys look so happy. Welcome home lovebirds.

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  14. I think reading about you and Mr Moon's relationship is one of the ways I get to vicariously experience a good one. That's a but odd I know, but it does the trick for me who is committed to the single life 😉

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.