SO Many Pictures

 The darling mermaid that Hank and Rachel gave me, now hanging on the back porch screen door.

Today I feel as if I've come back to myself. It's been good. It was a Candie day and so I did a little straightening and tidying so that she could work more easily and I got all of the wrapping paper and bows and ribbons put back upstairs and took all of the boxes and paper stuff that we burn out to the burn pile so they weren't clogging up the pantry anymore. 

I also went through a whole bunch of seeds that had been in a basket in the old shelf-thing that my mixer was on in preparation for getting the new tea cart set up. I had so many seeds that were probably fine but honestly- it was time to let some of them go. 
Before the tea cart could be actually set up, Mr. Moon decided that one of the legs needed straightening. So he took it back out to the garage and when I went to check on his progress, this was going on. 

He had his level out and was going to make sure that all of the legs were straight and true and THEN, he used ArmorAll on the wheels to make sure they were clean and newly blackened. 
I swear. 

And this is what it looks like in the kitchen. 

For now, anyway. There may be some changes as time goes on but for now, I am happy with that. Isn't it just the prettiest? The bowls on the bottom shelf are my utility bowls- the ones I use to wash vegetables in and things like that. My "real" bowls are kept in the glass-front cabinet to the right of where the tea cart is. I love bowls and I have a lot of them and they are one of the things that if I see a beautiful example of in a thrift store, I will buy. I do not care if I have too many. I use them all. I very much like being rich in bowls. 
And now I am rich in a tea cart which has perfectly straight legs and high gloss red shelves. 

I had a very nice exchange with Big Head Cat today. I went outside to dump my compost and he was there, hanging out. That's where we always see him. When I got close, he started to bolt, but then I began talking to him. 
"Hey Biggie Head! How 'ya doin'? What's going on? You sure are a pretty boy." 
And he just stood and stared at me and then he began answering as cats do. When I would pause, he would offer his contribution to the conversation. "Browwwwlll, browwwlll," and so forth. 

I told him that he was welcome to hang out here. I think my next door neighbor must be feeding him. I wonder what his story is. He's absolutely not feral and he is not skinny in the least but where did he come from? Did someone dump him? Did he walk over from the dump where quite a few cats live? 
I have no idea but I like his boldness, his polite participation in conversation. I told Glen that perhaps he could move in and teach some manners to Maurice and Jack when it comes to getting along. 
I'm pretty sure that's a fantasy. 

I picked camellias. The one bush in the yard that was here when we moved in is blooming. It has two different colors of blooms on it. 

This is not that unusual and is caused by either a virus or a mutation. Whatever is causing this one hasn't seemed to hurt the bush. I have to admit that up until this very day, I have not been overly fond of this camellia but when I was taking these pictures I finally truly looked at the way the inner petals furl so beautifully and now I love them! It's like, "Where have you been all my life?" 
Oh yeah. In my front yard. 

I picked some of the backyard camellias too. Here they are. 

While I was going through seeds, I found a package of carrot seeds that I'd bought and never opened. They were embedded in a sort of very lightweight paper strip and I decided that I would indeed plant those today. And I did. They are the multi-colored heirlooms I love so much. 

Here's what the garden looks like these days. 

It is such a joy to me. 

I picked greens for a salad tonight and also these.

That carrot was really too small to pick but I could not help myself. And isn't that a lovely turnip? They will go into the salad tonight too. 

And finally, I played around a little bit, trying out the lamp May gave me in different places. For right now, I think it is going on the sideboard in the dining room. 

I really love that lamp and the lampshade that May picked out. 

I had to give it its own Pink Perfections. 

Jessie sent me a picture of August cuddled up in the extremely soft and cozy throw I gave all the kids for Christmas this year. 

No. It is not real fur but I swear to you- it is the softest thing you could ever touch. 

I hear that Owen woke up last night freezing, and obviously running a temperature. He still had a fever this morning. 
My poor darling boy. I am waiting for an update on that situation. 

Meanwhile, as you can tell, I am doing fine. Christmas is over and mostly all that's left are the gifts and cookies. 
Not so bad. 

Love...Ms. Moon