Tuesday, January 30, 2024

All Well And All Is Well


As you can see there, I felt much better today. Practically perfect! Well, you know- for an almost 70-year old woman. And I went to Publix and got cat food and CAULIFLOWER which I will be eating tonight with my soybeans because I think they're just about done. Last night I made my mustard-shrimp dish with rice and it was so good as was the salad that was as plain as could be.


Greens and carrot from the garden. I dressed it up with a little lemon juice, balsamic, and olive oil. Salt and pepper. All you need for perfection in my opinion. Funny that this dish is called a salad while that plate of cheeses and bacon with some chopped tomato, a few small pieces of lettuce, and a half of an egg we ate at the restaurant four days ago is also called a salad. I told Glen while we were eating that delicious sin-on-a-plate that it was a salad in the same sense that a mixture of Jello, pretzels, and mini marshmallows is a salad. Which it must be. Look at any good southern church's self-published cookbook in the "salad" section and you will see that I speak truth. I once discussed pretzel salad on this very blog many years ago and by golly, the very next day I went to a funeral in a Texas church and what do you think was on the salad table at the reception after the service?
Yes. That is right. Pretzel salad! 
We do things a little differently down here. 
Sometimes I miss Jello. 

I didn't take a walk today. I got distracted. I do not want to go into great detail here but a possibly Very Exciting Thing happened this morning. A friend of mine who lives in a certain village near the east coast that I adore texted to tell me that a house there might possibly be going up for sale soon. He'd spoken to the owners who are considering a move to be closer to a sister which would mean selling their house. This house is on the river about two lots away from where my Granddaddy's river property was in front of his house. I have known this house since I was a child. It is almost catty-cornered across the white sand road from where Granny and Granddaddy lived. 
Every time Glen and I pass that house I say the same thing- "I sure wish they'd sell that house."
It's a tiny house. A cottage, really, with one bedroom, one bath. An addition has been built on connected with a screened-in breezeway with a bedroom, sitting room, and bathroom. The original house is probably about a hundred years old and very, very old Florida. 
I read my friend's texts to me and I bet my blood pressure went through the roof. He told me that he'd asked the couple who owned it if it would be okay for him to tell me about it and they said sure and he sent me their phone number. They really liked the fact that I had a long history with that area, not wanting someone to buy it, raze the house and build a mini-mansion. 
I have talked to them now and they are a very nice couple. I told them about my childhood in that little community and how my dog Snoopy used to go visit the people who lived in that house because the lady who lived there always gave him something to eat. Children and dogs were free-range then which is nicer than saying "feral". 
Mr. Moon has spoken with them too, calling from Arkansas, and he doesn't have the feeling that they're quite ready to make a move. There is absolutely nothing certain about this and prices for real estate down there are astronomical. And we would not live there full time. You know I can't possibly leave my babies and their babies for too long. Also- I love my house here in Lloyd. 
Two very, very different types of old Florida houses, two very, very different types of geographical areas in the same state. While we have giant oaks and camellias, cypress trees and magnolias, they have mangos and avocados, pines, cedars, sea grape, many varieties of palms and hibiscus. We have the gulf of Mexico close by, they have the Atlantic ocean. 
It's funny but the worse things get in Florida politically, the stronger my love for the land itself becomes. 
The house that might possibly be up for sale is very close to the railroad bridge that goes over the river there. That would probably not appeal to a lot of people but of course here in Lloyd, the railroad tracks go right behind my back yard and I am quite used to having my house shake when a train goes by. I asked the couple if the dolphins still play under the trestles. They said that they do. 

Well. I remember how excited I got when my grandfather's river property went up for sale. A very ugly house had been built on it but still- I could deal with that in order to have the sunset that I loved over the river so much. The smallest part of me, the part that has an almost primitive woo-woo faith thought that perhaps this was it- this was my gift from the universe for loving that piece of dirt on the river so much. 
And the universe laughed and laughed and someone else bought it. 
So I'm not going to do that this time. (She said.) And I could happily live right here for the rest of my life. 

It's so odd to be at the age I am, contemplating something like this. There is absolutely the possibility that we could buy it, make it our own, enjoy it for a year or two, and then one of us could die. I mean- let's be real. I read the obits. I'd like to think that I'll be hale and hearty for at least another ten years but who knows? And even ten years is not that long. I've lived in this house for almost 21 years and it's gone by like a dream. 
Then again- if we're ever going to do something like this, now is the time. 

Love...Ms. Moon








35 comments:

  1. well...this sounds like an opportunity that you certainly must pursue....and cannot ignore. I think you and Mr Moon are on the same page with it. I'm all *a-titter* just reading about it......if anyone could do justice (and enjoy) a cottage like this....it would be you! Be well, glad you are feeling better.....and bottoms up to you tonight! (as in, my wine glass)!
    Susan M

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Susan. Time will tell and I am happy to take this as it comes.

      Delete
  2. If you do decide to go for it, do you think you might rent it out when you are not there?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do not know. Would you like to put in a reservation now?

      Delete
  3. I am sending positive thoughts your way. But I must ask....how long did you cook those soybeans? Carol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TWO DAYS! Seriously. I did. Over ten hours for sure. They tasted fine but I'm thinking about throwing the rest out.

      Delete
  4. Well, this is exciting. Let's see what comes of it. The couple might shilly and shally a bit, not really wanting to leave yet. But if you play this trout with patience, you may land it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If anyone knows how to be patient while fishing, it is Mr. Moon. We shall see what happens.

      Delete
  5. This could be something exciting, and certainly interesting for we readers. Best wishes.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Maybe you should go visit this friend of yours...and let these house owners know when you just happen to be in the neighborhood...not right away, you don't want to scare them , but soon.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Glad you're feeling better. I don't have the kind of attachment to the land that you have. My family is from all over and there is no one place that calls to me. I also can't leave Miss Katie, which is more of a reason for me. That's okay, there are worse places to live than here:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This place is the only place that truly calls to me. I mean- I do love my home here and I am attached to this area but it's different somehow. I can't explain it but it is very true.

      Delete
  8. Glad you’re feeling better. That’s some great news! I’ve been in South Florida 51 years. I didn’t initially love it, but the natural beauty and quirkiness won me over. I have been thinking a lot about leaving for a blue state lately, something I never thought of until the current maga madness. I’m thinking I simply may not feel safe here any longer and that makes me incredibly sad . I’m your age and I know the older I get the harder it’s going to be to move. I’m hoping for the best in November.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I completely understand, Barbara. I really do. It is scary here now and that's all there is to it.

      Delete
  9. all goose bumpy here, fingers crossed ! Two houses in two worlds shall be yours!!! Why not? Depending on the price of course. I can not imagine you anywhere but in Lloyd in that magnificent home of yours but I can imagine you playing with dolphins under the trestle.
    Train goes by our house too, not that close but close enough, I find them comforting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, Linda Sue! I guess it could happen but it seems like just such a tissue-paper dream.

      Delete
  10. At this stage in my life I couldn't buy a house and not live in it permanently. I think I am too old to spend most of a year in my home and then pack up and move somewhere else for just a few weeks. I understand your dream though, it's a place where you spent many happy times as a child, a place where your grandparents lived so the memories are happy and you would have your sunsets over the water. So maybe, for you, it would be worth it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know what you mean but I do love what N2 said in the comment below this one. It can be done. Especially if we kept things very simple at the place where we spent less time.
      And this is such a dream. But who knows?

      Delete
  11. This is an exciting prospect! Sending in all the good mojo for the best result for you and the mister. I've been moving between two houses since 1978. Once set up, it's surprising how little you need to take with you from one place to the other. Glad you are feeling better. x0x0 N2

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for that reassurance. I have worried about that very subject. But when you think about it- when you stay at an AirBnB or one of those places, you really only need to take your clothes and toiletries and things like that. Everything else is there. Groceries can be gotten there too.
      In theory, of course!

      Delete
  12. Very exciting to contemplate. You could also live another 30 years. I’m so glad you’re feeling better.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I cannot see myself living another thirty years. Trust me- I will not see a hundred.

      Delete
    2. I wasn’t suggesting it as a good thing. I sure hope I don’t live that long and we’ve both already got the same amount of time invested.

      Delete
  13. Do it do it do it do it.
    But I am not one to advise really, am I?!
    This time last year I was in my "last" home and here I am waiting for my last "last" home to be built in a seaside town 4 hours away.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think that you are the perfect person to advise me, to tell you the truth. You are an inspiration, dear Ms. Merlot.

      Delete
  14. Well, that news really perked you up, Mary! Maybe you need some exciting plans in your life. To be continued...

    ReplyDelete
  15. Well this is a switch! Glad you are feeling better though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For now, this is all just something to think about.

      Delete
  16. Oh my goodness, Mary! I have goosebumps! This one may be it! You put your wish into the universe and now, could be, just maybe, the universe is delivering. If it is to be yours it will be. You cannot lose by dreaming yourself there. I was unaccountably moved by your comment that the crazier things get politically in Florida, the more you love the land. I think it's because you know the essence of the place, the thing that endures, that matters, that sustains. I love you woman.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As always- you get it, my sister. I think I have always been afraid to want something too much and I bet you understand that too.
      Perhaps the way I feel about Florida is because when you love something and it is threatened, it becomes even more precious to you. And oh, it is under such threat now.

      Delete
  17. Well, it's on your radar, which is the important thing. If it becomes available you'll be among the first to know. And if not, well, there's always the pool with the lions.

    I love a simple green salad. One of life's joys. I could do without the pretzels though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're right, Steve. There is forever and always the pool with the lions as long as those darling men continue to let me come stay there.
      I completely agree with you about the simple green salad. And when the greens are this fresh and delicious, you just don't need a lot of other stuff gunking it up.
      What? You don't think a Jello and Pretzel salad sounds delicious?

      Delete

Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.