Exhaustion Explanation

A few days ago I saw a picture on Facebook of wild trilliums blooming in some local woods and as I do every year I thought- "Whoa! The trilliums! I wonder if mine are up and blooming?" They're in a spot in the yard which I do not regularly visit and every year I forget they're there unless I see pictures elsewhere of some blooming or I stumble upon mine by accident. So last night I asked Siri to remind me to go look at the trillium this morning at 11:00 and she did because she's good like that, and I went out and checked and there they are. I really need to clean out around them. 

These are close by the other little outcrop of them and they are not quite as far along yet. They feel like such a gift to me. They are rare in Florida so there is that, too. Now that I have been reminded of them, I will be checking on them and giving them some love in the next few weeks. 

I figured out why I was so exhausted last night- I am sick! Not real sick, just a little sick. For whatever reason this often happens when Mr. Moon is going away. Perhaps it is my body's way of making me rest more fully and I do because I have no one to tend to but me. I am tired and a bit achy and have some upper respiratory symptoms. Nothing bad. I took a covid test and was negative. 

I had talked to Jessie about bringing the boys over today but I called her this morning to tell her that it probably wasn't a good idea. She agreed. I got a little teary though- I haven't seen those boys in over a week and you know they've both probably grown at least six inches since then. She sent me videos of each of them playing soccer (European: Football) from yesterday. They both seem to be enjoying it a lot and Jessie says they're doing well at it. Levon made two goals, I think. You know what a fierce little guy he is. She also sent me pictures from today. They got their hair cut too! 

Sitting in the chairs.

Enjoying that post-haircut lolly-pop. 

Mr. Moon has made it to Arkansas. I didn't even hear him get up but he set my coffee for me so it would be ready when I got up and left me one of his very, very sweet notes. I'm glad to know he's safe and sound and I really hope he has the very best time. When I talked to him on the phone he asked me if I needed him to come home and take care of me and I said, "Oh, god, no." 

So what did I do today? Not a whole lot. I really thought about doing a little experimentation with canning cooked greens in the pressure canner. Do a little research, try a few jars, see how that comes out. But Idid not feel up to picking and washing and cutting and all that stuff so I didn't. I would love to have some quarts of my collards and mustards and kale and turnips in the pantry to open on those nights when I have completely run out of ideas for vegetables to serve. I keep thinking that there really should be more vegetables than the ones we generally eat and I am sure there are but they must be keeping them in the countries of their birth. I NEVER buy greens to cook in summer because that is not right. And I've never cooked a frozen green other than spinach. I did once buy a can of turnip greens in a grocery store in Denver, Colorado because I was so homesick. 
They were disappointing, of course. 
I've talked about how really nice it is to have the green beans I canned last year to open and cook to have with our suppers. They came out great in flavor and texture and this summer I'll make a lot more of those. 
Too bad I can't can salads. Or freeze them. I guess that's one of the things that makes our winter salads so precious is knowing that in a few months, all of those lovely lettuces and the arugula will bolt and that will be that for another six months or so. 

So instead of getting out the pressure canner and getting to work on that project, I just lazed about and watched most of a movie and did some mending on one of my old nightgowns which is a rather ridiculous thing to do because it's as thin as a teenager's excuse for staying out all night. I actually have THREE of these nightgowns because I love them so much and for years I ordered another whenever one wore out but then they became unavailable so I use one for spare parts sometimes and sometimes I just patch with some other fabric I have lying about. Visible mending is, by its very name, supposed to be visible, right? 

And Maurice came to help me.

Don't you love her contented, loving expression? 

If I had to caption that photo I think it would be, "What the fuck do you want?"

And so that's been about it. I've enjoyed my day alone, thinking my own thoughts, being able to follow them as far as they want to go. It has been a beautiful day, the sun back out in a winter-blue sky, the temperature back down to what I would consider to be perfect for January in Florida. 

Here's a funny thing- yesterday when I wrote my post I included the name of Henry Louis Gates, Jr. who is not someone I really think about that frequently. I love him on "Finding Your Roots" and if I had a bucket list, having him go over my genealogical chart with me would be on it. But- I'm not obsessed with him and he's not really a part of my life in any substantial way. 
So when after I published my post and started looking on my phone to see what podcast I'd like to listen to while I made supper, I was a bit surprised to see that he was the guest on the latest episode of one of my favorite podcasts which is "Armchair Expert" with Dax Shephard. And so I was able to spend almost two hours between last night and today listening to the episode with him and it was wonderful. What a life he's led! What an amazingly humorous and brilliant guy. And what a funny coincidence. 

Here's one more picture. 

August in a tree. How did he even get up there? 

Kid magic, that's how. Also, he's a monkey. 

Love...Ms. Moon