I Feel Almost...Perky! (What A Weird Word)

Mr. Yorkshire Pudding mentioned recently that I had not posted a picture of the house since the Great And Amazing Re-Roofing Event and although I can't believe I didn't, here's another one. Or, the first one. Whatever. Doesn't that roof look terrific? The thing in the left lower quadrant of the picture which looks like some naked branches are indeed the naked branches of a wild azalea. What you can't see in this picture are the tiny buds that are coming along on it. That poor plant has struggled and struggled for all of the years it's been there and although wild azaleas are underlying plants, happy in the woods beneath the big trees, I really don't think that spot gets enough sun even for them. Isn't it odd how we are abundantly aware of how different plants need completely different growing conditions from the amount of sunlight and water they require to the acidity of the soil they grow in to the temperatures they can withstand. And so much more! And yet we somehow assume that all humans just need the same basic growing conditions to grow and thrive. 
Some of us could be like succulents who are prickly and don't want much attention or messing with and need the sun and heat to do our best. 
Some of us could be more like shy ferns who want to shelter under trees and love the rain that drips off of their leaves or needles. 

You get what I'm saying. Maybe someday there will be a test we can take to find out where we would be best suited for our health, both physical and mental. There is no doubt that some people gravitate to the mountains, some to the desert, some to the shores of rivers or oceans. Some people need definitive seasons with all of the attending temperature changes and foliage changes while some of us are quite happy to live where the seasons are less dramatic, more subtle. 

There should be a study.

I took a walk today and it felt very good. I was slow about it and just enjoyed the beautiful day. Here is some Chinese Fringe Plant (loropetalum) that I took a picture of.

There were other sights that did not make me so happy. Remember my worries about the water drainage when they built the GDDG and brought in tons and tons of dirt to elevate the lot? That's always been a low area and there's even a culvert that goes under the road where the water drains into what is obviously a lowland. Today I noticed that despite the fact that we haven't been getting exactly crazy levels of rain, the woods across the street from the Dollar General are flooded higher than I think I've ever seen them. 

It's hard to tell from these pictures but trust me. There's a lot of water. 

Again- hard to tell but there are plants and trees in that water that would not have grown there if it had always been so deep. 

Meanwhile, the holding pond behind the GDDG is not overly deep at all. 

But oh, how we love the convenience of being able to buy frozen pizza right here in Lloyd. And although yes, I am being sarcastic, I am not immune to the charms of running up the street to buy something that I need rather than having to drive all the way to Tallahassee. 

I made the ganache for Mr. Moon's truffles today. That took at least fifteen minutes. Haha!

I'm almost wondering why anyone bothers to roll that deliciousness into balls when a spoon would work just fine. Of course it would be so wrong to eat a bowl of ganache but rolled into little balls and dusted with cocoa or chopped nuts, it is an entirely acceptable treat. 
So I'll do that tomorrow. 

I'm thinking I'm also going to make a pavlova. I've had a container of egg whites in the freezer for long enough and if there is a more delicious dessert than an airy pavlova with fruit, I do not know what it is. 

Oh wait. Creme Brûlée. I think that is the best dessert of all. 

As you can probably tell, my spirits have been much improved today. Was it the walk? Or did I take the walk because I felt better? 
Chicken? Egg? Who cares? I am so grateful. 

I did actually work on my puzzle a little bit this afternoon and I think I'm going to love it once I figure out the border pieces which is not going to be easy. Talking about studies, I wonder if anyone has ever done a study on whether people who have face blindness (prosopagnosia) have a harder time doing things like jigsaw puzzles. I have read that they have difficulties differentiating between cars. I am pretty sure I have a mild case of face blindness and I truly feel as if finding the correct jigsaw pieces to fit into the puzzle at the correct places is a little harder for me than it should be. I will look at a piece and and note the basics of it (leaf, part of red flower) and then look at the puzzle and have to check the piece over and over again to try and match it up to the correct place. But that's okay. It's supposed to be a challenge, right? This is not a competition. It's just...an interesting pastime. 

One more thing I did today which was pleasurable was to do a little mending. When I went to make the bed this morning, I noticed a small tear in my almost-new coverlet/bedspread. 
WTF!?
Either it's a really poor quality product (quite possible) or one of the cats ripped it with their pointy claws, which is even more possible. Whatever. You know I love to mend. I am almost ashamed to show you this picture because my stitches are messy and I know that some of you are such excellent stitchers. (BOUD- I am looking at you.)

Anyway, here's what I've done so far. 

Obviously, I am a big fan of visible mending. I will next do running stitches through the patch that hopefully will match up with the ones already in the coverlet. 

It doesn't take a whole lot to make me happy, does it? To top it all off, Mr. Moon received his order of potato growing bags and got FREE compost at the waste management facility in Tallahassee today. We're trying a new thing. I'll let you know how it works. 

Love...Ms. Moon