Tuesday, February 13, 2024

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




23 comments:

  1. That patch is charming, and so are your stitches. Have you ever heard of someone who works a puzzle without doing the border first. It blew my mind, but I don't remember who it was.

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  2. When my bed was being changed last week I stopped, appalled at the clean sheet unfolded: a giant tear in the sheer mesh of a thirty year old sheet. I summoned my grandmother and mother and produced a square of fabric and mended that sheet.
    Yes, Creme Brûlée is the best! And come this winter, a whole lot of those drowned trees will be dead.

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    1. Hurray for mending! Good for you, Joanne.
      Creme Brûlée gets my vote every time.
      I think you're right about the trees.

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  3. I hope you and Mr. Moon enjoy that chocolate dessert and have a sweet day.

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  4. Creme brulee rules. Especially when you crack it with your spoon. I have face blindness but no trouble with jigsaw puzzles. I don't do the whole frame first though, just some of it then I build inwards. Eventually the frame gets done.
    I like your visible mending. I made my bed today and notice the gossamer thinness of the middle of the top sheet..

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    1. Okay. Well, there goes my theory about face blindness and jigsaws although I suppose there could be different types of it.
      In my opinion, you are the jigsaw master and I think you really have a good sense of color and design which could help.
      Sheets really can wear thin after a few decades, can't they?

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  5. Creme brulee is my favorite too. Sex in a custard dish really, silky, smooth and satisfying.
    Glad you're feeling better. We had court today and Jack will be with us at least until July now and we can register him in school, which I did as soon as we got home. I want him to be with his friends from daycare.
    The dogs and I had a good walk this morning at the dogpark, even though it was a little chilly.
    Your mending fabric is gorgeous.

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    1. Yes! Creme Brûlée is the sexist of desserts!
      I'm glad you could register Jack at the school where his friends will be. That must be a comfort to you.
      From looking at your latest post, I would say that your walk was a bit more than chilly!

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  6. I disagree, Pavlova is number 1 and creme brulee is number 2. In my heart anyway. I love pavlova and I think if someone drizzled it with ganache it would be perfection.
    I like seeing your whole house in that picture, the new roof looks so nice. That patch won't look at all out of place once you stitch through it. Eventually there may be a few more, because of the cats.

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    1. My Pavlova cannot compete with a good Creme Brûlée. I wish it could.
      Don't you love how carefully I matched the patch to the cover's fabric? Haha!

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  7. I love visible mending, too. I don’t do it, but I do love it. Your house is so charming and inviting. It took me a very long time to read this post. I was scrolling along easily when my screen got stuck on a luscious photo of ganache. I swear. It got stuck. And it's even starting to scroll back up again.

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    1. If we were neighbors, I'd do mending for you. We could sit on the front porch and talk while I stitched. And you could eat ganache with a spoon.

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  8. Your suggestion for a study of where people live is interesting but what about the people that just adapt to where they end up? Do plants adapt when they are planted in the wrong place? I don't know enough about plants. Lots of people have to adapt, I think. You are provoking thoughts today, Mary! :)

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    1. That would be the point of the testing. People, like plants, often do adapt but do they thrive? Plants don't, usually. A lot of people do adapt but are they living their best lives? I would be so miserable if I had to live in mountains or a place that didn't have a lot of water and trees.

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  9. I think it’s a brilliant idea for a study! I’m so sad to hear about Bob Edwards. He kept me company during my morning commute for so many years, I mourned when they took him off and am mourning again. Much love.
    Xoxo
    Barbara

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    1. When they announced that Bob Edwards was being replaced, I wrote a stern letter to NPR and asked if the people making that decision were smoking crack. I really did.

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  10. So many treats in this post!
    37P

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  11. I remember when the GDDG was being built you had some interactions with the county permitting people. Would it be worth going back to them with your drainage concerns? Could they force the GDDG to install a culvert or somehow improve the drainage? I wonder. Not that I'm trying to make work for you. :)

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.