Thursday, May 16, 2024

Let's Discuss


Jessie, Liz Sparks, and I all met for lunch today at a Thai restaurant that I ate at once a million years ago, Jessie has never eaten at before, and Liz says she ate there once with a husband but she wasn't sure which. 
She's only had two but you know how these things sort of blur together. 

I love Tom Kha soup. I mean- it is one of my favorite things to eat in this whole world and by all rights I should grow some damn lemongrass. I grew some at the last house where we lived and it got big enough to be an ornamental. 
Or maybe I should just go to Thai restaurants more often. 

It was so good for me to crawl out of Lloyd and meet up with women. I feel like Jessie is a crone-in-training when she's with me and one of my friends. And of course, that would usually be either Liz or Lis. I think all of my kids used to enjoy hanging out with my friends when they came over. I know Hank did. He'd be as quiet as a mouse so that I wouldn't notice him and send him to bed. I'm sure he got quite an education. I did used to have a wide circle of extremely diverse friends. 

But now of course, Jessie isn't just a little child listening with big eyes to crazy grown-up talk, but a grown woman herself and when she talks about a problem with child behavior or how it feels to be a mother and a wife, I think, or at least I hope, that we can ease her mind a little. 
"Oh, I remember when my boys..."
Say's Liz. 
"Oh, I remember when you kids..."
I say. 

And look! We all survived! 
Quite possibly by the skin of our teeth in some instances but survive we did and so did our children.

So that was a splendid lunch and although the Tom Kha soup wasn't the best I'd ever had, it was still delicious and I enjoyed every drop of it. The restaurant is a small and barely noticeable place in a strip mall on one of Tallahassee's main thoroughfares. But as you can see from the picture, it's charming. I especially loved the chair drapes.

Liz showed us pictures and told us stories of people she knows whose houses were completely trashed by the tornados. It's still so unbelievable to me. I have not driven through the areas that were so hard hit and so to me, it's like a dream of a rumor. Something you'd see on TV. 
Liz said that one of her friends had something like three trees fall on her house who said that they just laid down very quietly. 
Whoa. Whenever a tree has fallen here, there are sounds associated with it that I am far more familiar with than I'd like to be. First there's a sound like a giant rip as the tree gives up a huge part of itself, and then a slight hesitation, followed by a swish and a crash and I have felt the ground shake. 
But I've never been in the same place as a tornado taking down trees and I hope I never am. 

After lunch I went to the library and then to Publix, and Mr. Moon came home from Tom's fairly soon after I got home. He had planned on going to the river and I was going to go with him but he'd gotten into some poison ivy and so wanted to take a good shower to see if he could wash off some of the oils before they could do their evil work. By the time he was done with that, he was ready to sit down in his chair and we'll go to the river another time. Soon, I hope. He also has gotten ticks and chiggers working over there and yet, he remains cheerful. He is by god going to get that tiny house on that property and get it tied down and hooked up. Every day brings new hurdles to overcome but as Mr. Moon's daddy used to say, "Ain't no hill too high for a stepper." 
Or something like that. 
He tells me stories about Tom's stubbornness that I cannot believe he can tolerate. And he just laughs. I'd be gone in five minutes. 
As I told Jessie today, in the past week I have realized two things about her daddy.
1. He is far more patient and persistent than I realized and, 
2. He loves a project more than I could ever have imagined. 
And this is a project with a purpose. It's not just fixing up an old car or making a folding table. He is doing something that will allow Tom to keep on living where he wants and in improved circumstances. 
I know I keep praising him but he has seriously gone far and above what probably 99% of us would do in these circumstances. 
He's not walking on water or turning water into wine yet. Trust me. But he's proving his mettle and that's for sure. 

So that's about it from Lloyd. Tomorrow I'm going to go get my hair trimmed by our darling Melissa. That woman is so popular that getting an appointment with her is on the same level of difficulty as getting an appointment with the Pope. I could have just gone to some regular hair-hacker but seeing Melissa is worth the wait. I am looking forward to that. She and her husband's house was hit hard and I know she'll have a lot to tell me while she's getting rid of at least eight inches of my hair which is ridiculously long. I'm pretty sure it's longer than it was during covid. 

I better go cook supper for that paragon of manhood and loyalty I'm married to. That's about the least I can do. And probably the most I will do as well. 

Love...Ms. Moon


29 comments:

  1. Even a "little house" is a lot of work to set up. Hauling it in, leveling it, water and sewer hookups. Probably a couple of permits, but I'm sure Mr. Moon would know about those.

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    1. Oh yes. We know all about permits.
      And my god yes, what a lot of work this is turning out to be.

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  2. I am a little bit jealous of the little house- I have thought of getting one to put in the yard (haha) That would never fly but what a great thought. Stubborn Tom will be grateful one day, I suppose. Tornado sound horrifying at best. Hurricane- earth shakes , volcanoes- let us know whose boss, i suppose. We are so small and vulnerable. I like that Jessie is a crone in training- that made me laugh.

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    1. Tom will probably not be grateful. That's the way it is.
      I wish I'd had a crone mentor. Things might be going a little better at this point.
      Anyone who's been in a true natural disaster knows that we are puny little motes in the dusty corners of god's brain.

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  3. Poison ivy, ticks and chiggers? The man is truly a saint.
    Thai food with good company. Brilliant.

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    1. Saint? Or insane? At this point, I'm not sure which.

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  4. I hope Tom can soon get installed in his tiny house in peace. You can all be in peace! Lovely day here too.

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    1. I don't foreseen much peace in Tom's future. His mind is not working that way. It's not fun to watch.

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  5. I've got a husband like that too. They are pretty darn special. Sounds like a great lunch out and just what you needed!

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    1. I sure did need the time with ladies. The soup? Well, don't know if I needed it but I sure did enjoy it.

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  6. "He's not walking on water...." but I am beginning to wonder if he is in fact an actual angel sent just for you. The Thai statue is gorgeous.

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    1. Bless him. He's no more angel than I am but he sure is good.
      I sort of want that Thai statue in my house right next to a life-sized Virgin of Guadalupe.

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  7. I always adored Thai food, even before I went there. Still do - but Lebanese can give it a run for its money too, in my opinion!

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    1. Lebanese food is very good. Definitely some of my favorite.

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  8. I hope somewhere inside Tom does appreciate what Mr. Moon does. But Mr. Moon is such a decent human being that it makes no difference to him.

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    1. Well, whether Tom appreciates it or not, Glen's going to do what he's doing. And at this point, I'm pretty sure that Glen's only goal is to get this done.

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  9. I find it very sad when people like Tom go into crisis. Health issues on top of loss of a home is terrible. Glen is essentially making Tom's life whole again. I like Thai food too. Thai spices are exotic and tasty. A neighbor of mine refused to cut down very large white pine trees on her property. She said she wanted her privacy. The last big storm in MA toppled several of these trees and they fell on her home. No structural damage but a new roof and skylights were required. Thankfully her 5,000 sf home was well insured. Now her homeowners insurance is doubled. Lesson learned...remove trees close to the house as they can fall in a storm.

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    1. It's so true. Trees can definitely fall in a storm and often do. We lived in a house once that had ZERO trees close to it. The owner/builder was an insurance man!

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  10. I didn't know what Tom Kha soup was so I had to Google it. I learn more things from blogs! Sounds like a nice outing with Jessie and Liz!
    Goodness, Mr. Moon is sure suffering through this project with poison ivy and ticks, etc. Hope the tiny home is set up soon so he can get back to working on his cars and trips to the river...

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    1. I think that Glen's mantra right now is, "Just get this done. Just get it done."

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  11. my sister grew lemon grass. amazing how many things remind me of her. my daughter Sarah was like that. she would silently creep into the edge of the room when she was supposed to be asleep to listen to the adult conversation when we had friends over. I've always said that child was born not only a mother but an adult.

    a huge storm passed through here last night, gave us less than an inch of rain, high wind but Houston got hurricane force winds and did huge damage.

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    1. Of course you have so many associations with your sister! And they must be coming back so powerfully now.
      I love what you said about your daughter.
      I saw that four people had died in Houston. Our planet is sick of us.

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  12. To catch up, my yoga teacher had a great time at the Stones concert, though he had to stand for 3+ hours and was a little tired. My granddaughter also went, sitting somewhere up in nosebleed heaven. Good reports from all.

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    1. I've been wondering! I'm glad that everyone enjoyed the concert. I don't know if I could stand up for three hours. Thanks for the report!

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  13. I just hope Tom appreciates all that Mr. Moon is doing for him.

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    1. I think that really, he sort of hates Glen right now because he sees Glen as completely messing up his world. He's not in his right mind. He's just not.

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    2. That is a hard situation all around. It's got to be especially hard for Glen.

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  14. Tom Kha is also one of my all time favorite Soups! As for Tom, even with the best of intentions to be Helpful to him, if he's not in a good Head Space, he may remain difficult. It is sometimes hard to Help people, especially if they don't want or feel they Need the Help.

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  15. 37paddington: your crones lunch sounds divine. Tom has no idea how fortunate he is in Glen, does he? Oh well. At least you know. Such a fine and good and capable man you are married to. I think we are all now following the tiny house saga with bated breath. I hope we’ll get to see a picture once it’s set up!

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.