We Shall Survive. I Swear. Plus, Greek Salads And Lots Of Love

Woke up this morning to a transformer blowing about fifty feet from my bedroom window. Sounded like it was IN my bedroom and was startling, to say the least.
Oh, sigh.
Life in Lloyd.
I called the power company, my neighbor called the power company, I'm sure everyone called the power company. The power company said that "crews have been dispatched" and after about an hour with no sign of crew or power, I figured they'd dispatched the crews from Orlando but eventually they got here and fixed the transformer and I have to say that when you wake up to no power and then get it back on, the rest of the day seems slightly more shiny than it might have.

I was going to go hang out with Maggie while Lily went to get her teeth cleaned but then she and Jessie and I decided that we wanted to go see May because sometimes you just gotta go see May because she is precious and we love her. So I drove Magnolia June over to Jessie's house and we visited and played with Levon and I read some books to August and Maggie busied herself with the novelty of August's toys until Lily was through with her appointment and then we went to the restaurant where May is now working. Same owners, just a different location and we like this location a lot better. It's funky and comfortable and it smells really good. Like pizza.
I knew I was making pizza tonight so I had a Greek salad which was delicious. Here in the south, for some reason Greek salad frequently comes with potato salad and that's just even more goodness on top of goodness and this potato salad and the Greek salad were terrific.
But not as terrific as it was to see May.

Here's Maggie looking at "the baby".

She really wanted to play with him and tickled him some and he seemed to like it. He's getting almost chunky, that Levon of ours. 

That's when we were at Jessie's house and he was getting his clothes changed. 

It was an extremely fun lunch and yes, I have gone out to lunch three times this week with my family in various arrangements and I am as happy as I can be about that. Let's face it- it's about the only social life I have and I wouldn't trade it for anything. 

And here's another cool thing that happened today. 

An awards ceremony!
No, I didn't go but Lily sent pictures.

I'm so proud of my boy! He's really getting into reading these days and he got an award for that and for being on the A-B honor roll and for good citizenship. 

Owen! You are growing up so good! 

All day, of course, I've been thinking about DT's "shithole" comments which were crude and cruel and racist and just plain wrong. I mean, I may use profanity and so can DT but not in his role as president while discussing policy. The man has proven beyond all doubt that he is a racist of the worst kind and also, that he's dumber than a box of rocks to suggest that Norwegians might want to come over here and help Make America White Again. And then he has the gall to deny saying what he said and THEN he has the gall to say that canceling his trip to Great Britain has anything to do with the new embassy when we all know that Great Britain has made it profoundly and perfectly clear that they do not want a visit from DT, thank you very much, stay home you chickenshit, dumbshit, shithead, asshat, racist, bullying, cocksucking horrible excuse of a human being, waste of air and water and McDonald's hamburgers, pretender to the office of president of the United States of America. 

Will our country ever regain any respect at all? 

Will we ever recover from the shame and embarrassment? 

Will we ever recover, period? 

And when will DT's Republican minions finally admit that yes, he's crossed a fucking line (about 2000 times) and needs to go? Because they are as responsible for this clusterfuck as he is. 

I am horribly afraid that as long as the market continues to spiral upward, they will just puke in private and count their money. 

Okay! That's enough politics! 

I have electric power, I've gotten baby kisses, daughter hugs and eaten potato salad today and I'm drinking a martini. It's going to get down into the thirties tonight but I have new Crocs with cozy, leopard print linings and we have gas in the tank and food in the pantry and gospel music cranking out from the church next door. 

As George Harrison said, "All things must pass/All things must pass away" and although that bodes a little sad for my own personal life, it reassures the hell out of me when it comes to this administration. 

Happy Friday, y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon

For Entertainment Value Only

My day was filled with chores, just that, and a walk although when I got up this morning to hug my husband before he left for work I said, "I'm going to stay in bed all day."
Well, I did take quite the extended nap this afternoon but la-di-dah.
I weeded the beets and the carrots and I think they are coming along nicely. I made a sort of tabouli salad with quinoa instead of bulgur wheat and of course I did...laundry.
Always laundry, forever and ever, amen.
Right now I am washing a huge rug I keep in my bathroom along with my gardening overalls because when I was in my bathroom I noticed a dead, uh, something, with dried bloody bits and what we might call "chunks" and while I was cleaning that up, my shoes which I was still wearing from working in the dirt, left a big spot of damp blackness on the rug.
It's all just so damn never-ending, isn't it?
You can't clean one thing without soiling another.

Above you see a picture of Levon, of course. Isn't he precious? Adorable? Too cute for words? Doesn't it look like he's saying, "Fascinating! Tell me more! I'm listening"?
Yes. Yes it does. I swear I can't hold that little boy without wanting to kiss his tiny rosebud lips. Which I do. As I've said so many times before, babies can't stop you from kissing them which is part of their charm. I do it respectfully, though, I promise.

So. Let's talk about listening to audio books. Now, since I discovered the ease and joy of downloading (uploading?) audio books free from the library onto my phone, I walk about all day long with a long cord stretching from my pocket where my phone is stashed to my ear buds. Well, they're sort of ear buds. I go through books like a cold beer on a hot day and it's one of the joys of my life to be able to "read" as I go about my work and exercise. I tend to listen to books which do not require ALL of my attention because I'm always doing something else at the same time. So, a bit lighter fare, shall we say, than the books I read with my eyes, although not always.
A few weeks ago, Lily told me that she was listening to a book by Diana Gabaldon called Outlander and that she was enjoying it. Sounded decent- time travel was involved, the narrator was one of my favorites, it was set in Scotland, etc. Lovely fantasy escapism and perfect for listening to as I did everything from scrub toilets to clean and order closets. So, yes, I downloaded Outlander and it is absolutely not the most well-written book I've ever listened to or read with my eyes, but it is entertaining. It has lots of sexy sex in it, although...perhaps a bit too much and honestly- how well does ANYONE write about sex? There are only so many elements involved and after about half a dozen encounters, they've all been described rather thoroughly. Especially in White Bread World. Which this is. Also, the author seems to have a bit of a sadistic streak and loves to write about backs being whipped (not kidding) to the point where one simply has to wonder what in hell is going on there. But, in its defense, the book kept my attention (although I do tend to drift when the beatings begin) and I loved the concept of a woman who was a British field nurse finding herself in 18th century Scotland after accidentally slipping through an ancient standing stones time portal. (Note to self: If I ever decide to time travel, wear appropriate clothing to avoid being accused of being a whore.) There is a nice amount of pre-modern healing techniques and herbal use, which I do enjoy. And of course the former nurse falls in love with a gorgeous redheaded Scotsman, a warrior who is well-educated, can speak about forty-five languages, elicits absolute sexual excitement and wild monkey lust in her, and who seems to get lashed every fifty pages or so, leading one to wonder how in the world he manages to have any skin or muscle tissue left on his back at all.
Ah lah.
So I listened to the whole, long, long, LONG book and then what did I do but download the next (even longer) book in the series and now I am on the THIRD book in the series and there are five more to go.
I feel like such a literary loser.
I am listening to what is basically a never-ending historical romance novel which has S & M overtones.

Oh well. It ain't no Game of Thrones or Nancy Drew but it's...sort of like crack.

And on we go. Supper is going to be a broccoli and mushroom and chicken casserole and there are NO CANS OF CREAM OF CAMPBELL'S ANYTHING SOUP in it although I did use garlic powder. That and the quinoa salad with garden greens, tomatoes, onions, garlic, black olives, and cilantro which will negate any unhealthiness of the casserole, will be on the table soon.

"Here's your gourmet meal," I will announce to Mr. Moon and he will say, "Oh boy!" and sit down with knife and fork and we'll watch something on Netflix although it will not be Mad Men which I have now watched about six episodes of and cannot watch any more. It depresses the shit out of me. I may be a literary loser but as I told my husband a few days ago- "If this is how men really are, then just kill me now."
I find myself sickened as I watch it and ain't nobody paying me to do that.

What are you reading? And watching?

Let me know. Don't be afraid to shame me. I can take it and do deserve it.

Love...Ms. Moon

In Which I Muse About Stuff

On my walk this morning I noticed a spot of color in the old graveyard as I passed by and so I turned in to investigate. What I'd seen was an old blue coffeepot with that bit of pine branch in it at the top of the picture but then I saw another old coffee pot, this one a very vintage electric percolator with holly in it and I figured that someone had decorated a few graves for the holiday season. Shelby's grave is definitely one of the newest graves in this particular little burial plot. Some go back to the early 19th century. It is a peaceful place.

I feel as if I have not stopped moving all day long and my hips hurt so badly that I could literally cry and may well do before the evening is over. I am so tired and I can't help but wonder if the pain is part of my seemingly inexhaustible exhaustion. It probably is. It's always there, the pain, but sometimes not as bad as other times. There are constant other pains, too. Knees and legs, especially. I am not complaining here. I am simply saying that this is the way it is and has been for a very long time. Tonight I do feel a little whiny about it and I'm thinking of Sabine's post from today.  Sabine suffers from far worse health problems than I can even imagine having and I always appreciate her voice, her spirit, her insights and observations as she navigates a life which is certainly not like anything she'd ever foreseen. And her writing is beautiful. She inspires me. She calms me. She is wise. She posted a video today of Mary Beard speaking about women and aging and I watched it, took in the words, and realized with a small epiphany that as much as I am ashamed to admit it, I still very much compare myself to other women, my age-related peers (as I said in my comment on the post) especially. Wouldn't one think that by my age I would appreciate myself for the unique individual I am? I also realized that part of my inability to spend a day resting, I mean really resting, is the very mistaken and unshaken internal belief that if I am as productive and physically active as I ever was then I will not really be as old as I look and feel myself to be. I mean- I can't ignore the pain and I can't ignore the fact that I cannot do exactly what I used to do in terms of real, true physical work but dear god, I try. I try to do the work and I try to ignore. Both.
I think that on my death bed I will be comparing myself to other dying women, finding myself lacking in certain aspects and I will probably also be doing my best to hop out of bed and fix something for my visitors to eat. And then I will wash the dishes and sweep the floor.
Should I be so lucky as to have visitors on my death bed.

Oh, goodness. What a lot to think about.

And yet, I was also thinking about another thing today- about how I really, really wish that I could allow myself to enjoy my beautiful life more. To have more fun. To have more confidence in the future. To be more content and motivated by pleasure and anticipation. Why is this so damn hard for me? I do not know.
I honestly do not innately believe that suffering is good for me nor do I believe that it serves anyone or any thing in my life.

When I was at the grocery store today, a woman and a little boy were shopping too and they were talking and laughing. Especially the woman. She seemed to be absolutely filled with joy and they were having such fun. I wanted to follow them around and let some of that joy and fun into my own heart. It truly is the joyful people, the laughing people, who remind us that even though life can be so terribly hard and often is, there is so much beauty and enjoyment to be found in it.
Even in the grocery store.

Well, that's what I've been thinking about today.

We had another sweet lunch with family this afternoon at our favorite sit-on-the-deck place, El Patron. There was much laughing and joy there and I was not unaware once again of how much pleasure I get in my family.

August ran to his Boppy's lap and stayed there for an hour. That child adores his Boppy. While we were waiting for our food, Boppy drew him pictures of everything from trucks to a dog to a cow who was pooping with a farmer standing by with a pitchfork to clean it up. August asked for a picture of the farmer's wife and he got that too. Our sweet Rachel took that picture.

Ms. Magnolia with my lip balm. She was looking somber here but mostly she was very happy. She applied some of the lip balm to August's lips. One quick swipe did the trick.

Levon (who looks like he might have blue eyes) being held by Aunt Lily. That boy rolled over by himself today for the first time. Two months and one day. Clearly, a genius. For real. And what makes a baby work so hard to master the milestones they achieve? Hunger and the seeking of comfort and safety explain their desire to nurse and to be held. But what makes them want to roll over? To raise up on all fours? To begin to crawl? To take steps? Levon is way too young to observe the people around him rolling over and deciding that he wants to do it too. Lord, sometimes I really wish I knew what was going on in the fierce and beautiful minds of infants, as I texted to Jessie when she told us what Levon had done. 

We humans are a strange lot. We definitely are driven by our needs for food and water and air and comfort but we are also driven to move beyond the comfortable, the known, the safe, to walk and then to run. To explore farther and farther distances from within sight of Mama to the very surface of the moon, to the depths of the oceans, to the inner depths of our minds and hearts and souls. 

Here's what the sky looked like tonight at my house through the bones of pecan trees.

Life can be lush and life can be sere and there is beauty to be found in much of it. 

I want to seek more of that and realize, as I do, that our ability to feel joy is far more important than any bizarre, misguided need to suffer. 

Enough. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Little Boppy Pays A Visit

This little guy came out today for awhile because his mama had a dermatologist appointment. He is such a fun child to hang out with. He's generally agreeable with any suggestions I may have which makes things mighty easy. His brother is pretty laid-back as well, as long as someone is holding him and he gets nursed every five minutes.

He's already laughing! Laughing Levon, happy boy. He is two months old today! Can you believe it? 

August could barely be bothered to notice when his mama and baby brother left. We were working on a puzzle by then. I got the coolest kid puzzle at the Goodwill bookstore last week. It's a Melissa and Doug puzzle and has huge pieces and is all mostly borders. Here it is while August is playing piano, waiting for my attention. 

And here it is, all finished.

He's especially good at tapping the pieces together with his foot but he's also pretty good at making the pieces fit together. 

He played in the boat.

We also played put-marbles-in-an-old-bottle. The Mr. Rat puppet got involved in this game and there was uproarious laughter when Ratty dropped a marble. Turns out that rat paws aren't the best for holding marbles. We also read a whole bunch of books on the porch swing and we fed goats and chickens. Well, I fed goats and chickens. When I offered August the bread to feed the goats and asked if he wanted to do it, he said, "No, you do." He's not real sure about the goats next door and there are dozens of chickens over there which are a little bit scary, even though they are behind a fence. Mostly.
We also gardened, as you can see above.

When Mama and Brother got back, we drove to Monticello and had lunch which is where I took this picture. I know I'm his grandmother, but I think he's such a beautiful boy.

It's so interesting how much I fall in love with each of these grandchildren. It's certainly nothing I ever expected to happen, nor did I foresee feeling so much pride in my daughters as I watch them mother their children. It started when I saw them give birth, both so incredibly strong and capable in doing what I myself thought to be the hardest thing I've ever done in my entire life. And I am also in awe of how well they chose their husbands and how amazing Vergil and Jason are as partners and as fathers. 

And let us not forget that quite frankly, I never thought I'd live this long. I have no idea why I thought that, but when I was a young mother, and even an older mother, the idea of grandchildren was as vague and hazy as mist. 

And yet...

Here they are. Five of them. Each one unique and with characteristics and talents and abilities and personalities completely their own, just as my children were. 

I keep thinking of how yesterday, when I took Owen and Gibson home, little Wiley Cash, the boy that Lily takes care of on Mondays, woke up from his nap and we could hear him. Owen raced to the room where he'd been sleeping and put his ear to the door and when he was sure that Wiley was awake, he opened the door and went right to the Pack-n-Play and lifted Wiley out and said, "Wiley, why are you so cute?" 

I feel so incredibly blessed. Unbelievably so. It's like I tell my husband- I feel like I am dreaming a dream come true that I never dared to dream. 

And yet. Here I am. Here we are. 

And in completely prosaic news, my house smells of cat piss and I think that Jack's doppelganger, a huge gray and white feral un-neutered male, started coming into my house again when it got so cold and he's pissing all over the place, trying to claim territory. Which may be causing Jack to add his pee to the party. This is the cat that my next door neighbor who loves animals more than is even natural, asked Mr. Moon to shoot. 

But at least the horrible smell drove me to finally and at last mop the kitchen which has needed doing forever. I mopped it twice and the mud room got a good swabbing too. 

And now those floors feel like silk on my bare feet (it has warmed up considerably today) but it still smells of cat pee. 

Dammit. 

Well, that's life. The celestial and the ethereal right along with the undeniably nasty and persistent smell of cat piss. 

Life on earth. We are living it. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Simple Pleasures

This day was so un-noteworthy that the most exciting thing I did, by far, was to make tapioca pudding.
I'm not even kidding you.
I took my first walk in about two weeks and I'm pretty excited that I am still able to do that. I wore a dress to walk in! Hell yeah! It's an old long cotton knit black dress with slits in the side and I wore it with thermal leggings and a jacket and it was so free-feeling. And comfy. I may never walk in pants again.
I may never fit into pants again but that's a different story.

I cleaned the hen house and laid fresh straw in the nests. I got an egg which was not laid by either Lucy or Violet who have been consistently laying the only eggs I get so that was sort of exciting. However, I did not get a Violet or Lucy egg so there you go.

I picked up Owen and Gibson at their bus stop as a favor to Lily. Jason had inadvertently taken Maggie's car seat to work with him. We are serious about the car seats around here. The boys were happy to see me as they always seem to be when I pick them up by surprise. Gibson yelled, "MER! ARE WE GOING TO YOUR HOUSE?"
"No, baby. Not today."
"ARE YOU GOING TO TAKE CARE OF US?"
"No baby, not today."
"AWWWWW! I'M HUNGRY!"
When we got to his house he had the option of having a piece of leftover pizza or a cupcake.
"SUGAR MAKES ME FEEL CRAZY!" he said. "AND IT MAKES MY NECK HURT AND EVEN ITCH!"
He chose pizza.
Owen chose a cupcake. And then he was going to have pizza.
Live it up, kid! Life is short.

Then I came home and ironed. I know! I know! Too exciting for one human being to handle but that's the way we roll here in Lloyd.

But let me add that Mr. Moon has been working on a new screen door for the kitchen for days and days and he finally hung it tonight. The problem has been that the door space is not a true rectangle due to what we gently call house-settling.
House-tipping might be more accurate but we don't say that.
Anyway, he had to rebuild the door and also the door frame to make it work and of course, the screen door had to be painted and it's beautiful and I am so glad to have it. There it is, up there in the picture with the hugely tall, handsome man.
So honestly, that's the most exciting thing that happened today although it wasn't something that I did.

I will however tell you that my tapioca pudding has two secret ingredients in it.
Do you want to know what they are?
Okay. I will tell you.
Coconut milk and almond extract.
Is that gourmet or what? Only about a quarter of the milk I put in was coconut and I put vanilla in it too. So it's homey and comforting and so very exotic, all at the same time!
In fact, and seriously, I am looking forward to eating some with GREAT excitement.
It's the little things, people.
At least in my life.

Love...Ms. Moon

Magnolia June Turns Two And A Monkey Friend Comes Into Being

She's a little flirty, don't you think? Those green eyes are mesmerizing. 

I got Ms. Monkey done in time for the party and if I'd had more time I would have remade the dress which was really not a great dress and the button hole I made for her tail to stick out of is a bit too high but at least she has a matching headband so she's accessorized and I think Maggie liked her although the very first thing she did was to rip off the headband. Luckily, I made it with elastic so it can come and go as it suits Ms. Mags.

When she was asked what the monkey's name was she said, "Merkis," which may or may not last until tomorrow but it made me happy because...Mer...Kiss.

I will try to start on Gibson's earlier than two days before his birthday so that perhaps it'll be a little more polished. But I do love the way these silly sock dolls take on a personality of their own as I stitch in eyebrows and lashes, give them hints of noses and carefully selected earrings, choose the color of the buttons to use for their eyes. 

We watched Moana before the pizza and cupcakes and it was a very sweet movie and I like the direction Disney is moving. No romance whatsoever in this film, and the strongest character is a young girl. There are myths and legends from the Pacific Islands and the grandmother was a beautiful soul who reminded Hank and now reminds me of our beloved Aunt Lynn, had she had the opportunity to grow into grandma-age. She danced and misbehaved and told stories and was graceful and funny and believed in the spirit and magic and was the most nurturing character in the movie. 

And then more people showed up and before it was over, all of the usual suspects were there with only a few missing. Which means the house was crowded and noisy but this is the way it is when, as Hank told me, "You have eighteen children and twenty-five grandchildren."

It does seem that those are the correct numbers, even if I know they're not. 

Here's me and Levon, Jessie, Vergil, and August all crammed onto a love seat. 

There was lots of holding going on. August wanted to sit on his Boppy to watch the movie and Gibson sat on my lap. After quite a while, he switched over to his grandfather's lap, too, saying, "You've gotten to hold me a long time, Mer." 

I hugged him and let him go. 

And Maggie sat on both our laps too, when she wasn't eating chips and dip.

Levon is really starting to smile and laugh and gurgle and he's just so precious. Vergil says his three states of being at the moment are sleeping, fussing, and chilling. Yep. That's exactly what he's supposed to be doing. We all adore him. Maggie and the Darling Lenore want to hold and hug and kiss him. Owen came up to him and took his little finger and said, "Hey, little dude, how you doing?" and of course everyone wants to sniff him and touch him and just get a bit of that sweet, calm baby vibe. 

So that was Maggie's party. Sweet and simple, easy and loving. We finally got to see Rachel who was away for Christmas and she took the Maggie-kissing-Monkey picture and also the group of us on the love seat. It was so good to see her again. She and Hank have a new kitten to love, and both appear to be smitten with the little guy whom they have named Jasper. 

It's not supposed to freeze tonight and it will be warmer tomorrow. Days are slowly getting longer and the chickens tell me the truth of it as they are now roosting at least half an hour later than they were a month ago. I am already thinking about getting new biddies this spring and we have got to deal with the overabundance of roosters we have. It is just not responsible chicken-tending to have so many. It is easy to be a new-age believer in peace among the flock but the difficult truth is that there are constant fights among the roosters and as I have said, the hens suffer the consequences and live in fear of unwanted and painful attentions. 

One more picture of Maggie on her second birthday, taken by Rachel, playing with a a new baby in her high chair. 

Can you see the monster slipper peeking out from under her dress? 

I do believe this says it all. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Lagniappe

Oh, how I love my little orange cat.

Staying Warm

As you can see, Monkey Woman is coming right along. I'm working on eyebrows and eyelashes right now. The poor thing is a perfectionist's nightmare. She is lumpy and uneven and things are mismatched which should be matched, like arms and ears, and her cap is completely out of line and I'm just going to say that she is coquettish. She still needs a heart tattoo and maybe nostrils and also a little dress and perhaps I can get all of those things done by tomorrow afternoon when we are going over to Lily's house for the birthday party. When I was cleaning up things, I found three very large rectangles which I had knitted, two of which were supposed to be for a poncho which no one would ever wear, but I am thinking about making a blanket out of one of them for the Coquette Monkey. Maggie will not judge it and it is soft.

So that's what I spent a good deal of the day doing but I also had to go to Publix and when I got in the car I realized I hadn't left Lloyd since Tuesday and truthfully, it would not have bothered me to stay home another day. I am getting ridiculous in my hermit-like ways but somehow this cold weather just makes me even more inclined to stay home. I need to at least get out and walk though. Lord, I haven't had a walk in over two weeks. It is supposed to warm up some tomorrow and tomorrow night's temperatures should be above freezing. There is still a patch of icy snow in the shadow of the garage and it will be nice to feel the sun give us some real warmth again.
All of this cold weather has reminded me of the winter of 1976 when Hank was just a baby and my then-husband and I and a very good friend moved in to a little cabin not too far away from here. It snowed the day we moved and we had a wood stove for heat and you could see the outside from the cracks in the floors and the walls and we did not have running water. There were a few fireplaces but when we lit the one in our bedroom, we realized that all that did was to pull the cold air from the leaky walls and windows causing it to rush into the room with frigid ferocity and we did not make that mistake again.
Oh, we were cold. The woman who had lived there before us gave me her thermal underwear when she brought us the key because she knew I would need it. I am not sure how we survived but we did and I am the better for the experience and I remember sitting on the front steps one day and feeling the warmth of the sun on my face and how good that felt. It was as if I could begin to thaw and unfold under that gentle warmth and it was beautiful.
Hank took his first steps in that house, said his first words in that house.
It was truly a rough place to live but there was beauty in it. I remember I had made some shelves with bricks and boards, as one does, and set on them a large split-leaf philodendron in a pot and a gallon apple jug that I'd cleaned out and put gravel and water plants and water and a snail and some gold fish in and those things were beautiful when the sun shone through the window above them.

And now here I am, in an even older house, but one that was built by a family with far more money, obviously. The cold air does come in through leaky windows and doors but not walls or floors. They are sturdy and well built and I am grateful for them every day, just as I am grateful for the central heat and air and the resources to buy the propane we need to heat with and the bathrooms with running water, both hot and cold. Oh! The absolute luxury!

So. That's my little time trip tonight. I'm about to go heat up the soup I made last night which was absolutely amazingly delicious. It's a chicken and coconut milk and ginger and lemon grass soup with garden greens and green beans and a little corn and onions and garlic and hot red peppers and lime juice and carrots too. I threw in some frozen dumplings from the Costco and I was so afraid that Mr. Moon wouldn't like it because he's not really a huge fan of those flavors (or at least he says he isn't) but he loved it and I am glad I made enough for two meals.

Another thing I'm thinking of tonight is Maggie's birth which happened so fast once it really, really got started and how my Owen had broken his arm and had a new cast on and he and his Boppy sat out in the living room together (Gibson was at the Darling Lenore's house) and waited until Ms. Magnolia made her entrance into the world and then came in to see her. Owen loved her so much. He'd been waiting for her his entire life. Remember?

And do you also remember Lily looking at Magnolia and saying, "She doesn't have any eyebrows!" and Jason saying, "She'll get one"?

And she has. 

And Owen saying, "Tonight is the first night my sister will be sleeping outside of Mommy's tummy"?

Oh, the sweetness. 

And today I heard that same child when I was talking to her mother on the phone and she said, "Mommy! Change my diaper!"

I think she may be ready to potty train. 

I hope she likes her Monkey Woman. I sure do like Magnolia, the Woman Baby. She's not exactly a baby anymore but she'll always be our baby.

Love...Ms. Moon

We Shall Live!

The gas man came and he probed and he tested and he delivered unto us some propane.
I swear to god, I was so happy to see that guy. He was like an angel to me. He said there are no leaks in the tank so there you go. He had testing equipment that the guy yesterday did not have. The meter box for the probe required four C batteries and his were dead and he had no spares. I had none. I drove up to the horrible convenience store where you can indeed buy gator heads BUT NOT C BATTERIES.
I called my neighbors. They had some. Bless, bless, bless.
And then I cranked up the thermostat as you can see above but honestly, when it gets this cold, the heater might not actually get the temperature much above 59 but I can live with that. And I don't have to worry that we'll run out in the middle of the night.

I've had a very emotional day and I feel wiped out. I wasn't emotional about the gas. About something else but it's going to be okay and no one is sick or anything. Just...stuff. But it's been a long day of waiting and of feeling feelings and I'm not so good at either of those things.
I did start making a sock monkey doll for Magnolia June who turns two on Sunday. I got this far.

I've got the arms and the tail ready to sew on and then I'll make the hat and sew it on and then the ears and then make button eyes and embroider eyelashes and a heart and give her (she's a she) earrings and if I have time, I'll make her a little dress out of the same material I've used to make Maggie a dress. And so that was fun and I love making these silly sock monkey critters. I owe both Gibson and Levon their own Monkey Men. Gibson's birthday isn't that far away and I'll make his for then. 

This morning I thought my garden was gone. 

Everything just looked awful and all flopped over and wilty but by this afternoon, it had perked up considerably. 

I am so grateful. 

Those greens are what get us through the winter in a happy and healthy state. 

So that's all the news that's fit to print. 

I must go make soup. 

Which will have greens in it. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Oh, Winter

The WTForecast weather app claims that it is "Fucking cold and stupid" and I have to agree.
It's not really that cold but going to get a lot colder and the gas tank guy came by today and said that we probably need a new tank and oh, by the way, we're down to 12% gas in the tank we do have which is probably leaking. 
We're going to die.
No, no. Of course not.
Anyway, he explained a lot of things to me about how back when they put this tank in the ground they didn't understand about how electrolysis affected tanks put in the ground and so on and so forth and this is going to be one more reason for my husband to simmer silently about buying such an old house when he didn't want to buy an old house but he bought it for me because I was desperate to live in this house, absolutely unreasonably desperate.
And I sill feel that this is the only place I've ever lived where I truly felt I was home.
Home.
I love this house so much.
But I love my husband even more and I hate being the cause of any upset. It makes me feel like I'm seven years old and have done something to piss off my mother or my grandfather and it's just a horrible feeling.
Sixty-three years old and as Yoko Ono said once, "It's the faint, faint sound of the childhood bell/Ringing in my soul."
Except that it's not that faint.

So. Today I used my indoor-time to clean and organize the shelves in what we call The Glen Den or alternatively, the Museum Of Mr. Moon.
These are shelves which are built in on either side of the fireplace and I literally spent most of the day on this project and I doubt anyone in the world would notice I did it. But, the fact remains- I did.
Here's one side.

Before.

After. 

I'm sure you see the difference. 

I removed a few things and put them in a box as Jessie advised I should. These are things that really have no intrinsic or nostalgic value at all. He can go through the box and see if I've gotten rid of anything he really wants. 
I also did the mantel itself which was a little difficult because that's where his vintage fishing lures are. Lures have hooks. Thus, the lures didn't really get cleaned.
Sigh...

So that's been my day. I actually walked to the post office which is about half a block away. I did not freeze.

So. Yes. It's fucking cold and stupid or at least I'm fucking cold and feeling stupid.
But I will rest well tonight knowing that the beer glasses Mr. Moon brought home from Europe when he played basketball there are clean and dust-free.
This will last approximately one week.
And this is how it goes.

Be warm. Take pride in small things. Try not to listen to that faint, faint sound, even if it's more gong-like than bell-like.
Remember to believe in spring.


Love...Ms. Moon

It's All So Thrilling!

I am so tired tonight. I came home from town after the snow had melted and I'd been to Costco with two daughters and five grandchildren and then we all had Indian buffet and I was going to take a nap but instead I did some chores, thinking I'd get a second wind but I'm still waiting.
I do not think it's going to happen.

It was a day of Fabulous Wonderment, watching actual snow fall, big fat flakes of it, even if it didn't last for long, either in coming down or in sticking around. Owen kept saying, "Mer! It snowed in Florida!" He and Gibson were still a bit delirious from the joy of it.

It would appear that the lettuces and arugula and indeed, all of the winter garden are surviving nicely. There's my salad greens for tonight. Mr. Moon is going to a basketball game in town and is at Jessie's right now having supper with her family. He sent me a very short video of August playing a song. 

Wait 'til the end for the big finale. It's impressive. 

Today when we were at lunch, I sat at the table with August and Levon as Jessie got food for her and August and as we sat, August gravely advised me, "Mer. Patient. Food coming."
Oh, little wise one.

I will be patient and wait out this cold snap. Supposed to get down to 27 tonight. I'm a little terrified in that our gas tank seems to have some sort of leak and we're getting really, really low on gas which is how we heat. I know I won't die. Not only do we have space heaters but we could stay with one of the kids or even get a hotel room. Still. It doesn't take much to terrify me. The guy who works on tanks is supposed to come out tomorrow and the guy who delivers gas is supposed to be out...sometime.
I got the WTForecast weather app on the advice of Sarah (a commenter) and Lily. At least it introduces some humor into the situation.

I hear that Tallahassee's been all over the news, from Canada on down, due to our freaky snow. A friend in Maryland texted me to ask if we were okay. I said that yes, we were fine. It was only so dramatic because we're in Florida. She said, "The Weather Channel can only speak in bold caps."

I guess it's not easy making 24-hour news out of the weather and you have to make it all as thrilling as you possibly can. 

But yes, we are fine. We're all joking about it here. 

One headline on FB reads, "Relive all nine terrifying minutes of the great Tallahassee blizzard of 2018!" 

This also makes me laugh. 

It's caption was "We will dig out of this, Tallahassee. Yes we will!"

And then, of course, there is this.

It's already starting to look like it's going to be a wild year in North Florida. Hang on to your hats, kiddies, buckle up and stay tuned right here to the GRANNY MERMER CHANNEL FOR ALL OF THE LATEST NEWS!!!! YOU JUST CAN'T LOSE IF YOU READ OUR NEWS!!!! AND THE ONLY SPIN YOU'LL FIND HERE IS IN THE FRONT-LOADING WASHING MACHINE!!! 

YOU BETCHA! PICTURES AT ELEVEN! MUSICAL INTERLUDES SOMETIMES INCLUDED! NO FEE REQUIRED EVER! ALL ARE WELCOME AND NONE REFUSED!

LOVE...MS. MOON

It's A Winter Wonderland!

I woke up this morning to a weird sound. Like rice Krispies. Or something. I checked my phone to see what time it was and found pictures from Lily and Jessie which depicted something like snow. I knew that snow does not make a sound as it falls so it had to be ice and oh god, the Icepocolpse was happening.

It was hard to believe but there it was- white stuff on the ground and then in a little while, it got quiet and actual flakes began to fall.

A few pictures.

This was early on.

Picture from Lily.

The boys made a snowman with the snow collected on the trampoline.

Is this how you make a snow angel? I hear that's a thing.

Mick kept picking his feet up like, "Whoa! What the hell?"

I can't help it. CHICKENS IN THE SNOW!

And snow in palms.

Well, now it's just dripping water off the eaves. Perhaps tonight we'll get some icicles.

Oh, how easily amused and amazed we Floridians are.

Love...Ms. Moon

It's Like The Book Of Revelations Around Here!

Local forecaster on Facebook:

Very important for my Tallahassee friends to understand that this is shaping up to be primarily an ICE event, not SNOW. We might see some snow at the beginning or end, but the NWS forecast calls for as much as .3 inches of freezing rain, esp. in eastern parts of Leon. THIS IS NOT GOOD! Freezing rain is rain that freezes on contact -- with the ground and with trees. Moss-laden trees can not hold the weight of .3 of an ice. Some of them WILL come down (if we get that much freezing rain). A glaze of ice on the roads is MUCH more dangerous than snow. Bridges and overpasses in particular become virtually impassable. When I lived in Shelby N.C. almost 20 years ago, we had .5 inches of freezing rain. When it was over, guess how many people in town had power? NOBODY! It was a war zone of fallen trees and power lines. Certainly not saying that will happen here, but if the worst case happens -- a third of an inch of freezing rain -- Wednesday morning will not be pleasant. Hopefully, we get some snow and sleet mixed in -- not nearly as heavy on trees. Remember, bust potential on this storm is high -- even recent model runs show that a tiny 50-mile shift in track can be the difference between no precip and .5 inches of liquid. Brutally tough forecast for the NWS folks. Be ready for anything in the morning.

Are you fucking kidding me? Say what? Wasn't it just a few weeks ago we were freaking out about a hurricane? 
Yes. Yes it was. 
This just sucks. 
And also? We are such wimps here, so unused to anything but rain and once in a blue moon, hail, falling from the sky, that just the threat of some ice and they're closing down the schools. 

I spent the day cleaning out closets. I didn't really do a great job. I will not swear that there is no longer any mouse poop in them but I will say that I took an entire carload of crap to the dump and have a very nice-sized donation to make to Goodwill. Or whoever. I didn't touch any of Mr. Moon's stuff but he needs to do the same thing. And I should have gotten rid of about ten times the amount I did but this is a process, y'all. 

I discovered today that I have five suitcases. This is hysterical in that I hardly ever travel anywhere. I also found at least twenty pillowcases. Why? How? I have no memory of hoarding pillow cases. But if you need a pillow case, I'm your gal. I organized all of my wool-related projects into one container which I recently cleaned out. My wool-related projects are all about two inches of no defined knitted purpose made of very nice wool. I don't ever make anything when I'm knitting. I just knit. 
But at least all of that knitting is in one place along with the wool and needles. 
I'll tell you what I did not find today- the two calendars that I bought before Christmas. They've simply disappeared. Gone. Never to be seen again. 

I got some nice pictures from Lily and Jessie today. Jessie took her kids to the Big Library's story hour and here's what Levon thought of it.

Is that kid a gorgeous goof or what? Man, I love that kid. I could snorgle him to pieces and he's too young to complain about it. This, in my opinion, is one of the best things about babies. 

Here's what Lily and her kids did today.

They had a fire and sat outside and drank hot chocolate. I guess it's hot chocolate. I am almost certain that Lily would not give her kids any coffee, although Owen insisted last week that his mother did indeed let him have lattes. 

That child. 

In chicken news, Honey has found somewhere else to sleep. Also? Tonight I watched Mick kick Joe Cocker and Pearl out of the hen house. Joe Cocker said, "Fuck that," and went back in but Pearl did not. I'd say that I hope he doesn't freeze to death but that sure would solve a lot of problems. 

And that's the news from North Florida where it's colder than it should be and where, if it gets as cold as they say it might, we are screwed. We'll be burning our furniture for warmth. We'll be sitting in our cars with the heaters running until we run out of gas. It's the Icepocolypse! The Snowpocolypse!

It's supposed to get down to 24 on Thursday! 

I found some gloves when I was cleaning out closets today. 

Just in the knick of time. 

Watch out for the black ice, y'all! I hear it's deadly. Whatever it is. 

Love...Ms. Moon

La-Di-Dah

Woke up this morning with that Sunday feeling. That flat, gray, fuck-all of a feeling and I have no idea why.
The weather is abysmal in my opinion. It's going to get down into the 20's tonight and the next six nights, too, according to the weather widget and that is just too cold for me. I know, I know! Some of you are experiencing temperatures down into the minuses but I live in Florida for a reason and the reason is not that we have such interesting people here, especially when they do bath salts.
Yep, Florida Man, talking about YOU!
Anyway, I covered up all the plants still left on the porch but I have serious doubts that they'll survive almost a week of below-freezing temperatures. I guess we'll see if arugula can survive it and lettuce and collards and mustards, too. I'm pretty sure the collards can, not sure about the rest.
Jessie invited us over tonight to have supper and watch a movie with them and with Lily and her children and I was going to go and I cooked stuff- a pot of New Year's Day Luck of black-eyed peas and rice and greens and also two loaves of bread. But when it came down to it, I just couldn't bring myself to leave the house and so I didn't, which is unusual for me when it comes to family occasions. But Mr. Moon went and took the food so I am represented, so to speak.
We need to leave all of the faucets and garden sprinklers dripping tonight or we'll lose water pipes. Mr. Moon just finished fixing one that broke somehow, some time, and we don't know when. I've got my heater set on 62 and it hasn't stopped running all day.

Let's see. What else can I complain about?

I can't really think of anything. I have had a very, very good time sitting on the couch and embroidering overalls for August and watching Call The Midwife. I mean, honestly- I couldn't be much happier than playing with needle and thread and color and stitches while watching that show. 

Jessie told me to go ahead and embroider whatever I wanted and not to worry about anything being too "girly." August is going to get the reputation of being a hippie at the library baby group but he's man enough to handle it. Jessie said she's tired of bats and balls and dinosaurs and cars, which are the only thing that most boy clothes are decorated with. Oh yeah, monsters too. 

And I guess that's just about all I have to say on any subject. Keep your pipes running, make soup, eat it, don't get frostbite or whatever it is you Yankee people get. Chilblains? What's up with that? 

A year ago right now I was drinking rum and looking at this:

And my day had gone like this. 

Sigh. 

My favorite quote from the post was: "We went to town and got our supper on the square and it took forever and ever and finally the waiter told us that there was only one chef today and that he was drinking tequila."

I remember that so well. 

Ah lah. 

I think I'll go have a shot of rum. 

Love...Ms. Moon