Big Little Stuff Of All Sorts

That's a pretty little frog who came to keep me company on the porch last night. Actually, he was sitting there to catch the bugs that dart about, drawn to the lamplight. I love his golden eye shadow. How lovely he is in his frog perfection!

It's been a nice day. I went into town pretty early to hang out with Levon and August and we had a good time. It is so fun, getting closer to Levon, getting to know him a little better as he feels more secure without his mama or his daddy within arm's reach. He's a funny little guy, easy to laugh and learning so much every day.

Here he is with his shovel. He can say the word shovel quite plainly and sometimes does but mostly he calls it his "fa-fa." I have no idea why although I did suggest to Jessie today that "Fa-Fa" is the actual given name of the shovel. Like, he's a boy but his name is Levon. He's holding a shovel but its name is Fa-Fa. 

Who knows? 

Not me. 

I do know that he worships his Auggie, as all small brothers do with their big brothers. August doesn't take too much advantage of this but I will tell you that they sometimes tussle like puppies. August ran his bike over Levon's feet today and I know he did that on purpose but Levon didn't really cry. He stuck that lower lip out and I thought he might cry but I whisked him off to change his diaper and August went to the freezer and got the little kitty-cat freezer pack to put on boo-boos and before we knew it, we were all laughing as I would hold the cold thing against their feet or legs or hands for a second or two and then shudder and say, "COLD!" with all of my dramatic powers and then snatch the kitty away which sent both boys into fits of giggles and Levon would hold his little foot out and say, "More," and I would do it some more. 

We read books and then August wanted a bagel so I got out the bagels and he instructed me on how to prepare them; to cut them and then to put them into the toaster, which he pointed out, and he got the cream cheese from the refrigerator and tossed it up onto the counter. 

They ate every bite so I guess I prepared them properly. 

When Mama got home we went outside to cut a few zinnias for me to take home. 

Jessie is definitely the boss of me when it comes to growing zinnias. I just weeded mine a few minutes ago and their stems are about the size of human hair and they only have about four leaves apiece. 

Sigh. 

She has a whole other raised bed box full of them along with tomatoes and herbs. Levon picked quite a few cherry tomatoes and handed them over. Some of them were actually ripe. He's a very generous little soul. 

And then I went to Publix and then I came home and took the trash and recycle where the racist old Jesus-lovin' man was on duty. He and I pretended we didn't see each other. 

Mr. Moon is headed to the coast because he and some friends are getting up early, early to go fish for snapper and please, dear Neptune, let them catch a few. The one thing we ate at that restaurant in Birmingham which was truly delicious was a ceviche with red snapper. It was an appetizer portion and so course, that being a very, very fancy dining establishment, came in a dish about the size of my palm but I have to say that it was just about worth the price. After we'd eaten the approximately six slivers of snapper, I am not ashamed to say that I ate the lettuce leaf that was underneath the fish and THEN drank the remaining liquid. I'm not sure what made it taste so good. It's almost as if it had lemon in it instead of lime and I HATE the term "popped" when it comes to either color or food but whatever it was, it made that ceviche pop. 

Of course, I'm used to a serving of ceviche which looks like this.

That is the shrimp ceviche we get at Chen Rio, a beach bar and restaurant on the east side of Cozumel and it comes with guacamole and chips and we also order the fried red snapper which is the best red snapper in the entire world so those tiny slivers of snapper ceviche were just a mean tease to me but I did enjoy them for their deliciousness. 

Where in hell was I going with this? 

Oh yeah. Maybe if Mr. Moon brings home some snapper I'll make us a little bit of ceviche with it and see if I can replicate what we ate last Friday night. I probably won't be able to but it'll still be good. 

Lily and Jessie and I are talking about taking a little trip to Panacea, Florida tomorrow to visit the Gulf Specimens Marine Lab. 

Jessie's not sure she wants to expose Lily's children to whatever it is that Levon has but I think he'll be fine and so will they. His eyes already look much better and although he was running a bit of a fever today, I am of the optimistic opinion that whatever he has won't be a threat to Owen and Gibson and Maggie. 

I say this not as a nurse but as Pollyanna Grandmother. 

Anyway, I love going to the Gulf Specimens Marine Lab. So many sea creatures to see close up and some of them you can even touch. And the larger sea creatures are there because they're being rehabbed so I don't feel guilty about them being there. Sharks and rays and octopi and injured sea turtles that fishermen find and bring to the lab to be taken care of. When I used to rent that tiny block apartment on St. George Island, Lily and Jessie and I visited there regularly on our drives to and from the island. 

And so I have the house to myself tonight. I can't watch any of "Big Little Lies" which is what Glen and I have been watching because it wouldn't be fair to get ahead of my husband. I read the book a few months ago and I didn't think I'd like the series but damn. I do. As with all of these things I got hooked and drawn in. There's something completely eerily beautiful about the setting where everything takes place which is Monterey. The book was set in Australia (the author is Australian) but they've made it work in this California location. And no matter how much I do not want to like Nicole Kidman I have to bow down to her performance in this series. And Reese Witherspoon, too. The casting is perfect. Zoe Kravitz is a jewel in her role. She shines like the goddess she is. Laura Dern is now my very favorite villainess ever. Oh GOD! how I hate her. And Shailene Woodley, the actor who plays the pivotal role of a young mother whose son is accused by Laura Dern's character of harming her daughter, is scary-good. 

It's all about the women! 

Except for when it's about the men and that, of course, is where the trouble comes in. 

Here's a picture of Dottie posing by a pot of hydrangea. 

I think she misses the company of her sister, Darla, who is busy raising babies. 

And finally this- 

Is there any flower happier than a zinnia? 

I don't think so. 

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. I frequently am. 

Love...Ms. Moon

The chicks are growing as chicks will do and these are wild ones. They run like a tiny herd of dinosaurs when I approach even though I’ve never done anything but bring them food and water. 

I think Darla has brainwashed them into thinking that I’m a monster out to crush them. 

Still writing on my phone. The newest time estimate to get our internet back is 10:00 pm tonight. 

Hahahahahaha!

I didn’t even call them today but instead went to centurylink.com/chat. You know, for a change of pace. 

I did indeed chat with someone who apologized for the inconvenience and assured me that engineers were addressing the problem. And then wanted to know how I’d like to be informed when my service is restored. 

Every tech person I’ve spoken to on this issue seems obsessed with this question. Do I want to be called, texted, or emailed? I think they focus on this in the hope that I will believe that this issue will indeed be resolved at some point but I am losing faith. 

Me. Moon actually called someone he knows today who works for Centurylink. This guy, and I am not kidding, is Mr. Moon’s taxidermist. 

Yeah. This is not my beautiful life and yet, it is. 

So the guy did some checking and reported back to my husband that some “card” got fucked up (my words, not his) and that they’re having a hard time finding a replacement. 

This doesn’t sound reasonable to me. Does it to you?

Supposedly, this card situation happened at the substation and that may be the substation about a block from my house. I don’t know. But I can imagine that no one’s too concerned about the fact that the Lloyd area is without phone or internet services. 

“Eh- what the hell?” I can imagine them saying in some office somewhere, perhaps housed in a trailer the way our water company is. “It’s just Lloyd. What do they need internet for? Hahaha!”

Or something like that. 

So anyway, I am pretty sure that 10:00 pm will come and go and I still won’t have WiFi. 

Have they heard about Amazon Prime? Maybe they could sign up for the free trial and get a new card delivered overnight. 

Yeah, probably not. 

I’ve had the most boring day ever. 

I took a walk in between rainstorms and although it wasn’t that hot, the humidity had to be at least 98%. The rest of the day has been mostly about the recovery required after the walk which translates to not much. I did go work in the garden for awhile but it started pouring rain again so I came in and took a nap. 

And, well...that’s pretty much it. I could have done some ironing but my contract states that unless I have TV to watch, there will be no ironing. Without internet we have no TV, thus no ironing. 

I could have cleaned something but that might have been unpleasant so again, no. 

I’m still listening to the David Sedaris diaries and I have to tell you that whether it’s because he quit drinking or because he got into a higher income bracket or both, his writing loses something as the years go on. It’s just not as punchy. Or even interesting. However, I’m sure that on a personal level he’s much better off and I’ll be sad when I’ve reached the end of the book which is just about to happen and in all actuality I have no right to criticize anything that David Sedaris does or says. 

But when did that ever stop me?

Mr. Moon just got home. He went over to Jessie’s house today and stayed with August so that Jessie could take Levon to the doctor. It’s his turn to be running a fever but instead of having a lot of snot, he has pink, puffy eyes. He was diagnosed with pink eye and Jessie was told to bring him back if the fever continues. In other words- hmmm...we’re not sure what’s going on but I’m sure that August was in heaven, having his Bop all to himself. 

Here he is, cooking up a hearty meal for his grandfather. 

Jessie told her daddy that Levon cried all the way to the doctor, wailing, “Augga! Boppy!”

Those boys love their Bop. 

As I may have stated before. 

Tomorrow I’ll get to hang out with the boys while Jessie goes to an appointment. I know that they won’t be nearly as excited to see me but they’ll just have to deal with it. 

While I was somewhere in my house today someone left a little flyer in my screen door. 

That pisses me off so much. I wish I knew where the person who left it lives. I’d go to their house and leave one of my copies of Keith Richard’s autobiography on their doorstep. And perhaps a schedule of the Stone’s current tour. 

And OH MY GOD! 

It’s a miracle! 

The internet and phone are back on. 

I got a text message and it’s true. 

Do I give credit to Jehovah or Keith?

Maybe just Centurylink. 

See you tomorrow. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Long Day

Still no internet and if I related all I’ve been through with Century Link today it would take hours and who needs that?

I didn’t need it either but there you go. It’s not even so much that the system is down but that they keep giving me times of when the outage will be fixed and none of them have been true. 

Oh, so what? I’m a whiney bitch and I want my TV and my internet and that’s all there is to it. 

Jessie and I went to see Miss Melissa today. I wanted to get my hair cut and I did. At least eight inches are gone and good riddance. Jessie got a trim too and August got a pretend haircut which made him happy, especially since it came with a real lollipop. 

 And a little cuddle from Melissa. 

She just got back from her family reunion in Alabama and had some good stories. Anytime someone has a story about a guy named Hard Rock who goes everywhere on his riding lawnmower and who manages a trailer park, I want to hear it. Hard Rock isn’t really a relative of Melissa’s but he goes to their family reunions. 

On his riding lawnmower. 

It’s raining and cooler and I’m going to make egg rolls for supper. I don’t really have a lot to say. Although yes, the whole deal with Century Link has me frustrated, it’s such a first world problem that it makes me a cliche to even discuss. 

My signing up with Medicare is almost complete and I’ll be glad when that’s done. Now I can get sick as hell and it won’t bankrupt us. Isn’t that a comforting thought?

I guess so. 

The chickens are scratching in the drizzle and the frogs are chanting. I need to go collect whatever eggs got laid today. I’ve been lazy and remiss and yet the world continues to turn. 

Amazing, I know. 

Love...Ms. Moon

(Temporary Backup) Wisdom From Hank

The day began with a watery eye and a pain behind it and then got even better when I opened the large wooden box that I keep chicken feed in and saw a rat. 

Oh sigh. 

Too much nature. 

I hit the side of the box hard and the rat did scuttle but only to hide and I could still see his tail. I don’t especially hate rats but I do hate it when they’re in my space. Or spaces I have designated as mine. 

I closed the lid and apologized to the chickens for not giving them any scratch but I wasn’t sticking my hand anywhere near the little critter. Illogical, I know, but true. 

I spent the morning doing laundry and writing a letter and then I drove to town to meet everyone for Hank’s birthday lunch at El Patron. We ate out on the covered deck and it was not uncomfortable and there was plenty of room for all of us. “All of us” being Hank’s siblings and six nieces and nephews and Vergil and Michael and Hank’s two dads and two moms and Rachel and two other friends. 

The sixth niece is the daughter of my ex-husband’s first child from his first marriage. Got that? She’s a sweetie. 

That’s her with Owen and Gibson. The Big Kids. 

Levon has his shovel. 

When he saw me he said, “MerMer!” And pointed his shovel at me. I was thrilled. 

August went immediately to his grandfather. 

But he hung out with the kids too. 

Owen being the sweet cousin. 

He is so good with the little ones. 

Maggie claimed me as her own for awhile but then she moved on to play and be with August. 

Their preciousness slays me. 

So we all ate and talked and laughed and feted our Hank. Here’s what he wrote on Facebook today. 

“Turning 43 today. Things my adventures have taught me: 

- teeth and knees don't heal and you don't get more

- if there is Champagne available, drink it

- kiss your friends, tell them you love them

- hold babies

- the government is often wrong but vote anyway

- we live in a world where narwhals exist, so that's pretty cool

- you can't actually be a pirate but you can dress like one if you want

- sharing is caring

- if you're evil and you're on the rise, you can count on the four of us bringing you down

- you can't read all the books, but you can damn well try

- kittens, man, am I right? 

By this time next year, I'll be married to Rachel and I just can't wait. My 40s have been amazing so far. If you'd told me at 17 that some day I'd be a middleaged man, I don't know that I would have believed you. Life is pretty damn crazy, but it sure is worth it.”

I love that boy so much. That man, actually. From the moment of his birth he’s been teaching me in the most profound, amazing, and generally highly entertaining ways. I wouldn’t be the person I am if he hadn’t been born to me and of course that’s a ridiculously obvious thing to say but it’s simply the truth. 

Also? He is beloved. 

The Hank Fan Club has countless members. 

So that was lovely and by the time we’d all hugged and kissed good-bye, it was after three. I went to the New Leaf and got some arnica gel for my husband and came home and did things around here that needed doing including calling the phone company because our landline and the internet were both off. I still had (have) the watery eye and a bit of an ache and got so frustrated while trying to navigate the auto-help thing that I ended up screaming, “NO! NO! NO!” and hitting zero in desperation which took me immediately to a human. 

It would appear that there’s an outage and it should be fixed soon. Ish. I’m writing this on my phone. 

All day I’ve been carrying such sadness in my heart about Spencer. The letter I wrote was to Marilyn. We wrote so many letters back and forth over the years but this one was so hard. What can you say?

I love you. I love you so much. I’m sorry. 

Basically, that’s all there is. 

I wonder if my eye and the headache aren’t really just the places I’m putting my grief rather than the sinus problem I’ve been suspecting. I don’t know. I do know that if I started crying it would be such a relief but I just keep sucking it up. Which- well, could explain the discomfort. 

I’ll try to publish this now. I may have to wait until we get our WiFi back. We’ll see. 

I used to say this thing that now makes me cringe. It was, “All will unfold as it should.” 

Now I just believe that all will unfold as it will. Ain’t no shoulds about it. Besides- who gets to decide what should be the shoulds?

Sometimes I wish it was me but it’s not. 

And frankly, that’s a relief. 

Be well, y’all. And believe what Hank said- Life is pretty damn crazy but it’s worth it. 

And oh yeah- kittens. Yes, Hank, you are right. 

And I adore you. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Spencer

We're home and it's like being in a different world after three days of rain here and the frogs are singing great tuneful choruses of orchestral, terrestrial and sublime music and I just went out to the garden in the almost dark and found squash and more baby tomatoes and peppers and I don't even know what. I was in a hurry to get to the chickens and shut them up and then get back to the house and get unpacked and get supper made and I need to make Mr. Moon's smoothie for tomorrow and a lunch for him too and it's already after nine and it's like every bit of the letting-go of it all that happened this weekend on our little trip hit its head on a big brick wall and I'm stumbling.

But mostly?

On the way home I checked Facebook to discover that our dear friend, most talented musician, and amazing human being, Spencer Bohren died last night.

He was diagnosed with a particularly horrible cancer situation at the end of last year and we knew this was coming but the finality of death is never easily taken in and that's probably the wall I'm talking about.

I've written about Spencer and his wife Marilyn quite a few times. Here's a post I did when they came to visit a few years ago. 

My heart is so filled with sadness. Not just for Spencer but for his family. For the kids and for Marilyn, his wife, who is absolutely one of the most beautiful women I've ever known and whose life has been completely wrapped with Spencer's forever.
I just can't even contemplate what this loss means to her and to their children.
But it's also a loss for the world. Spencer was beloved on many continents for his music, his grace, his joy in life, his personable ways, his storytelling, his very being. And with every bit of that, Marilyn was right there, as much a part of it as he was. Ask anyone who knew him- they'll tell you. Facebook is filled with messages of love and sorrow and respect for the whole family.

That's a picture that was taken fairly recently at Tipitina's in New Orleans where the Bohrens made their home. The community had gotten together to throw a huge party for Spencer and if the pictures are any indication, it was a most joyful celebration. That's Marilyn and Spencer and their four children, their spouses and partners, and two grandchildren. 

Well. I better get to it.

I'll catch up on your blogs tomorrow. Or at least I'll try. It's Hank's birthday tomorrow and that will be a part of my day, of course.

Take a breath. Let it go. Be grateful.

Love...Ms. Moon

Very Sweet Day

 

My husband being honored by his high school by being inducted into their athletic hall of fame. 

Some of the other inductees. He has his arm around his sister who was inducted two years ago. 

I was so proud. 

Yep. A sweet day. And we drive home tomorrow. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Oh Lord

Pictures. 

Breakfast. Excellent. 

Many hours of reading. Happiness. 

I can’t even. Alabama. Yes. But they sell jeans and shoes that fit my man. Also- Birkenstock’s. It’s a crazy fucking world, y’all. 

No. This is not the last little whorehouse in Texas. It’s a B&B in Birmingham, Alabama. I seriously doubt I’ll be eating breakfast with the other guests. I know where the nearest Waffle House is. 

My supper. We somehow managed to score a table at what is supposedly Birmingham’s finest dining establishment. You know what I learned? I am a damn fine cook. And martinis made in my kitchen are superior to those made in fancy bars. Also? Some servers need to check their damn attitude. 

My feet. Reflected in a highly polished copper sink/sculpture  in the ladies room of the restaurant. It was interesting but highly impractical. Also? The ladies was upstairs. No visible accommodations for disabilities or handicaps. 



The...WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING? hanging over our bed. It’s a little scary. 

We won’t even discuss the chandelier. 

But we’re having fun. 

I’ll try and report in tomorrow. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Kids And Stuff

I'm running late, late, late tonight and feel a bit frantic. A woman I know who used to live next door came out for me to show her where everything is because she's going to housesit and animal-tend this weekend for me. It was so good to see her and I'm glad she's coming because she's had chickens and has lived in Lloyd and isn't afraid of critters or old houses. She did ask me if this one was haunted because the one she lived in next door was. I told her I'd never had any indications at all that it is and that's true. There may well be spirits that live here but if so, I'm too boring for them to mess with, I guess.

I went to town today to meet up with Jessie and Lily and their kids and I have pictures.

It was kid's eat free day at Maddio's and we took advantage of that situation. 

I wish I could say that I've spent the rest of the day packing but I have not. I've packed a bathing suit and two pairs of underwear. 

But I have done laundry and gotten the chickens all ship-shape before I hand them off. 

That doesn't sound like much, does it? 

Well, it's not. 

So I was walking into Publix after lunch to get a few snacks for our trip and some cheese and melons for my housesitter (that's what she told me she likes to eat) and a woman who was also walking in said to me, "All men are liars, aren't they?"

I wasn't quite sure how to respond to this. 

Finally I said something like, "And what inspired that comment?"

"I just talked to my ex-husband."

"Oh," I said. "Well, yes. All ex-husbands are liars." 

This seemed to make her happy. 

I felt a little guilty making such a negative blanket statement about ex-husbands. For all I know, there are plenty of ex-husbands walking the earth who wouldn't tell a lie to save their souls. 

But hey! Solidarity in sisterhood! Am I right? 

Probably not. 

It is drizzling. It has been drizzling on and off all day long. We've gotten just about enough rain to dilute the dust in a rain gauge if I had one, which I do not. 

This is not what we were hoping for. And the humidity must be at least 99%. 

Owen told me today that his Rolling Stones T-shirt still fits him. 

I love that kid. 

I love all those kids. 

Did you notice that Levon has a security shovel? He carries it with him everywhere. Jessie says that when he's at home, he carries two shovels. One in each hand. 

A guy never knows when he's going to need to dig something up. Or dig a hole. Or...whatever. Levon is prepared. 

I kissed all my babies good-bye and told them I love them and that I'll see them when I get back. 

They didn't appear to be too distressed about me leaving. 

I better get to it. 

Love...Ms. Moon

I'm Cranky As All Fuck

I knew that today was going to suck when I went to pour out what was left of the smoothie this morning and spilled most of it on the floor. That doesn't look like much, does it? But let me tell you this- that shit splashed ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE KITCHEN and up the cabinets on the other side.

Do you see it way up there at the top of the cabinet? 

How did this even happen?

To add injury to insult, it also splashed up my very own personal dress so yes, I had smoothie on my thighs. 

I don't even like smoothies. I make one on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights though, all except for the blending part, to leave in the refrigerator for my husband to have before he works out on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. They have fruit and yogurt and almonds in them. With prunes to make them sweet and add fiber. I'm to the point where I really can't handle sweet things for breakfast. I'd rather have a toasted cheese with tomato on it or a burrito with an egg and salsa in it. But I always make too much smoothie for one person and so of course I feel as if I must finish what's left in the blender jar in order not to waste it and this morning things just went awry. 

And please don't offer me suggestions on other things to make smoothies out of. I'm not in the mood. I'm afraid that if someone just said the word "kale" I might fucking lose it entirely. Even the word "green" might make me throw something. 

So anyway, I did take a walk. It was shortish but I did it and then I felt like I should get a prize. 

I didn't get a prize. 

I did get this picture. 

That's an oak tree that was cut down and cut up in the front of the old Lloyd Woman's Club. You can look it up. It's on the National Register of Historic Places. They don't do Woman's Club stuff there anymore, though. Now they just have AA meetings. 

Good to know, right? 

That tree was huge. I know you can't really get the scale from the picture but I think you could build half a house from it. 

So. I spent the rest of the day, mostly, looking at AirBnB and VRBO listings for Nashville. 

There are about six hundred of them. 

Really. 

Out of all of them I found ZERO places I wanted to stay. 

This probably says more about me than it does about the listings on AirBnB and VRBO for Nashville. 

I also looked at hotels. Well, hotels online. 

How many goddam Marriott's and Wyndham's and Hilton's can one city have? 

Oh, you would be surprised. 

Of course there are also non-chain hotels. "Boutique" hotels we call them now. 

I just can't. 

I don't know what's wrong with me. 

And we're only going to be there for one night so it seems ridiculous to get anything too expensive or groovy. We won't have time to get into the whole vibe of it. Or use up all of the toiletries. We're also going to spend a night in Birmingham, Alabama so that we can break the trip up there into two days. 

So I finally gave up. 

And that's what sort of day it's been. 

Here's some good news. 

I stole these pictures from Facebook where Jessie had posted them. She reports that August finally feels good enough to get his goofiness back and they made hats today.

Mama made them rocket pops.

As you can tell, Levon never lost his goofiness. 

Aren't they fine looking lads? I think so but of course I'm their grandmother. 

Here's another good thing- I've been listening to "Theft By Finding: Diaries 1977-2002" by David Sedaris on and off all day long. I love it. He was born a writer. I don't care what was going on in his life- abject poverty, meth, cocaine, family stuff, homophobia or just general living-in-the-south crap- he could make his daily visits to the ihop sing like tension wires in a windstorm. 

I'm being blown away, basically. 

I'll end this here because there's no need for me to go any further. 

It's supposed to rain tomorrow. And not even get up to ninety degrees. 

Inshallah. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Trigger Warning: Photo Of The Pickled Intestine Known As D. Trump

That, my friends, is the bloom of a female sago plant. We call them sago palms but they are not really palms at all. They are cycads which are plants that were already around when the dinosaurs roamed the earth with Jesus riding on their backs.

See? There's a picture. It's true. 

And here's a picture of an actual statue. 

You can go to Kentucky to the Creation Museum and see it for yourself. 

You're not going to believe anything I say now, are you? 

Well, I'm pretty sure that the picture I posted is indeed a female sago palm with her flower. The male plant puts forth a very manly cone which I have written about before. Here's a picture I took of one of mine (the sago, not the manly cone) ten years ago. TEN YEARS!

Phew. 

Here's another true thing.

Yep. But as you can see- we may be getting some relief near the end of the week. Rain and cooler temperatures. Even by tomorrow we might catch a break as pertains to temperature. 

I hope so. 

As Jessie said today, this heat feels so ominous. Just wrong. And I know we've gone far longer than this without rain and I know we've had temperatures higher than these at this time of year but rarely. Florida is not known for its temperate weather. I remember the year that my first husband and baby Hank and I lived in a tiny cabin sitting at the edge of a cornfield a few miles from here and the day we moved in, in December, it snowed and that summer was so damn dry and so damn hot that the corn all died. It was the saddest thing. The farmer would come by and survey his field and shake his head. We had no running water but we did have a hand pump out back and I'd get out a canning kettle and fill it up about a third of the way and let baby Hank play in it. He loved it. 

Oh my god. Did I really live that life? 

Jessie brought the boys out today to give them a change of scenery. August is still quite sick, running a high fever and just full of snot. He told me that Dr. Ness wants him to use a nasal spray which is the truth. He hates the nasal spray. But his mama can convince him to use it and praises him to the heavens when he does. Poor little guy. 

They had stopped at the Bad Girls Get Saved By Jesus (riding on a dinosaur) thrift store on the way out and Jessie scored. She got kid books and a lovely little Schwinn bike with a basket and training wheels, almost-new sneakers and a big truck puzzle book. Is there anything more fun than finding treasures for cheap, cheap, cheap? 

Well, maybe eating cherry popsicles on a very hot day. 

As you can see, Levon is quite fine and healthy but you can see the discomfort in August. He doesn't really complain except when he has to use the nasal spray but I know he feels bad. He has to. 

We read some books, August and I, with Levon saying, "See! See!" meaning that he wanted to look at the pictures too. That little guy is growing up too fast. He's also becoming quite handsome. We had a leftover buffet for lunch but August wasn't interested in eating much of it. They didn't stay too long but left when August's temperature started rising as the afternoon progressed which is how it works. 

I was so happy to see them and sent Jessie home with some wild pig sausage and the rest of that wild pig ham I'd cooked to do with as she wanted. 

And then I ironed and watched the documentary, "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief." My fascination with cults continues.

Mr. Moon now has a nice assortment of clean and ironed shirts and I had an excuse to watch TV in the middle of the day. 

So it goes, so it goes. I think that Ellen is correct about the heat is preventing the garden plants from setting their fruit. My cucumbers and green beans are pathetic and although I do have some tomatoes ripening, not much else is going on. 

Are we loving the classy and cool ways the Brits are trolling Trump? Up to and including the queen. 

I am. Trump's such a ding-a-ling that he probably doesn't even realize it and of course he claimed that the number of protesters was very small. 

Hahahahahahahahahaha! 

I'll tell you something else that really IS small.

Would you look at those hands?

Okay. Once again- time to make supper. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Life In The Fast Lane On A Two-Lane Road

I went out to get the paper this morning and for some reason, I just had not really taken note of the crocosmia growing around the paper box in front of the gate.
Why?
Oh hell. Who knows?
But this is what it looks like.

I almost began to weep. 

You'll also be able to see another plant back there which is taking over and I don't even know what it is. It was here when I got here and a few people have called it a castor bean but I don't think it is because I've never seen bean one on any of them. It's gotten bigger and spread farther this year than ever before and part of that is because we never got a freeze hard enough to cut them back last winter. So they too are all over the yard, front and back. I've pulled quite a few but not nearly enough. They are handsome plants but too many is too many and there are way too many. 

Sigh. Sigh, sigh, sigh. 

The heat is relentless and oven-like. Not just regular oven-like. Brick pizza oven-like. 

I actually got out and walked a bit earlier than usual. I don't know why I bothered. I've felt flattened and limp all day. My fig tree is splayed and drooping and looks the way I feel. If we don't get rain soon, I won't be preserving one fig. But hey! They'll be dried figs on the branch! 

Oh boy. 

Jessie took August to the doctor this morning. He was still running a fever and feeling so pitiful. He got diagnosed with a sinus infection and has started antibiotics. I hope they knock it out fast. Poor little guy. I went into town to drop a key off for Mr. Moon and go by Publix and wanted to go by and see him but he was sleeping and it wouldn't have helped anything if I had. They might come out tomorrow. He can lay around here just as well as at home and I can fulfill my promise and read him all the books. Or at least all the ones he wants. I forgot to take the list I've been so carefully keeping when I left the house and so I spent my time at Publix wandering about, wondering what in hell I really needed. 

Wandering and wondering. That about sums me up today. 

I took the trash to the trash depot and look what I found!

A perfectly lovely and functional old watering can. That cheered me some although what in hell will I do with it? Water stuff? That's why we have a hose. Still, I couldn't leave it there. They'd charge at least twenty dollars for one of those in an antique store. At least. It's a handsome thing to my eye anyway. Reminds me of my grandfather. 

Mr. Moon and I are driving up to Nashville this weekend. He is going to be installed (?) in his high school's sports hall of fame. Yes. They have one. I think his sister is too. I want to go and I am going to go but the idea of the trip and attending one of his high school reunions is giving me a lot of anxiety. I've been to two of his high school reunions but not for, oh, seventeen years or so. This reunion is an all-class reunion so there will probably be lots and lots of people. I comfort myself thinking of the really good restaurants they have in Nashville. It's a nine and a half hour drive although that's when Mr. Moon drives it by himself. I have to stop more frequently than he does. Sitting for a long period of time is a special sort of hell for me. But I will read out loud to him and that's always fun. What was I reading the last time we took a trip? I can't even remember. Could this be the year we finally finish "Duane's Depressed"? One of my very favorite books by Larry McMurtry and third (I think) in the series started so long ago with "The Last Picture Show" followed by "Texasville." There are several more books which follow after "Duane's Depressed" but none of those are as good as the first three were. Still, "Rhino Ranch" is not bad. It's amusing and it's always a treat to revisit the characters that McMurtry creates. I've always said that it's like he has a magical peephole with which to view the worlds where his characters live and he opens it up and reports back to us on their doings. 

It's all about character for me. 

Speaking of which, and I'm almost embarrassed to tell you this- we re-watched Deadwood: The Movie last night. 

I think I cried harder at the end this time than I did the first. 

I was just a weepy damn mess. 

I am sort of a damn mess in general these days, weepy or not. 

But I can still cook. My shrimp salad last night was very fine and tonight I have made an eggplant parmesan. I have three eggplant plants in my garden and although they have given forth with their beautiful pale purple blossoms, I have not seen one eggplant but I think the anticipation has set my mouth to water so today I bought one of those beautiful things and sliced it up and dipped the slices in milk and egg and coated them with flour and a little panko and baked them in the oven and made a sauce with so many vegetables including carrots and spinach and zucchini. 

I think it will be good. 

Here's a story- this morning when I went to tend my chickens, I lifted the lid on the baby coop to give them fresh water and food, and little Violet who raised a clutch of eggs herself a long time ago, jumped right in there. She had not left the big coop with the other chickens when I opened their door and gave them their scratch and I could tell that she was determined to get in with those babies. Darla went nuclear though and jumped on her and Violet flew out of the coop as quickly as she could. I keep saying that Darla isn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier but she sure is protective. 

Wow. My life is just unbelievably exciting, isn't it? 

Tomorrow I may announce my candidacy for president. At which point pigs will be flying out of my butt. 

Stay tuned for further developments. 

Yours truly...Ms. Moon

And Yet Another Insect Which Torments Us

That's one of the chicks which is pretty self-evident. They're getting markings in their feathers now and actually, they're getting feathers which is a pretty big deal for a chick. One dug itself out this morning and so Mr. Moon and I decided to let them out of the little coop they've been in since birth so that they could roam about in the big coop. We had to scoop them up to get them out which caused Darla to go into full-tilt warrior mom mode. That hen is the most possessive mother I've ever met.
Well, besides me, possibly.
She pecked at us and kept her tail fluffed which is what chickens do when they feel threatened because it makes them look bigger than they are. I guess this is the idea, anyway.

Here's what four of the littles look like in the big coop. Darla is obviously watching over them carefully. They scratched and had a grand time all day long and last time I checked, one had made its way back into the little shelter and I wish they all would so we don't have to chase them down and put them back in ourselves because that is not an easy thing to do. Little chicks can dodge and weave better than any pro football player you ever saw. Or basketball player. Or some kind of player. Whatever. 

These chicks have been strange though. I swear- they barely eat. Every batch of chicks I've ever had has gone through Chick Starter like nobody's business. They tear that shit up and also scatter it all over the ground but these little guys seem to hardly touch the stuff. But they must be eating it because they're alive and growing and seemingly thriving. I do give them some grapes and greens and watermelon as treats but that's not much. And what's Darla eating? 

It may just be that it's too hot for them to eat much. I suppose that when baby chickens are born when it's chilly, they need a lot of fuel to keep them warm. 

Not so much when the temperatures are in the nineties. 

I talked to Jessie about this issue this morning.

"She's nursing them," said Jessie. 

We laughed. 

"Chicken milk!" I said. 

Wouldn't that be something? 

August is still sick. I talked to him too and he was pretty happy, watching Coco and playing with Play Dough. He's eating fine and told me all about the dolmas he had just eaten and how much he liked them. He's got a pretty cosmopolitan attitude about food, that boy, although if you ask him what he wants to eat he'll generally say, "chicken" or "french fries." He's not picky though. Neither is Levon. I told him that maybe soon he can come over and we'll lie around and read ALL the books which would surely make me happy. 

So I got a new attitude about the yard work today. I think that being on the downhill side of clearing the crocosmia (I still have to look that up every time to see how to spell it and I have no idea how to pronounce it) gave me new energy. And by god, I almost did it! 

The last bed I pulled looked like this before I started:

I pulled every damn one of them plus some other plant that I don't know the name of, a sort of small-leafed vine that's been taking over along with all of the glory bower in that bed. I also trimmed that sago. That's not the only area I weeded but when I finished with that one, I was DONE! 

I'm fairly excited to move on to different areas of the yard that need taming, one of them being the camellia bed and the other the little yardette outside the old kitchen. That's going to be some damn work. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Moon worked inside mostly, vacuuming and then spraying for fleas. I know we have fleas but they never bite me so I can easily ignore them but they love him. And the children. I'm really grateful that he did that. God knows I don't vacuum for any reason whatsoever. I suppose I would if Lily and/or Jessie told me that they wouldn't bring my grands over unless I got rid of the fleas. Maybe someday I'll tell the story I have about the fleas I had in a house that my first husband and I lived in when Hank was a baby. It was a nightmare. Anyway, that was a task that needed to be done and he did it. 

*************************

Well, it's been an hour since I started writing this and since then we went out and got those babies back in the box along with their mama. And it was just about as difficult as I thought it would be. But they're safe for the night. We also picked some arugula for tonight's supper and surveyed the garden. Let me just say that if I had to feed a family on what we grow out there we'd starve. 

To death. 

We'd be eating a lot of squirrel. 

Speaking of eating, I made these last night. 

I made them from a recipe I found online from the King Arthur flour company. We didn't have hamburgers. I thawed some of that wild pork I had cooked in banana leaves and heated it very slowly with onions and barbecue sauce and all of that made the best pulled pork sandwiches anyone would ever want. We also had some green beans and cucumbers and cherry tomatoes from the garden. And corn from Publix. It was a fine meal. 

And now I better get started on tonight's meal. Shrimp salad. Hard to beat that. Arugula will be involved.

Love to all...Ms. Moon

And So Another Day

Deadwood: The Movie was amazing. It was everything I wanted it to be and better than I had hoped it would be.
And that is so rare.
It's been thirteen years since the series ended and I swear, I would have bet that it had only been something like five or six. That's how real those characters are to me- they have continued to live on in my head.
David Milch, the man who created the series and who wrote most of the episodes, has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and so I suppose that he realized that it was now or never to make this movie which had been discussed and desired for so long. And he made it. Rolling Stone did an article about it called "Deadwood: The Movie, A Proper Fuckin' Farewell For TV's Unfinished Masterpiece." 
That about sums it up.
And do NOT read that piece until you've seen the movie because it's full of spoilers but it sure was a pleasure for me to read today after I'd seen it.
A lot of the joy of watching it came in seeing those characters who have always been so very real and present, back on the screen, picking up where they'd left off, which in the movie was ten years time, not thirteen, and obviously loving every moment of it.
Here's my favorite line in the whole thing and it was spoken by Trixie, a former whore who was about to have her long-time lover's child and what she said she was feeling was, "...awash in the miracle of a whore my vintage being pregnant at all."
Oh, the richness!

I'm definitely going to watch it again.

And then perhaps start the whole series again and watch from beginning to end.

So that was good and I woke up this morning still awash myself in the miracle of an excellent story performed by the finest actors and although that has stayed with me all day long, I have felt stuck in my slough. I did the things I usually do which was a bit of housework, scrubbing those toilets and folding those clothes and sweeping that bedroom. I worked in the yard, pulling more croscomia, trimming wisteria, yanking out the inaptly named glory bower. I did this until I couldn't do it anymore. I was hot and my joints were screaming at me and I came in and took a shower and started in on supper.
I have got to figure out a way to allow myself to enjoy this life of mine more. All of the elements are in place but I somehow don't feel capable or maybe it's more a sense of not deserving to enjoy myself. A long time ago after years of being a stay-at-home mother and feeling great guilt for not being out there and earning money (or not much, at least- I usually had some little part-time side gig) I think I just decided to stop spending money on anything that wasn't really absolutely necessary and that eventually became my habit. I know this isn't the whole entire deal but it's part of it. And I need to stop it.
If I want to go rent a house at the beach, I need to just do it. It won't break the bank. Well, unless I rent one of those monstrosities with eight bedrooms and a pool.
Which I could never do.
Unless I won some huge lottery.
Which will never happen because I've never bought a ticket and do not intend to.
But it's more and less than the money thing. I can't even seem to allow myself to spend time laying on a couch and reading. Why do I feel as if I must constantly be doing something either vaguely or extremely physically challenging?
Why, as a therapist once asked me, do I have this need to suffer?

Fuck if I know but I'm sure there's a good reason.

On my deathbed, will I be thinking of how proud I am of all the yard work I've done in my life? All the weeds I've pulled, all the toilets I've scrubbed, all the miles I've walked?
Probably not.
But I probably will be thinking that dammit, I never did get the kitchen floor mopped that week and NOW who's going to do it?

Okay. I've got to figure this out. I have to. I'm at the age where there is no option but to make the best of it while I still can.

Meanwhile, I hear that August has some sort of cold with a fever and that makes me so sad. I talked to Jessie on the phone this morning and Levon was in the background demanding "HOLDY!" which meant that he wanted to hold the phone himself and when I told him I loved him he said, "Yuv you," in return.
And Lily sent me this picture.

"Goth horsefly?" she asked. 

Good GOD! I've never seen anything like that in my life. Do you see the face on its back? Of course that's an illusion, an example of pareidolia. 

Unless it's not and that damn insect is a member of the advance party for some sort of death aliens. 

On we go. 

And at least a small part of my backyard is now a bit more tamed and civilized. 

Can't wait to see what I accomplish tomorrow. If I can get out of bed in the morning, that is. 

I hope for the best. 

Love...Ms. Moon