Home And Happy

This is a picture taken from my kitchen into the little space that has a tiny bathroom on the right and the pantry on the left. Obviously, I am not of the "less-is-more" school of decorating. Tchotchkes come into my life and I generally hang them somewhere. I think I recently posted about the group text my kids and I had awhile back where someone had gotten something and sent a picture and said, "I love it but I don't know what to do with it."
Hank replied, "Hang it on the wall! Did our mother not teach you anything?"
I will hang just about anything on a wall. Or in a window. The newest addition to that mess in the picture is the large metal spoon. It was Glen's grandmother's. 

Sometimes I dream about living in a space that is bare and spare with nothing but the most functional of items and perhaps a lovely jade tree in a pot. 
Yeah, well. Maybe next lifetime. 

Dang I'm tired tonight. More tired than I was yesterday after I had a walk and worked outside some and all I did was drive to town and do stuff there, none of it requiring any more physical labor than walking from the car to a building. It was a good day and I had fun. I got to see Hank and Rachel who met us for lunch after Hank's appointment, and then Lily who was serendipitously on her lunch break when I got to her Publix to do my shopping. So I sat and chatted with her and was glad to have the time with her. She is so busy now, busier than any woman should be, working full-time and taking care of her children. She is tired all of the time and no wonder. 

Where Hank and Rachel and I ate lunch is just a few blocks from the co-op and so before I took Hank home, I asked if he'd mind me stopping there to get some golden seal root powder. He is so happy with this weather that he was not upset at all to sit in the car with the windows down while I ran in. They keep the golden seal root locked up and so that was a little bit of a process but not bad. I use it for wound healing but some people claim that it can clear your system so that you can pass a piss test if necessary. Luckily, that has never been a problem for me. Golden seal is quite expensive and at the co-op, when you buy spices and herbs from the bulk jars, you scoop out what you want into a bag and then you put a twist tie on the bag with the product number on it which the cashier can then code in when they weigh the product at the register. Sometimes people used to put another product's number on it, perhaps something like turmeric which looks about the same, in order to cheat the system. So in an effort to block these nefarious people, they keep it locked up and watch you bag it and tag it. 
I understand. 

So I got my golden seal (I only buy tiny bits of it at a time- you don't need a lot) and drove Hank home and then met Lily, as I said, and then did my grocery shopping. I bought some salmon! Yay! I'm going to cook that tonight. Then I went to the library and got a few books and came home and yeah, I'm fairly well exhausted. That was more socializing and people-seeing than I've done in awhile.

I am such a borderline agoraphobe. Or something. 

I've only heard briefly from the man today. He said that their first hunt this morning was fun and successful. He also texted to tell me that the soup I sent with him was 100% thumbs up and that one of the guys said that if his wife cooked like me he'd weigh 400 pounds. I texted back, "Well, then I guess I'm glad she doesn't." 

I think I'll be going to bed early tonight. I did get out the duck- I mean, temperatures in the mid-thirties certainly call for it. Jack didn't sleep with me last night, probably because my room is the coldest room in the house- even on the chilliest nights I keep my window open a little bit and have the bedside fan on because I love to burrow down under the covers and if/when I wake up with a little hot flash, I can come out from under them, flip a few of my many pillows, and sigh with huge satisfaction at the instant heavenly relief. 
Jack, however, does not feel the same, I guess. Or perhaps he was simply tired of sleeping on my bed after spending an entire night and day there. 

Tomorrow I will be going back to town to pick up Levon and August from school and hang out and do fun things with them. I bought two boxes of animal crackers at the store for them today because of course they expect their treats. I need and want to get together with my other grands but their schedules are pretty filled up these days.  

It'll happen. 

I feel that I have been horribly remiss in my posting of Rolling Stones videos but I will give you a bit of news- they appear to have been in the studio and apparently will be releasing their first album of new material in eighteen years next summer. Also, they plan to tour America, South America, and Europe following that. 

God love those old boys. 

I sure do. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Just More Blah-Blah

I had zero excuses for not taking a walk today and so I laced up my shoes and got on out there. Such a perfect day. The blue of the sky was as pure as the blue of the water in Cozumel. The wildflowers, where they have been left alone to grow on the sides of the road, are shining their faces up to the sun, so golden they may as well be tiny bits of it, come down to earth to spread the love. 

This poster is tacked to a utility pole between here and the new almost-open shop. 

Well. Okay. I love that they're not opening until 12 pm. I walked past the place on my way to the post office but saw no sign of any activity. The deteriorating building you see behind the sign used to be Israel's store but due to poor health, he closed it many years ago. It has been sold but I don't know to whom. According to Betsy Barfield, our local representative, the county has tried and tried to get the owner to do something about the building. It really is ugly-looking but I don't even notice it at this point. I saw the strangest Tik Tok video today on a FB group where Jefferson County people post things for sale. It was some guy I've never seen before standing in front of the building talking about how Lloyd is one mile from the interstate and we're the closest exit to the capital and how he wants to make that intersection a Welcome to Tallahassee thing although it's not IN Tallahassee and that he would love to buy the building and turn it into a famous beef jerky country store. 
Again I must say- Well. 
First of all, we are not the closest exit to the Tallahassee capital and also, we are less than a mile from the interstate and seriously- people are going to come to Lloyd to buy beef jerky? In a way, that makes as much sense as people coming to Lloyd to buy lotion bars and soy candles. Maybe more. I don't know. 
Let's face it- I don't know shit. 

I do know that this is what my arugula and collard greens look like right now. 

Coming along nicely, I think. 

I watered the garden again today. Still no rain in the foreseeable future. However, it is definitely getting cool. I am going to have to turn on my heat tonight. The thermometer on the thermostat says it's 65 in the hallway right now. It's supposed to get down to 36 tomorrow night and 39 tonight. Hell, I'm going to have to put on some socks, unpack the Goodwill cashmere, and get out the Real Duck. 

Mr. Moon and I spoke several times today. They made it into Canada where it's colder than it is here. He sounds so excited. We had to each virtually sign an insurance document and so there was some back and forth about that and I had to stick close to my laptop, waiting for it to arrive in my email and then sign it via Adobe documents or something like that. We finally got that done. You know, it is truly an amazing thing that he and I can talk on the phone as easily as if he was in Tallahassee now. Also, of course, text and send pictures. 

Not like the long-ago days when he go off hunting in remote places. When he was gone, he was gone. He'd always give me a phone number beforehand that I could call in case of emergency but I never had to, thank goodness. And now here we are, wishing each other good night, sending documents and signing them, sending our love back and forth. 

I finished up clearing around the tea olive. My hands are a little swollen, a little red and achy from pulling those damn things. Maurice helped me though. 

Cats are so funny. Jack has spent all day on my bed. This is not truly unusual but I swear- he didn't even move when I made it. I guess he's doing his job of watching over Dorothy Anne and Emily because he's so damn lazy he can't be bothered to go outside and help me with my chores. I haven't seen Black Kitty in two days which is odd. I'm sure he/she is fine. 

And that's about it. Tomorrow is a go-to-town day. I'm going to take Hank to an appointment because he and Rachel share a car and she needs it to get to work. I'll do my grocery shopping while I'm there. I need to buy my salmon! And we'll probably go get lunch after the appointment. So that will be a full and busy day. I plan to make time to struggle though some more songs from the John Thompson music book though. I sat down again today after my outside work and I can only say I am getting no better but that it is still making me happy. So. That's all I need to keep it up. 

Thank y'all for being here to keep me company while my sweetheart is away. I never truly feel alone at all. 

I better go make myself some supper. Tonight, shrimp will be involved. And salad with arugula. Of course.

Love...Ms. Moon

Small Town Living

Look at those little grippy feet!

So I think I'm getting into the swing of this hunting-widow life. I had such a nice day today. I was going to go for a walk but Jessie texted to ask if I wanted to maybe go to Monticello with her and the boys- they had no school today. I texted her back that I most certainly would love that! And so I got dressed and waited for them to show up. When they did, Levon wanted me to read him a book (Three Billy Goats Gruff) and August wanted to play with the Lincoln Logs before we left so that all happened. 

I love how he put the little farm woman at the front of the house with the horses to the side. He's a better house-builder than I am by far. 

We drove to Monticello which is about fifteen minutes away from here and the boys entertained us as they do. They are so funny. Levon may be our actor. That child can do voices already that are stage-worthy. Accents, dialects and all. Now how can a five-year old child do that? He doesn't even watch much television. I mean, they don't HAVE a television. They do get to watch movies but still. 

We decided to get lunch first. I was hungry. I've been eating oat bran cereal with raisins and apples for my breakfasts and because eating anything like that for breakfast is so unpleasant for me, I don't eat a whole lot of it. I make two servings according to the instructions on the box and that'll last me about four or five days. I just keep it in the refrigerator and heat it up in the mornings. So we went to the Rev and by golly, who was there but Liz Sparks! She was on her way home from a weekend music festival where she'd camped with friends and had stopped for lunch. I haven't seen Liz in months and months and even had a very vivid dream about her a few days ago. She was gone for most of the summer, part of it in England where her mother and father have a cottage. Her mom is English and she loves her little cottage and its garden and she wasn't able to go this summer because of health problems but sent Liz in her stead to tidy up and get things in order inside and out. She was there when the Queen died and had many amazing stories about that week. It was so very good to see her and catch up and we ate our lunches together and watched the traffic go by in Monticello. There is actually a surprising amount of traffic that goes around the courthouse across the road from the restaurant from logging trucks to RV's to flatbeds hauling heavy equipment to screaming police cars. Very exciting! 

Almost all of the stores in Monticello are closed on Monday including our favorite thrift store- Wag the Dog. However, one little shop was open and we walked there after lunch. Monticello is all-out decorated for Halloween. They have lots of activities for kids and families for most holidays. Here's a picture I just had to take. 

In case you're wondering, I'm pretty sure there is no irony whatsoever in that yard display. 
Oh, the south! We do love our Jesus but we kinda like Halloween too. 

A place we passed on our way to the open shop had this crazy guy out front. 

Can you see Levon hiding in the back? When we were finished taking the picture he asked, "Is it over?" before coming back out. 

I sent Hank these pictures, of course. 
"Hey!" he texted back. "That's me!" 

We were talking about Halloween costumes and August suggested that I should go as "Pretty". 
"You mean like I should dress up and try to be pretty?"
"Yes," he said. "You could wear tall heels." 
"Sounds like a lot of work," I said. 

We went in the little shop which is basically a gift shop and of course all the boys had wanted was a toy and lo and behold! They had toys! So of course Mer had to get them each something. August picked up some silicone sloths that you can throw at the wall which stick, and then flip and flop their way down. They are hysterical. Levon first picked out a fuzzy pink purse but then he changed his mind to a little trick motorcycle set. All was well and there were even miniature-sized Tootsy-Pops for children, free of charge. They both immediately unwrapped them and August told me, "This is what you do when you're a kid. When someone gives you a lollipop, you unwrap it and stick it right in your mouth." 
"So true," I answered. 

We drove back to my house where the boys had to try out their toys and I gave Jessie a container of my soup to send home. I've eaten it three times now and saved back one more bowl and was happy for it to go feed some other people. 

After they left I did something I never do- I laid down and took a little nap. I have no real need for naps. I sleep many hours a night, very well. But Jack was looking so comfy on the bed with Dorothy Anne and Emily and, well...it seemed like the thing to do. 
And so I did. 

And then I got up and fooled around on the piano a little more and now, here we are. 

Mr. Moon called and they are at their destination which is somewhere in North Dakota where they met the guys who flew in. Now all they have to do is cross the border and get to the duck camp. 
"I have a girlfriend on this trip," my husband told me. 
"Oh yeah?" I asked. "One of the dogs?"

He laughed. "Yes. Teal. She's such a sweetie."

Oh! Wait! I forgot to tell you! This is happening! 

The little blue shop in front of the post office has a name! My Gypsy Soul Boutique. Oh my! And they are having a grand opening on Saturday. They are going to be selling homemade soaps, soy candles, incense, clothing, jewelry, locals arts and crafts and more! 
I just love the idea of this but I really cannot imagine how it's going to be any sort of successful operation. Of course, I wish them the best. I think that the woman who is opening the store is probably about my age and I have to respect her for going for her dream. 

We shall see. And of course I will go to the opening and take pictures. I feel like I owe y'all that. I know it will smell good in there. Like...homemade soap and incense and possibly Indian Print bedspreads. Oh, I hope so. 

Anyway, long live the hippies! I am one of them. May our dreams and hippie ways never die. 

Love...Ms. Moon

No Sunday Blues Here Today

My rambley, wandering old house runs east to west, with the front porch facing north, the back porch facing south. This means that in the late afternoon we get glorious light in the library which is the room located on the southwest corner of the house. I do not spend as much time in the library as I could. I think it's one of those things that I love so much that I deny myself the pleasure of for some perverted reason. Things always seem to lead back to the question my therapist asked me once which was, "Why do you have such a need to suffer?"
Hoo-boy. 
Still haven't figured that one out. 
But even walking by the library makes me happy, especially this time of day. There are some toys in it and as you can see, the bouncy horse that I can remember buying in Thomasville, Georgia when Owen was just starting to walk with confidence. He and Lily and Mr. Moon and I went up there and bought it at an antique shop (it's not THAT old, but that's where we found it) and I can remember so clearly walking down the sidewalk in that pretty little south Georgia town, Mr. Moon and I both holding one of Owen's hands as he toddled between us. Our big boy! 
And all of the children have loved that horse. Of course now they've almost all outgrown it and eventually, it will pass on to another family with children or grandchildren who will ride their own miles across the prairies on it. 

I have some treasures in the library. Books, of course, being the main ones. But there are puzzles and games and stuffed animals, and right now a tricycle. A Little Mermaid tea set that May gave me has a home on one of the shelves. 
And other things. 

That is the room that I still can't believe I have in a house that I actually live in. It is absolutely another bit of Lloyd magic to me. Another dream I never dared to dream. 

I spent a good part of the day outside weeding in the garden. It got fairly hot but pulling the tiny weeds that are coming up now is hardly strenuous. Yesterday I watered the garden almost all day long, giving it a good soaking. Everything is looking pretty good and I picked myself another salad for tonight. Last night's supper of soup and garden salad and a slice of sourdough was absolutely perfect. It was the first salad of the season made entirely of our greens. I dress these salads with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. And it is the most delicious thing in the world. 

I am going to concentrate on doing yard work later on in the week. It is supposed to get really cool with highs in the high sixties and low seventies on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. For us thin-blooded Floridians, this is crazy cold for October. I guarantee you that there will be people wearing boots and jackets in Costco those days. 
No. I am not kidding you. 

The low temperatures are forecast to be in the high thirties so when the days begin, those jackets will feel good. 

But I do not want to use all of my alone time to work outside, to do things that although I enjoy, are laborious, and so this afternoon, I sat down at the piano and pulled out my old John Thompson's Course For Piano, Second Grade Book, opened it up to page one and began again. I think the last time I did this was when Mr. Moon was off hunting last year. While Mark was here, he used the piano some, and I was so glad he did. It needs tuning horribly and some of the black keys are missing but there is just something about a piano...

I know I've told the story of my piano lessons before but as a recap (haha!) I'll tell you that I got lessons from about second grade to fourth or fifth grade. It was apparent from the very beginning that I had absolutely NO natural talent for the instrument (or any other, it turns out) and it was not unusual for my teacher to scream at me. 

"Sharp! F Sharp, Mary!" 
To say the least, I tried her patience. 
My mother loved to play the piano and she was decent at it. It brought her pleasure. So she hoped that I, too, would develop at least some ability and enjoyment from these lessons. 
Well. 
I've never in my life improvised anything on the piano and I never will. As much as I love music, as much as it has been a huge part of my life since childhood, as much as I love, worship, and admire musicians, I have not got an ounce of ability in me. I accept that. But when I sit down in front of the beast in my hallway and limp and fuddle through the simplest chords of the songs in that book, I still do very much get enjoyment out of it. As untuned as the piano is, as incompetent as I am at playing it, there is something mystifyingly satisfying when I get a tiny bit right, when I hit a chord properly, and it rings through my hallway and into my heart. 
So that is one thing I want to do while the man is gone- sit down at the piano for a half hour or so a day. Why not? He is off doing what makes his heart happy and there is no reason for me not to do the same. I would also like to sew and knit, even in the daytime! Or read in my library or perhaps even write something that is not this blog. 
We shall see. 
But by gosh and by golly, I am going to give myself permission and encouragement to do something creative and/or soul-satisfying every day. 

I will report. 

Meanwhile, in cat news, here's a picture of Black Cat through the screen. Can you see it?

I really have no idea if it's a male or a female. But it is quite certain that the cat is very black and has beautiful golden eyes. 

In other cat news, Jack did something last night he's never done before. He was sleeping with me and all of a sudden, I felt a touch on my shoulder. It felt like such a purposeful touch, nothing like the pat-pat-pats he gives me when he wants more scratching. In fact, for a millisecond, I wondered if something had happened to Mr. Moon and that he was trying to reach me from the other side. 
(Disaster-thinking, much?)
But no, it was just Jack. He did it another time too but I knew then what it was. Thinking about it now, I believe he may have been trying to get me to stop snoring. Sorry, because that's such a prosaic explanation but it may well be the correct one. I have been known to snore. Jessie once described the sound as not unlike a "dying moose."

Have I shattered your image of me? 
I am so sorry. 

Here's a picture Mr. Moon sent me this morning. 

Oh, how we love the Waffle House! He is fine and somewhere north of Arkansas. 

And for Susan M:

I did that just for you.

Love...Ms. Moon

A Bitch Will Cut You. You Will Survive

A few weeks ago I was using one of my favorite knives in the kitchen which had just come back from being professionally sharpened. I love this knife and it had a razor edge on it. Mr. Moon, handing it over to me when he brought it home from the kitchen supply store where it had been sharpened said, "Don't show me if you cut yourself."
I scoffed, as one does. Who me? Cut myself? 
Okay, okay, it has happened before. What person who has spent any real time in a kitchen hasn't got a knife or burn scar or two? It's practically a badge of honor. 
Still, I was not expecting to do what I did the very night the knife was back in my kitchen. I'd made supper, we'd eaten, and I was cleaning up when the I picked up the knife from the cutting board (not the knife you see above) and it slipped out of my hand, fell to the floor, and stabbed my leg just above the ankle on its way down. 
I have no idea how that was even possible. And yet- there I was, shocked and with a rather gaping knife wound in my leg that was just starting to fill with blood. I had a band-aid stretched tightly across that thing in seconds because not unlike Mr. Moon, I did not want to see it either. Later on that night I put some of that liquid bandage super glue on it and realized that if I was a normal human, I'd probably get stitches. It wasn't a long cut, but a deep one. 
It's still not quite healed. 
Sigh. 

Anyway, today I chopped one of our large sweet potatoes to go into the creamy cashew butternut squash soup that I love so much. I always add sweet potatoes to it and with our nice huge garden ones, one will do for sure. I did not cut myself. The kitchen smells delicious because the soup has all the good spices in it- cumin and turmeric, coriander and fresh grated ginger, curry powder, (sorry Boud, I buy mine, I don't make it), onions and garlic, too, of course. The vegetables have all cooked to tenderness and now all I have to do is puree them and the cashews and add the coconut milk. 
My first alone night's supper. 

I made a big breakfast this morning for the hunter who was about to get on the road. He had joked about me making him biscuits this morning and so I did. He didn't even give me his usual, "Oh, I'll just eat cereal," comment. He really did want those biscuits. We ate our breakfast on the porch and I held my hand on his knee as we ate. I'm going to miss that guy. 

And he's off and here I am with my soup and my cats. Dang Maurice has already displayed her displeasure at his leaving by biting my hand. She is NOT happy. Mr. Moon has become hers, as far as she is concerned. 

I was being so sweet to her. She was in front of my laptop, making inquiring noises which I took to mean that she was asking where her man was and so I was petting her head and telling her that he is gone for awhile but that he will be back and boom! fang in the hand! 
"You little bitch," I told her as she bolted off the table. 
I did not mean to speak to her that way. It just came out. I do feel, however, that it was not an inappropriate thing to say under the circumstances. 

If it's not a rogue knife around here, it's an orange cat. 

There's a black cat that's been hanging around for quite awhile now and I know that if I started feeding him he'd never leave at all. Glen claims that he's the cat of our next door neighbor who used to have a sort of claim on Jack whom she called "Hobo." He permanently moved over here though and I think that's probably because she has about ten dogs. And we all know how that's worked out which is generally terrific except for the fact that he and Maurice hate each other's guts. Check out her nose which is now permanently scarred from their fights. I would not mind having another cat but it just would not be prudent, I think. 
Back in the olden days, when Mr. Moon would go off hunting and I had small children at home, it was not unusual for me to take the kids to the animal shelter to get another kitten to love. This was a very passive-aggressive act on my part, I admit. I am older and wiser and more placid now and do not feel the need to do things that say, "Well, I'll show him!" 
Ha! He showed me by tolerating every cat I brought into the house. Perhaps not with great joy but grudging acceptance and eventual true sweetness. 

So here I am and it is fine to be alone. I can hear traffic from the nearby highway and the sound of my dryer tumbling about with overall hardware smacking the side. A bird with a sweet song is putting the day to rest as the sun goes down. Squirrels are still running up and down trees, their little claw-paws scritching the bark as they go. And oh! I see the black cat again, this time by the chicken coop where Lucky and Grace are getting ready to go to roost. There is a part of me that truly wants to start welcoming this obviously needy cat into our home with bowls of food on the porch steps. I am not convinced that he or she lives next door. I do hear our neighbor calling a cat or something, anyway, some evenings and mornings. Perhaps like Jack, the cat is looking for a more peaceful place to live or maybe it just does not like our neighbor's politics. I always tell myself that this is why Jack moved here. He is a Democrat and definitely NOT a Trump supporter. 

Earlier, I noticed some blooming fire spike in the little jungle yard of the original kitchen, caught and set aflame by the lowering sun. 

I was glad to see it. All of the rest of the fire spike in the yard was so damaged by last winter's freeze that none of it has bloomed and some of it has absolutely died. Jessie has a great deal of it in her yard and I may ask her for some cuttings so that I can root and plant more. But this survivor makes me happy. 

While I was out there, I took a picture of some of the pine cone lilies too. 

And one more picture of Maurice. 

I went into the Glen Den to turn on the light and found her there on the very soft throw that sits on the rocker I bought soon after we moved here and Mr. Moon said to me, "You have bought a grandmother rocker." It had not occurred to me that I was doing any such thing- grandchildren were still just a vague idea, barely a bud of an idea. And now I have spent so many hours in that chair, rocking grandchildren. I am sure that Maurice is there because that is the room where she sits on her human dad's lap. No matter what, I can't help but love that poor cat who never learned the proper way to love. 

I understand. 

Love...Ms. Moon

A Beautiful Day

Yes, I realize that this is the third or fourth time I've posted a picture of a confederate rose this year but they're just so damn pink and pretty and fluffy and lovely that when I saw this one at eye level beside the porch with the light so bright on it, I had to take her picture. 

It's been a very nice day. The temperature has been about perfect and the sun has been shining as if it has been specially polished just for fall. Mr. Moon's bites are better and so he's been more cheerful and of course he's one day away from leaving and so I know he's excited but I think he tries to hide that a little to prevent me from becoming jealous. We've been so sweet to each other all day long. We are generally pretty darn sweet, honestly, but between having recently gotten back from our little honeymoon get-away and knowing that we'll be apart for almost two weeks, we've treated each other with utmost appreciation and tenderness. He's finishing up his packing right now and I've roasted him some peanuts and together we made his trail mix (heavy on the M&M's) and I portioned out his daily supplements in one of those SMTWTFS pill containers. 
As I told Levon yesterday, there are many ways to show that we love someone. I tell Levon a lot of things. I wonder if he'll remember any of them. Actually, I tell ALL of my grandchildren many things, hoping that some of it will lodge in their brains or at least hearts. 

I bestirred myself to take a walk this morning and I did not feel quite as old and unfit as I did two days ago which was probably because it was cooler. At the post office I saw the woman I met some months ago in front of No Man Lord's place.  She immediately addressed me by my name to show me she remembered me and I was pleased. I called her Boss Lady because that's what we had decided that I would call her when she'd told me her name and I told her that there was no way I was going to remember. We talked some more today. She told me that someone was stealing her dogs which is a grave and unforgivable sin and I told her about my chickens and the fox. We talked about a few more things and I asked her her name again and she told me and I may actually remember it or I may not. I sure remember her. I told her that I have a hard time remembering not only names but faces too but that I would not forget hers because she has a beautiful face and she does. 
So I enjoyed that. I'd been thinking about her, wondering if I'd run into her again. I mean- Lloyd is a small place. When we left the post office, she leaned into the post mistress's window and said, "Thank you, Post Office Lady." 
She's just charming. 

Speaking of women who charm me- have you seen the footage of Nancy Pelosi during the January 6 insurrection at the capital saying she wants to punch Trump out? 

I love this so much. Especially the part where she says she would go to jail and she would be happy. I believe her. 

So it's Friday night and time for me to interrupt Mr. Moon's packing to remind him to make us a martini. I'll be making my own next Friday night. And that will be fine. Honestly, seeing him so happy makes me incredibly happy down to my bones. Knowing that he loves his life, and me, his wife, makes me feel a sense of calm peace that for most of my life, I never even dreamed I'd feel. 

I did discover today that I was wrong about the number of people he's driving with- only one other guy, not three! But there will indeed be two dogs. He has promised me that they will not drive through the nights but will stop and get good sleep in a hotel. 
"Thank you," I said when he told me that. "You guys are not frat boys headed down to Florida for spring break."
"No, we are not," he said. I kissed his head and stroked the beautiful face he wears that no frat boy could ever hope to approach in terms of handsomeness. 

I'm going to go fry him some fish and make him some grits now. Remind him of why he needs to come home safe and sound to me in this little piece of this tiny little part of the world where he has his Garage Mahal with all of his projects, his lap cat, his comfy bed, his kids and grandkids, and his wife to whom he is the most precious thing in the world. 

I'd apologize for being so sappy but I can't help it. 

Happy Friday, y'all. 

Love...Ms. Moon

My Brain Feels Rather Like A Buzzsaw

It did indeed rain last night, probably a little less than an inch but enough to smell heavenly, to sound like life as it should be. Things are standing straighter and fuller today. 
We are all grateful. 

I just looked at my weather widget and I don't see any more rain coming for over a week but according to the forecast, next Thursday may see lows in the high thirties which is quite unusual for October. Not unheard of. But unusual. Of course a forecast that far out is apt to be wrong so we shall see. 

Y'all are just going to have to be patient with me for a little while. Anxiety is kicking my butt again but it's completely explainable for now and that does help. I'm sure part of it is because Mr. Moon is about to leave and the rest of life can be blamed for the rest. To make his leave-taking even harder, it would appear that he got bit by some sort of venomous critter, possibly in the deer stand over at Lily's house the other evening. That evening he showed me three distinct little bumps that we both thought were possibly ant bites but yesterday the area around them began to swell and turn red. He has a genetic disposition towards terrible circulation in his legs (long way from heart to feet in that man) and we are as wary of anything that breaks the skin or causes an infection in his feet and ankles as a diabetic would be. So we immediately began soaking his foot and ankle in warm water and epson salts. It takes the canning kettle to get his entire foot in. He went to the doctor this morning and he said it looks to him like brown recluse spider bites which it well could have been. He told him to continue the soaking and put him on an antibiotic. 
So at least I know that has been dealt with the best we could. 
He also got his new covid booster yesterday before his trip and has felt rather tired and achy today. 
But all of this has only added to my worry which I know is completely ridiculous. When I made the bed this morning, I made sure that Dorothy Anne and Emily were happily sitting up and watching the world and Jack came and laid down in front of them. I know that he is NOT trying to protect them. He sleeps on the bed no matter what, most  nights and parts of every day. But somehow, seeing him there was a comfort, as if he was symbolic of a familiar who watches over babies and again, that soothed me. 

It also comforts me to give a little love to these old, cracked babies who have survived more years than I have. 

Today was pick-up-Levon-and-August day and after I got Levon from his preschool, we met Lily for a catch-up lunch. She showed me all the pictures from Las Vegas and it does look like they had a terrific time. She and Lauren got a little bit of adult time when they attended a drag-queen brunch event which sounded like a whole lot of fun. They also did the Hoover Dam thing and took the kids to an amazing toy store. I think, however, they are glad to be home. 

Levon was an excellent luncheon companion and watched sports on a silent TV screen above us as we ate. He kept telling us he was so tired. At one point he said that he was "so tired I can only eat ten more bites," which made us laugh. 

I thought he'd fall asleep in the car on the way home but he did not. We read part of a Captain Underpants book which is not my favorite but far more preferable than a Transformers book, for example. I refuse to read those out loud. We also played some Uno and then we went and got August who greeted me with a hug which makes me so happy. 

While we waited for Daddy to get off work, we watched a few ocean creatures videos like a Giant Pacific octopus killing and eating a shark and a countdown of the ten most dangerous animals in the ocean. 

Note: The most dangerous animals in the ocean are the venomous ones. Far more people die from run-ins with them than with sharks or salt water crocodiles. 

You learn something new every day. 

It was good to be with the boys. Of course when I am with them, my focus snaps sharply back into and onto reality. This, I am sure, is an evolved behavior which I am grateful for. 

And now I'm home, about to fix us something for supper. I am sorry to have missed the Jan. 6 hearing today and I see that they voted to subpoena DJT to testify. Of course he won't. I will read about the session online tonight. I saw in our local paper the other day that the latest Q-Anon conspiracy theory has something to do with Hurricane Ian. That we liberals lured many conservative Republicans to Florida with our fast and loose covid restrictions and requirements and then, and THEN, somehow managed to engineer a giant hurricane which wiped out those very same conservatives. 
These are the people who will vote for the poop of pond scum we call Trump should he choose to run again. 

I am so over all of this shit. And it adds a constant thrum of fear that flows in my veins along with everything else, creating this discordant buzz of anxiety. 

Hopefully though, once I know that Mr. Moon is safely on the road (is that an oxymoron?) and happy to be so, and I am here with cats and dolls, eating salmon and LeSueur baby peas, weeding my garden in the cooler temperatures, walking daily (haha!) and filling my days with whatever it is that I feel the least bit inclined to do, I will settle back down. 

If history tells us anything, there may be Rolling Stones videos here, or maybe not, but we shall see, won't we? 

Love...Ms. Moon

Facing Reality In A Sort Of Dreamy Way

I went on a pathetically short walk this morning and I have to say that I am as out of shape as I've ever been in my life and there is no one to blame but me, of course. It's been mostly a matter of not exercising because it's too hot or too painful or I'm too lazy or whatever which leads to it becoming harder and more painful and it's a vicious cycle and I'm not exactly angry with myself but not happy with myself, either. 
The pain part is something I'm going to have to address. My right hip is NOT RIGHT and has been hurting for awhile and I especially noticed it on our trip. For one thing, there's a step between the kitchen and the living area in the little pool house which is just the right height to make me wince every time I used it. And I was more aware of my limping when I wasn't at home where I'm not worried about anyone seeing me and thinking, "Look at that old woman." 
I know I need to make an appointment with a massage therapist our family goes to who works on specific problems. She is good with hips. Also, let's face it- I need to lose weight and be kinder to these old hips, these old knees. After a lifetime of battling extra weight and probably fucking up my kids in the process, in the last few years I have gradually just started eating in a way that I know is not helping. It's not that the food I eat is in any way bad for me but I could make better choices and I could eat less and, blah, blah, blah. 
And of course, exercise is part of it all and now that cooler temperatures are settling in, perhaps I will be more consistent. 
We can only hope. 
I know myself and trying to radically change my diet to eliminate different foods, whether fats and grains or dairy and meat will not work. Sugar is not my problem. I rarely bake sweet things unless it's for others. I do love bread and cheese. The savory things are my favorite. 

Anyway, today I took that little walk and took some pictures of the tiny little shop that will perhaps open one of these days. They have painted it. 

It is now quite blue, isn't it? Almost a Caribbean blue. 

The bicycle wheel flowers are, um, rather clever, are they not? Pretty cheerful. Honestly, there's not a lot you could do to make that old block building look like much of anything but an old block building. And by the way, they did not bother to paint the back. Perhaps that is yet to come. I have not peeked in the windows again lately. I can't wait to see what they've done on the inside. 

I made a giant pot of soup to be taken to Canada as I said I would. I cut and sliced and chopped and stirred and seasoned for hours. It is ready to go into containers and be frozen now. I think the men in camouflage will enjoy it. 

There is a chance of rain for tonight and tomorrow, too. Lord, how I hope we get some. This is what my little bed with the phlox and palms looks like now. 

Just so very sad. I did put the sprinkler on them a little while ago. 

But not everything is dreary. I also took these pictures on my walk. 

The confederate rose blooming in front of the old Woman's Club. 

The sasangua in my neighbor's yard. Pretty little dancing elves. 

Ah, it feels like rain coming. I hope that cooler temperatures come back too if that's not too much to ask. I've put on my air conditioning again for the first time in weeks. 

Florida. You just never know what's coming next. 

Like life but in a climate. 

Love...Ms. Moon

What's It All Mean, Mr. Natural? Part 10,000

 

In case you're wondering, that is a picture of one of our little anoles outside on the back porch screen with its shadow on one of the porch supports. And there's actually another shadow on the screen, isn't there? 
Now how does THAT work? 
Don't try to explain it to me. 
I tried to read an article in the New York Times last night entitled "Black Holes May Hide a Mind-Bending Secret About Our Universe."
Here's what I got from the article: I know nothing and can understand even less and never in this lifetime or any other will black holes tell me their mind-bending secrets. 
I mean, once you start talking about black holes and worm holes and "tickling the radiation" I might as well be reading some language invented and written by the cat who could theoretically exist in the black hole and do not ask me about THAT, either. 

Maybe tonight I'll read the article on chimps and gorillas forming rainforest friendships. I think I might have a far better chance of following that story. At least I have a fairly decent understanding of what chimps and gorillas are. 

It's been another beautiful, dry day here. It was foggy this morning, which, as the fog condensed and rolled off the leaves almost sounded like rain drops. Once that cleared, however, there hasn't been a cloud in the sky. 

I went to town today and met Jessie for lunch. We talked and talked, catching up. Her boys are doing fine and I'll be picking them up from school on Thursday. There was a CVS near the restaurant and I stopped in there for some drugstore stuff. Supplements and a bite guard to hopefully do a better job of preventing me from biting my tongue every night. Of course I had to buy some pens while I was there. I cannot pass up a pen display. 

Then on to Costco for a very few things and then to Publix for the rest. I wanted to get home to punch down the loaf of sourdough that I started this morning and give it another rise. Here's where I'm at with the whole remembering thing- last night I asked Siri to remind me at nine a.m. to make bread. 
I swear. My iPhone is going to keep me out of the memory care unit for at least an extra year. Maybe. If I can keep remembering how to use it. 

And that's been about it. I've turned the chicken and broth into a soup with carrots and celery and leeks and other good things. Tomorrow I will make another soup- venison and vegetable. Mr. Moon is leaving on Saturday to DRIVE TO CANADA with three guys and two dogs to duck hunt and I will freeze the soup so that it will be edible when they get there. 
It is definitely that season again. The season where my husband takes off for days at a time to go hang out in various wild areas with other guys who wear camouflage. God love him. This is such an important part of his life and to be honest, I know I get jealous. It's not the idea of being alone that bothers me. I actually love being alone because I know he'll be home eventually. But in a way, going off on these trips is his mistress. Which is a conundrum because he loves it so much that I do harbor a small bit of resentment.
Not that much, though. Having had a husband whose mistresses were, um, more traditional in the mistress sense, it is hard for me to truly get worked up about this. And the longer we're together and the more I love him, the more I want him to have these experiences. 
We are aging and things are becoming more difficult. 
Walking, for instance.
There will come a time when adventures are something we'll probably only enjoy in our memories. 
I know he loves me. He's even loving me when he asks me to make soup for him to take. It is a sort of badge of honor for him to be able to contribute something made with his own venison that I made for all of them to eat. I like the idea of nourishing him, even that far away. 
And trust me- he supports me in many ways that require far more understanding and patience than me sending him off with soup and my love to hunt. 

Anyway, here we are. Lily and Lauren and the kids all just got back home safely from Las Vegas today. Have I mentioned this trip? Jason's brother lives there now and so he and his mother wanted to go visit and take the kids and invited Lily and Lauren to come along and so they did. I think they had a great time and I think they are probably all very glad to be home. My favorite picture of the trip that Lily sent to us all is this one.

The accompanying text read: "I think Maggie would be happy staying in this brown and gold room living out her 70's secretary fantasies." 

I love this picture too. 

Gibson being cool in the casino. I hear that Maggie was quite upset that children cannot play the slot machines. They had not thought to educate her on this sad reality. 

I am glad they got to go and glad they are home safely and life is good even without the understanding of how black holes work. If I learn anything earth-shattering about chimps and gorillas, I'll let you know. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Domesticity

To the left there, you can see a row of arugula, to the right, the baby collard greens. I watered the garden today for a long time. I'm afraid that the things I replanted before we left are not going to come up due to the lack of rain. But there will be some lettuces, collards, mustards, a little broccoli, kale, the arugula, turnips, and maybe even some artichokes. The carrots and chard look very sad, the few lonesome sprouts barely hanging in there. 

Although Mark left the house in terrific condition, I spent most of the day being domestic. I had laundry to do from the trip and I decided to wash our sheets. I had laundry hanging outside and laundry in the dryer, too. I watered all the porch plants and admired greatly the front porch that Mark had swept in case Mr. Moon and I wanted to sit out there. I have to pinch myself when I think of all he did while he was here. Is he real? 
It would seem so. 

I left half a Publix roasted chicken in the refrigerator, thinking that Mark would like it but he didn't touch it as far as I could tell. Was it still edible? I smelled it and it smelled like...chicken. And so I proceeded to simmer it for hours and then slipped the meat off the bones and added them back to the broth and that's in the refrigerator for tomorrow's supper in the form of a soup. It felt good to be back in the kitchen, even for such a small chore. Tonight I'm cooking us a little mahi-mahi that was in the freezer and I think that will be good. 

And although it seems as if I have been busy all day with one thing and another, I can't really think of exactly what I did. I realized that the tea olive is blooming the way I always do- I smelled it and then I smiled. Oh, the perfume of those tiny blooms! The bed that tree is in has been horribly overtaken by both border grass and a horrid plant called chenille plant. This is yet another plant that is sold in nurseries but should be outlawed here. To be honest, I didn't even notice the plant until about ten years or so ago and at first it was just an interesting ground cover that had fuzzy red blooms. What fun! Then I realized it was spreading. I tried pulling it, just as I've always tried pulling the border grass to keep it under control. 
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! 

Both of these invasives have networks of roots, tough as nylon string, and pulling it is neither fun nor easy. After about forty minutes of down-on-my knees digging and yanking, I had accomplished this much.

Not very impressive, is it? And of course unless I magically manage to pull every plant and root it'll all be back in half a second. And now I don't even have the chickens to help me! They were so good at clearing spots of ground. I'd throw my kitchen scraps in one place and they'd eventually get it all cleaned up AND fertilize the area with their poop at the same time. Such perfection. 
Damn that fox! 
I only really started this project because I noticed that there were great vines of Virginia Creeper in the tea olive and I could not trace them to their sources because of all the border grass and chenille plant. And as so often happens- one thing will lead to another which eventually leads to me, at least, throwing up my hands in defeat and yelling, "I can't do this!" 
And the fucking plants laugh and laugh! 

But at least it is cooler here now and that does give me a bit more impetus to do yard work, albeit slowly. 

So it's been a nice day, slipping back into my life after such a sweet, good time in Roseland. My home here is a fine place to be although there is no pool, no giant bamboo, no dock over a river from which to watch the sunset. 
It'll do. 

Especially knowing that I can go back to that little piece of heaven occasionally. 

And I suppose I have nothing more to say. I thought I was going to find the perfect place for my new lamp today which would require shuffling already-in-place lamps around but I have not. Instead, it is just sitting on my table on the back porch where I can see and admire it. I suppose I could keep it there permanently but I really don't want the humidity to get to it and also, I do love the lamp I have on the table already. 

I got that lamp years and years and years ago at The Bad Girls Get Saved By Jesus Thrift Store and after all these years it still amuses and pleases me. 
Let us hope that the project of finding the right spot for my new lamp does not end up with me redecorating the entire house, tearing out walls, and replacing the roof. I am too old for that mess.

Love...Ms. Moon