Verging On Hysteria, Happy To Be

Today has ended up being one of those days that would provide material for at least three thirty-minute sit-com episodes. Even as it all happened, I was thinking, "This is hysterical."
Even though on the surface, you know, it definitely was more like chaos and insanity.

The boys are on their way home and one thing that is not funny is that Gibson appears to be coming down with something. I noticed he wasn't begging me for food although he did eat some chips and a small bowl of Cheerios. As the hour got later, Owen asked me if I'd make pancakes and bacon, which I did, and Gibson would not even eat one piece of bacon. Owen ate quite a bit. "I'm a hungry man!" he said. But Gibson turning down bacon? Nah. That ain't right.
And then he started feeling warm to me and I realized he'd been clingy all day. He needed me a lot. He kept rubbing his head and I asked him if it hurt and he said that it did. And I feel so bad for him and for his daddy who opened Publix this morning at god knows what crazy hour and worked until after six and also for his mama who has to close tonight and will be worried the whole time.
I gave him some children's Advil and he said that it gave him energy and so we shall see.
He slept while we were waiting for Owen.

But he sure did kiss me a lot today.

He wanted us to do a photo session and so we did and he wanted to kiss me in every picture.

Owen was his regular self, full of games and pretending and he put together a jig saw puzzle that I got him at the Dollar Store in about three minutes. He wanted me to play a game where he was my husband and we had a baby.
Here's the baby.

I was making pancakes and answering the phone and texting and okay, I wasn't being completely attentive. After awhile he said, "Can we break up?"
"Are you tired of me already?" I asked him, standing over the stove with a spatula in my hand.
"No. It's just a little embarrassing," he said.
"Sure," I told him. "But I'll still make you pancakes."
"I'm taking the child," he said.
"All right," I said.
He also told me that he didn't like me looking so sad when Boppy left.
"You'll get some time to yourself," he said. "You won't have to make his dinner. You can eat it all yourself."
"But I kind of like to make his dinner," I told him.
"Because you love him so much," he said.
"Yes. And because I like to cook."
He understood.

And here I go to try and create some order and wrap some presents and do whatever it is I think I need to do and it's very reassuring in some way, comforting, too, to realize that no matter what I do or don't get done, the world will keep on going. May has Jessie's shower under control and it's going to be so sweet to see everyone tomorrow and to watch my daughter be, yes, showered with love. Lon and Lis will love me even if there is dust in the corners and mildew in the showers. Their sheets are clean and so are their towels. I can't wait to see them.

Bottom line is- I am the richest woman in the world in every way that matters. And as far as I know, Keith Richards is still alive.

Love...Ms. Moon

News From Near And Far

I'm trying to talk myself down from the ledge of despair I'm on this morning. Some days, I just wake up there, clinging with my fingertips. Don't know why.

Mr. Moon's been up for hours, getting ready for his gator hunting trip. He's so happy, so excited. Meanwhile, I'm about to have a stroke because I can't get my glasses clean and I'm not ready for this baby shower and Lis is coming to spend a few days with me and my house looks like it's being occupied by an insane day-care provider who doesn't own a broom, a mop, or any dusting equipment. We won't even go into the mold and mildew and spiders which have all just taken up residence here and are multiplying at the rate of salmonella in beef broth under ideal lab circumstances.

Thank god I know Lis loves me.

I'm going to get the boys again this afternoon. I did the pick-up with Gibson yesterday and when we got to the end of the line where the kindergarteners are all waiting, I did not see Owen and had a moment of panic. He was right there, of course, lined up along a wall where I couldn't see him. This pick-up thing is controlled chaos.
"Move forward, move forward!" they kept telling me as they tried to locate my grandson.
I hate to sound like an octogenarian telling his grandchildren how he had to walk nine miles uphill both ways to school in the snow but shitfire. When I was a kid, we either walked to school or rode the bus.
"Hey! It's only two miles! You're six years old now. Stop whining! Here's your lunch money. Don't lose it."
Okay, I realize the very different logistics of things these days but does EVERY child need to be picked up by a harried parent or grandparent in an SUV? It would appear so.

Oh well.
So. Did you hear any of Jimmy Carter's discussion of his cancer yesterday? I swear to you- that man is one of my most, most sacred heros. In my mind, he is a holy man. The only thing he really wants, he said, is for the guinea worm to entirely die before he does.
I think he was sort of joking but sort of not.
The concrete and real good he has done for humanity is unbelievable.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is leading in the polls.

We shall not be discussing that this morning.

So how about that Ashley Madison adultery website?
"Life is short. Have an affair."
That was their motto.
How in the world does anyone think these days that they can get away with stupid behavior like having an affair via a website?
Josh Duggar.
Well, there goes the stake in that family's ability to make a fortune flogging their Christian values. I think everyone is a bit weary of the "Oh, I am a sinner. Please forgive me," bullshit.

Jared.
As May and I agreed- dude has always been creepy. When Subway first brought him out as their spokesperson we thought, "Subway! That guy is weird and creepy. This the best you got?"
The heat of the anger I feel towards anyone who abuses children is like that of the surface of the sun. Well, he's going to jail.

Okay. Time to quit procrastinating. Time to actually do something.
All will be well. I know it.

I just looked up to see Mick "fertilize" Nicey. The whole deal takes far less time than it does me to write that sentence. He jumps on her, wiggles, jumps off and then does a little dance around her. She barely had time to stop scratching for bugs.
No need for cheating websites for roosters!

Well, whatever. Off to make deviled eggs. Which are all probably nicely fertilized.

Happy Friday, y'all.

Love...Ms. Moon

Hey, Speak The Truth, Baby!

You know what this guy told me today?
"I a cute and precious boy."

Wonder where he learned that.

Hmmmm...

This Is My World

Back from a walk and it was a good one, though a bit different. I stopped often to take pictures and then I stopped at Miss Liola's to tell her that I am still alive because when I saw the Sheik, he told me that she was worried. I have been taking a different route, not past her house, and so I did stop and we had a little catch-up chat and I am glad I did. She is a sweetness, that woman.

So. Pictures.

One of my favorite trees. It is in the yard of a very old house where no one lives down a back road where hardly anyone goes.

Wild flowers. Tangles and vines and bushes. Golds and purples. The butterflies are darting amongst them all, sipping, slipping through space and air. They go in pairs. They are flowers in motion.

Another live oak. This one guards the road where these flowers live. 

They have repainted Johnny Appleseed who stands eternally taking a coffee break in front of the truck stop. Look at those clouds behind him. Oh, it is going to rain again today and the humidity now! The water in the air calls forth the water in the body. I am soaked. 

A tiny orchid-lily like plant. I do not know its name.

One of the three churches within a quarter mile of my house.

The beauty berry.

A good stand of it in the church yard.
And now...

The Sheik! I asked him if he would pose for a picture for my blog. 

"Sure," he said.

"Thank-you," I told him. "Now I have a picture of a good-looking man."

He flashed his gold tooth at me. 

"Take care," we told each other.

Life in Lloyd.

Love...Ms. Moon

What Is This Empty Nest Of Which You Speak?

Such a busy day it's been. After the brakes were fixed and Jason took his youngest son home, I walked to the post office to find that this had arrived.

And so, we shall try again. 

This time, that sucker stays ON the stove. 

The sky in Lloyd was most dramatic. I took a picture behind the post office. 

Soon after I got home, it began to rain and then to pour and we got a great, good soaking. 

I decided to go through some old trunks to see if I could find any baby things that Jessie and Lily can use. I found piles of old cloth diapers- most of them Jessie's, I'm sure. And blankets and a few little outfits. And I found some darling dresses with tucks and lace and tiny white collars. Those will be Lily's. I also found the prom dress I made in 1972 from a Vogue wedding dress pattern. White eyelet, pretty as can be, but old and stained. I can't believe I still have it. And a skirt I made eons ago from an old pair of Levi's, patched and embroidered. That thing should go into a museum. It made me smile to find these things and I am washing diapers and blankets. They are worn and soft as clouds. They will feel good on a newborn's skin. 

I drove to town and went with Lily to pick up Owen at school to see how that is done. It is done exactly as I remember such things- a long, long wait in a long, long line and then a happy child who bounds into the car with papers and backpack, with a kiss and a swagger. We went to the grocery store and Owen still gladly holds my hand but he had a little fit in that he wanted ten dollars worth of sushi. How many children do you know who will pitch a bitch about sushi? 

He got over it. 

Oh, these boys, this life. I went to bed last night feeling pathetic and pitiful and woke up to find a grandson already here, drinking a smoothie, ready to go out to help me let the chickens into the run and to get the newspaper and to stop and talk to Luna, the oldest cat in the world, to pet her, to feed her. And then to hold the old diapers and blankets, to remember when and where I got the little dresses, to remember sitting in my room when I was a girl, stitching together a white eyelet dress to wear to the prom. 

I haven't worked on Jessie's baby's blanket all day but I have a good excuse.

She likes it. A lot. 

I messaged on FB today with my best friend from nursing school who was feeling a bit teary this morning because her third and last child was about to leave for college. I told her not to worry too much- that the empty nest only lasts for a breath or two and then it fills back up. 

I looked around me at the toys and books and sippy cups and kids' clothes filling up every room and porch of this house. My grandson was in my bed, watching a movie. 

I knew my words were true. 

But just to completely reassure her, I told her she could always get chickens.

It's been a good day.

Love...Ms. Moon

Here We Are

Jason and Mr. Moon are working on the brakes on Lily's van and Lily's at work and Owen's at school and guess who's here?

We were taking pictures and he said, "You didn't kiss me!"
And so I did.

Love...Ms. Moon

Lost Things: Wallets, Minds, Etc.

Oh my god. I just had a major freak-out and it's all my fault. I left my wallet at Costco today and just discovered that fact a little while ago. I called and in the time that I got put on hold with three different redirections of lines, I had plenty of time to blow myself into full-blown panic.
They do have it, and I am so grateful and I am now aware (through the loop of hold announcements) that Costco can not only provide you with cheap drugs in the pharmacy but that they can also plan your romantic get-away, print your pictures, do sushi platters for parties and that they really DO care about your call, and their sheet-cakes are plenty big enough for most people to have seconds!

No shit, sherlock.

I haven't lost a wallet since about 1983 when someone stole mine from my purse at Kent's Bar in Tallahassee. Years later they found it in a potted plant. I mean, YEARS later. They called me and I went and got it. It was a little bit rotted. And I'm completely OCD about checking for both my wallet and my phone in my purse. At least once a day I'm certain that I've lost at least one, which always turns out to be not true but today, yes, it was.

Where is my mind?

I was already feeling overwhelmed and weird and not very good. Got up at 6:30 this morning, which in and of itself was completely lovely but I hadn't had nearly enough sleep and then we drove to town to sit in the neurosurgeon's office for an hour and a half or maybe two hours, whatever.
He was a nice guy and he told us that frankly, he didn't think that surgery is going to help anything in this case and that he's baffled too.

So maybe all of this has me rattled and also we're giving Jessie a baby shower on Saturday and when I say "we" I don't really mean me, because May's doing most of it and I just have a few things I need to do but this sort of thing always makes me woozy and panicky which is completely ridiculous and I am doing this to myself and I know it. So thank you, no need to tell me.

I was just thinking yesterday that it doesn't seem right that Lis Williamson, who loves and adores planning beautiful weddings and showers and parties, and who is so good at organizing them and making them perfect has ONE son who virtually eloped while I, who can barely handle going to one of those events, have three daughters, all of whom have gotten married which entailed all of that planning and dress shopping and, and, and...
I actually did sign up for Pinterest a few weeks ago, thinking that would inspire and help me with these things but I quickly realized that no, it was not going to do that and I canceled my account.
Thank god that Lis is my darling friend who has jumped in to help with every event my girls have had since she's known me, as has my other Liz, Liz Sparks. Who, come to think of it, only has only sons. 
How many wedding cakes has Lis made us now? How many receptions has Liz decorated for?
I owe them big time.
BIG TIME!
And they have allowed me to get through these things and even enjoy them although I will always feel inadequate to the task at hand.

But anyway, la-di-dah and I haven't done a damn thing today except a tiny bit of housework and losing my wallet and while I was trying to remove at least the topsoil from my bedroom with a broom and duster, I discovered why Maurice was dancing about in the corner a few nights ago. I found not only the remains of a small bird and plenty of feathers, but also a desiccated frog, poor darling thing. It was a big one, too, even all dried up  and flat.
I was on the phone with May when I found them and she pointed out that it was sort of like that children's book I adore, "A Kiss For Little Bear" wherein a kiss gets passed along from Grandmother Bear to Little Bear via a hen, a cat, a frog, a duck and two skunks, plus maybe some others.

And as I told May as I swept up the pitiful remains, "Well, frog and bird are out of the loop."

That book ends in a wedding, come to think of it.

The two skunks had taken the kissing a little too seriously and kept giving it back and forth and next thing you know, they were getting hitched.

It's the most charming book in the world. Quite possibly.

So there you go. Instead of feeding the homeless or doing something about the melting polar ice caps or even working on my pitiful baby blanket, I have done nothing but moan and worry and whine and fret and sit in a doctor's office and lose my wallet and sweep up dead things.

Yeah, yeah. I took a nap too. Okay! Busted! I did!

What did you do today, dear friends? I hope whatever it was brought you some joy.
Thanks so much for sharing this crazy ride with me.

Love...Ms. Moon

Got A Leach? He May Have A Few Drops Of Blood Left

What a day. Some of it was very good. This for instance:

Our boy went to school and was excited about it and had no worries when his mama and daddy and his brother left to go home. I saw him this afternoon and he was cool. It all went fine. He likes his teacher. He likes his school.

Big sigh of relief.

In other news, Mr. Moon went in this morning after fasting since midnight and working out for an hour at the bym to get the blood tests his doctor had ordered for him. 

No big deal, right? 

Easier than starting kindergarten, right? 

Well, there was also a glucose tolerance test and the doctor's office had failed to inform him that he was getting tested for twenty-five separate things (can you say shot-gun?) and that each of those things required that a separate vial of blood be collected. 

Twenty-five vials, y'all. 

And during the drawing of vial #12, he did indeed pass out for a moment, (he has very low blood pressure) and then he insisted that they go ahead because he is a big believer in getting things over with. 

And hey! It was only twelve more because he had to eat before the last one was collected!

He, because he's stubborn and was not in his right mind, drove himself to Lily's house where he laid down on her couch. I got a text from Lily that said, "You know Dad's here, right?"

Well. No. I did not. He had not answered my texts. 

So I called him. He sounded so horrible that I took a shower and jumped in the car and raced over there with a smoothie in a mason jar because surprise, surprise! he couldn't eat. 

He did drink the smoothie with the help of Gibson who was being adorable. When I got to the house, he led me to his grandfather and said, "Boppa, here you best friend!"

I melted. 

And then pulled myself back together to take care of that man and watched him like a hawk while he snoozed and then I took him to eat lunch which he barely made it through and then took him back to the lab for the one more vial draw.

The ladies at the lab told him that when he went back to the doctor, he should inform them that people should know that this much blood is going to be drawn and that they might want to break it up a bit. 

You think?

Anyway, we're home now and all is well. Well enough, I guess. He still hasn't got much energy. 

And I have to wonder how accurate that glucose tolerance test is going to be.

And that's the news from Lloyd. 

And here's a picture that Jessie posted recently on Facebook:

Is that a gorgeous belly or what? Her cat won't leave her alone these days. He knows something's going on. 

And here I am, in complete bafflement over almost everything in the universe, mainly the medical system and how they seem to want to kill you before they cure you, or even have a clue, and I'm not really blaming the doctor's office but am just so mystified over why they would order so many tests without explaining the nature of the gathering of them. 

So it goes. 

Love...Ms. Moon Who Doesn't Know Shit

And We Grow

More news, more news, more news!
My darling May's best friend and sweetheart asked her if she would do him the honor of marrying him.
And she said yes.

They have talked about getting married for awhile but May had firmly told her Michael that he had to ask her properly and he had to have a ring. 

And so together they picked out the ring she wanted and before they went to brunch today, he asked her to be his bride and there you are. 

May and Michael. Michael and May. 

Sounds right, doesn't it? 

Oh my and oh my and here we go, another new adventure and may they always be happy together and always stand close together and always make each other laugh and always make each other feel loved. 

She doesn't want a big wedding but she does want a real wedding and they are thinking maybe sometime in March after all the babies are born. I offered for her to have the wedding here and she said, "Oh Mama, I wouldn't do that to you."

She's a funny girl, that one. And thoughtful, too. 

But truthfully, if they decided they wanted to do it here, that would be just fine with me. 

Well, here we are. My children will just NOT stop proceeding with their lives and of course I would not have it any other way. It just all seems so impossible sometimes to connect the moments of their births to the present. Each of my children's births were so incredibly powerful in my life that it was indeed as if time stood still for those moments. The most powerful and meaningful and fulfilling of my entire life and I am not ashamed to say that. How can anything be as magnificent as creating life and cradling that life in your arms for the first time, looking into the eyes of the brand new, freshly born baby and feeling as if you have known this person your entire life?

I swear to you, I almost felt as if this moment, these moments were eternal and perhaps, in some ways they were, but still, life goes on and I put my babies to the breast and that was when it all really began and in less time than it takes a meteor to streak across the sky, they are grown and getting married and having babies of their own and doing all sorts of amazing things. 

And it leaves me breathless.

And filled with mysterious wonder. 

And joy.

Welcome, Michael. We think you are the smartest man in the world to want to make May your wife. She is, as you know, precious and brilliant and beautiful and amazing. 

Now- let us see what wonder and joy come your way. 

And as you make a family of your own through your love for each other, never forget that you are now part of this thing, this wholeness, this family, which is also your family now. There is love on all sides and we embrace you and surround you with that love. 

Bless. 

And great, good happiness. 

Love...Ms. Mama MerMer Mary Moon

Happy In The Heart

When I was on vacation, Mr. Moon and I stopped in at a restaurant down in Stuart and right outside the ladies' room, there was the picture you see above. It is actually a picture of a painting and my heart just stopped when I saw it because if there is ever in this world a Ms. Moon Dream House, that would be it. I'd need a few more trees and some chickens running about, but that could be easily remedied. And then I realized last night that one of my favorite Facebook pages, A Tropical Frontier, has the a picture of the same house, but of a different perspective as it's header.

Indeed, one of Mr. Robnson's books, also entitled A Tropical Frontier, has the same photograph on its cover.

I have left a comment for Mr. Robinson to ask who the artist might be. And I sure do need to order that book. And doing a little search, I see that there are several books in this series and I think I would love them all. 

Oh, how I do love the internet and the way things seem to come together and lead down other paths and then circle back and whet and satisfy curiosity, all at once. 

But back to that house. 

Yes. I wonder if it still stands. And that poinciana tree. Glory hallelujah!

Well, it's Sunday morning, trembling on the verge of Sunday afternoon and the big breakfast has been made and eaten and cleaned up after and laundry is going and I am about to start back to work on my baby blanket. I could not be happier. 

Until the actual baby arrives. Soon, soon, SOON! 

All love...Ms. Moon

What I Have Done Today

I piddled around and but-firsted (do not read that wrong or it will sound really dirty) and did this and that and finally cleared a workspace and pulled out the material I bought months ago for a project and looked at it and ripped a bit of it and cut a bit of it and went crazy and ate leftover pizza and then I just started messing around the way I do and got out my beloved old Singer which works like a charm, runs like a sewing machine, and the next thing I knew it was six o'clock.
How did that happen?

Here's one thing I did when I was procrastinating-

I ran all of my Cozumel sea glass and the vase which holds it in the dishwasher! I swear, I'll wash anything in that machine. And now it sparkles, it shines, it's beautiful! 

I will never get over the wonder of my dishwasher. Never, ever, ever. 

And besides that and giving the chickens fresh water, all I've done is sit on my ass and sew and and stand and iron and kneel and rip and cut. 

So it goes. 

It's been completely delightful and I might do the same tomorrow. Although I won't need to run the sea glass through the dishwasher again. 

And in the chicken report- I think the dewormer did the trick. The weird poop has been replaced by normal-looking chicken poop. Good thing I'm not adverse to poop, huh? 

Poop is important. Life is good. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Up At The Crack Of Ten

Don't know if I'm dying, depressed or simply tired but I cannot seem to sleep enough these days. I didn't get up until almost ten this morning. I'd wake up and think, "Jeez. It's probably late. I should get up."
And then I'd glance over to see Maurice sleeping next to me and think, "Well. Maybe not."
And I'd slip back into my dreams and the coolness of the sheets and it just felt so luxurious and lovely.

I did finally get up. Obviously. And Mr. Moon is on his way to town to work on some plumbing issues and I'm just lazing about, doing very little and that may be just the way this day goes.
Ah-lah.
It's been a busy, busy week and next week will be the same and the world doesn't need me at this moment and I am ever so glad of that.

Here's a little video of the morning ritual around here.

I absolutely clutched at the names of Chi-Chi and Cha-Cha.
They don't care. And I can't ever tell one from the other anyway.

Well, the chickens are up and about and busy. Maybe I'll cook one of their eggs. Or maybe I'll just eat a nice bowl of twigs and blueberries.
Either way, good morning.

Love...Ms. Moon

WWPE?

Lily texted me this morning saying that I didn't have to come with them to get haircuts but I never pass up a chance to see Ms. Melissa. She is just one of those people who make you happy. She's a gift to this world and we all adore her. And cuts hair really, really well.

So. Here are the boys.

Owen wanted a faux-hawk as he generally does and she carefully created one which almost entirely hides the semi-bald area he created with scissors the other day. This is the third time he's done this. He just gets the urge. I think we can all relate.

But then he's really embarrassed. He didn't want Melissa to know but she assured him that this was not even the first time this week she'd encountered this same problem. 

He got over it. 

As you can see.

And then we went and had our really, really last lunch out before Owen starts school. We went to a pizza joint where you order your own personal pizza if that's what you want and we did. Trying to eat all healthy and shit, you know, I should have ordered mine without cheese but I did not. But besides that, it was pretty healthy. Whole wheat crust and all nice vegetables. And I didn't eat it all. 

Although I could have. 

What IS it about cheese? It is just so incredibly delicious. Name one thing that doesn't taste better with cheese. 

I'm waiting. 

See? 

Meat, pasta, fruit, vegetables. They all taste so much better with cheese. Broccoli being the main example of this if you ask me. And it's pale, pale cousin, the cauliflower. 

Okay. Moving on. 

To bacon.

All right, all right. I'm easing into the eating-all-healthy-and-shit. 

Last night Mr. Moon and I shelled about half a gallon of peas from the garden and I have them on the stove right now and I cut up and added one half of one piece of bacon to them. 

They look like this:

Crowders and purple hulls. 

I grew those beauties! I will never get over the joy that eating what I grow gives me. It's like magic.

So. I have not found my simmer mats. I'm just going to order another one. 

One. 

Because if there's a simmer mat poltergeist in this house, I don't want to lose two again. 

Mr. Moon's out starting a fire to cook some chicken over. Soon we will have a martini. The chicken is all free-range and organic and shit so I don't feel quite as guilty about eating it as I could/should. I have it marinating in mojo and garlic. Tomorrow I will use leftovers to make chicken enchiladas. Or at least what I call chicken enchiladas. I just tasted the broth from the beans and they are going to be heavenly. 

I think about food way too much, don't I?

Well, we all have to eat. Might as well make it good. And as healthy as possible. As close to the dirt as possible. 

One of the main characters in South Moon Under is a woman named Piety and I find myself thinking, "What would Piety eat?" Talk about eating local. 

Piety would eat hog and deer and squirrel and fish and chicken and eggs and peas and greens. And sweet potatoes. Grits and cornbread, too, from her own corn. Gator if it came to that. Whatever she could get and grow to fill her belly. Cane syrup on whatever needed sweetening. 

That's how people around here used to do it and although I am grateful that I do not have to limit my diet to those few things, I do believe that basically, those foods were fine and healthy and if she used lard as her grease, well, she worked it off, plowing her fields to grow her corn and peas and greens and sweet potatoes and cane to boil into syrup. 

All right. I've gone on long enough. 

I'm grateful for this day in which I got to spend time with people I love, in which I am spending the evening with the man I love, in which we are going to eat a very fine supper of good foods, many of which Piety would recognize. 

All of this and I don't have to cook my beans over a fire nor make my own soap nor fill up giant pots with water to heat up to do my laundry in nor plow my fields behind a mule. It's like I have the best of all worlds. 

Including a dishwasher. 

Which I need to now go unload. 

Love...Ms. Moon

And Here We Go!

I swear I felt that first tiny fresh breeze that portends fall this morning.
Then I went for my walk and it disappeared.

Off to town to run errands with Lily and the boys. The little guys are getting their hair cut which means I will get to see Melissa AND get fabulous pictures of my boys with their new hair. Owen cut his own bangs yesterday but that doesn't really count.

Happy Friday, y'all.

Love...Ms. Moon

Sometimes Words Fail Me

Let me just say that if it's true that I have one productive day and then a day of doing very little, I'm not getting out of bed tomorrow.

I tried to tell my husband what all I've done today and he sort of made fun of me. Like washing five loads of laundry is SO hard.
Okay, it's not. But I did hang the clothes on the line. And do a lot of other stuff.
He was just joking with me. He's in an exceptional mood because he's about to go gator hunting. Well, next week. He's so excited. I can't really think about it. I mean, if I really thought about the fact that he's going to spend every night for a week trolling the dark, twisting, incredibly complex backwaters of Franklin County actually searching for alligators to kill, I'd lose my mind.
So. I just go into denial and when he's gone I'll pretend that he's...well, I don't know.
At Boy Scout camp. Yeah, that's it! Boy Scout camp! He'll make me a lanyard and get his first aid badge and make s'mores over a campfire.
I feel better now.

I have nothing more to say except the fun will now begin!

Love...Ms. Moon

Message To Heart In Hand (And I've Lost Your E-Mail Address) Plus Other Stuff

All right. This is going to be a rant and a rave.
Not really. I mean, I just took a walk and didn't die so there is that to be grateful for. Oh, fuck it. There's so much to be grateful for but still, I have a few things I'd like to bitch about, the main one being fucking WORDPRESS, fuck them and the evil horse they rode in on.
Here's the deal-once, a long, long time ago when I was left alone as a hunter's widow and had too much time on my hands, I signed up on WordPress and started one or two blogs there which I NEVER told anyone about and then completely abandoned. However, it would appear that according to the terms of the agreement you must agree to in order to start blogging with Word Press, you can never really terminate your account. I give you this:

1. Termination. Automattic may terminate your access to all or any part of the Website at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately. If you wish to terminate this Agreement or your WordPress.com account (if you have one), you may simply discontinue using the Website. All provisions of this Agreement which by their nature should survive termination shall survive termination, including, without limitation, ownership provisions, warranty disclaimers, indemnity and limitations of liability. 

Now this would be just fucking fine EXCEPT FOR THE FACT that any time I try to comment on a WordPress blog it is almost impossible as they want me to comment under my WordPress account and I do not care to. Some blogs allow me to comment using my Google account but this involves signing in, signing out, blah, blah, blah. 

Which I often do anyway BUT, some blogs will simply not let my comments be published no matter what I do. 

HEART IN HAND- this means you. Also, darling YOLIE!

I have no idea why some will allow me to comment and some just give me an error message. 

But this disturbs me. 

And I'm sorry. Ah- the foolish mistakes we make when we are young. (I was probably still in my early fifties when I did that which now seems young.)

Okay. Enough about that. 

(Grumble, grumble, grumble.)

I slept about eleven hours last night. Or maybe ten. A bunch of them at any rate. 

Like a brick. Like a stone, cold brick. Although I did have crazy dreams and I'm back to dreaming about the houses and all the stoves that sort of work and sort of do not work and there was a music festival and my husband was extradited to Canada for illegally shooting game there via tiny, tiny bullets he shot into Google images of their forests. He couldn't even see the animals in the images! It was entirely random and not even possible which was his defense in the matter but in the meantime, he decided he did not love me. (Is this about sex?)

If our dreams are actually visits to parallel universes please do not let heaven be that one. 

And if, by some horrible chance it is, please dear baby Jesus, give me more garbage bags because that place needs a lot of cleaning up. 

Thank you.

So yes, I took my walk and didn't die, as I said, but I felt like I might there for a little bit. It's hot, it's hot, it's hot. It's motherfucking hotter than hell. It's hotter than BALLS as we say around here. 

And here's the spider that is living right beside my back porch.

Two angles, neither picture very good and certainly they do not give the full accuracy of scale of size. Let me just say that I am certainly no arachnophobe but this lady is so big that if by some stroke of the devil she was in my palm, she would not fit and I would faint. 

I have many, many golden orb weavers this year but she is the Queen of them all. And I actually saw her and her tiny man mating the other day! Either that or she was just allowing him to take a nap on her. He has since disappeared. 

Hmmmm....

Well, that's the story from Lloyd this morning. I think I'll hang clothes on the line which will sterilize them in this heat and also clean out the hen house and maybe pick a few more peas and then I might sit on the couch and shell peas for hour upon hour. Yep. Sounds good to me. 

It would be wrong to take a nap. Right? 

Be well. Drink lots of water. Avoid spider webs. 

Etc. 

Love...Ms. Moon 

She Will Be So Loved

We were all provided with these.

 I didn't even scratch mine. I just watched my daughter scratch hers. There were tears.

And the cousins celebrated with ring pops.

Owen told us that he was so excited that, "My heart, my brain, my eyes, my lips, everything in my body is about to explode!"

Of course, this is not for certain but upon looking at the picture the tech sent with her assessment, we all agreed that yep, looked like a girl to us, too.

Oh my goodness.
Oh my joy.

And no doubt she will will rule our realm.

Love...Ms. Moon

Back In The Saddle Again

Well, today was a bit of an adventure.
First off, my charger arrived in the mail so I can type now using ALL my fingers.
Which is really cool and thank you, Glenn, and thank you, whoever invented the keyboard (Hank, I know you know) and if I were Clairee from Steel Magnolias, I would not say, "I love you more than my luggage," but "I love you more than myMacBook," although frankly, there are only a very few people I would say that to.

One of them, of course, would be Owen. He said something today that I want to write down before I forget it. Lily had to pee for about the third time in an hour and he said, "What is that baby in you? A Peeosaurus Rex?"
Haha.

So we went to the ultrasound place and Jason got there JUST in time and we went in and the tech did her magic with the goo and the wand. The baby has a face and feet and arms and legs and hands and all the stuff that humans generally come with and we oohed and we aahed except for Gibson who kept taking my face in his hands and saying, "Do not look at that screen," and turning me to look at him. But when it came time to determine whether the baby is a boy or a girl, the tech just could not make a 100% determination. The baby is butt down right now with the back to Lily's front and thus, was shy and protective of his/her fancy parts. The tech said she had a 75% guess on it and she put that guess and a picture of that which gave her her 75% guess into an envelope and tonight Lily's friend Kelly is going to announce this to all of us at dinner and when I say all of us, I mean most of the family on both sides.

The drama!

And honestly, we've never sure of gender until the baby is actually born and even then, it can be a nebulous thing and even later than that, it can be a deceptive thing so I'm not very concerned about it. Boy or girl, it's a baby and we are well assured of that and my hope is that this baby will be as healthy and happy and delightful as my other grandchildren and I have great faith that he or she will be.

After the ultrasound and a quick run to Target, Lily and I took the boys to Japanica! because Owen starts kindergarten on Monday and our days of having both of the boys for lunch time will be over. Which is incredibly sad, in a way. The boys got their miso soup and their sushi and were happy, happy. My curried tofu was extra spicy today and seemed to have fennel as one of the vegetables and I was happy too. Tomorrow Owen goes to his school's orientation and thus, begins a new chapter in his life and ours as well.

And so it goes and thus it is and I see that Jimmy Carter has cancer in his liver and that does not bode well. I don't have enough good words to say about that man, that plain man who comes from Plains, Georgia, who has done so much good in this world.

And the stars will streak across the sky tonight, or at least the meteors, and here we are, such tiny and insignificant animolicules, even the greatest and best among us. I have no idea whether or not any of our presences or actions have any affect or meaning in this universe at all but I suppose we have to dance a fancy step, believing we do and realizing we probably don't and taking in with wonder that which is all around us and sometimes inside of us, hearts and souls and Peeosaurus Rexes.

Much love...Ms. Moon

We Had Fun

It truly was a wonderful day at the river and there weren't too many people and we stood in the water and talked and occasionally girded our loins and went in all the way and that water is like ice. The boys swam around and Owen made a friend and Gibson was a joyful little fish and we ate healthy snacks and swam some and talked some more. 

Pretty darn perfect. 

We were all exhausted afterwards and I took a little nap when we got back and I'm still tired. It always seems to me that if I have one really productive day the next one will be a day of not-doing-much. I think to myself, well, that's all right, I'm old, but then I think about all of the older (and I mean older than me!) women servers we had in restaurants in Sebastian and Vero and I feel like a complete slacker. Some of these ladies limped or favored knees or hips but that didn't stop them from moving fast and they had those dining rooms COVERED. Some of the best and most professional service I ever got in my life.  I would look at them in wonder. How they can even walk when they get out of bed in the morning is beyond me. They were at once a huge source of inspiration and at the same time, guilt. 

How dare I complain about my aches and pains and fatigue?

Well, I don't know but you can be sure I will. 

My god! It is absolutely pouring rain here now. Coming down in sheets. It is gorgeous and maybe it will cool things off a bit. It's time to go make our supper. Tomorrow is going to be a big day and I have to be at Lily's a little after nine to go with her to get her ultrasound. 

I can't wait. 

Be well, y'all. Limp as fast as you can. Or slowly. It all gets done one way or another and quite often, it can be absolutely splendid. 

Love...Ms. Moon

Down To The River