Thank you, Moon. And, What Purty Taters!

Full Beaver Super Moon!

That last post was a mess, so I deleted it.  Never write when your heart is not engaged.  I was not in a good state from the day after the election until yesterday.  Not good at all.  I was aghast and in denial.  Then I was mad.  Then I was depressed and felt frustrated and helpless.  (Therein lies the reason for my reference to the stages of grief - grief for fear that I have lost everything that I hold dear, like country,  the rights of ALL humans.)  I lost my appetite, my sense of humor, my hope.  Then, last night on my drive home, I looked up and BINGO!  There was that huge, beautiful moon!  It was gorgeous!  I almost careened off the road from the sheer wonder of it.  And that is when I realized that, if I could still be moved to such wonder, there was still hope.  So I'm moving on.  That's not to say I've reached the acceptance stage.  I have not, nor will I ever.  However, since this blog is in no way, never was and never will be, a political forum, that is all I'm saying about that.  However, Aunt Sweezie still has a lot to say, so I'm sure we will hear from her soon...




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One of my favorite things to plant in my garden is potatoes.  There is just something so thrilling about digging into the soil and finding treasure!  This year I planted four kinds - Red Norlands, Bintjes, Rose Finn fingerlings, and Magic Mollys.  The Norlands are by far my favorite and have always provided an abundant crop of creamy white, red-skinned potatoes.  Bintjes are a favorite from my time in the Netherlands and I was thrilled to find them here!  They are a wonderful, versatile yellow-fleshed potato and did very well this year.  The fingerlings were disappointing and, truth be told, I am not a fan.  They are on the dry side, for my taste.  The exciting potato this year was the Magic Molly.  How could I have NOT planted a potato with that name?  While the crop was only fair, there were some good-sized spuds and I gave them a try.  I will say that they are quite spectacular-looking - deep blue skin and flesh, almost purple.  But they are a high-moisture spud that doesn't hold up well to steaming, boiling or mashing.  Another roasting spud.  I'm glad I tried them, but I think I will stick with my two favorites.

Magic Mollys from The Maine
Potato Lady

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Because of my dad's dementia, my sisters and I have worked out a way to get my mother out of the house to keep her from losing her mind (and patience).  My sister who looks after them, does an amazing job of keeping things interesting and moving along.  My youngest sister makes a trip north as often as possible to spend a couple of days, which relieves my middle sis and provides a great deal of entertainment...  Every so often, Mom comes to my place for an overnight visit.  I get her Bestie to come for tea and leave the two of them to gab on for hours.  Then Mom and I have a nice dinner together and enjoy each other's company, while the dogs take turns piling on Grandma.  I try to find something interesting to do that won't wear her to a frazzle.  She's a little unsteady on her pins, so we limit it to short visits with my wonderful friends.  This past Saturday, her Bestie (who is also my neighbor) said that she would really love it if Mom would come and stay overnight with her (and her husband) some weekend.  Mom was flabbergasted and thrilled.  So now we have another piece to the Cheer Mom Up puzzle!




I also got to spend time with Melanie on our second installment of Knit Fest.  I made soup this time - roasted butternut with a side of GF Dill/Cottage Cheese Popovers.  My popovers were heavy on the "over" and very light on the "pop".  Sigh.  You can try and try, but GF just ain't the same.  I am working on socks #3 in a lovely colorway, dyed by Melanie, called "Shroom".  I am going to have to force myself to stop sock-knitting for a while, since the holidays are galloping toward us and I have a list of projects to finish before Christmas.  I am hoping to convince the last of the hold-outs that I do not wish to receive gifts.  A homemade bauble is just dandy, but I do not want anyone to spend any money.  Firstly, I don't need more 'stuff' and secondly, I am gearing up for a year of no-spending.  Not one dollar.  Only needs will be filled, nothing else.  I have a retirement date and I need to pare down any debt I have to as close to Nil as possible by then.  Of course, I am hoping that the new developments in the White House/Congress do not turn the stock market belly-up.  I don't have the 8-10 years it took me to recover from the last idiot's handiwork.  And I don't want to be slaving away into my 70s.


I am trying to make peace with the fact that I am woefully behind on my winter preps.  There are a few things that must be done but, for the rest?  Well, whatever.  It's my new mantra.