Inside the Little Plastic Castle

Low-key hygge pleasures

( Very very hygge )

11 Sunday ( ready for tomorrow )

I’ve been logging my days. Here’re our nights!

Between four and six pm, we come home, snack, and think about dinner. When we’re done with that, it’s time to watch TV!

We sped through the second season of Killjoys. ( for some reason I cannot remember the name: I always say Misfits instead )

Thanks to decemberthirty’s recommendation, we started watching The Crown. ( we can't turn our heads away )

Tuesday

( swimming dinner bed )

Wednesday

( Super Blue Moon Eclipse )

Home for a nap, then our old standby, the cemetery walk. Cemeteries are for the living to visit, yes? In Historic Fairview Cemetery, there are several signs warning against trespassers. Parts of it were created without any funds for "perpetual care," so they're pretty ratty--tipped and chipped vertical headstones. Other parts are clearly well kept: there are flat markers--granite and brass--as well as upright granite markers.** We saw two set-asides blessed as Greek Orthodox and Jewish.

I'm hoping you can tell me why a Vietnamese couple would have a headstone in what looks like Chinese.

( Granite markers show four columns of Chinese-like characters incised and dyed red, with the largest column alternating red and black. Vietnamese name, birth and death dates appear at the bottom in Roman characters' )

Most hideous was the recent installation of a balloon-themed outdoor columbarium.^ The hyper-realistic hot-air balloon, complete with woven basket below, does not lend itself to the medium of stone. Perhaps that's why this statue commands a circle of black granite that's empty of names?

( ugly hot air balloon structure )

This flat marker gave me the biggest thrill. Bea L Weber--I assume she's a pilot from the plane in the corner--anticipates her own death. She lists her "Arrival Date" but the "Day of Departure" is blank. An exceptionally languid cat-creature guards that empty spot, while her catch phrase is "I dance among the stars."

( Bea Weber's Marker )

( for bead enthusiasts: go to Thomason Stone )

** Notable since we come from the land of limestone markers, which become unreadable after a century of rain.

^ A structure with niches to house cremated bodies in urns.

^^ Sadly, bad Chinese-origin generic stone dyed blue almost spoiled me for the good stuff.

That's right: PubMed has almost five times as many clinical trials on male sexual pleasure as it has on female sexual pain. And why? Because we live in a culture that sees female pain as normal and male pleasure as a right.
Lili Loofbourow

Sunday I rolled to the Gulf Coast YMCA branch. The water was deliciously warm at 85°. I neglected to bring my flippers, so only swam 8 lengths in my allotted time, but that's why I exercise to time, not distance.

The pool may be filled with filtered sea water: it's certainly soft enough.

I streamed the first half hour of the final Sherlock to my massive disappointment. As always, plaidadder nails it

begin quote

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I think that I may fairly make two postulata:

• 1) Whatever about series 5, this episode was designed to be the last episode of Sherlock that Moffat and Gatiss would make.
• 2) It should be.

http://plaidadder.tumblr.com/post/155952044114/the-perfect-metaphor-the-final-problem-and-the

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end quote

We walked over Mississippi Sound on the 2 mile bridge connecting Biloxi and Ocean Springs. The view, the sun, the breeze, were exhilarating. My traditional direct attention to the water photo memorializes one stop:

Home to nap, and finish The Final Problem. Wow, that was terrible. (As with most Sherlock canon, there were a handful of wonderful moments, but...thank god for fanfic. I heartily recommend all of plaidadder's.)

We then drove back to Biloxi to assess what was where. The beachside road is furnished with a wide array of architecture: brick Waffle Houses; massive casinos; 1940s apartment buildings; humble 900 sq ft shotgun houses, Frank Gehry's typically bizarre Ohr-O'Keefe Museum, and the Biloxi Visitor's Center, a majestic three-story former mansion.

In my brief time here, I've seen scores of historical markers, displays, websites, pamphlets. Based solely on the ones I've seen, the only people on the Gulf Coast have been the immigrant waves of French, English, Spanish, and "Americans." Africans aren't mentioned anywhere. This is what it looks like to be written out of the narrative.

The third Monday in January has officially been "Robert E Lee's Birthday" in Mississippi, until this year. Twitter shaming played a part in the Biloxi City Council voting unanimously to bring the holiday in line with the Federal designation of Martin Luther King's Birthday.

We finished our day with a promising but ultimately dull meal at Mosaic. MyGuy liked his pulled-pork quesadilla. My ceviche & rice-stuffed portobello was tasty, but not enough to write home about, although I seem to have done so.

Time to swim!

• Cross-country on US Hwy 49, two-lane highway running through the centers of many small towns. We had to pause for wide loads and very wide loads, both trailers straddling the full roadway. Fortunately, no tractors.
• Destination at 4:30, in time for clearing skies and a lovely sunset. Our little house is delightful! <grumpy>(Except the bed. No bed is as good as my bed.) </grumpy>
• Bella was pleased by the fenced yard, but truly astounded by not just a squirrel house, but a weathered tree providing a squirrel apartment building.
• MyGuy magically shopped & cooked an omelette. Then we all fell into bed and slept hard.

• smooth trip down Hwy 51, half in mysterious yet not scary fog. At times visibility was less than two semi trucks.
• Sixty degrees on arrival! No need for coats!
• motel w: indoor pool, w/c access, accepts dogs are not ubiquitous. This Fairfield Inn was too hot, bed too soft, and stinking of floral air freshener. Best news: we’re leaving it shortly.
• Reliably tasty and gluten free: Chipotle. Order on line, $15 to fill up two hungriest.
• Bella was unsettled, but accepted mysterious change in routine with glares and minimal complaint.