1/25/2015

Weekly Update 1/25/2015

Although I got up early (for me) on Monday, I got a later start on the drive to Alabama than I had hoped to have. Not being exactly sure where I was going, I didn't want to have to try to find Jan and Fred's place in the dark. I was on track right up until I was almost there. As I closed in Gulf Shores, I knew that I couldn't go too far south or else I'd end up in the Gulf of Mexico, and I couldn't go too far west or I'd be in Mobile Bay. When I came to a major crossroads near where I suspected they were, I happened to look over at the strip plaza, and I noticed a pastry shop! Well, I remember that shop from my last visit, and I remembered it was near where they lived. I got out the phone, set up the GPS location services, and found I was indeed quite close. I guess it pays to remember major landmarks like pastry shops! I made it to their driveway before dark and without too much trouble. We visited that evening and went out for supper. Jan and I stayed up until long after midnight talking and visiting and getting caught up. 

Jan & Fred

 

Tuesday, Jan took me to some great places to eat and drink. We went to restaurant called the Brick and Spoon. They have made-to-order Bloody Marys, complete with an order form. You fill out the form with what vodka you want (12 choices), five veggies (18 choices), two meat & cheese (7 choices), eggs are optional, temperature of mild, medium and atomic, and the glass could be rimmed with salt, pepper, or nothing. Really cool! The Bloody Mary was good, but the crab meat crepes I had were to die for. In the afternoon, we went to a beach along the Gulf at Perdido Bay. We had a relaxing time, sitting in the sun, sipping drinks, watching boats go in and out, and talking. It was wonderful. Jan made a delicious shrimp dinner that evening, supplemented with beans & rice and bread pudding from her church (they were having a fund raiser). I think we were all tired from the long day of sitting and drinking and eating, so we went to bed early.

at the Brick & spoon with our Bloody Mariys

view of Perdido Bay and the Gulf of Mexico

 

Wednesday found me back on the road. I didn't get as early a start as I wanted to, again, but it was ok. In mid-afternoon, because the sun was warm, the book-on-tape I was listening to was boring, and I was tired, I needed to pull into a rest stop and nap for an hour or so. Better safe than sorry, I guess, but that made it dark for the last 3 or 4 hours of my drive. Again, I surprised myself by finding the right exits and routes I needed for get back to Savannah. It's not that difficult, but with my history of getting lost and lack of innate direction sense, I was nervous. I got back to my condo just after 9 pm. I was glad to be home - glad I was able to drive that far without incident, glad my car didn't give me any problems (let's face it - she never goes more than 20 miles anyplace, so to ask her to drive 1,150 in three days is taxing for her, but she's a trooper!), glad to be in my own bed again.

(interesting tip: after a driving trip, to remove bugs from the car windshield and front panel, use a dryer sheet. The gunk comes right off!)

Thursday, I was very much back into my routine - at the Rail with Lisa and Dave. It seems like a long time since I've seen them, and it was nice. I wasn't there long, but I bored them with stories of my trip.

Friday was a busy day. DH is back to giving tours, although the new wallpaper hasn't been hung yet. It was a raining, yucky day, and few tourists are in town in January. So instead of four tours, I only had to give two. Then I met Donna and friend of hers who's visiting from Maine at 17 Hundred 90 for a glass of wine. And after that, there was a wine tasting and the condo clubhouse. I had bought a bottle of Mardi Gras Cabernet in AL, but it wasn't opened, so I can enjoy that myself another day.

the wine tasting at the club house

Saturday night, I had a ticket to a DooWop concert at the fabulous Lucas Theatre. The concert featured Dennis Tufano of the Buckinghams, The Crystals, the Tokens and the Drifters. It was ok, but I'd hoped it might be better. They sang the oldies that I remembered, but not too many, and it didn't seem as if the performers engaged the audience much. But, whatever. When I bought my ticket a couple of weeks ago, I asked for a seat in the last row of the balcony, in case I had to get up and dance, no one would see me. I did get up (this is the most I’ve moved in more than a year!) but I don't think I embarrassed myself too badly.

going out the door to my concert, pretending I'm 16

1/18/2015

Weekly Update 1/18/2015

I learned a valuable lesson this week - housecleaning can be dangerous and is best left to the professionals. I packed away the nutcrackers that had been sitting on top of my kitchen soffits. While I was up there, I noticed that the dust and greasy kitchen grime had accumulated to a point where I had to do something. I climbed up my step stool and onto the counter tops to scrub. Not only did the dirty, filthy water trickle down the front of my white cupboards and leave disgusting streaks, but I fell off the step stool. I thought I might have broken my foot when I landed wrong, but it never swelled up and the pain was gone in a couple of days, so I didn't go to the doctor. So, now everything is nice and clean, but I won't be doing that again!

Tuesday, the plumber returned. When he unclogged my drain last week, he suggested that I might want to replace the faucet. That would help keep the lime deposit that were on the sink to a minimum because the old faucet seeped water near the the tap. He told me that if I bought a faucet (so I could get what I wanted, for what I wanted to pay), he could come back to install it. It looks pretty good.

the new addition

 

And while I had to get up at 8 am on Tuesday for the plumber, I got a nice treat. I went outside my door after I let the plumber in the locked gate to wait for him. When I was on the landing of Building 5, the neighbor across the hall came out to go to work and drop her 10-week-old baby at day care. I cooed to Michaela and she gave me the biggest smile, it just made my day. And that same day, Donna got a her first granddaughter! (she has two grandsons in Maine, but this is the first girl). Donna will go out to San Francisco see Bill, Julie & baby Addison soon.

Thursday, the Lunch Bunch met. Again this month, it was a big group, and we needed two tables. The lunch was good, and I enjoyed being with this group.

On Friday, DH had a talk about the changing wallpaper. B-o-r-i-n-g, you might say, but it was quite interesting. Why they did it, how they decided to do it, what drove the selection, what we can expect to see next. Since Friday is my day to give tours, I just stayed, but there were no tours again this week because of the wallpaper project. I asked if I could leave, and was given a day off. At 5 pm, I went back down to go to 17 Hundred 90 to meet Donna. Connie showed up too, and several of the ladies who had been at lunch the day before. Also, Jamie, Raleigh and Jeff from DH. It was crowded, and I’m amazed at how many of the people I knew at the bar.

Sunday, I decided to go downtown to check out the Bird Girl Statue. Often at Bonaventure, I'm asked about her, as she is on the cover of The Book, and tourists come looking for her. She has been at the Telfair Academy Museum as long as I've been answering questions about her, but has recently been moved to the Jepson. I thought I should know what I'm talking about when I direct tourists that they can see her there. Sunday seemed like a good time to go because the metered parking is free on the week-ends, and the playoff games didn't begin until 3 pm (and after the games were finished, I realized I could have very easily missed them both!) And there she was, in the sunlit hallway on the third level. If you know she's there, you can even get a peek of her from outside on the street. I did a little more walking around downtown as long as I was out, and then went home to watch the games. The less said the better. But I'm not looking forward to the Super Bowl. I'm sure I'll watch, but only half-heartedly. 

Bird Girl's new home at the Jepson

Since I was out, and had my new camera with me, I got this great shot of City Hall.  What a great city I live in!

 

1/11/2015

Weekly Update 1/11/2015

Monday was book club. It was a sparse group (I'm hoping that the club members on Wilmington Island aren't going to drop out because the library moved), but to my delight Lisa joined us. While we were checking out new reading materials, I saw that there's a workshop about using your iPad, and it was that same evening. So I went back again and learned a couple of tricks. It's going to take more than one workshop to get me to figure out all this stuff.

But other than that, I really did nothing all week. The plumber came to unclog my bathroom drain, and to suggest that I might want to have the faucet replaced. There were no tours at DH because of the wallpaper project, but I went there on Friday afternoon anyway, in case any tourists stopped by. There's nothing to show them, but I could at least tell them a little of Isaiah Davenport's story. There were maybe four people who came by. Of course, after that I went to 17 Hundred 90. I met Donna and Connie there. Because it's so slow in Savannah this time of year, Connie has a lot of time off from her job as concierge at the President's Quarters Inn, so she was able to get there early this week. And I did a tour at BC in the freezing cold (about 55) on Sunday instead of sitting my my comfy condo watching the playoffs.

Donna, Lisa and I are all on diets. Donna has been making herself homemade soup and frittatas. Lisa has been walking five miles a day. I have been eating yogurt and lean cuisine and sitting in front of my tv. No home cooking or exercise for me! This won't last.

And, since it's such a slow week, I can only add one photo. Eat your hearts out, NYS.

1/4/2015

Weekly Update 1/4/2015

HAPPY 2015!!!

I began this week in my typical style - didn't leave the condo all day Monday. But, it picked up after that.

It has been incredibly busy at DH. I think they are trying to get as many people through as possible because revenue is a little in question for January as the museum may have to close for a time because the wallpaper in the hall is going to be replaced, and that will be quite a project. So, there were two busloads of tourists on Tuesday. I went in to give additional tours. It was difficult as there were four or five tours going through the house at one time, instead of just one. I had to begin in a different room, and there was no time downstairs to give my introductory spiel. But, I did what I could.

And after that, I went to the Mall. Okay, not my favorite thing to do, but I've been putting off buying a new camera since I dropped my little point-and-shoot in October. I went to the appliance store that I've always gone to, and was really disappointed in the selection. I think because everyone today uses their phone as a camera, and there's not much point to having a large inventory of cheap cameras in stock. There was a small specialty shop hidden away in the corner of this strip plaza, so I went in there, hoping they could help me. I gave them the list of things I needed (which included a cost of under $100), and they had it - in fact, it is an updated model of the same Canon that I've used and loved for so long - swine camera. They also had an exhibit of old camera - many Kodaks. So as I was paying for my new one with my Rochester & Monroe County Credit Union VISA card, the sales lady and I reminisced about the “good old days” when Kodak was big in Rochester.

Then, because the Verizon Store on Abercorn is larger than the one I usually go to, I decided I'd go in - JUST TO ASK - about an iPad. One hour later, I'm the proud new owner of an Apple iPad Air. What a great toy this is. I'm certainly enjoying it, but I'll let you know when I get the first bill. I got pretty confused, but I think I’ll pay not much more than I pay now for the phone. I had a little trouble linking to the mobile hotspot that I've used to get this blog published, but after a trip to the service center, and a phone call to the customer support group, and an email to Dave Winkler, I was able to figure it out. I \appear to be back in business; it just took me some extra time to get here. 

 

Wednesday, I had the most active New Year's Eve I've had in a very long time. For years, I’ve sat home, watched tv, drank champagne. Even before I was alone, New Years was not a big celebration - party animals we were not. But this year I just felt like pretending that I’m young, and I went out. I started at 17 Hundred 90 with Donna and Helen for a glass of wine. From there, the three of us walked to Billy's, a new restaurant that we'd heard good things about. It was open, but not to sit at the bar - there was a prix fix menu, and we wanted to spend neither the time nor the money for that. We parted. I was going to meet Dave & Lisa later, and I had about an hour to kill. I didn't want to go to another bar because two beers is about my limit, and I knew I was going to be over that. So I went to a little coffee shop near Leopold's. I ordered a nice latte and sat down to play on my iPad. There was a 20-something at the counter, too, and I explained that I have a new toy and was just starting to get used to it. I asked if he could help me with a few things, and he was very willing. We chatted - “where are you from” “do you live downtown”, the usual things you talk about in Savannah - until I had to leave. I met the Winklers at Juarez and we had Mexican for our New Years Eve feast. We had planned to go from there to City Market, but I'd never been to Abe's on Lincoln, and wanted to see what it was like. We all enjoyed a Guinness there. (Once I was in there, I think this might be the second time in my life I'd been there. It looked vaguely similar to a bar Jan and I Had been in when we were tourist in 2007 - small, old, pub-ish. I can't remember my children's names most days, but I remember a bar I was in one time long ago?) From there, we wandered over to The Rail, where a very good singer Danielle Hicks, was performing. She’s young, gorgeous, and had a great voice - reminded me of listening to Juliet Lloyd in years past. Lisa & Dave wanted to stay for the fireworks, but I was nervous about driving back out to Whitemarsh Island, so I left downtown before midnight. I was just pulling into the gates at the entrance of the condo when midnight arrived. HAPPY NEW YEAR.

started out at 17 Hundred 90

moved to Abe's on Lincoln

then for just a minute to watch the Orange Bowl outside at City Market

ending up at The Rail to listen to Danielle Hicks

 

On New Year's day, I had been invited to Sylvia & Charles' house to watch the Rose Bowl. It was a pretty lame game, but the food and company was good. She cooked a traditional Southern new year's day meal - roast chicken, collard greens (something green to grant lots of money in the new year) and hoppin' john (black eyed peas for good luck).

Friday I was back at DH for my afternoon tours. They were crowded. As I was giving my last tour of the afternoon, I looked around at the wallpaper and thought to myself that this would be the last time I would see the brick patterned paper on the hallway walls. Although it's been planned for a long time to replace it, I guess I never really thought that it would suddenly be next week! So I asked and was granted permission to take a couple of photos to remember it by. 

a close up of the wall paper

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Donna unexpectedly met me in the gift shop when I was finished, and from there we went to the Gutstein Gallery where a few of Suzy's woven wall hanging were on display. I've been meaning to do that, but haven't, and now the exhibit is nearly over. After that, we went to 17 Hundred 90 for a drink. And, then to Billy's Place, since we weren't able to get in on New Year's Eve. We had another drink - a brown russian, amazingly tasty - and I had lobster bisque. It was great. Donna had planned to meet Connie at 17 Hundred 90 after 8, so we went back there again. This time I had a glass of water. 

Suzy's woven wall hangings on display

 

On Saturday, I met Beth to see Into the Woods. It was ok, and I liked Meryl Streep (although she is no Bernadette Peters!). But I didn't like that the reprise of the Agony song by the princes was left out and that Milky White was a real cow. In the musicals I've seen, Milky White was a wonderful parody of a cow, and a hit in the show, and the second duet by the princes was so much fun. Whatever. I was happy to spend some time with Beth, and Anne Nedd joined us. I pretty much knew the movie would not measure up to the live production, but I wanted to see it anyway.

And of course, there was the football. Good win, Panthers, but since the Cardinals were really beat up with injuries, that was not too much of a surprise. I was delighted the Big Ben and the Steelers have been ousted. Sunday, the football was not good. I was hoping that the Bengals would go far, and of course, I didn't want to the Cowboys to win. So, now that the Bills and the Lions are both gone, who is there left for me to cheer for? I guess I'll wait til next year.

On the plus side, Downton Abbey began it's 5th season. Not many surprises in the first episode, but I think they needed to remind us of what was going on in everyone's life. But I'm glad it's back.