4/19/2015

Weekly Update 4/19/2015

This was a very busy week for me. In addition to my normal duties at DH and BC, I also had a special tour at BC, saved all my photos to a flash drive (that took almost the entire day Monday), went to the pool (OK - not so busy), joined friends from Rochester in Charleston, had a couple of lunches that I enjoyed, attended an Georgia Historical Society marker dedication, and went to a Philharmonic concert in the evening.

I had several things I needed to do on Monday and Tuesday, and I met my goals. I went to the tag office and renewed my Georgia license plates and auto registration for another year (the terror of renewing my drivers license is looming, as it's been 5 years since I first was issued the license. Since I'm very old, I need to renew with about 4 million pieces of ID and an eye test. I'm putting that off). I ordered a gift for the baby shower in Missouri for my niece Diane (a KC Royals infant set) and had that shipped. I bought a flash drive and transferred almost 5 years of photos, and then stored the drive in my fire box (no more Kodak gallery nonsense when I lost thousands photos, never to be recovered). I finished reading my book. (I actually read two books this week, neither of which was really very good). I sat by the pool for a while to go for a swim and work at my tan. It rained most of the rest of the week, so I was glad I was able to get there while I could.

Also on Tuesday, I had a text message from Mabel and Vicki, friends from Rochester. They were in Myrtle Beach, SC, and wanted to know if I'd be able to drive up to meet them in Charleston for a day. I can do that! So I set the alarm and got up very early Wednesday morning. They had a little car trouble, so I had some time to wander around the area near the Visitors Center to do a little lone sight-seeing before actually meeting up with them. (I often complain about the cell phone, but in this case, I was so glad that we each had a way to communicate. If I hadn't know that they were held up for an hour or so because of a bad tire, I would have panicked and imagined the worst. So I guess sometimes, phones are ok). We took a guided mini-van tour around the city, and then had a harbor tour on a boat past Fort Sumter and the Ravenel Bridge. It was cool and windy, but it was fine for touring. We ate at Hyman's Seafood, which is very famous, and I was lucky enough to sit at a table where Martin Sheen had been seated when he ate there years ago. Oh, Jed Bartlett - I miss you! It was really great to visit with Mabel and Vicki, and I'm so glad they contacted me. The drive home, of course, was terrorizing for me - it was dark and rainy, but I sucked it up and made it all the way back to the safety of my little home just fine. 

the choppy water of the Ashley River as the waves are blown along the Battery

Fort Sumter

 

Thursday was a Lunch Bunch outing. We had all been invited to the house of one of the “girls” in the group. Her house was only a block from where I lived when I first moved to Savannah. I was in a furnished carriage house house near Ardsley Park, and Caroline's house was very similar. She has remodeled, and everything is wonderful. The food and company was great too. 

Caroline's House on East 40th Street

the delicious lunch Caroline made for us

 

I met Lisa and Dave at The Rail that evening. I was supposed to go to a Girls Night Out Benefit for DH, but Lisa & Dave will be going to UK soon, and I'm running out of opportunities to meet them on Thursdays at The Rail.

Friday, there was a dedication of the Catholic Diocese Pastoral Center, and also an unveiling of the Georgia Historical Society marker at the building. Because I belong to the Society, I had an invitation. This is a huge building on Victory Drive that I've driven past many many times since I've moved here, and it's always been closed and the driveways have been blocked off. I was interested to see what has been done. It originally had been a Catholic orphanage for girls, but it closed in 2010. It was renovated and now holds offices, conference rooms, and a library for the Church as well as the renovated chapel from the orphanage. I was able to get inside, and along with seeing the lovely chapel, there were some old photographs in one of the conference rooms. Some of the people attending the dedication ceremonies had been Sisters of Mercy, working at the orphanage and school, or orphans or students themselves. There was a lot of reminiscing going on around me as I waited for the program to begin. It was very interesting. 

The Pastoral Center

the GHS historical marker at the site

the windows all told pictures of children. I liked this one because it reminded me very much of the window that was donated to the Church of the Master in honor of my Grandmother in 1956 - Jesus with the little children

 

Saturday, I had to open BC, and then be at the visitor center in the afternoon. But first I FINALLY met Beth for lunch. I've been trying to get together with her for a long time. Since Chuck, her husband, had a major stroke last fall, it's been difficult. He was back in the hospital this week, and Memorial is a lot closer to me than their home in Springfield. After several missed texts and slow emails and voice mails, I was finally able to see her for lunch. She's had a difficult few months, and it was good to see her and connect again. And in the evening, I went downtown to a Philharmonic concert at the fabulous Lucas Theatre. The musicians played music from famous movies - My Fair Lady, The James bond series, Dreamed a Dream from Les Miz, and (my favorite) an encore of Don't Cry for Me Argentina. I don't like to drive after dark, I don't like to go to concerts alone, but I really enjoy the Savannah Orchestra, so it’s often worth it to me to put some fears aside and just enjoy the performance.

Sunday started off well. I got up and went to unlock BC, then back home to relax and read until it was time to go back to lock up again at 4. But, I had a phone call, which I missed because I was in the other room and I can't hear the phone ring, telling me that both of the afternoon people who were to be at the Visitor Center had not shown up, and requesting my help. I didn't get the message for an hour, and by the time I actually showed up at the Visitor Center, one of the afternoon volunteers was there. He was quite frazzled, however, as the center was full of people wanting maps and asking questions. One lady was demanding that he help her locate her auntie's grave site. I was able to help her, although the only info she could give me was that there were camellia bushes on the plot (probably 5,000 plots have camellias on them, so that wasn't a lot of help). But with the grave site locator software, we were able to find the plot, and she was grateful. Then I stayed to help until the 4 pm closing. When I opened the donation box, there was so much money in there, it took me a while to drag everything that was caught in the box out. While there's usually about $200-$300 collected each week; today there was over $800 - all in small bills and coins! It took almost an hour to count and total it all up. It began to storm while I was counting the money, and when I locked up and left, it was pouring. The gate to the parking lot where I'd left the car was locked, but the main gates were still open. I had to walk all the way around, in the pouring rain, to get to my car, and I just made it out before the crew came to lock the main gates. At least when I got home, there was a nice bottle of cheap wine waiting!