5/31/2015

Weekly Update 5/31/2015

Monday found me at the Memorial Day remembrance service at BC. There were a lot of people at the event, and it was a wonderful spring day. There were five WWII Veterans who were able to attend; I don't know if that's less than last year or not. Although I have a lot of trouble with saying prayers and pledging to the flag (each side in any conflict thinks God Is On Our Side, and Liberty And Justice For All is untrue), I feels its important to honor those who sacrificed so that I can stand with my eyes open and head raised during the priest's droning and with my hands at my sides during the pledge to the flag. It's because of those sacrifices that I can participate or not. 

 

Since I was already at BC, I opened the Visitors Center and stayed for a while to answer questions and hand out maps. I was only there for a couple of hours, and it was quite busy. As soon as there was a lull, however, I locked up and left. Without my iPod! I spent an uneasy night without it, searching frantically through the car, the condo, my bag, but didn't find it. I was sure it WASN'T at the cemetery, but when I went back the next morning, there it was.

Tuesday, I met Donna and June at the clubhouse to play Rummikub and to have a light supper. Since creating in the kitchen is not one of my favorite pastimes, I did the best I could - bacon and tomato slices on white bread strips with chive cream cheese. Tasted good, and wasn't much trouble.

Also on Tuesday, I got a text message from my brother. His grandchild had arrived! It was a tense few hours (a lot of hours, I believe) as the baby was early, in the breech position, and then delivered by c-section. But Baby Rowan Pahls is here! Congrats to all!

Wednesday started out so well. I had a leisurely morning at the pool, and finished the book I was reading (All the Light We Cannot See - I thought it was wonderful, but some at book club members didn't like it at all). Then Donna and I went downtown to the Jepson to see the Winston Churchill collection of paintings that are on loan to the gallery. It was a smaller exhibit that I had thought it would be, so it didn't take us long to go through it. We had an hour to kill before we were to meet the lunch bunch at Rocks on the Roof for drinks, so we went to the Savannah Coffee Roasters to sit in the cool air and have a cuppa. Lori, the owner of the coffee shop, is also a member of the lunch bunch group, so we chatted with her for a while. Then, back to the river to sit at the top of the Bohemian Hotel at Rocks and enjoy the company of friends and a Chatham Artillery Punch. It was so relaxing and nice - a wonderful evening, not too hot, in the shade, with a gentle breeze. 

lunch bunch women at Rocks on the Roof (and my Chatham Artillery Punch on the fire pit)

 

Then I went home. As soon as I walked in, I knew something was amiss. It was hot inside. Although I keep the a/c set at a relatively warm 75º, that temp usually feels pretty good when you walk in from the outside where it is closer to 90º. But this didn't seem that much different. I have a maintenance agreement for the heat pump, but when I called the 24-hour emergency service, or the office, I didn't get a connection. It wasn't until the next day that someone came out. By that time, I hadn't slept, it was hot inside, and I'd been waiting by the phone for hours - I was nasty. A new part was needed, and it was costly. But what I found most upsetting is that I'd had the company out twice this spring - once for the semi-annual check up and once because there seemed to be water pooling around the unit. The second time, I complained about a screeching noise that drove me crazy several times a day. But the technician assured me that it was only the tubes expanding as the a/c came on automatically. Well, I haven't heard that noise since the new part has been installed, so I'm thinking (I’m not a rocket scientist, but I can put 2 and 2 together) that it wasn't just tubes expanding, but that they should have realized that something was going on, and it could have saved me a miserable 24 hours if it had been caught.

So, I was pissed off and skipped a very nice lecture at the GHS that I should have attended. I just didn't feel like it. All Thursday I sat waiting for the a/c man, or enjoying that it was cool in there again.

Friday, Donna drove downtown with me when I went to DH. She was going to walk around while I did my tours, and then we would go to 17 Hundred 90. She was a little early, and joined my last tour. When we were upstairs, she asked a question about Isaiah Davenport, and I said to her “Weren't you listening? I explained this at the start of the tour!” One of the tourists in the group stared at me with a look of horror, and I explained that Donna was my friend. They all laughed, but said they weren't going to ask me any questions so I wouldn't bite their heads off. Maybe I'll be fired. Then we had a nice drink, and chatted with friends at 17 Hundred.

I was supposed to meet Kay to walk at Forsyth Park on Sunday, but it was raining very hard when it was time for me to go. I thought about canceling, but decided to go anyway - it might not be raining there, and if it was, we could still go for coffee. But when I got downtown, it had stopped, so we did get a chance to walk and visit. We also stopped for iced tea at a nice little coffee shop that I hadn't known about before. In the evening, DH had a Volunteer Recognition event in the garden, so I dragged Donna along with me to attend. It's surprising how many people I don't know who volunteer there. I guess that if I'm only there for a few hours a week, and I just give tours, there isn't much opportunity to see other docents. This was a nice chance to see some of the ones I do know, and to meet some of the others. 

reception in the garden at DH