11/29/2015

Weekly Update 11/29/2015

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I did! I didn't do much in the early part of the week; I was resting for feast day.

On Thursday, I was invited to June and Jimmy's. June is an excellent cook - she used to own a catering business. I contributed a loaf of pumpkin bread and a green bean casserole that I bought in the Publix deli. June did all the rest - mashed potatoes and gravy, a 16-pound turkey (for the 3 of us), corn, sweet potato casserole, stuffing, collard greens, dinner rolls, and two kinds of cranberry. And that isn't counting dessert! which was coconut tart, pecan pie, and pumpkin cake. I did not leave that table hungry!

June and the turkey

the bountiful table

 

Friday was a beautiful day - sunny, temps in the 70s. I'd been inside all week, so I thought I'd get out. I went to Old Fort Jackson again (you know, I've spent hundreds of dollars over the years for membership, so I should go when I get a chance and they have a special program). They were having a Century of Sentries program for the entire weekend. Unlike a couple of weeks ago when I went with Jan and Gerry, there were other visitors today. The docents are knowledgeable and are very interested in educating the children that visit. 

giving a talk

firing the weapons

 

Saturday evening, I did something I never do - I cooked a meal and invited
Dave, Lisa and Kay over for “game night”. Kay wasn't feeling well, so she wasn't able to join us, and Donna is still away from Savannah. Or perhaps the idea of eating anything I would make was making people sick or making them stay away, who knows? But Dave and Lisa, brave souls that they are, came over. We had dinner and played a couple of games. It went well, except that Dave used all his tiles on his very first move in Scrabble (and he did it again later in the game, too!) so Lisa and I were playing catch up and were never able to equal his vocabulary. It was all in good fun, though. 

good friends, games and m&m/s - what's not to like?

 

I was back at Coach's for the games this afternoon. It's been a few weeks since I've gone there. Between the tours at Bonaventure and the Thursday night and Monday night games the Bills have played recently, I haven't been to the sports bar to watch. I wish I hadn't gone today! I was texting not only with Brian and Allen, but my brother, who lives in KC, got into it too. Is anyone else tired of saying “maybe next year” year after year, and again this year?

11/22/2015

Weekly Update 11/22/2015

Sometimes, I have no problem eating well. And then there are the other times, when I feel like a steam shovel, and can't seem to put enough in my mouth. Same with walking. There are times when I actually want to get out and walk. But other times it's so hard to open the front door and put one foot in front of the other. Am I alone in this? or does this happen to everyone? This has been a week of eating everything in sight and not being motivated to get outside. I hope the pendulum swings back the other way soon. Probably not until after all these holidays are finished, though.

Are you all tired of reading what history lecture I went to this week yet? It seems as if I do a lot of that. This week, one was the DH fall lecture series. The talk was about the canal craze that followed to opening of the Erie Canal in New York in 1825. In Georgia, the business investors were not immune to the lure of money to be made by easy transportation of goods, and canals were built throughout the state. None, however, had the success of the canal in New York, and railroads quickly surpassed them as a way of moving goods and products. Having grown up close to the Erie Canal, I was not impressed by the little ditches in Georgia. On Thursday, I went to the Telfair Gallery (not to be confused with the Jepson) for what I believed was going to be a talk about the large painting there, The Black Prince. I had hoped it would be about the painting itself, or the story about the Edward of Woodstock. But it was about armor and the parallels of the armor in Medieval times to the armor in the Batman movies. Yuck! And for that I was late for the Jeff Work birthday party at the exhibit Suzy has put together. 

 

the Black Prince, by Julian Russell Story

I had a couple of service problems this week. The right blinker on my car has been making a funny sound for a couple of weeks. So, I finally decided I'd better get it looked at. I made an appointment with my friends at the Goodyear center, and took the car in on Monday morning. To my amazement, they said the blinkers were working and that there must be a short on the turn switch. No charge! As long as my directionals are working, and other drivers have a clue when I'm about to make a turn or change lanes, I guess I'm good. I'll take the car to the VW shop “someday” to have the wires checked, but not right now. Then, early one morning, my tv went blank. If only Comcast were as easy to work with as my mechanics, but it's a different story with them. I talked to someone in Bangladesh or Central America who wanted to be sure I was having a good day, but was a little less interested in fixing my tv. (Don't you love the ads on tv where you call customer service and get Jake at State Farm, or some beautiful young girl who is all smiles and reassures you that Dish Network is only $29 for 2 years? Young, attractive, intelligent, American reps? REALLY???) Finally, after nearly a half hour, she sent a “refresh” signal to that cable box and I was back in business. I dunno, but maybe that would be the first thing to try - to “refresh”? Whatever. 

 

Friday was DH, of course, and then The 90. I don't have to be at DH next Friday, so I'll not be downtown the day after Thanksgiving. Although Donna isn't back in Savannah yet, I went for a quick drink this week and to wish Martha and others a happy Turkey Day. It's amazing how many people I know there, even when I go by myself. I didn't stay for too long, and went home. I unsuccessfully tried to talk myself out of going to see the movie Rosewald. It was only going to be playing on this one day, so if I wanted to see it, this was my chance - I went back out in the evening to see it. Just like the Peanuts movie last week, this would have made a wonderful PBS American Experience, but it was not so good as a movie I had to pay to see. I knew most of the story already, so I only learned a little by watching the film. 

poster for Rosenwald, "the remarkable story of a Jewish partnership with African American communities"

 

Saturday, I had to open BC, but I didn't have to stay. I stopped at the Walmart on my way back home and picked up some paint samples. I've been meaning to paint my sunroom for a while, to try to make it look a little more as if it's a separate room, not an extension of the living area. There's nothing going on for a few days, I’m able to have the windows open for ventilation, and there's a few entertainment adventures for me in the near future, so now's the time. I chose a color that was nearly the same as the brown shade that has always been on one wall there, hoping that it would match closely enough that I wouldn't have to paint the wall in the dining room, too (and I did ok with that, because once I was done in the sunroom, the last thing I wanted to do was move all the dining room furniture and climb the step stool to paint that wall, too!) As soon as I started, I knew I'd made a mistake. I'm too old for this now - getting on step stool and reaching to high places, using muscles I haven't used in years. Once started, though, what could I do? So I worked all Saturday to get it done, and finished cleaning up Sunday morning. I don't know if I like it - it didn't change much - but I'm glad it's done. 

before

after

during

 

11/15/2015

Weekly Update 11/15/2015

To start, I want to express my sorrow and anger at the events in Paris. I won't rant on and on, but I feel this deeply.

I began the week by going to the movies. It was a real spur-of-the-moment decision, but because it was rainy and cold again on Monday, and because I knew I was going to have a busy week ahead of me, I thought I would like to treat myself to the Peanuts Movie. It was a nice little story, and would have made a wonderful tv special, but for a movie, it was pretty bad, and I regretted spending money to see it. The movie cineplex was halfway to the lecture I was to attend late that afternoon, so I continued on after seeing the film to a church on Skidaway Island where the lecture, which was about the sinking of the Lusitania, was to take place. It was very interesting to me since I'd just finished reading Dead Wake by Erik Larson. The author will be at the Book Fest, so I wanted to read at least one of his books. I liked this one so much, I will probably read another before the festival comes in February. 

 

Jan Waggoner and her friend (who is now my friend as well), Gerry Beader, drove over to Savannah from Gulf Shores AL to spend a few days with me here. Since it's a 9 hour drive, I had most of the day to prepare - clean, laundry, shop. I also had a chance to meet the Lunch Bunch at the Wright Square Cafe. I had the soup of the day which was mushroom, brie & Madeira. Wonderful! Jan and Gerry arrived just after 7 pm, and we spent the evening talking and deciding what to do for the next few days. 

the lunch bunch at the Wright Square Cafe

We began Wednesday, which was Veteran's Day, at Old Fort Jackson. I had been led to believe that there were going to be talks and demonstrations because it was the holiday, but when we got there, no one was giving a talk, and there were only two other tourists! We watched the video, walked around the fort for a while, and then they were ready to tell a little about the fort and the role the fort has played in history. They also taught a little about swashbuckling, which would have been a means of combat during the War of 1812. There were no children on the tour, so when the speaker asked for volunteers to learn sword play, Jan and I raised our hands. After that, we went into the city and took the hop on hop off trolley for an overview. We hopped off at the Pirate House where we enjoyed the lunch buffet. But that was pretty much it, and for the most part, stayed on and listened to the history and stories that the drivers told as a way for tourists to get a quick lesson in some of the things that are in this city. We then drove out to Tybee Beach so Gerry could dip her toes in the Atlantic Ocean. It was getting late, and the lighthouse had closed (and none of us are able to climb to the top anyway), but we did drive around the lighthouse and Fort Screven. There was a majestic flag flying on the Tybee Lighthouse for the holiday. Impressive. We ended the day playing Rummikub with June and Jimmy. That's how I usually spend a part of my Wednesday evenings, so Jan and Gerry got a inkling of what my life is like. It was fun. 

learning to fight

Gerry and Jan at the Pirates' House

the Tybee Lighthouse with a large flag

Thursday, we decided to attend the St John's Church holiday bazaar. Because the Green-Meldrim House is the church hall as well as a historic house in Savannah - Sherman was housed there in December 1864 when he was in Savannah. It was a good chance to see the hall and the church building; they are both often closed. They also were serving lunch, as this is their big fund raiser for the year. I've been before and remembered that they serve wonderful chili, so that I got that. I suggested that they might like to take the free water taxi across the Savannah River, because it's one of my favorite things to do, and you can get some wonderful views of River Street from the other side. And then the obligatory visit to Leopold’s Ice Cream that I force every visitor to do. Since the Bills were playing the Thursday night game, and since it was an important game against a division rival, we stopped at Publix for a few things to munch on, and went back to my condo to talk until kick off. I know I bored them as we sat in front of the tv watching sports, but I NEEDED to do that. And I was glad that the Bills won!

enjoying lunch inside the Green-Meldrim House

the lovely St John's Episcopal Church

I did not give up my Friday DH duties; I felt it might be a good opportunity for Jan and Gerry to do something on their own without me hovering. Because they were interested in the Monet exhibit at the Jepson, I dropped them there before I went to park at DH. They toured that, then ate at Goose Feathers, which Jan remembered as a good place because she ate lunch with me there when she visited for the book fest a few years ago. They wandered back and met me at DH for my last tour at 4 pm, which was actually quite crowded. Following that, I forced them to go to The 90 with me because that's what I do. Many good friends of mine stopped in for a drink too, so everyone could at least say hi to Jan and Jerry.

They were up early on Saturday morning to get on the road to be able to drive as much as possible before it got dark. I decided to go to the Telfair Art Fest that was in Telfair Square. I was a little disappointed. There's not much that Rochester does better than Savannah, but the Park Avenue and the Corn Hill Arts Festivals are both bigger and better than this one. I didn't spend a lot of time at this festival.

the Telfair Art Fest

I also wanted to be downtown for guided tour that I had learned about at DH. The Coastal Museum Association has periodic learning experiences for area museums curators, directors and me (huh? how did I get in this group?) This is the first one I've done, and it was an archeological walking tour of the historic district. It began at the visitor center, and while I was waiting, it was announced that there would be a tour of the Battlefield there with Revolutionary War actors. Cool. And guess what? the leader was the same docent that had taught Jan and me to swordplay at OFJ on Wednesday. I showed him my moves, to let him know I had paid attention, and surprisingly, he remembered me. For the CMA tour, I didn't realize how much walking there would be! and it took almost two hours. I was exhausted, but it was interesting. The sites the guide took us to were all excavated in the last 25 years, with the exception of Battlefield Park, which was longer ago than that. I didn't realize that so much digging was done in Savannah in recent time. I learned a few things that I didn't know, and I learned that some of the things I do think I know have no archeological basis (there is no evidence of Union soldiers camping in Colonial Park Cemetery, and no artifacts to support that newly arrived slaves would have been kept in the storage caverns along River Street). If only I wasn't so old, and could navigate long walks better, it would have been wonderful. 

the redoubt (dirt fortification for temporary protection during a siege) at Battlefield Park

our little walking tour in Madison Square, where more evidence of the Revolutionary War battle was found

  

In the evening, the WorkArtWork exhibit opened in a downtown gallery. Jeff Work is Suzy Hokanson's, my neighbor, brother. He was an artist who died in Germany two years ago. Suzy brought many of his canvasses, sketches, and photos back to Savannah and developed this show of his works. There was a reception and a talk in which Anne Bessac, another friend who lives at MP, talked about the importance of some of the works as well as the influences and parallels to other artists' works. Suzy talked about her brother and the trials and tribulations of getting these wonderful works from Europe to Savannah. It was fascinating, even for a person such as myself who has no eye for paintings. I really enjoyed it. And I'll have other opportunities to see the exhibit again. 

the poster of the WorkArtWork exhibit

Suzy & Anne

 

Sunday, all I had to do was open BC. They had new carpeting installed just yesterday, so when I opened on Sunday, some things were missing - a lamp, our donation kiosk, the phone. But it was nothing that couldn't be worked around, so I left it all in the capable hands of the morning volunteers and went home. I settled in to watch football. I didn't go to Coach's since the Bills had already played – and won. The Jags game, which I always get to watch on tv as that's my “home team”, had the strangest ending. The Patriots game was disappointing because the Giants were leading until the last seconds of the game, but the Pats won and are still undefeated. Crap! But the Lions won. I never expected them to be able to beat the Pack, and they tried their darnest to lose. But, just like I said Thursday: it was ugly but a win is a win.

11/8/2015

Weekly Update 11/8/2015

These are actually photos I took on some of my walks at the Y last week, but I had so many other stories and pictures then, I saved these. The Y has a preschool, and I've had to share my path with a hay wagon on a few occasions. The kids are so cute - they all wave. I've never seen a mushroom quite like this - colorful and pretty. And during the Saturday morning soccer games, a wayward soccer ball or two gets sent flying into the pond. A staff member has to man a canoe for retrieval.

Monday this week I met Lisa at Foxy Loxy for coffee in the morning. We're both trying to get back into a walking routine, so she walked to this coffee house near the main library, while I drove in from Whitemarsh Island. Then we went to her house where we left the car and took a walk of about an hour around downtown. We needed to go to the events box office to purchase tickets for the Christmas Cabaret that several of us want to go to in December, so we did that. I had time for a little rest before going to library book club. I was pleased because there seemed to be more than the usual number of people (I can't say women, because Vic, our token man, is a regular) to talk about The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. I'd read it quite a while ago, and didn't remember much of it until they began the discussion. 

 

On Wednesday, I went back downtown - twice. The series on historic Savannah churches visited Independent Presbyterian Church this week. I thought I had never been inside it, but once I had my memory jogged a little, I realized I have been there maybe two times - once when I attended a service when I first moved to Savannah, and once when I attended the Anglican Compline. IPC was organized in 1755, and this is the third building for the congregation, erected in 1891 after other buildings were destroyed by a hurricane and a fire. It is notable because it is a fine example of American Church Architecture style. Ellen and Woodrow Wilson were married in the parsonage of the church in 1885 while her grandfather was the minister here. 

Independent Presbyterian Church, famous for the "feather" scene in Forrest Gump

the inside is very plain, to allow  worshipers to focus on the message, not the surroundings

 

I had planned to attend a free concert at the Ships of the Sea Museum that was to kick off the Savannah Music Fest. That museum is on MLK Blvd, on the edge of the historic district near Yamacraw, which is not a very good area. I got there more than 30 minutes ahead of time, and the parking lot was full. With the increased gun violence in Savannah, I wasn't about to leave my car on a side street, and then walk to the museum since it was dark when I got there and it would darker when the concert ended. So I just went back home without hearing the music. It's too bad that the city is going lose the support of people like me because of fear. I have not been afraid in the past, and don't really think too much of it. But there's been some very bad incidents lately, and it's spreading to the non-drug and gang parts of town. The politicians here will have to find a way to stop this, or the tourists will find safer places to visit, and old people like me will remain in the their gated community rather than venture out for an evening. 

 

Thursday evening was the Bonaventure Historical Society annual meeting. It has been held at Johnny Harris, a famous eatery here, for the past few years. They really know their fried chicken and mac and cheese! The speaker was a map-maker, Michael Karpovage. He has created a lovely, almost 3-D map of Bonaventure that will be available for sale at the Visitor Center, and he was at this meeting to promote the map. He has also done maps for other cities and areas of interest. So, imagine my surprise when his power point presentation showed a map of the Seneca Army Depot and the City of Waterloo, NY! How familiar! I talked to him after the meeting, and (since I was wearing my Buffalo Bills shirt - go figure) we talked about the Bills and the Sabres. I asked if he had added picture of the white albino deer in the Seneca Depot, and he knew exactly what I was talking about! And they are on the map! He is originally from Buffalo, but now lives in the South. Small World.

Friday was a busy, but interesting day. It began with a DH “field trip” and walking tour of the neighborhood around Columbia Square. We went inside the house directly across Habersahm St, which is for sale (it's lovely, and has a lap pool in the very private back yard and an income producing apartment in the basement for anyone who's looking to purchase an old home with modern updates in the historic district and has $1,000,000 to spend). Then we went to anew museum that has recently open, the Webb Military Museum. It is small, but has many uniforms and interesting personal items from the Revolutionary war through current times. Next, we went to a woodworking shop that specializes in restoring antiques and creating unique pieces of furniture. But, finally, we went to the Berrien House! The Berrien House is one block from DH, and has been dilapidated since I've moved here. About a year ago, a descendant of the Berrien family purchased the building and it's undergoing extensive remodeling and restoration. The outside looks totally different, and is nearly complete, but the inside is still in chaos. I've wanted to go in just to be nosy and see what going on, so this was my chance. The person who is doing the research and renovations was there to answer questions. The street level will be retail, and ther will be living quarters on the other floors. It was wonderful!

July 2013

November 2015

 

Then I did my usual DH Friday afternoon tours. Since this was the weekend of the rock and roll marathon in Savannah, we had a lot of visitors, and the tours were full. Since Donna is still in Maine, I skipped The 90 again. Instead, I went out to a church on Wilmington Island that presents a play once a year. A friend of mine, Sylvia's husband Charles, has often had a part in the production and another friend from book club used to be the director of the presentations and she is still involved but in a lesser role. The play was George Washington Slept Here by Moss Hart and George S Kaufman. It was very funny, and Charles was outstanding!

Charles, aka Uncle Stanley

 

 

Saturday, I was out and about for a short time in the day. I had the top down on the car as I ran my errands, and then left it down in the condo parking lot until time to go downtown in the late afternoon again. You know where this is going, don't you? It began to rain, so once again, I got a free inside car cleaning job. It wasn't too bad as I noticed just after the rain started, and I was able to secure the roof before it got very wet. I went to a low country boil dinner that was the kick off of the Savannah Food and Wine Fest. Donna had a ticket, but since she has been out of town, she gave it to me. Helen and I went together. I had hoped to take the ferry across the river to the convention Center where the dinner was, but it was raining, so we drove and parked there. The rain let up before we ate, which was a good thing since we were seated outside on the lawn. The tables and chairs were pretty wet, but it was a nice relief from the terribly muggy weather we’ve had lately.

Sunday, the weather changed dramatically. The temps fell, the sun exited, it was yucky. And, instead of spending a wonderful Sunday afternoon at Coach's watching the Bills beat the Dolphins, I was giving a tour in the cold and rain at BC. So, you know what kind of mood I was in when I had to go to the barbeque at the MP clubhouse when I got home again. Some wonderful people here keep on trying to create a feeling of community and they set up a picnic for this evening. Originally, it was to include swimming in the pool and grilling on the patio, but with the rain and cold, the swimming was canceled. The grill was fired up and we had some good eats. But the best thing about this gathering was that so many showed up, and that it was an interesting, diverse, friendly group. It really was nice. My only complaint was that I got there too late and someone else had already turned the tv to the soccer game. No one watched, and I wouldn't have watched the football either, because we were all too busy talking and getting to each other better. 

 

11/1/2015

Weekly Update 11/1/2015

The Lunch Bunch had an evening meeting this week, so that husbands and partners could enjoy the group. (Connie does that occasionally). We met at a downtown bar in City Market. It was “costume optional”, but Dave, Lisa and I - we all have a strange sense of humor - dressed up in our Buffalo Bills shirts and went as the Savannah Bills Fan Club. We should have worn paper bags over our heads in the traditional I-am-so-ashamed-I-don't-want-to-show-my-face symbol. 

the Savannah Buffalo Bills fan club

lunch bunch at Sorry Charlies

 

Lisa and I attended a lecture that focused on entertainments and recreations of the late 18th century in North America from a civilian perspective. It was sponsored by the Coastal Heritage Society and was one of their fall lecture series. What was great about this was that it was given by Dr Christopher Hendricks. I've heard him speak at other places - TLC, The Armstrong Lecture Series, DH, etc - and I think he's wonderful. If I know he's giving a talk someplace, I try to attend, and this time, I dragged Lisa with me. He spoke about visual arts and artists, entertaining, and dancing. He even gave a tutorial on the minuet! Lisa and I sat on our hands when he asked for volunteers, but another friend was braver than I was, and Jim got up to dance. 

the brave dance volunteers. Jim is the tall guy on the left

 

I had been asked to give a tour at BC Wednesday morning, but it was raining when I woke up, so the group canceled. That's too bad, because it turned out to be a rather nice day. I also had one of the Savannah Church tours on my calendar for the afternoon. I went early so that I could park where I didn't have to waste money in any meters (I've not been lucky with that lately), but that meant I was far from where the church was located. I put my running shoes on and decided that I would use this as an opportunity to get some exercise. The Church we visited was the First African Baptist Church, the oldest continuously meeting black congregation in North America, begun in 1773. The building was constructed in 1859, largely by slaves who constructed this building after completing their work on the plantations where they were owned. 

the First African Baptist Church

our guide, Jamal Toure.  he's another person I've heard speak on several occasions, and I enjoy listening to him

 

The event I'd waited all of October for finally arrived Saturday - the Dave and Lisa Halloween mask contest and party. My mask was really really lame - Annette Funicello, so I came in dead last in the contest. You really needed to see the whole costume, though. Dave actually carved a pumpkin and wore it on his head. Lisa and Kay both made Mardi Gras-like masks. It was fun. We played some board games, and ate a lot. I had made some mummy candy cups (and one little mummy candle), so that was my contribution. I was so happy that Dave and Lisa allowed me to answer the door to some little Trick and Treaters who came in costume to get a candy bar. They were darling! Since I haven't had anyone to hand out goodies to since I moved to Savannah, this was a great treat fo me. I loved all the little kids.

Dave, Kay, Lisa, Annette

my little craft project. I thought these were darling!

needs no explanation

 

Sunday afternoon, Lisa, Donna and I had tickets for the Celtic Woman concert at the Civic Center. Because Donna's not in town, and we couldn't find anyone who was free on Sunday, Lisa and I went by ourselves. It was a wonderful concert - I really enjoyed it. Except for the late-comers and early-departers, who think it's ok to climb over other people when the concert is still going. Rude. On the other hand, how rude is to check the NFL scores on your phone throughout the concert? And I know someone who did that.

Celtic Woman at the Civic Center - wonderful!

 

We experienced more high tides this week. I'm just fascinated.

Old Fort Jackson was closed

the road to Tybee Island was flooded