1/31/2016

Weekly Update 1/31/2016

I did not do much this week. There was a meeting and lecture at the Savannah Victorian Society on Tuesday that Donna and I attended. It was OK. And the lunch bunch met at Treylor Park on Thursday. That was great - good food, good company.

I did a little more updating around the condo. I sealed the stone floor tiles in the foyer myself. I hired a handyman to install the weather strip under the door to the outside. I went to a floor shop to inquire about vinyl for the kitchen and he's coming on Monday to measure and give me an estimate. I'll see how that goes.

I watched of lot of tennis. I was even up in the early morning hours to watch all of the women's final. I tried to watch the men's final too, but only made it through the first two sets, and fell asleep during the final set. I got to see Djokovic kiss the hard court after he won, but who cares.

Friday, I couldn't decide if I should go to The 90 after DH, because I was tired. I decided one little glass of wine would do me worlds of good, so I went. Donna and I would have stayed for dinner, but there were no tables available, so we may do that next Friday.

Saturday, I was pretty busy. I had to open BC, and then go back later because James forgot his key to lock up; I took my key to him. The annual Girl Scout Tea was held that afternoon, and Donna, Lisa and I all went. Lisa still has her sash with all her badges on them. I don't know (and I don't really care) where mine ever went. I only remember that Ishy and I would choose which badge to try to earn depended on how pretty the badge was. And because we were too lazy to sew the badges to the sash (didn't we earn a sewing badge, so this would have been required?), we used some sort of glue to affix them to the sash. What a mess! And in the evening, I met Dave and Lisa at Churchill's Pub for Guinness and supper. That was great. 

 

1/24/2016

Weekly Update 1/24/2016

I had visitors from Rochester this week. Vicki Bordanaro and her boyfriend, Mark, visited for a few days. It was wonderful to have them here, and they were easy - they had a rental car and pretty much did whatever they wanted on their own. Monday, however, I did go with them to the historic district. It was a failed attempt at showing off my delightful tourist city as it was the holiday, and I forgot (retired people without any 3-day weekends tend to forget holidays) and streets were blocked off for the parade and the trolleys weren’t running. We were able to walk around a bit and we went to the Crystal Beer Parlor for a nice lunch. The trolleys started up again in the afternoon, so they stayed downtown to take a tour while I went home. They have a friend of Mark's who lives here in Savannah, and they spent quite a bit of time sight-seeing with Pat. Pat is a manager of B Matthews, a well-known restaurant on Bay Street. And since he's a lot younger than I am, he had better suggestions about what Vicki and Mark would enjoy. My guests left on Wednesday, so while it was a quick visit, I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

 

a selfie

The Massie Heritage Center held their annual meeting on Thursday evening. It included a report of membership, finances and activities, as well as some good snacks. The lecture was by Dr Robin Williams, professor of architecture and preservation at SCAD. It was very interesting. I thought he looked familiar, but I couldn't place him. It occurred to me later that he was the leader of the SCAD group I had taken through DH a while ago, when I locked one of his students in the attic. I guess it's good that I didn't speak to him and remind him of my incompetence. 

Dr Williams at the Massie Heritage Center

Friday I was back at DH and The 90. It was raining most of the day, residual effects of Jonah, I think, so not many tourists came to the museum. There were a lot of people trying to stay out of the weather at the bar, however, and it was pretty crowded for being off-season! It's the first I’ve been there in several weeks, but it was like riding a bike - I didn't forget. Then, I went to the amazing SCT production of Spamalot. What a great job they did - again! But this performance had far fewer young kids than I'm used to seeing in the show.

King Arthur and his knights, looking for their Grail

 

Saturday morning I was surprised when I received an email, 2 text messages and a phone call alerting me to the fact that it was SNOWING. Well, snowing in Savannah is not the same as snowing in New York! I looked out quickly and took a photo, but it was all over in less than 10 minutes. That's the kind of snow storm I like!

this is what snow looks like in Savannah

I enjoyed a wonderful brunch at B Matthews with Kay and Lisa on Sunday morning. Vicki and Mark had given me a gift card for that restaurant, and I was lucky to able to treat two of my good friends to a nice breakfast. I was back to the condo just before kick off, and watched the championship games. I also watched a little tennis.

1/17/2016

Weekly Update 1/17/2016

This week began with a very busy Monday. I had been invited to a guided tour of the Mighty Eighth Museum as a member of CMA (Coastal Museum Assoc). I made reservations for myself and a guest (Donna), and on Monday we did that. The Mighty 8th Division of the Air Force was started in Savannah in the early part of 1942 and is still active today. It was involved in heavy bombing missions aimed at destroying factories and bases in Germany, many which set off from airfields in England, during WWII. There are pictures, stories, videos, airplanes, and displays of all sorts that tell the story of the units sacrifices and victories during the War. It is very interesting, and a grim reminder that Freedom is not Free. Following that, we stopped at a good fried chicken place that Donna had seen on a cooking show on TV. It was very tasty. Then, I went to the library for adult coloring time. I had experienced this a few weeks ago at the Tybee branch Library, but since this was going to be at my home library, I decided to try it again. It's supposed to be relaxing and calming, but I found that I spent a lot of time comparing my creations to those of the others participating, and I came up short - I'm NOT an artist! Back home, I had just settled into working to get my VISA card straightened out, when Anne and Suzy knocked at my door and encouraged me to go for a walk with them. I didn't want to go, but I did. And then, to end the day, I met with some friends at Kevin Barry's Pub on River Street to have dinner and listen to the entertaining Harry O'Donoghue. He has a wonderful voice and very funny banter. We all enjoyed it. 

the tour guide at the Mighty 8th Museum

my creation, started at the library, finished at home using my gift  markers

Harry O'Donoghue at Kevin Barry's

 

I did get my VISA canceled this week, and I also received a new one in the mail. I was disappointed that no one either at the bank or the VISA center could tell me what had happened - was it an on-line issue? a hacker with a “big box” store? something with a small local vendor? I wish I knew because I might be better able to protect myself from having this happen again. I was able to find out that there had been no unauthorized purchases using my card, so that's good.

I was having a little bit of trouble finding a person or team to install the tiles I'd purchased for my foyer. I was given a name, but that didn't work out and I spend a few days waiting for returned phone calls and messages that never came. I finally found someone else, and on Thursday, two kids not older than 12 showed up to do the work. I think they did a great job, and I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Of course, anything will look good when it's new. I'll give it a little while, and then if I'm still happy, I may think about replacing the kitchen floor, which now will look even shabbier compared to the entrance. 

this is why I needed to replace the floor - it was curling away from the the door and looked terrible

now it's much improved

I'm back to my normal routine this week after taking some time off during the holidays. On Wednesday, I attended a lecture at TLC about Savannah Architecture. It was informative and interesting. In the evening, I went to June and Jimmy's for Rummikub. On Thursday I was back at The Rail with Lisa and Dave.

Friday I had a break from DH. They were closed this week for cleaning, so I didn't have to give those tours. Instead, I tackled another Thing I Need To Do - I made reservations for Allen and myself to travel to Europe next fall. We'd been talking about this for a while, but now it's for sure as we are booked to travel in October. We'll be taking a Viking River Cruise on the Rhine River. 

from Amsterdam to Basil Switzerland

 

I gave a tour at BC on Sunday afternoon. It was for a group of about 20 students at Auburn University. To my surprise, at the end of the tour, they presented me with a basket of “goodies” from local shops near the university. I've been offered tips before, but never a full basket of stuff. I don't know if I can legally accept this, but the kids were so cute and sincere, I thanked them and accepted the gift. I'll take it to the next BHS board meeting. 

how cool is this???

Then I waited for friends Vicki and Mark to arrive.  They will be spending a few days here in Savannah, and they are staying at my condo.  I wasn't sure when they would get here, but that was ok, as I was watching the playoff games for most of the afternoon anyway.

1/10/2016

Weekly Update 1/10/2016

I'd been putting off a lot of little errands that I needed to get to. But the holidays got so busy - who ever would have thought I'd spend so much time in my kitchen? - that I just didn't get to them. So this week:

I contacted the Management at the condo development about some peeling veneers in my building. Nothing big, and not a danger, but it doesn't look as if the property is maintained if these things are not tended to.

I went to Staples to buy stationary items that I'd depleted when I made my Christmas cards. This is probably the last year I'll send holiday greetings, as I'm all out of ideas. But I needed card stock paper, envelopes, business card sheets and the little clips I use to keep my bills together when I close the financial year. I found everything except the envelopes. I haven't been able to find them in the last several times I've gone in there to look, so I complained as I checked out. The clerk helped me order exactly what I wanted, and it would be delivered to my door (it arrived the very next day) and it was $5 cheaper than on the shelf!

My car blinker has been malfunctioning. I think the directionals themselves are working, but the blinker inside the car made a funny noise. So I made an appointment to go to the VW repair shop to have the wiring checked. As soon as I made that appointment, the noise stopped. I went out there anyway to have them check to see if all my blinkers were flashing properly, and they were. But only until Sunday, when the noise began again. I don't know how fast I'll drive out to the repair shop again to have it checked into; it might be better to just make the appointment and then the car will work by magic!

The sheet of linoleum (or whatever it is) in my foyer has been awful. (The kitchen floor is bad as well, but I'll put that off for another day). The plastic is curling where it meets the door, probably because when the outside hallway is power washed, some water seeps through and is damaging inside my condo. So I finally went to the floor store to buy some ceramic tiles to replace it. I will have to try to find someone to install it for me, but at least I've started the repair. And then, because I think I need to fix the gap at the bottom of the door, not only because of water, but also for heat and cool air loss and entry for bugs, I bought a weather strip. I'll install that myself after the tile is in place.

I got a haircut. My New Year's resolution is to try to look less frumpy. Not an easy task. While it's impossible for me to lose weight or stick to a diet, I decided to try other ways to meet this goal. I started with buying new jeans. The pair I wear the most were threadbare in the thighs (this ever happen to you?) so I bought new ones that I hope will look better because I live in jeans. And I had my hair trimmed. I was disappointed because I went to Great Clips, which was cheap, and I got what I paid for. I needed to trim a little more once I was home to even things up. If I have to do that, I think I can cut my own hair next time.

Rummikub at June and Jimmy's started again as an every Wednesday event. We took a time out for the month of December when there was so much else going on, but we're back now.

I sent a complaint to the Post Office. I had a few things to complain about, but I only wrote about one. A Christmas card that was mailed to me was returned to sender, with the memo that it was undeliverable and unable to forward. Marcia emailed me to find out what my correct address was, and she had it right. She re-sent the card in another envelop, so I had both to make copies of and send to the Post Master, asking why, with the addresses the same, one would have been returned. Good Luck getting an answer. But another one was, when I sent the meager packages to New York, I mailed them on December 10. I paid for 2-day delivery. As far as I know, neither arrived until December 23. And for the last thing, Ishy and I both sent cards to someone in Florida at the same address. Ishy's was returned to her, but mine never was, so I'm left thinking that everything is ok but they, for whatever reason, didn't reply. Why one but not the other? Government, I suppose - they don't care; they don't have to.

And lastly, I took the Buffalo Bills license plate off the front of my car. The season is over, so I don't need that any longer.

So, it's just been a week of getting caught up. I'm exhausted.

Monday started off with a New Years celebration at the Community Center and Book Club. 

Donna enjoys the Community Center more than I do - she goes to exercise class (yuck) and movies (on Fridays when I'm at DH). I used to go to bingo there, but haven't been in ages. Donna got two tickets for this event, so we went together. There was a meal and entertainment. Most of the people attending are residents at Summer Breeze, a senior facility on Wilmington Island, and that kitchen catered the meal. It was pot roast, and quite tasty. Good to know! The entertainment was a singer who was lively and sang standards. I think I was the only person who did not sing along. These people, some (myself included) who have trouble remembering family members names, knew every lyric.

I was back at DH on Friday, after a few weeks off. The museum was closed on both Christmas Day and New Years Day, which were both Fridays. I'm going to have next week off, as well, because it will be closed for cleaning. This week, after the museum closed, there was a reception for retiring head shop keeper, Ben Head. Good Luck, Ben!

I was notified that my VISA card was “compromised” and would be cut off on January19 if I didn't do it sooner and that a new card would be mailed to me. Crap. I have several auto-payments set up that are charged to my credit card. Another problem here is that there is sign at my mail center that gave a warning that some mailboxes were being “tampered with”. I don't know what that means, but it can't be good. Along with a new credit card that I'm expecting, I am also waiting tax documents, year end investment statements, and other financial documents that I really don't want anyone else to have access to. Well, Wilma, welcome to the digital age, where everything is available to everyone. I spent a lot of time canceling payment options and switching to having the fees deducted from my checking, not my credit card. I don't know if that's more secure, but I don't know what else to do. I also tried to look at my credit card statement online, but couldn't get in. I'll have to continue next week to see if anything has been charged that I don't recognize.

And, finally – what's with the playoffs? Do teams actually NOT want to go to the Super Bowl? The Texans couldn't score any points at all against the Chiefs. The Bengals gave the game to the Steelers with a stupid, preventable personal foul penalty. The Vikings missed at 27-yard Field Goal for the win.

1/3/2016

Weekly Update 1/3/2016

I didn't do much this week, the after-Christmas let down, I suppose.

It was incredibly hot and muggy all week. I almost turned my a/c back on, but since it's December, I thought that was something I didn't really need to do. Between the humidity, the loading up on sweets, and the increased holiday drinking, I suffered.

In an attempt to get rid of some of the millions of cookies I still had in my freezer, I invited some neighbors over on Monday evening. I didn't get rid of nearly as many as I had hoped (they are all gone now, but because I ate them). Thursday, I had been invited to June and Jimmy's condo for New Year's Eve. What a wonderful spread she prepared! Everything was very tasty, and it was great to be with those friends at the end of 2015. I put all my Christmas decorations back in the box (except the nutcrackers - I'll leave those out for a few more weeks) and got out the “winter” stuff. I also moved Audrey back into the sunroom - I don't think she was happy in the guest bedroom. It was really nice that I didn't have to go around and unplug the electric candles that I have in all the windows before going to bed at night.

June and Donna on New Year's Eve

Audrey, returned to her favorite spot

I received a little booklet of Rachel's senior pictures. This was my favorite, although it was really hard to choose, they were all so good. Isn't she lovely!