5/29/2016

Weekly Update 5/29/2016

 The French Open started on Monday. Now, let me get this straight - it is one of four major tennis tournaments in the whole year, and ESPN won't cover it. Probably didn't offer as much money as the Tennis Channel. But I don't pay for the Tennis Channel, and comcast is not going to get one more penny from me. So, I'm  not able to watch the tournament except for a few hours on the weekend. Am I happy about that? Well, no. 

 I really did very little all week. Donna and I went to lunch at a restaurant that I had heard offered a great low country boil. It was not that good. All the food seemed old and mushy - not good and fresh. But now we know. And Friday, after DH and The 90, I went to see the SCT's show, The Little Mermaid. Of course, it was wonderful! There were many little princesses in the audience, too, dressed as Ariel and other Disney princesses. I remember Sarah having that costume one Halloween, and I've seen pictures of Miranda also dressed as The Little Mermaid. And when Emily and I used to swim at the Y, we would play that she was Ariel, and I had to be Ursula. Type casting, I guess. Red Nose day was kinda fun, but since I didn't go any place, it really hardly mattered. I did add some nice photos to fb - Sarah Davenport and Little Gracie with red noses. And I had a red nose photo, too.

Flounder, Ariel & Scuttle

Ursula

Sebastian

the low country boil - it looked better than it really was

I look better than I really am, too

Just when I thought I would never have another chance to wear my poodle skirt, I was invited to a “sock hop” at a neighbor's condo. They have just installed bamboo wood floors, and didn't want all sorts of shoes walking across the new floor and perhaps leaving marks on them. So, they hosted a sock hop to show off what they had done. The floors are beautiful, and it was a fun party, although there were no other poodle skirts.

Memorial Day. It's not until Monday, but by the time another week has gone by, all those who gave their lives for America will be forgotten again. 

5/22/2016

Weekly Update 5/22/2016

I saw Sylvia a couple of times this week. Once, she called because she and Charles were going to take Millie and Rupert to the Y across the street from me, and they wanted to stop to introduce me to Rupert. They adopted Millie a while ago, but Rupert just joined their family this past weekend. I was delighted to meet him - he's a doll. On Wednesday, Sylvia called to ask if I could help her deliver Meals on Wheels, but not the kind I used to do - this is dog and cat food. They are only delivered once a month, and because of rainy weather or other obstacles, she has not been able to get together with her delivery partner. She asked me if I could help out before the poor family pets have no food. So, I said yes. That was interesting!

Sylvia, Charles, Millie & Rupert

beautiful Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

It rained quite a bit this week. I guess that was ok, since it gave me a chance to run some errands, like going out to the mall to buy more bagels. I was looking for a sundress since most of the clothes I have don't fit me any longer because I've gained too much weight. But I didn't find anything, and that's not surprising - I'm not happy looking at the sizes I need. I did a few more errands - the library, Publix, that sort of thing, and that's how I spent that rainy day.

I had some great chances to do things with Donna this week, too. We went with her friend Marci to a high-end restaurant on River Street for Happy Hour with good prices on drinks and half price hors d'oeuvres. On Friday, after The 90, Donna invited me as her guest to a Newcomers Club event at the home of one of our friends, Jan. Jan and her husband opened their lovely home to about 80 members (their home is huge, and also has a lovely yard) of the Newcomers group for drinks and appetizers. It was wonderful. On Saturday, Bobbi, Donna and I all had tickets for a fund raising event for Reed House at the Savannah Botanical Gardens. Wine, snacks and music were all set up, and we wandered around, watching artists creating wonderful paintings in the gardens. It was a lovely, warm evening, and we enjoyed strolled through, looking at all the lovely flowers and sipping Merlot. The dress code for the evening was a white linen dress and a nice hat. I'd given my Derby Day hat back to the Goodwill people after I'd worn it once, and I don't have anything white linen. I wore a tee shirt and black pull on pants. How classy! 

me, Bobbie & Donna in the gardens

an artist creating a painting, surrounded by roses

 

Friday, as I was going to Jan's party, I realized my iPod was missing. I always take to to DH because I don't wear a watch, and I can always check to see how long my tour is taking by looking at the iPod (and I also can play games between tours, always a plus). I thought it was in my purse, but it was gone. That rather ruined the good time I had hoped to have at Jan's, as I was worried about where it could be. When I got back home, I called The 90, which was the last place I remembered having it. No one had turned anything in; I knew it was gone. But after about only 30 minutes, The 90 called and said they had found it! I couldn't believe it! I was really upset that I'd lost it, and then was very happy to have it back. I've got to be more careful with my things. I've gone through this many times before, and it's such a bad feeling.

Sunday was the day after the full moon, but it was still quite impressive. Donna planned a wonderful Full Moon Experience at the pool and several of us enjoyed drinks and snacks (and the pool!) It was a lot of fun.

full moon at MP

bathing beauties - Connie, Suzy, Donna, me

5/15/2016

Weekly Update 5/15/2016

A few outings this week: Monday, I met Kay at the Crystal Beer Parlor for supper. Because she works (she's not as old as most of my friends), I don't get to see her so much, so it was a treat to have some time with her. Wednesday, I met Connie at Goose Feathers for a quick bite before I had to be at City Hall for a lecture.

Most of the the week was spent lounging at the pool. But on Wednesday, I needed to get some things done. I had signed up for a lecture at City Hall. It actually was one I'd heard before about Malcolm Maclean, who was the mayor of Savannah in the turbulent 1960's. But I wanted to hear it again. I had left the car by Forsyth Park, where parking is free, but that requires a pretty good hike to get to City Hall on Bay Street. And then a long walk back again. Since the headquarters and research library for the Georgia Historical Society are at the park, I decided this would be a good day to go in and see if I could find any information about Bacon Park. I spent a couple of hours there, but wasn't very lucky learning anything new. It was amazing, however, how transported I was back - back to my own 1960's, when I would spend entire days at the Central Library in Rochester, at a large library table in the main hall, doing research for some paper or other. I doubt that students need to do that any longer (is the Reader's Guide still published?) but I know I spent hours there. 

attending the lecture in a meeting room at City Hall

Hodgson Hall, the GHS library

 

This was that week that contained, you know, THAT day. There's few things I like better than being reminded over and over that I'm getting older, but there's nothing to be done about it. Thank you to all who send greetings or in other ways made the day ok. I didn't do anything all day - just went to the pool. The GHS annual meeting was in the evening, but since I didn't do anything else all day, it was too hard to move to get ready to go out for that, and I skipped it. 

HB, old lady

 

Saturday was a l-o-n-g day. I had to be at BC by 8:30 for a tour. I don’t usually have my eyes open at 8:30, so this was a challenge. It was also my day to sit in the Visitor Center at the cemetery in the afternoon to answer questions and hand out maps. And then in the evening, a few of my friends and I went to the live performance of Calendar Girls at the Muse Theater. I remembered the movie from several years ago, and I had enjoyed it, so when I saw this was going to be playing here, I wanted to see it. It was really good. The nudity was really a hoot, because these actors were not young girls, and some were quite (how to say it politely?) hefty. I'm embarrassed to be seen in public WITH clothes on, so how they feel about taking their clothes off is a mystery to me! But it was very funny. 

 

Here's something I don't do often, but Donna has been telling me how wonderful it is to go to the pool after dark.On Sunday, I didn't even crack the door, so I emailed her just before dark to ask if she'd be at the pool tonight. She was already there, so I made a big batch of margaritas, and headed to the pool. She is right! It is quite wonderful there after dark, and I enjoyed it!

in the pool after dark

5/8/2016

Weekly Update 5/8/2016

Another boring week, but I'm getting tanner.

I was very very upset a few weeks ago when the hanging baskets at the pool were emptied just as pool season began. Last spring, at my own expense in both time and money, I had placed fake greenery and geraniums in the baskets to add some color. And this spring, someone removed them, and I was told that there had been complaints about the faded red flowers. I was livid! But after my complaints, new plants were hung. It looks so much better!

empty baskets

this is better

 

There was a community HOA meeting this week. I was pleased with myself that my blood pressure did not skyrocket, but only raised slightly. I do not like these meetings, but need to go because if I don't, it's a big secret what went on and no minutes are ever distributed to resident/owners. I was going back and forth in my mind for a day about “I should have stood up and said this or that”, but I got over it quickly. I sometimes think it's time for me to move to The Home, to get away from some of this crap, but no place is perfect, and I''m not willing just yet to step into the unknown of The Home. So get over yourself, Wilma. It's only hanging baskets.

Two book club meetings this week. The Library club discussed A Full Life, the memoir by Jimmy Carter. For me, it was nothing new - I have always regarded President Carter as a fine man (a bad leader, but a fine man) so I was not surprised that I enjoyed the book. The MP book club read Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. I enjoyed the conversation and the insights that the others shared about the book. It is the first in a series, and I doubt that I will read more, but I did like the book.

This weekend was the celebration for the 50th birthday of the Historic Savannah Foundation. Seven ladies came together in 1955 to save DH, and a year a later, the Foundation was formed to continue the preservation efforts. There were several events to commemorate the occasion, but I was only able to get to two of them: a ribbon cutting in Columbia Square (I didn't quite get what that was about since Columbia Square has been there since 1791, so it's not an opening, but whatever) and a block party on Saturday on Broughton Street. A block of the street, which is the main downtown shopping street, was closed off for information booths, a beer tent, live music, etc. 

ribbon cutting in Columbia Square

block party on Broughton St

 

But, before I could go to the block party, I attended the second annual Derby Day lunch bunch gathering at The 90. Jim, the chef, outdid himself with wonderful treats, including the traditional burgoo, which was delicious. But the favorite was the bourbon bread pudding - OMG! It was a lot of fun because we all tried to find a wonderful hat to wear. I found one at the Goodwill store (and I took it back there as a donation as soon as the lunch was over), others found amazing chapeaux, and some even fashioned their own. this is a tradition now, so I'm already on the look out for next year's bonnet. 

Judith, me and Kay

Chef Jim, with his amazing buffet

 

5/1/2016

Weekly Update 5/1/2016

I organized an impromptu (well, I'd actually been thinking of doing this for a while, but Jupiter aligned with Mars on Tuesday, so I sent out some emails and dove in) picnic at the clubhouse for a few friends here at MP. On Tuesdays, Whole Foods offers ground beef for $2.99/lb and it's pretty good stuff. So I bought several pounds, some rolls, and some chips. In the email I suggested that anyone who wanted to could add something to the meal. And they did - salads, cupcakes, hamburg condiments. It was a great day weather-wise, and the gnats enjoyed the picnic too.

 

On Saturday, Donna and I set out visit a few places we've been meaning to get to, and just for one reason or another haven't done yet. The first stop was at the Jepson Center to see the exhibit of Elvis photographs from 1956. Wonderful! He was so good looking! And I can't believe that I was ever that young! We then went to The Grey, a restaurant that's had a lot of good reviews in Savannah. On Saturdays, they open the patio for a prix fixe lunch that's only $7. Donna had been before and raved about it. The lunch this week was so-so. It was grilled chicken thighs with Campbell baked beans, suddenly salad pasta salad, Publix cole slaw, and King's Hawaiian rolls. But $7 for a full, hot lunch is not a bad price to pay, and we met Kay and Dennis there, and nothing is as good as good friends, so I can't say I didn't like it. After that, we went to an art exhibit that Suzy had told us about. I will always be in awe of visionaries who can see a pile of antlers, Swarovski crystals, boondoggle, cast-off mannequins, leather and light bulbs, and be able to create amazing works of art (or fashion) from that pile. But I don't get it. I'm looking forward to the VanGogh museum in Amsterdam. At the time that VanGogh was creating those paintings, they were probably looked at the same way I see art now.