5/26/2019

Weekly Update 5/26/2019

After a busy week with my guests last week, this week seemed very dull. I did almost nothing. In fact, even DH was boring. Of my four scheduled tours, people were only there for two. I sat and twiddled my thumbs.

I have been to the pool nearly every day this week. My tan is getting really dark. And I feel good about getting some exercise. Savannah is “enjoying” a heat wave with temps in the 90s for the past several days.

I did do a couple of activities this week. On Saturday, BC hosted another walkabout to look at plots and identify which ones might need help. We did this about a month ago, too, and it’s interesting. This time, I was not assigned to the most historic area, so many of the issues with headstones that I reported in April didn’t apply to the newer ones. I still found a couple of areas where the coping has been destroyed by tree roots. It was really hot, and, although we started at 9 am (the middle of the night for me), I was glad when it was over and I could get back to the pool.

I finally returned to SCT, and the production of Peter Pan. It’s been so long since I’ve been there. The reason is probably because when I dropped off FB, I lost the updates about their shows, and just never thought about it again. But I heard that this was going to be performed this weekend, and it was not uninviting to sit in a cool theater. As always, the kids did an outstanding job, and I enjoyed it very much.

5/19/2019

Weekly Update 5/19/2019

The week began with an exciting visit to the Burlington Outlet at Savannah Mall. Dave wanted to buy some things, and who am I to complain about shopping? From there, we went to The Mighty 8^th Museum. Dave and I had visited before, but Lisa had never been. Since a lot of the museum is the History of the 8^th Air Force Unit, which made bombing raids in Europe from Great Britain in WWII, Dave and I are both interested. (In fact, I believe he may be planning visits to some sights in France for when I visit there in the Fall. Cool!) After that, we met Kay and her family at Churchill’s for a wonderful visit.

Tuesday morning, Kay came over to MP early to get tickets to go to UK next September. We’d been watching, and prices seemed to be as low as we were going to find, and we felt that we would get our tickets when Dave and Lisa were here, so we could be sure of dates. I couldn’t get it. Poor Kay! It was like working with a 2-year-old, but she held my hand through it all, and we’re both booked now. A new SCAD museum has recently opened, and I thought it might be something a little different for us to do. It was really interesting. The story of how it grew from an idealistic vision into a major college was told through visual displays and animated experiences. And after that, we went to the Prohibition Museum. I had been there before, and enjoyed it very much. More history, what’s not to like? Kay had to leave us then, but Dave, Lisa and I all went to Kevin Barry’s in the evening to listen to the always entertaining Harry O’Donough.

Wednesday, we had tickets for a guided tour of Daufuskie Island in Hilton Head, SC. We had to take a ferry to get to Daufuskie, and then we had a bus tour around the island. There is a lot of history there: Native American tribes were here until they were driven away by explorers, traders and settlers. Plantations were developed in the Colonial era, growing indigo, and later, Sea Island cotton. Because the plantation owners were away for much of the year, the isolation of the slaves provided the setting for the retention of their African culture. After the war, freed slaves returned and purchased small plots of land. The boll weevil destroyed the cotton fields, and then the economy turned to oyster canning, until that also was decimated by pollution in the river. By the 1980s, the popularization was less than 60, with most people moving away for better opportunities on the mainland. Developers came in to create a resort community, full of condos, expensive homes, and golf courses. We enjoyed riding around and seeing the Bloody Point lighthouse (and winery), the Mary Fields Schoolhouse (famous in Pat Conroy’s book, The Water is Wide), two churches, the Council Tree, a bald eagle nest, and many other points of interest. While we had hoped to stop and get something for supper in Bluffton, that didn’t work out. We had to go all the way back to Savannah and eat at The Crystal Beer Parlor – I was not unhappy about that.

Thursday was a slow-down day. I felt that we had been on the move continually for days, and I needed a little relaxing. I think the others did too. So we began at Two Cracked Eggs for a breakfast / lunch (while Kay was at the dentist). Then down to River Street for Wet Willies and to people watch. There were several interesting exhibits at the Jepson that Dave and Lisa were interested in, so we went there. I especially liked the Talking Continents sculpture by Jaume Plensa. One more time, we raised pints of Guinness at The Rail, and then went to Treylor Park for supper.

Friday morning, Dave and Lisa left early. I missed them immediately, and my condo seemed very empty. But, Friday is always DH and The 90, so I didn’t have long to mourn; I had to get back into the routine.

Saturday, I was up early to open BC, and from there, I went downtown for a tour in the area around the King-Tisdell Cottage. This was an African American working class neighborhood in the late 19^th and early 20^th century. But we also walked past some houses that wealthy African American’s lived in during this time. It was very interesting, but almost too hot to be able to enjoy walking around and standing to listen another story about another family.

I had to be a BC in the afternoon to answer questions and hand out maps. But, it was a sad, sad day. A Savannah police officer was killed in the line of duty a week ago, and his funeral was set for Saturday, just about the same time I was to be there. I didn’t have trouble getting to the cemetery, but I thought I might, so I left some extra time. There were people all along the procession route with flags and salutes as the cars drove by. I counted over 200 police cars from all aver Georgia and South Carolina. Two fire trucks raised their ladders and hung a huge flag at the entrance to the cemetery. It was very moving, very sad. RIP Sgt Kelvin Ansari.

5/12/2019

Weekly Update 5/12/2019

I had to wait until Friday for Dave and Lisa to arrive, but I didn’t spend the first part of the week idly. Last week my printer died. I thought about replacing the HP with a Canon, because HP ink cartridges are expensive. But the new printer I bought uses less expensive ink, and I like HP products, so I got another cheap HP printer. But, I couldn’t get it set up.

That’s a problem. When Dave and Lisa lived in Savannah, we would sometimes do “crafts” for holidays and they were always fun. I wanted to do a craft for their visit, and I’d saved enough empty toilet paper rolls to create an entire Tottenham Hotspur team. But without a printer, I couldn’t get copies of the faces or the players, or of the uniforms. I went to the MP clubhouse, but (as always at MP) that was not easy. Because all 220 units send residents to work on those computers and printers, and some of those people are even less tech-savvy than I am, it never works well. And it won’t print color (thereby saving the HOA a ton of money in ink costs, but kinda useless). I was able to get the prints I needed after a lot of time wasted on those swine computers and printers. I was able to make the whole team, and I thought I did an adequate job.

Dave and Lisa got here on Friday in the early afternoon. We had a little to eat (very little, but they’ve been here before and know that my desire and ability to work in the kitchen is very limited), and gallivanted around the City. I had opted out of DH, but we did go to The 90, so my Friday schedule was not too disrupted. A lot of friends knew that we all were there, so many were delighted to see Dave and Lisa. After that, we (and Kay) wandered over to The Rail, another favorite pub of theirs from when they lived here. A couple of pints of Guinness there, and then on to Tequila Town for Mexican. And margaritas. Great fun, each place. 

Dave worked to get my printer set up. It’s lucky for me he was here, because I never would have been able to do it myself. It took him quite a while. But now, I can print again, and also from my phone and iPad - that will be useful. He also checked my computer because I’ve been paying Norton for protection since I bought that laptop, but whenever I searched for it on the laptop, I couldn’t find it. He found that it had not been installed. Good work, Staples! I won’t be buying any more stuff from you! Dave saved me a lot of money since I didn’t have to go to Yeah Tech to have everything done. 

Saturday, Dave, Lisa and I went downtown early to sit outside at the Galleria coffee shop (I’ve mentioned about how bad I am in the kitchen, and they wanted a good cup of coffee, not the slop I make in my Black and Decker) on Bull Street. I amazed myself by doing the most perfect parallel park EVER, right on crowded Oglethorpe Avenue! I was so proud! After that, we met Kay at the Visitor Center because we all had tickets to the Savannah For Morons trolley tour. It started off kinda lame, but when we got to the Presbyterian Church, and they talked about the Forrest Gump feather, one of the morons jumped out of the bus and ran into Chippewa Square with his white feather at the end of a fishing pole. We all laughed so hard. And it just got funnier and funnier. There were two guys who worked together to be “guides”, and they would often don wigs to become a character such as Julia Roberts, James Oglethorpe, or General Sherman, and would hop off the trolley to perform in the street or square. The tourists that were not on our trolley, would either laugh hysterically, or gaze with puzzlement, not know what was going on. We had a stop at Ghost Coast brewery to refill our to-go cups, and that added to the party atmosphere. I thought that was the best trolley tour I’d ever taken. Then it was on to River Street to enjoy a Wet Willies and watch the tourists. From there we went to Perry Lane Hotel because friends of Dave and Lisa bartend there, and that was another chance for them to say hi to people in Savannah they knew when they lived here. Connie and Jim also joined us, and John and Bonnie, so it was a nice gathering there. Then Kay, Dave and Lisa surprised me by taking me to dinner at Vic’s. That’s a favorite restaurant of mine, but I haven’t been there in a long time. It was very special and nice. The food was wonderful, the company was better. Thanks to my best-ies!

Sunday was quite relaxing. I even had time to go to the pool and swim my laps in the morning. The only duty that I did not cancel for Dave and Lisa’s visit was my tour at BC, and I did that. I had to rush through it at the end however, as it was beginning to rain. We had planned to go back to City Market to listen to the music at Ellis Square, but the rain made that seem not as enjoyable and we skipped it. I went to Publix, where I “forgot” to take my wallet (really, I did forget!) and poor Lisa had to buy groceries for us to have dinner at the condo that evening. We played board games, ate, and watched some tv. I am the hostess with the most-est, am I not??

In other family news, Rachel Flynn graduated from Columbia College in Chicago on Sunday, Hannah had her dance recital, and Sarah and Jack have had a purchase offer accept for a house in Penfield. I’m so proud of these young women that I love so much! But I don’t know how I got so OLD!

5/5/2019

Weekly Update 5/5/2019

I had an interesting time when I volunteered at City Hall this week. The laptop computer I’ve used to create the database wasn’t working. So, I scanned minutes from meetings of the Tree and Park Committee in the 1930s. Tree and Park is responsible for BC, so many items in the minutes referenced the cemetery. I tried not to read too much, as I’m not there to do research, but to assist in the record keeping of the archives. I need to go back and read more closely, and perhaps I’d be able to write an article for the BHS monthly newsletter.

Also, in my role as a Board member of BHS, I gave a quick talk at the Coastal Museum Association monthly meeting last Wednesday. I talked about the project we’ve just started to identify plots and markers that we may want to work with to make them better, or to just generally clean up some plots. I also learned about some other projects that other organizations are offering. For example, the Botanical Gardens held its annual Rose Festival on Saturday. I went to that, and, in spite of the fact that I prefer plastic or silk houseplants. And although I do not have a garden, I enjoyed it. There was a plant sale, artists and crafters, garden tours and children’s activities. The flowers were lovely.

Following DH and The 90 on Friday, Barbara and I went to a rock concert at Coach’s Corner. Since I rarely attend music concerts like this, I thought I should go with Barbara when she asked me, so I could to do something unusual for myself (and the fact that she had free tickets didn’t hurt). The band was Druckers, which I think was the family name. I could not understand one word they sang, and I for sure did not need to wear my hearing aids, as you could have heard the music all through the county.

Saturday, after opening BC, I went to Daffin to walk, as I often do. There was lots going on there: a MS Walk, several rugby games, and a dog training “camp”. I only walked once around the park, and then went on to my next activity, which was the Rose Festival. After that, I went out to Bethesda for the annual Scottish Games. I really liked that – the bagpipe music, the border collie show, the caber toss, and all the men in skirts. I talked to the lady in the Matheson tent for a few minutes, and asked where in Scotland the Matheson clan lives (north and east), and told her that Brian’s name is spelled with an “i”, and she said that’s not unusual. I also talked to the someone in the McDonald tent, asking is she watched Monarch of the Glen on tv. She knew what I was talking about, but said she had not seen it because it wasn’t shown on her PBS station. I really like that show, although I think it’s over 20 years old.  

And finally, that evening, I met friends at The 90 to watch the Run for the Roses. That was an interesting race! Not unlike all other sports now - tennis, NFL, MLB, it’s all so high tech that winners become losers, and good plays are overturned to become infractions. I sometimes wonder what we have lost to become so very precise in everything. At least we still have mint juleps! And hats!

Sunday, a few people at MP who are not yet as discouraged about this place as I am, hosted a Cinco de Mayo party at the clubhouse. I went because I support those who are trying to make a difference here, but I didn’t stay long. Those little squares with the sour cream and olives on top were my contribution. It almost killed me to bake something, but I’m a trouper!