12/26/2021

 

Weekly Update 12/26/2021

Wishing you all a very happy New Year!

I had a couple of very nice holiday gatherings this past week. My Green Square friends and I enjoyed a lovely lunch at Denise/s house on Thursday, and I joined Kay and her family oh Christmas Day. I also did a couple more Holly Jolly Tours at DH.

But for the most part, this week sucked. Without details, let me me just say that my health is not an issue. And my finances are likewise not a concern. It’s just the rinky dink, day to day crap that all went haywire this week. My tv, my hot water, the computer, the car. It has overwhelmed me.

But at least the Bills won, and Adrian is perfect.  

//

Weekly Update 12/19/2021

I was able to get out and do a couple of things this week. I was invited to a wonderful party at Heidi’s house on Wednesday. The ladies that meet for drinks on Wednesday Happy Hours were invited to join together for delightful munchies and glasses of wine. It was very nice, and the food was all excellent. 

That same group met again on Friday. We went out for supper and then to a concert of holiday songs at the Tybee Post.

Wednesday was a mixed up day for me. Every single Wednesday I’m scheduled to give tours at DH. Well, there was a couple who wanted to do the tours on Wednesday this week, and I had been notified, but I completely forgot and showed up. I just turned around and went back to the apartment. I had signed up to do Holly Jolly Tours on Saturday night, so I was back downtown again. This time I got it right. I’m also scheduled to do two nighttime tours, as well as my regular Wednesday tours, next week. At the holidays, many volunteers have travel plans, and since I do not, I like to be able to help out when no one else is available.

When I returned from running errands on Tuesday, there was a nice surprise for me by my front door. My neighbor, Cara, had left a little potted fir tree. Poor thing – it’s only a matter of time before I destroy it.

Imagine my surprise when I went out to my porch Tuesday evening to turn on the Christmas lights and I saw that the fountain at my end of the “pond” was working! It has been out of commission for months, and I finally decided it was gone for good. I pay extra in my rent to have a view of the water, and the lighted fountain was something I really liked, but I thought it was gone. It’s back! And I’m glad.

I’m absolutely livid that YouTubeTV took away all my ESPN channels because they couldn’t reach an agreement with Disney, who owns not only their own channels, but also ESPN, ABC and a few others. I think they found a way to reconcile by Sunday, but I’m done. Not only am I disgusted with the horrible buffering on live sports, but also the lag time between what’s on the tv screen to the real game being played. I’ve looked into a few other options, but there’s something not right with everything I look at – no recording capability, no PBS (that’s a deal breaker – I NEED PBS), no TCM, no tennis channel. I fear I may have to return to Comcast. I never liked them, but I don’t like this either. I have little that I enjoy as much as sports on tv, so I’m going to have to figure this out.

Adrian continues to delight his great grandma. He is just adorable. I know Christmas at those houses in Rochester will be very special indeed this year, and for many years to come. I wish you all a very happy holiday season, too!

12/12/2021

 

Weekly Update 12/12/2021

While walking around downtown this week, I’ve had a chance to see some wonderful decorations. Of course, Jones Street is still my favorite. I have not been to River Street yet to enjoy the Christmas Market, but I’ll should get to that soon.

In a very very sad state of affairs, the Buffalo Bills lost twice this week. On MNF, the lost to New England, and that really was a must-win game. The loss moved the Bills to second place in the Division, and the hated Patriots are now in first place. The come from behind, very near win at Tampa Bay was also disappointing, but not unexpected. Again this year, my hopes have been dashed.

This week, I’ve been sleeping in the guest bedroom. On the outside chance I got visitors in 2022 (I had none in 2021 except for Barbara, who slept on the sofa), I wanted to be sure that the bed in there is comfortable. It is. It’s difficult for me to sleep without a tv, and the tv in there is not connected; I can watch videos, but not tv. This is the time of year when I watch many of the holiday DVDs I have collected, so I did that. I’ll be back in my own bed this week.

I finally got a haircut. And I was disappointed. It is not a good cut. I should just reconcile myself to spending some money, but I’ve never been allowed to believe that I’m worth it. I continue to go to Great Clips, and I get what I pay for – not a good haircut. I guess it’ll grow out.

I tried to make Friendship Tea for a few gifts. I try not to get into “gift exchanges” with people I know here because I have too much stuff already. But there are a few special friends that I’d like to have a little something for during the holidays. Last year, I received some of this tea mix, and I really enjoyed it. I found a recipe online, and I made a batch of instant tea mix to give to some of my friends here. It’s not much, but I like the idea.

I also made my cookie house. It was a kit from Hershey’s, and it’s not gingerbread, but chocolate. I’ve been doing this for a very long time. I think the girls are still interested in making cookie houses too. I had a nice photo of Sarah with Jack and Adrian creating a house, and I had photo from Emily of her house. I think Hannah and Brendan will be doing one, too, when they’re on break from college. It always makes me happy to know that some of the traditions that I felt were a lot fun through the years are still continued with the next generations.

I had a couple of holiday parties this week. The DH party was last Sunday, and that was reported on last week’s post. This week, when the Thursday Green Square ladies met, we wandered to the Jepson for a delightful luncheon there. I also went to a CMA gathering at the African American Art Museum on Friday night. It was not as well attended as I’d hoped, but I was glad to catch up with people I haven’t seen in more than a year. The monthly “meetings” are held on line, and they are always on a Wednesday, when I’m at DH. I have not seen some of these people in a very long time.

I read a very quick read for the Holidays by Dave Barry. It was ok. And now I’m reading, again, A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg. This is my favorite holiday read. And it’s a tradition.

Adrian continues to bring me much joy. I am constantly amazed at how much he has accomplished in such a short time. I have bragged about how wonderful he is at the parties I've attended this holdiay season.  

12/5/2021

 

Weekly Update 12/5/2021

After all the upsets of last week, I’m back on schedule. That’s just where I want to be. Last week, I didn’t have to go to DH because it was closed on Wednesday afternoon. There was a lot of NFL games on tv on Thursday, so it seemed like Sunday. When I got up Friday, I thought I should be doing housework, because that’s my Monday routine. But now I’m back on track – Monday - housework, Tuesday - City Hall, Wednesday - DH, Thursday - Green Square, and on the weekend, - Kay. I like the regimen!

I had to go out to the other side of the city on Monday, so while I was out, I made an appointment at the Comcast store. I didn’t want to call them, because I don’t like to be on hold for over 30 minutes, and then only be able to navigate through a system of Press One If… and never talk to a real person. So, I made an appointment. The buffering on my tv, particularly for sports events, is intolerable. I had hoped that by increasing the speed of the internet service, it would help. It did not. I have faster internet, but the tv is still a problem – a BIG problem. I can’t think about it now, but will probably have to have a tech rep make a house call in the near future. It’s terrifically annoying.

After Green Square on Thursday, I gathered up my meager Christmas packages and walked them to the post office downtown. The only things I’m sending this year is one present to Allen, and something else (not a present, just a little surprise) to Ishy. Last year, the gifts didn’t get to them until Christmas, or after, so this year I tried to get a head start. I’m trusting them to deliver some time this month, but we’ll see.

Following that, I went to the Ships of the Seas museum. They had a display about the African slave trade between Africa and Savannah before the importation of slaves was declared illegal in 1808. It was not what I expected, but was merely a collection of banners with the slave ship name and some facts about the ship. Interesting and heartbreaking, but I had thought there would be more models of slavers, or something other than just banners. This was in conjunction with the series of lectures I’d attended a few weeks ago.

Then I went to book club at TLC. I haven’t been in several months, but the book this month for the British Murder Mystery Book Club was An English Murder by Cyril Hare, a murder mystery set at Christmas time and written in 1951. It was almost like reading Agatha Christie, and I enjoyed it. I also surprised myself by reading it on my ipad. I very much like to hold a book in my hand, and turn pages, but this wasn’t available at the library. The book club leader had included a link to several free reading services that offered this book, so I chose one of those. Also, it was a not a long book and not a difficult read, so this was a good book to read online.

The UGA / ‘Bama game was a disappointment. How can an undefeated team, with the best defense in college football, play such a bad game? During half time, while there was still a possibility of a win, I went for a walk around BP to look at the lights. There were very few. The little tree I have on my porch is rather lonely, as only a few others have Christmas lights set up.

Sunday, Kay and I went to the cemetery to change the flowers we have there from fall to Christmas. Kay does a better job of making the decorations look nice at Liam’s grave. I just stuck the same poinsettias from last year in front of John and Dessie’s headstones. But, in a happy surprise, the Christmas cactus I have in my living room has bloomed beautifully. I have no idea what I did differently this year, but I am enjoying seeing it bloom.

Kay and I also attended the DH holiday gathering on Sunday. It was held in the garden, and was very nice. Kay has not seen some of those people in a very long time, and I was glad she was able to go.