Weekly Update 02/20/2022

Unlike the past few weeks, where I do nothing but go to bed early and get up late, and spend my days thinking about what I can eat next, this has been a busy week.

A lot of that was Adrian. On Monday, I got a Valentine! (I didn’t send one to him. Valentine’s Day ranks right up there with Christmas as my least favorite holidays ever!) Sarah also included a photo of Adrian hard at work making the finger painting. I had a delightful video of him trying really hard to learn to crawl with mommy and daddy giving him much encouragement in the back ground, while the cat, Pippin. looks on with terror. On Saturday, I zoomed with him to read a few more books and just talk. It didn’t last long, as he must find it difficult to have someone read him a book from Savannah, where he can’t see it or touch it. But I certainly enjoyed reading about green and red dots and animals.

Tuesday I had a meeting in the late afternoon, so I went to City Hall a little later than usual. The meeting lasted for about an hour, and by the time I got home, I’d wasted the whole day. I only had time to eat a lot before watching some tv and going to bed.

Wednesday was Davenport House. A couple on my last tour made quite a fuss about wearing a mask, and that upset me, so I didn’t meet for Happy Hour with friends, but just went home to pout. And eat.

Thursday, instead of meeting in Green Square, Helen, Jane, Denise and I took a drive to Eastman, Georgia, about 3 hours away, to visit Vicki, who moved there about a year ago. Her house is very big, and wonderful. She has a library, and Larry has both an at-home office and a sound proof music room. My favorite was Patsy’s bathroom. Her shower looks as if it’s in a grotto. Vicki also has chickens and peacocks. The animals were not my favorite, but they love the country setting. Patsy was in school and Larry was at work, so we didn’t get to see them. It was wonderful to see Vicki and her new home.

Later that evening, there was a lecture about artifacts that were found in the Savannah River during the recent dredging operation. Five cannon were brought to the surface, and some cannon balls and other weapons that would have been fired from the cannons. After all the research, it is believed that these are not from the CSS Georgia, the confederate ironclad that was scuttled in 1864 to prevent the capture and use against the South by the Union, but probably from a warship that sank during September 1779 during the Battle of Savannah.

Friday, I had nothing on my calendar, so I thought it might be a good day to work at my taxes. It didn’t take long. I use the same online program I’ve used for several years, and not a lot changes, so I just fill in the blanks. I’m getting a big refund. I suppose that’s ok, since I have nearly no income, but I feel that I should contribute something as a citizen. Perhaps when I get the refund, I’ll donate to some cause I think is underfunded by the feds. Homelessness bothers me tremendously.

Saturday, after I zoomed with Adrian, I drove downtown to the Book Fest. I didn’t go last year, and the year before that it was canceled. I attended five sessions, three of which were virtual. They all talked about the mechanics of writing (most begin very early in the morning and work in dedicated offices in their homes), how the story and character develop (some know the story from beginning to end before they sit down to write, while others begin and let the story unfold as they go along), what inspires the stories (some are news items, or something from their own experience), how they research (even fiction needs extensive research, for time, place and motivations). The authors I listened to were: Michael Tubbs (a 31-year-old black politician from California who wrote a memoir), Dave Guterson (who has written fiction, non-fiction, short stories and poetry), Nina de Gramont (who wrote a fictionalized novel about the disappearance of Agatha Christie), two doctors (who wrote about various epidemics throughout history), and Laura Dave (author of a NY Times bestselling novel). Every one was great, but I had a very hard time hearing at the Agatha Christie one. I had forgotten how much I enjoy the day spent listening to people who love books.