1/28/2024

 

Weekly Update 1/28/2024

I finished reading through old magazines at the archives in City Hall, and I’ve been given a new project: scanning letters to W W Law. Wesley Wallace Law was a civil rights activist, born in Savannah in 1923 and died here in 2002. He was a life long bachelor, and avid collector. When he died, he left not only his letters, but artwork, posters, books, sheet music, record albums, and thousands of photographs. The letters I’m scanning now are from friends who were stationed throughout the United States in WWII, as well as letters from his mother and other family members when he was stationed in the army. I am amazed at the wonderful cursive handwriting or soldiers. And that postage was only 3 cents (or free if you were servicing in the armed forces). That would be 54 cents today. And, not only that, there were no zip codes, but the mail still went through! Postmarks included not just the city, but also the time the letter was posted. Compare to today when Christmas cards cost 68 cent and I don’t have a Savannah Post Office – everything goes through Jacksonville – and it can take up to a week or more for delivery. Ah, the good old days.

Back to my lectures again. On Monday evening, I went to hear Stan Deaton give a speech about Thomas Jefferson. He is always, thoughtful, articulate and gives me something to think about about. On Wednesday, I went to TLC for a talk about Benjamin Disraeli by my good friend, Charles Snyder. He is also someone who adds so much to my understanding of historical persons of interest. Both lectures were wonderful. I’m not going to bore you with photos.

I also returned to my habit of giving tours this week. On Thursday, I was at Green Meldrim House in the morning to give a talk of my own at the house. It was pleasantly busy with interested tourists coming to hear about the families and the house. I enjoyed it very much. I’ll be going back for two more times in February, so I feel as if I’m back into that routine.

Saturday evening, I had a ticket for Night at the Museum. I had been to this program last year, and really liked it. Like in the movie of the same name, there are figures in the museum who “come alive” after hours, and tell their stories. This year I was able to learn from Johnny Mercer, Jane Yarn (environmentalist helping to preserve Grey’s Reef), Peter Leopold (grandfather of Stratton Leopold – ice cream maker extraordinaire – and soldier in WWI), Jane Deveau (free woman of color and teacher of black children in Savannah before the Civil War, and also the builder of the house my good friend Helen lived in until she sold the house last October), W. W. Law (leader in the Civil Rights programs in Savannah – see above), an unnamed race car driver (from the golden age of racing when a Gran Prix type race was held in Savannah up until 1911), Lucy Tondee (widow, tavern owner and patriot in Savannah before and during the Revolutionary War), and Forrest Gump (everyone knows who he is). This program is mainly for children, but I loved listening to these stories and seeing the enthusiasm of the kids.

Sports this week: I spent many nights watching the tennis from Australia. I did not see the women’s finals, but the results were not unexpected. I loved watching Djokovic get beat, and then watching the men’s finals. Since I had no preference for either Sinner or Medvedev, it was just exciting to see the match. Neither of the NFL conference championship games went the way I wanted them to. Detroit seemed to be heading for win until they collapsed in the second half. They did much better than anyone expected them to this year, but it was still sad to see them get so close.

I generally don’t like to be late, but apparently, my Christmas cactus doesn’t have the same intentions. Here she is, blooming long after Christmas.

1/21/2024

 

Weekly Update 1/21/2024

Well, the season is over. Buffalo played well for two quarters, and then just couldn’t get anything going. I’m disappointed. But, I still have the Lions! Three of the four playoff games this weekend were thrillers, and fun to watch. I just wish Tyler Bass had not channeled his inner Scott Norwood.

I’ve also been watching the Australian Open in the early morning hours.

Monday was a holiday. Which means nothing to me, but Kay had a day off work. It was a treat to see her when it wasn’t even a weekend. But between walking with her, and all the NFL games on Monday, I felt as if it was Sunday, and I was confused for a few days. It’s not that difficult to confuse me!

It’s been very cold here. I’ve needed to wear a heavy sweatshirt and a windbreaker jacket when I walk. Even though the temps are in the 30s, it never seems as bad because it’s been sunny and bright. That’s not true of Buffalo. Whenever I see pictures of Highmark Stadium, or watch as snowballs are tossed onto the field during the game, I’m pleased that I live where I don’t have to put up with any of that.

No lectures this week, but I did go to two book clubs. The library book club read The End We Start From, and no one liked it. The discussion was short. At the non-fiction club, the book was The Soul of an Octopus. I didn’t read it, but it sounds intriguing. The author of that book is going to be at the Book Fest in February, and I may try to go hear her speak.

Before the game today, I went to Publix to pick up a few groceries (and a Pub Sub for the games). There are three Publixs, all about five miles away from me, so I have a choice every time I go shopping. The one in Port Wentworth is where I went today. There’s a very small museum near the store, but it’s never open. When I drove past today, there were cars in the parking lot! Since I’ve always wanted to visit, I went in. Well, it’s not a museum – it’s a church, and I walked in at the end of the Sunday service. A very kind man told me about the church, which was built by slaves of the Rice Hope Plantation in 1860. It was in disrepair for a long time until this little congregation acquired it in the 1970s and renovated it in 2013.

Because of all the football on tv, I’ve been knitting furiously. That keeps my hands busy so I don’t have to reach inside a potato chip bag all the time. The knitting club met on Saturday, and I turned in a baby blanket and two winter caps. I made two more caps and started a scarf during the games today.

Adrian and Annie have been going to the library, the Strong Museum, and the YMCA. They do so many fun things, and I love seeing the photos. I also had my monthly google meet with them on Saturday. They weren’t too interested in the books I read, but I enjoyed just talking to them. And listening.

1/14/2024

 

Weekly Update 1/15/2024

There were some pretty boring football games on this week. The college national championship lacked excitement when Michigan trounced Washington. The NFL games were lackluster blow outs, and I’d expected better from the teams that made it this far. At least the Lions games was competitive. And we still haven’t seen the Bills.

The Saturday night playoff games from Kansas City was available only on Peacock tv. I already am a subscriber but I’m not sure how that happened. I know I signed up for it a very long time ago when it first came out and was free. I still don’t pay anything for it. I had thought about not watching the game in protest, but convinced myself that I didn’t actually subscribe JUST to watch the game, so they didn’t get anything from me. And I want to see what the weather looked like. The game was so boring that I wouldn’t have missed it if I’d not been able to watch.

Weather everywhere this week was bad. Schools here closed on Tuesday and Friday. I even opted out of driving to CH on Tuesday because we had been advised to stay home if we could because of rain and high winds. I was quite happy with my book, my food and my tv. I binge watched the latest Harlan Coben series on Netflix and just stayed in. We’re in for frigid temps this week, with some nights dipping into the 20s. I’ve already brought my few plants in from the porch.

As able to get to two lectures this week. One was at CH, about an archaeological dig at Fort Pulaski. That was the same day as a lecture at TLC on Bishop Stephen Elliott, the first Episcopal bishop of Georgia, who served at St John’s, the church associated with Green Meldrim House. I was able to see that later because, since the pandemic, any talks that I pay for are available online following the event. I did go to TLC one evening for an author talk by Johnathan Scott Barrett, a local author who recently published Ship Watch. This novel is set in Savannah. I have not read it yet, but I’m sure I will soon.

In my continuing efforts to get better organized and to toss out stuff I no longer need or use, I took a load of junk to the Goodwill and I took a lot of jars, cans and bottle to be recycled. Georgia is still in the 19^th century and in denial that re-cycling is something that needs to be done. They do not make it easy. I could take my soda cans and glass to the local fire station, but the cans and plastic had to go to a dedicated center not close to where I live. I take my plastic bags, Styrofoam containers and cardboard to Publix all the time, but the other things I’ve gathered and made an effort to keep them out of my trash.

Adrian and Annie continue to delight me. I am so grateful to Sarah for sending me photos and videos almost daily. They are enjoying the snow, playing with toys they got for Christmas, and visiting museums and fun places.

1/7/2024

 

Weekly Update 1/7/2024

I spent a lot of time this week packing away all my Christmas stuff. It’s all back in boxes in the garage now. Then I dragged out my winter collection of snowmen and cold looking things. I put the white ficus tree on the porch, and I strung white lights on it. I also continued to close books on 2023, and file away paperwork that I’ll never need and don’t know why I keep. It seemed to take a lot time, and I really feel no more organized than before I began.

Many of the friends I spend holidays with were busy on New Year’s Day, so we met on January 2 to have our black eyed peas, collard greens and corn bread. I’ve failed already at eating better in the new year, but everything was so good!

After I tried to clean out a lot, I realized I have a lot of paperback books that I buy second hand for book club, or just because I want to read them. The Free Little Library that I often donate my books to is downtown, and since I no longer go to DH or Green Square, I haven’t been past that one in a long time. The small one across the street that I often pass when I walk has been filled for weeks, and I didn’t think there’d be room for more. Besides, I don’t want to carry a bag of books on a walk - it’s hard enough to get out the door already. I searched online and found map of Free Little Libraries in Savannah. I’m pretty sure not all are listed, but I found one that was close to where I’d be having lunch on Friday, so I packed up the books and dropped them off. I think there may be one at the YMCA near me in Pooler, but that will be an adventure for another day.

The Bills were on my mind all week. I took a walk on Monday, and I went past a house flying a Bills flag. I needed to get a photo of that, because it’s a rare sight in the South. On Saturday, Kay and I were out to breakfast. I was wearing one of my Buffalo t-shirts. As we were waiting to be seated, a guy who saw my shirt started a conversation about The Bills. Poor Kay has put up with me talking to any strangers who were wearing NFL shirts in airports, shopping areas, other restaurants, but she’s never had someone else begin to engage with me. We went on and on about the different ways the Bills could make the playoffs or be eliminate. I suffered through games on Saturday and Sunday until the BIG game Sunday night.  I lost hope for a while, but the Bills pulled it out at the end!  GO BILLS!