adventure

"An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered; an adventure is an inconvenience rightly considered." Such reads the unattributed quote on one of my friend's facebook page. Oh, yes... Adventure! That has always been a magic word for me. Everyone has some magic word that'll motivate them toward one choice over another. Mine is "adventure."

When I was 17, that one word led me to choose the Navy over the Air Force. Why? The U.S. Navy's slogan at the time was :"It's not just a job, it's an adventure." How could I resist? Even though the initial contract was for six years (Advanced Electronics Field), I saw this choice as my opportunity to see the world, to travel, to meet new people... to have adventures! And I most assuredly did, including many that I did NOT share with Mama in my chatty letters home. Hey, some things need to stay where they happened, ya know, especially when in your early 20's. Especially when a SAILOR in your early 20's. Good times, very... good... times.

I had some incredible adventures during that time. Hanging out in Taipei with the owner of the tea shop behind the hotel... and going one evening to a movie ("The Gods Must Be Crazy", of all things!) and some beautiful gardens with her nephew. Eating orange beef at the Stoned Crow, an Australian restaurant, in Hong Kong, then wandering the streets, stopping at the temples along the way, the city lit up like a Christmas tree. Riding a local passenger ship, at night, back from Taiwan to Okinawa and seeing the jewels cast up in the black velvet sky. Driving from Pensacola, Florida, to my first duty station in the Panama Canal Zone, taking the Pan-American highway down Central America with the trucks and the cyclists and the mule-drawn wagons. Having the best tan ever at Playa del Diablo, just past Fort Gulick on the Atlantic side of Panama. Cruisin' up and down the California coast from San Diego to San Francisco, passing La Jolla and San Juan Capistrano and open desert.

Those were so very long ago, it seems, another lifetime ago. But I've had other adventures since then, just as memorable, some more so, some in my own back yard. I live for adventures, for trying new things, new places. I'll be off for a new adventure the first weekend in February: off to Charleston to hear Elliott and the Untouchables do their fabulous blues! I can hardly wait!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9r6Z7noLcl0&feature=related

165000 for a NC adventure

Well, would
you look
at that?
Here I am,
with my BFF's
darling,
dancing daughter
following along
behind me,
and my odometer
clicks into
this reading.
165000

Where am I?
Or, rather,
where are we?
Somewhere
between the
soon-to-be-sold
house in
Hiram, GA,
and the two-bedroom
condo at
Fairway Forest,
Sapphire, NC.


Truth to tell, the BFF was the one who was to accompany me on this trip.
I had booked the stay in the mountains specifically for her benefit.
She is the mountain lover.
I am the beach girl.
However, work precludes her ability to come with me. As her ex has been so remiss in his duties as a father (has not paid child support, has not paid the mortgage, to provide shelter and sustenance for their daughter), my BFF has had to take on extra work to try to at least keep food on the table and the lights and AC working.
That meant I was going to be traveling alone, to the mountains.
Drats.
Last night, at the Mexican restaurant, she had asked if I would take Morgan instead. Morgan was between graduation from high school and being a freshman at Georgia State University.
I knew what granting that request meant.
The expenses would be on me.
Sigh.
I responded that I had already told the girl-child that she could come up there. Notice the semantics I used. Those words meant she would have a place to stay, but be responsible for her meals.
Last night, I said she could come with me.
Different meaning entirely.
The only stipulation I made was that Morgan would have to drive herself to North Carolina.
I would not be going back to Hiram, as that would add four hours, easily, to my trip home. (As it was, I had scheduled this northern adventure to end roughly 48 hours before my southern adventure would begin. Whatever was I thinking???)
The stipulation was agreed to by all.

And there we were today, on the road between Hiram and Sapphire.

You know, I try to live as Sam Johnson said: don't give up, don't look back, and always give forward. It's the best feeling in the world.
He was absolutely correct.
Life is short.
We don't always get what we want, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy what we have.
I'm looking forward to getting to know Morgan better.
And I'm going to enjoy the mountains, too.
I've never been to Sapphire, but I do like the name.
(smile)
I seriously doubt I will ever come up here again.
As I said, I'm a beach girl.
So, I will make it a point to have a good time!
Right attitude, right place, right time.
(smile)

avventura!

Dearest Mama,
I'm off to a new adventure! Italy beckons, booted heel kicking up in a dance of welcome and off I go to twirl! I know Mother's Day is Sunday, but I shall be airplane bound and out of pocket that day.
I'd had some concerns earlier today about the trip, working myself to a fever pitch of jangled nerves. How so? Well, my head was laying out the scenario thusly. I'm traveling to another country, where I know no one, and I'm traveling with a group of people, of whom I know not a single one, and of this group of people, almost all are women.
You know full well where I'm going with this, don't you? As I have done all of my life, I don't usually hang out with a bunch of women, as I don't seem to have that much in common with them. I don't want children, I don't have children. I don't like shopping, and I primarily shop guerilla-style when I need something. I don't do the whole "battle of the sexes" thing and object to being subjected to such nonsense. I don't go to events as part of a group and think it odd that some folks would rather sit home alone than go stag.
Of course, that's been changing, too, these past few years. I now have some friends, female friends, who include me in their outings to movies and dinners and high teas. I've especially enjoyed the Evening Sans Beaus and the spontaneous Girls' Night Out to Ruby Tuesday this year. Maybe I'm becoming more girly??? No, I don't believe that's true. Maybe the women I've been meeting in my new social circles are simply more mature mentally than many I've known in the past.
So, here I am, preparing to go across the Atlantic with a group of more than twenty women. On Mother's day, no less.
However, I think I have my head wrapped around it nicely now. I had a very long talk - maybe three hours!- with una cresta di un onda dell'oceano and found myself calming down, especially after one of my favorite words was uttered: adventure.
Of course. This will be, most certainly, an adventure, una avventura! I had heard the word earlier today when I talked with a teller about euros and was surprised I had not already thought it to myself.
Instead, I had been talking to myself in circles collapsing upon themselves. Besides the concern of not knowing anyone - like THAT had ever stopped me from going anywhere - I was also putting too much pressure on the trip. I had started viewing the trip as an opportunity to reboot my life, much as I had done in 2004.
The first, and only other, time I traveled to Italy was as a wife on our tenth anniversary. I was my brother's Gal Friday for his hardwood flooring business, which had been granted the Mediterranean cruise for two as a sales promotion. Instead of a raise or more vacation, I asked for, and received, the cruise. Joy! You know how much I had dreamt of traveling to Italy since I was a girl, immersed in tales of Roman mythology. As you may recall, the cruise began in Barcelona, Spain, then made a stop in Nice, France (which was very nice and we went to Monte Carlo and saw Princess Grace's tomb). There followed three stops in Italy (Livorno, in the heart of Tuscan wine country; Civitavecchia [near Rome]; and Naples, with the ferry to Capri and sipping Limonello by the sea), then a final landfall in Malta before returning to Spain. Fabulous! And it was Jeff who noticed, when I was tromping around in the Forum, that my name was carved in marble, above marble columns, right there near Ceasar's tomb. My name. Wow!
So, now I am returning to Italy, much as I had returned to Okinawa in 2004 and had the good fortune to see the sights for only MY eyes, not yours. To visit the beaches and memorials and restaurants to make new memories for ME, not memories made real for me by the sharing of them with you. To take pictures and savor the food and smell the salt air for me alone. I was so blessed to be granted that opportunity to learn how to become the center of my universe.
I don't think that's quite where I am now. The full reboot and restructuring of my core is not necessary. It's been almost five years since the divorce. Time has done what time does best - the blurred edges have become nearly smooth, words have been softened and muted to nearly unintelligible mumblings. I am able to enjoy again the thoughts of the many good times we had shared for fifteen years, the good memories captured in photo albums, both mental and physical.
I've already begun regarding this European vacation as my birthday present to myself. You know how I've maintained for years that no one needed to get me a present because I was taking care of that myself? Well, still true! For this birthday, I'm taking clothes which no longer fit, clothes to be worn one last time and discarded. Clothes to be replaced with new ones to be worn the first time there, imbuing them with the olive-scented air and wine-soaked countryside. Mementos for me to wear and enjoy and, one day, discard for new clothes to wear whilst making new happy memories.
Thanks for the coin earlier...
with much love always,
ykw

seeing winter in clear water

Today, I felt like I was driving in the corn fields of Iowa again.

Crazy, right?
Especially as I was on a twelve-mile bridge in central Florida at the time.
But, maybe not so crazy after all.
You see, I was in search of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium.
There were no signs, no billboards, nothing to indicate I was on the right path, nothing to indicate that the place I sought truly existed.
It was as if I were in search of another Field of Dreams.
Perhaps I was, but hadn't known of the name change...
An ocean of corn has waves, too, doesn't it? An ocean of water, an ocean of corn, neither with markers scattered about to give a sense of direction to one's quest...
Such a correlation helped me to formulate a goal.
I hesitate to call it a "bucket list". That seems a little morbid, something old folks do as their lives near an end as physical beings.
Sure, I am getting older, but I would like to think I have at least seven years left.
(smile)
But that term, of murky origin, holds no cachet for me.
I prefer "future adventure list!"
(Yes, the exclamation mark is necessary, not optional.)
So, today's trip to see movie star dolphins can be regarded as Entry Zero (or Pre-One, if you will) to my "future adventure list!" I've already thought of another item, too! I intend to visit North Carolina to visit the movie locales used for one of my favorite movies, "Bull Durham". I know, it's another baseball film starring Kevin Costner, but I think that it's just a coincidence that it popped into my brain.
Maybe.
(smile!)

I am feeling so very relaxed right now.
Honestly, ever since I saw Winter and Hope.

Hope was swimming in lazy laps in the large pool, circling and circling. Sometimes, she would break the surface, to allow for a photo op. Or she might push a float toy for a moment.

But every once in a while, she would breach the shallow wall into the small "room" where Winter was chilling out.
You know, to check in on her friend, see how her energy level was holding up.
Very touching.

Very reassuring to me, a different species of mammal, to see friendship demonstrated by these aquatic mammals.
The first thing I did, upon my return to the Mystic Dunes of Orlando was to contact my favorite magician, my bfe, just to touch base.
(smile)

talking space travel with dood...

What great silliness at the S&K Friday Fiesta this evening!

When I came in, my youngest brother was at the other end of the table, chatting with Mark Kameron.

Neither Jimmy nor Addison were there at Jalapenos.

He was helping his sister with an electrical issue; she's back at school.

Everyone else was present, including Robin - hooray!

I haven't been to this gathering of brothers and friends since the start of January.

I was determined to be there tonight, to celebrate the start of longer days!

It was so wonderful to be in their company again!

Anyway, as I was saying, Tony was at the far end of the table when I came in, but he had Smitty and Robin shift down so he could sit by me.

And as we were talking about this and that and travel, he starts in with this story of his being in space!

Then he kept it up... and I played along, like it was all real... and I think everyone else just got to the point where they were listening to our nonsense.

Aliens that looked like Beetlejuice?

That was funny! 

Living in space for years and having at least 500 meals, with the main meat being cats because they didn't have cows?

So I countered with life in Panama and Okinawa, where meat was meat and that included dogs, cats, and iguanas. 

Coming back to Earth to find only a few hours had passed, so Laura hadn't missed him on his adventure?

Hahahaha! Long vacation, short travel time. That's the way to do it!!!

After all that talk of various meats, I opted for seafood.

That meant Shrimp Ceviche for dinner - and it was fabulous!

Perfect for this last warm day before the cold temperatures again prevail.

I'll take it, gratefully.

i thank You, God.

new year's day!

Today is the first day of my new AD year! Last night, I had celebrated by attending a party in a nearby town. I had never been to such a party as this; a new adventure! I had called the hostess to make sure my presence would be welcomed (an emphatic YES!) and to get directions, then logged her phone number in "just in case." And off I went!
I had resolved not to drink alcohol there, even though my hostess graciously invited me to stay overnight. This Saturday, today, would be my last day at the DBR and I wanted to spend a leisurely day at my suite by the sea. No worries! The hostess had lots of sodas and juices and waters, and I was not the only abstainer.
And such a wonderful party it was! Lots of camaraderie, lots of playing pool, lots of dancing! And we were each and everyone of us there to have a good time! Even better! I met some folks I've now "friended" and look forward to seeing them again in the near future. The hostess has these parties every third Friday of a month, so I will have ample opportunity to share the company of these partiers again. Maybe not in January, maybe so, but definitely sometime in the coming year!
What kind of party? Well, let's just say it was a nudist party with a twist.
Once upon a time, while I was at school in Florida, I was dating a nudist - and I found I had an affinity for the lifestyle. It's quite freeing to just be in your own skin. There was a private lake that his club had access to and we would be there about once a month for a day in the sun, sans clothing. Very casual, very relaxing.
Well, last night's party was definitely clothing optional. If only a warm stretch of water had been around! But, instead, there were warmed wax massages - and THAT was AMAZING. Seriously. A M A Z I N G! And the gentleman giving those massages was so very talented with his touch and the wax had a calming eucalyptus scent and the temperature was the same as for thermatherapy (about 17 degrees warmer than body temperautre). Soooooo verrryyy relaxing, and warm, and left me feeling absolutely cherished. What a fabulous way to end a year!
And now, today, I am having a last, leisurely day by the Atlantic Ocean. After getting in after 3 AM, I woke seven hours later, refreshed and still smiling from the night before. Ahhhh! Time to start finishing off the refrigerated foods, so lots of cantaloupe and blueberries and scrambled eggs to attend my coffee. Yum! Then to wash my few clothes - just one load, mix it all together! Done!
Later, I went to Ocean Walk for a movie ("This is 40"), complete with popcorn and soda, of course. That's "lunch", thank you!

Then I strolled the beach. A nice long walk on the beach and, oddly, my first since my arrival. Far too chilly to actually get in the water, but still quite warm in the afternoon sun. And a very mixed bag of folks on the beach. Some, like me, all bundled up against the chill wind. Others in wetsuits for surfing the meager waves. And some, definitely not from around here, clad in T-shirts and shorts, dipping in and out of the water.
Now, it's time to settle in for the evening, as I have an early start tomorrow. Saute the zucchini and onions and squash with some grilled chicken... add a little penne... yum! Bye for now, y'all!

wise guy, eh?

This joke was sent by one of my old chemistry professors. It isn't a new joke, but it is a favorite and I want to be able to see it whenever I want!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
You are on a horse galloping at a constant speed.
On your right side is a sharp drop off.
On your left side is an elephant traveling at the same speed as you.
Directly in front of you is another galloping horse but your horse is unable to overtake it.
Behind you is a lion running at the same speed as you and the horse in front of you.
What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation?

[SCROLL DOWN for the ANSWER]













Answer:
Get your butt off the merry-go-round!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Today marks the anniversary of my visit to The Merry-Go-Round Museum in Sandusky. How did I end up there? Wandering around in O-hi-O and surroundings last summer on my Midwest-Canada Adventure, as the bfe titled it.
I had started the trip with my focus on The Field of Dreams, as you may recall. Well, that's what I told folks was my primary rationale, but I also wanted to spend more time with the bfe, back when I was crazy delirious and had fingernails. Twelve hours in the car together up to Cincinnati and environs, then another twelve hours on the way back should do quite nicely in the "getting to know each other" realm.
But that's not my focus here.
How did I end up in Sandusky, admiring painted ponies?
Well, you know how one thing leads to another? The Fixx certainly nailed that one!
Ahem! Back on topic? Right?
Right. So, my original travel plans were to drop off the bfe at his folks' house in the sticks of O-hi-O, then get up the next day and bop up to Ontario to visit one of my Sues and her daughter, cross back over to Detroit and see the ex and the Adams, travel to Iowa for some corn-gazing, then, if time permitted, shoot down to northern Tennessee to visit some family and friends before returning to pick up the bfe for our return southward.
Yeah. Well. That is most assuredly not how it all worked out. You know why, right? You betcha: my blonde roots necessitated an immense change of plans.
You see, one needs a passport to travel to Canada. A passport. Mine had remained in Georgia, sadly. At one point before the trip, I had gone to the safe deposit box and retrieved it, placing it into my travel bag to be sure I would not forget it. Then, as I was packing, I had emptied the travel bag of all the packets of coffee and plastic ziploc bags and empty vitamin containers...and my passport. And somehow, somehow, I had managed to convince myself that I had placed the passport back into the bag.
Alas, no. After my late arrival at the hotel, I had crashed out, only to be awakened at 5 AM by a thought: I didn't see the passport when I was unpacking here. No, that can't be right. I remembered putting it into my bag. Well, I didn't see it when we got here. Really, I have to get out of bed to reassure myself that it's here? Fine.
But the passport was not in my bag. It was not in my purse. It was not in the car.
It was not in the bag. I took everything out and put everything back in three times.
Nope, no passport.
I did the same with my purse. Then, I rummaged through the car.
Nope, no passport.
A frantic series of phone calls to my first niece, telling her where the passport was (or so I thought, but I was wrong in my memory. Fortunately, she did find it.), having to wait for her to get home from work to go look for it, to send it by overnight post to Michigan. Phone calls to the Adams, rearranging the visit day, asking for her to watch for my passport and let me know when it arrived. Phone calls to the ex, letting him know of the change in plans, hoping he could still work it into his schedule. Emails to the Windsor Sue, letting her know of the change in schedule and hopes to still visit.
Sheesh.
Then, what to do?
Well, I still wanted to go to the Field of Dreams. I had a day wide open before me, with its schedule all askew. Why not head in that direction and see if I could make it there in time? That would certainly distract me from this tangled mess, especially with Dire Straits (Communique) and Def Leppard (High 'n' Dry), on repeat, to keep me company.
So, off I went, making it to that baseball diamond in the cornfields in plenty of time to do what I went there to do. I'm so glad I had the Nuvi to guide me, because the corn was taller than my car and there were NO signs to point the way to that special field.
But it was DONE! I could cross that destination off my list and head elsewhere.
I made it to Rockville, Illinois, just before nightfall. As luck would have it, I had reserved a room there - for Wednesday. That was still two days away. Would they switch it for me?
Yes, yes, they would! Wow!
Then I talked with my first niece. She had found the passport, on my bed, not on the couch. She had successfully mailed it to the Adams' correct address (I'd had the street name slightly wrong, but the post office straightened it out). The passport would be arriving in Troy, Michigan, on Tuesday in the early afternoon.
I talked with the Adams. As good fortune would have it, she would be home all day on Tuesday, so she would be sure to stay until it arrived. Also, did I have a place to stay yet? No? Good, she said, you can stay with me.
Very nice! Wow!
The ex and the Sue both reassured me that the change in my plans was still going to work for them.
Yea!!! Incredible!

The next day, I headed toward Detroit, passing by Wrigley Field, traveling the toll road through Illinois and Indiana. (Not especially by choice, but because Nuvi doesn't differentiate between toll roads and free roads. Sigh.) I lunched at Theo and Stacy's on fabulous Greek salad and a piled-too-high-to-pick-it-up gyro.

I arrived in Troy before rush hour, preceded by my passport. Yea! Then the Adams and I waited for the ex to get off work and sashay on down from Saginaw. Then off we went their old stomping grounds in Warren for some Buddy's Pizza and Erma's Forzen Custard. Those are must-haves for Michiganders .. and those who love them!

Finally, on Wednesday, August 1, 2012, I was on my way to the Great White North! Woohoo! After a trip to London to visit the younger daughter and to dine on Chinese, Sue and I stopped off to get coffee. Where? Need you ask? "Fresh, friendly, familiar" - it may be the mantra of Tim Hortons, but it also describes my Canadian contingent!
The next morning, we said our goodbyes and the border guards allowed me re-entry to the 'States. Where to go? I didn't have to meet up with the bfe for two days. So, that meant this was "free time"! I could have gone to Tennessee, but then I would have been rushed to get there and rushed to get back to the 'Nati. No, no more rushing!
In went the Tom Jones (the lead and how to swing it), bringing to mind Mother Pat and that concert in Las Vegas for her birthday. Well, I had never seen her headstone... off to the cemetery, then. With a little help, I located her plot, as well as those for her parents and younger sister. The rose-hued stone really would have pleased her, I think.

Then off to points south, just barely ahead of the early lunch crush. I drove until a sign caught my eye: Luna Pier. "Luna", you say? That sounds like me! Oh, wait, that should be "looney", maybe. I dined on Lake Erie yellow perch, wandered around on the beach and in the tiny town, then hit the road again, refreshed.

Where to next? Well, the visitor center pointed toward the museum in Wapakoneta, only an hour down the road. Sah-weet! Space travel and Neil Armstrong! I would even have a couple of hours to spend there before closing. Very good! And, when I joined that museum, as I do when traveling, they told me my card would also give me discounted admission to other museums in the USA. Like which ones? Well, the Merry-Go-Round Museum in Sandusky, for one.
No kidding? A museum dedicated to carousels and painted ponies?
And THAT, my dear, is how I ended up in Sandusky.

bday67 girls' trip: bonnet springs park!

Christina found this one for us - most excellent!!!

Bonnet Springs Park is on about 160 acres of what once was a train yard in Lakeland.

Now, it's walking trails, playgrounds, exercise sites, picnic areas, various gardens, and even a first-class museum.

All of it's free, too, except the last one.

There's even a free shuttle to get people from one site to another, and multiple parking areas for folks to use at their favorites.

 

We started at the Welcome Center, on the far right on the map, parking there, then being on foot for most of the rest of the day.

The girls loved playing on the train, but we convinced them to try out another playground after we'd been there about thirty minutes.

Following the squiggles, our path led across the Heritage Gardens and then veered left, over to the base of South Mountain, going toward the Circulator (shuttle road).

What a fabulous hill!!!

And look!

It has three trees on the top, just like there are three people on its slope!

Now what are they doing?

Why, the first niece is trying to teach Miyah and Chloe how to roll down the hill!!!

Oh, joy!!!

Chloe was very good at it!

Miyah kept throwing her arms out, not realizing that was actually stopping her roll.

I'm sure she'll get the hang of it with more practice!

I didn't hang around to watch, though, wanting to have a little birthday adventure of my own!

Up, up, up I climbed the South Mountain, reaching the crest!

Then down, down, down I carefully sidestepped until I reached the parking lot for the Florida Children's Museum.

That place had an incredible giant alligator - made of metal, with traffic cones as teeth and the spines on its back - that begged for children to play on it!

They reached the patio entrance just a little after I did, having circled around the hill.

Ready to go in?

Yes, yes, and look at D.O.T. hanging from the ceiling! The colorful dragon of toys that it took 47 people to make! 

Yes, yes, and look at the giant yellow alligator outside to play on!

Yes, yes, and look at the science area with the lab coats and race tracks!

Yes, yes, and look at the Watermelon Seeds play area inside where it's nice and cool!

Yes, yes, and all it cost us was $3 apiece, thanks to my Senior SNAP card.

Hallelujah for the Museums For All program!

Soon enough, we were all ready for our picnic lunch.

That meant going back to her Christina's car at the Welcome Center.

Time to check out the shuttle service!

Oh, but a lightning warning came into effect, so Mark - the driver - had to pull over to the Nature Center (left of the lake on the map) until the "All Clear!" was given.

That just gave us another place to explore, along with the pier and boathouse.

 

Within an hour, all had the signal to move along, which was good.

We were definitely hungry!

Thanks to my first niece, we had a picnic lunch ready to be eaten: sandwiches, chips, tiny Slim Jims, cold beverages, and cookies for dessert.

Yes, yes, she loves us so very much that she even plans our meals while on vacation! 

She's the best!!!

(smile!)

What was next to do???

Should we stay afoot?

No, let's take the shuttle over to the Owl playground!

I don't know, just look at that dark rain cloud coming up fast.

Why not take the car and drive there instead?

Hey, here's a better plan!

We'll drive back to the museum and y'all can play inside until they close, okay? 

So that's exactly what we all did!

We returned to the FCM for their last forty minutes, with the girls' choice to go to the second floor to explore.

They fell in love with the City Play area!

Child-sized grocery store and pet doctor, pizza stand and police office -

so many career paths to follow and move on!

Too soon closing time came and we couldn't stay there.

However, we could be part of the departure parade, waving banners and banging drums and marching happily along!!! 

I even marched, too, with a yellow ribbon banner, celebrating on this Tina Tuesday -

what glorious fun!!!

And guess what?

This was such a big hit -

and such a big park -

that we're going back tomorrow!

Hooray!!!

Thank you, Christina, for finding this place!!! 

tricks played by my mind

One of the tricks my mind plays has to do with music.

No, I'm not referring to the songs I wake up with on occasion, songs I haven't heard for years that my mental jukebox has cued up to ease me into the day.

I rather like that trick!

There's another that's music-related, going back to my years of listening to albums in their entirety, knowing the words of each song by heart.

In fact, I know some of those songs still, and am quite certain I've heard them on the radio or on the TV!

However, the fact remains that many of those songs never had airplay outside of my mental jukebox.

The only way I get to hear them now is to sing them at karaoke or to get lucky and find they have a life on youTube or some other internet site. 

(smile!)

I'm not talking about the trick with gift cards, neither. 

That's the one where I kinda sorta 'believe' the person who gave the card to me is with me when I use it.

Then again, if I'm thinking of them being there at the restaurant with me, or even take a photo of the meal and text it to them, isn't that akin to having their presence right there?

How does that differ from thinking of a deceased loved one and feeling their presence in the air beside me?

Molecules are escaping from our bodies every minute -

couldn't the sensed presence be from molecules escaped from them that have traveled in the air and are being sensed by me, molecules with some trace tag of them?

Ah, I be but theorizing, yet again, with no proof that such things are not simply flights of fancy on my part!

(smile!)

None of those are the trick at hand, though.

While in Orlando this past week, I repeatedly told Miyah and Chloe about being there at the Volcano Pool with their cousins, Alyssa and Leila, when the twins were about their age.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no.

That never happened.

I had memories of past vacations all jumbled up.

In my defense, the two trips to Florida were a year apart, both pre-pandemic.

I was, indeed, with the twins in Orlando and we did, indeed, have lots of fun in the DRI resort's pools. 

However, that earlier vacation occurred in early October 2018, which means the two girls were not yet 4 years old. 

In addition, that vacation was at the Liki Tiki, a quieter place off the beaten path and much better for families with small children, as I'd discovered and noted on my 2015 Florida Adventure.

The last time I was at Cypress Pointe Resort was the following year, which makes it almost exactly six years ago.

Like this trip, that one had been to celebrate my birthday.

Unlike this one, that had been just me, partying solo.

So, how had I confused those trips with this one?

Patience, dearie, I'm getting to that.

For the twins' fifth birthday, I reserved a week for them at Cypress Pointe Resort.

I didn't go, as I was busy getting my house ready for them to move in with me.

However, Michael sent me photos of Alyssa and Leila having a wonderful time and, as I had been with them a scant year earlier at a similar DRI resort, I just naturally imagined myself right there.

Incredible how the mind works!

(smile!)

Now, I'm off to see Alan Rickman in 1999's "Dogma", out for its 25-year anniversary.

Yes, I had to pay AMC to see it, but it'll be worth it to see him in action again. 

(smile!)

so many places to go!

The next time you want to have an adventure, consider these travel destinations!
Oh, and I'll be sure to send you a postcard the next time I visit any of them!


I have been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.

I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.

I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my child, friends, family and work.

I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore.

I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.

I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.

Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.

One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart!

on the road with the last cabaret of summer

Off I went this evening, little black dress and all!
What was the occasion?
The summertime speakeasy songfest finale!
"American Road Trip" promised a memorable cross-country vacation experience - and all we would have to do is ride along with Trae Gurley, Christopher Blair, Cecelia Arango, and Natasha Drena. You bet I was down with that!
But get this straight! For the journey along "Route 66" on the "Holiday Road" adventure, "I'm Gonna Be" anywhere except "Stuck In The Middle" of the backseat on the hump!
Hey, "Take It Easy", sweetie!
Well, I will if you promise to keep "Rockin' Me Baby"... especially if you do it nice and slow in that "Little Red Corvette" - ooh la la!
"Hit The Road Jack"! "One Way or Another" I'm getting to "Sweet Home Alabama" with "Mustang Sally"!
Whew! Finally, having seen all we could see, we were "On The Road Again" and "Cruisin' " toward the end of our "Vacation".
Ah, it was just like "Summer of '69", when we were "California Dreamin' " with our Mamas and Papas...
and I was only eleven years old...
(smile!)
What a joyous ride for my birthday:58!

i must go down to the sea again

I have fingernails.

Oh, really? How very nice for you. Next!

No, you don't understand, clearly. There are white-tipped nails at the ends of my fingers. There are white-tipped nails at the ends of ALL of my fingers. This is unusual. You're talking to someone who doesn't remember having to ever clip her fingernails.

What?! Everyone clips their nails! Oh, you mean a manicurist takes care of the nails.

No. No, that is not it at all. I've had the habit of biting my fingernails ever since I was young. On rare occasions, I'd take a break for a few days, throw some polish on them, make them look nice for some special event. Then, as soon as the event was done, the nails went, too. Not that I consciously bit my nails; if I was sitting still for any length of time, the nails were between my teeth, nibble, nibble.

Well, if you could stop for a special event, then you could have stopped any time. Why didn't you try some of those nasty tasting lotions to get you to stop for good?

Oh, I did try those "end nail biting forever" remedies, but you know what? They didn't work. I was never that serious about ending the habit, I would seek out the remedy to try to please someone else and end the nagging. Biting my nails was natural for me; stopping seemed perverse.

So, what's the deal now? Why have you stopped?

I don't know.

No, there must be some reason why you have deliberately stopped the habit after all these years. How long has it been now?

That's just it: I don't truly know. I recall noticing before my vacation that I had fingernails. Ever since - hm, March? April? - I had been applying some clear nail polish that I really liked. It's very shiny and looks perpetually wet and made me feel more "girly", even though I doubt anyone else took note. I even stopped picking on my cuticles so much, because I liked the way the polish looked and didn't want to detract from that shine at the ends of my fingers. Every couple of weeks, I'd notice a dull area between the base of the nails and the cuticles and would take a few minutes to remove the old polish and apply a fresh coat. I guess I didn't pay attention to what that gap in the shine meant.
I don't recall making a conscious decision to stop my nail biting. But perhaps my subconscious had made the decision for me and it simply has taken this long for me to stop and wonder about it.
Maybe the decision is a result of a new wave rising from the depths, a blip on my inner radar which could not be ignored, an image rousing me to take notice.
This change is good. Maybe a bit scary, too, but I'm going to see where this next adventure will take me.
After all, I have white-tipped fingernails now at the end of each of my fingers so a sea change has already begun...

are you ready for some baseball???

I was!
I had my hair up in double ponytails, to offset the summer heat!
I had my favorite summer top on!
Chicken Tender Platter, topped with dill pickle chips?
Check!
$1 soda in my Season Ticket Holder cup?
Check!
Woohoo!!!
Go Gnats!!!

So, up into the General Admission wooden bleachers I went, to sit and cheer with Mister Willie.
Woohoo!!!
Sadly, the game never even got started tonight.
I should have realized something was amiss when I saw that none of the players, ours or Lexington's, were warming up on the field.
About fifteen minutes before start time, this was the sight.

Not a good sign.
They were already pulling the tarp over the infield and the game had not even begun.
The announcer said a lightning storm was coming, so the game would be delayed until it passed.
Okay! Fireworks by Mother Nature, as a preview to the post-game, Saturday night, fiReWOrKs! That would be cool!

Yeah.
That didn't happen.
When the rain finally did begin, almost an hour past start time, no lightning accompanied it.
Just rain, lots and lots and LOTS of rain.
The tarp gleamed and light reflected off the puddles to the right, to the left, in the outfield - everywhere.
Yes, I'm sure the ducks of Daffin Park were elated at the new little lakes in Grayson Stadium.
The Sand Gnats' fans? Were they elated?
No, not so much.
We had been looking forward to a summer evening outdoors, watching talented young men playing America's pastime, with fireworks to delight us at the end of our adventure in baseball.

That worked out okay, though.
They finally called the game just before 8 pm, after two hours of fans just hanging out together.
I took Mister Willie home, then headed off for my $5, 5-topping pizza.
This time, my cheeseless, thin crust, pie had chicken breast, spinach, diced Roma tomatoes, pineapple, and chopped artichoke hearts. Sooo very tasty!!! And he rain had cooled the house off enough that I could even turn on the oven and bake it! Woohoo!
How did I get a $13 pizza for only $5? The boys had scored the requisite five runs last night for the deal at Papa Murphy's. Actually, the boys won with a score of exactly five runs, allowing the Legends to only make one run.
We'll see how the teams do for tomorrow's doubleheader.
Maybe more pizza is in my future!

a day with Elvis!

I had meant to go see the exhibit on my birthday.
That has been my habit these past few years, you know. Go downtown, spend part of a day at the Jepson Center, right?
Except last year, when I had the ball game on my birthday - that was most excellent!
This year, I had hynms from a hat and then an under-the-sea adventure on my actual birthday! I guess I could have tried to squeeze in a quick trip to the Jepson... but I knew that would not be satisfactory.
After looking forward to the exhibit for so long, I did not want to feel rushed.
It's been two months since I participated in the lecture...
and tomorrow will mark the 60th anniversary since his first concert in Savannah.
Sixty years.
Sixty years since Elvis was just another nearly-anonymous young man hoping to hit it big in that summer of 1956.

As I would learn in the exhibit, there were other young men looking to make their mark on the world in that special year.
Johnny Cash would release his first record later that year.
He was only 24 years old.
Dick Clark would become the host for "American Bandstand" later that year.
He was not yet 27 years old.
Charlton Heston was 32 years old when he made "The Ten Commandments", which opened a month after his 33rd birthday in 1956.

And here are two more little fun facts for you!
WSAV, one of the big local television stations in this neck of the woods, first began broadcasting that same year.
And these interstate highways that we all take for granted? Those did not exist until President Eisenhower granted that it be so.
That was all amazing stuff to me, y'all!

I took my time with the twenty-six photographs that the 26-year-old photographer had snapped. Many had been taken on the spur of the moment, totally candid shots of one young man by another. Because of that non-posed quality, and thanks to the remembrances noted beside each photo, the "Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer" exhibit allows us to share private moments of a life not yet made famous, of a young man not yet become the King of Rock and Roll, of a world not yet launched into Elvis-mania.
I highly recommend that you plan a visit there.

And when you do, be sure to pose with Elvis, will you?
There were three nearly life-sized cutouts to choose from, all different from the Elvis who shares my home.
(smile)
Why choose this one, you ask?
Because the Lucas Theatre was showing "Jailhouse Rock" tonight!
Woohoo!!!
Of course, this Elvis is 22 years old.
(smile)

And this Elvis is probably another decade past that!
I was an usher tonight and as soon as I saw that we had the guest of honor present, I made it my priority to make sure folks in the streets knew!
"Elvis is IN THE HOUSE!"
I chanted from Kevin Spacey's brick.
"Jailhouse Rock
at eight o'clock!"
Such fun for me! Such fun for all!
Such an enthusiastic crowd we had!

Happy birthday:58 for me!
i thank You, God!

summer kid, that's me!

That is one giant bumblebee!
Though, in truth,
it probably isn't any larger than this one.
But perspective is the key.
When you've been shrunk to the size of the Leafmen, size definitely matters!

I've really been enjoying my animation film festival!
While it's true that not all of the movies in the cinemas' series of summer-morning films are animated, a good many are.
That's fine with me!
Especially when they include race scenes or swordfights or pirates!
Not that pirates are in "Epic". Because they are most certainly not.
But I would not have minded if they were.
(smile!)
I was a little late joining the summer-morning films this year.
I did not see my first one until Tuesday, June 10th. But what an awesome first film for my personal Summer Kid Film Festival - "How To Train Your Dragon"!!! Toothless, my lovely Night Fury dragon!!! Woohoo!!!
To get to see the original days before the sequel came out was... aWeSOmE!!!
(Yes, I know I already said it, but it bore repeating.)
That first film of my SKFF was at the Royal Cinema in Pooler. They were the only ones that offered that favorite movie for me. Their summer films had started the week before. The movies screen on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 AM and cost one dollar. Popcorn and a drink can be had for only $4.
Two weeks would pass before I was able to continue with my Summer Kid Film Festival. (Hey, I'm pretty busy in the summer, with travels and such. You, too, right?)
That second film, on June 25th, was "The Croods", at the Spotlight Cinema. Great movie about family, adventure, and daughter-father relationships. The Spotlight group screens their summer-morning films on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, at 10 AM. They are the only cinema that offers three days of these kid movies - and they are also the only ones at which the movies are free. To encourage them to continue, I usually buy the kid-sized tray of popcorn, soda, and candy. (It's only about $5.)
The very next day, I went to my third film as a Summer Kid: "Despicable Me"!!! That was at the Carmike Cinema. A mere $4 gets you the movie, popcorn, and a drink. Their Summer Kid Series is held only on Thursdays, so keep that in mind.
Up to this point, I had previously seen the movies. None were new to me.
Not so for the fourth film! "The Adventures of Tintin", about an investigative boy reporter and his dog, had somehow escaped me when it came out three years ago. I'm so glad the Summer Movie Express at the Regal Cinema brought it for me on this first day of July!
By the way, their summer films are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and cost just one dollar. Popcorn can be had for just a few dollars more. Two of them, in fact. Dollars, not popcorns.
On July 3rd, I was back at the Carmike for "Despicable Me 2", for more fun with Minions and the three once-orphaned girls Gru had adopted - adorable! What great timing! Just one week after the cinema had screened the original! I bet they did that on purpose!
(smile!)
And that brings us to this week and today.
My Summer Kid Film Festival has had five movies so far, all animated.
I wonder what the rest of the festival will bring?
I'll be sure to let you know...

one of them days

That's the movie I had hoped to see today.

Nope!

When I hopped into my car, the battery went: uh uh, uh, uh uh, uh.

Drats.

Fortunately, when I called Smitty, he was in the area and rode to my rescue!

Fortunately, I had the jumper cables, too, as he did not.

He must have left them in his other vehicle... LOL!

My brother even followed me down to what was once Western Auto Parts.

Yes, you can tell a Savannah native from a transplant by the references to businesses that are long gone, but still remembered.

It's now Advance Auto Parts and the young man there tried to steer me to another store that had the same batteries at lower prices, but I demurred.

The price differential at this store included their removal of the old battery and the installation of the new one, with no separate labor fee.

Definitely worth the lesser degree of hassle!

Thanks, Myron, for your help and your efficiency.

On my way again, about $150 poorer than planned for this day, I did so with no music.

Drats.

That loss of battery power for that brief time of exchange between old and new had wiped out all my radio presets, as well as the clock. 

I remembered two of them - WRHQ and I-95 - but the rest shall be found another day.

A check of my phone for time let me know that I'd missed not only the intended movie, but also the backup plan movie.

Drats.

I took the long way to the Publix on Largo, wanting to give the new battery plenty of time to fully charge.

I had a specific goal in mind at that store: paczki.

Tomorrow is Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, whatever one wants to call it, and that is the day to eat those fancy Polish doughnuts.

I was sure this Publix would have them!

Nope.

The clerk in the bakery called the store at Twelve Oaks, and they did have some.

Meanwhile, I spotted some smaller, raspberry-filled treats.

Maybe they would serve as mini-paczki? 

I checked when I arrived home and verified that they would.

Good.

Although the weather was fairly nice today, I didn't want to spend the day bouncing from one grocery store to another.

I had an unexpected visit with the bfe while I was at the Largo store and that had delayed me from returning home.

Why the rush?

I'd planned to have popcorn for lunch with my movie.

The battery adventure had taken more than two hours, meaning it was nearer to dinner time now than to lunch, and I was quite hungry.

Fortunately, I'd spotted Chicken Tikka Masala in the grab-and-go area in the deli while I was chatting with the physicist.

That was very satisfying for my late slunch!

The Indian dish also reminded me of Barbara, as she was always a big fan of that cuisine.

Sandy texted me that a couple from New Jersey bought it, furniture, decor, and all.

That's good; Barbara had spent a lot of time, and money, in the last few years on the new living room couches and her new bed.

I'm glad her efforts, and her taste, will be appreciated by the new owners.

flashback from fb

One of the things I do on facebook these days is delete the "memories" that pop up.

This time, though, I found the three, separate, "memories" of posts from this day in 2013 painted too good a picture of my life then for me to simply delete them.

Instead, I have come back in time to post them here.

-------------

Black Maria Film festival last Friday - thanks SCAD! Thanks to Jim Reed for encouraging me to go!

Yesterday, Brunch for Sarah Morgan's baby shower for family down at Tybee (Thanks Nancy! So good to see Jean Marie, Susan, and Jean there, too!), then "Hands of the Spirit" at Muse Arts Warehouse - both very uplifting!  Lunch at Kayak Kafe, featuring their $2 brownie and an Arnold Palmer drink (lemonade and iced tea) - and it was my first time there, so that counts toward my New Year's Resolution.  Sah-weet!  Afterward, I was "Singing In The Rain" at the Lucas - and the poster is MINE!  Woohoo!  Nice to see JinHi and Mark Rand there, too!  Then down to Tybee for a look at the beach in the half-moon light - ahhhh!

-------------

So, whatever happened to that poster I won at "Singing In The Rain"?

I gave it to Joe Buttner, for his apartment's bare walls.

In trade, he gave me a memorable adventure!

(smile!)

almost a picnic, most def an a*list

Let's begin with the definite, shall we?

Quite a mixed bag it is, too, for the AMC A*List this week.

I started off in the Marvel Universe, hopped down to South America, then ended dancing with music from before the 1980's via time travel.

Pretty nifty, eh?

"Captain America: Brave New World" featured Anthony Mackie in the title role, with a power-hungry Harrison Ford as POTUS.

That was pretty good as pure escapism from current affairs.

Then it was off to find Aunt Lucy with "Paddington In Peru", with lots of laughs along the way on that adventure with the Browns.

Why Sally Hawkins wasn't the mom this time is anyone's guess, but I'll say this: I certainly felt the lack of her presence.

Not that the replacement wasn't good, but, with all the rest of the family in place, it seemed very odd to not have Sally's smiling face.

I finished up on Tina Tuesday with "Making Of Led Zeppelin", a music documentary that I truly enjoyed!

By the time I knew of that British group, it was the mid-70's when I was in high school.

AM was still king on the radio here in the south, and their tunes weren't so prevalent.

However, the film dealt with their musical backgrounds as teens, as well as the influences of music from North America that they were listening to: gospel, jazz, blues.

Like I said, I very much enjoyed learning how the quartet came to be who they were!

 

And just why was I in a rush to finish the dance card?

Terrible winter weather, that was the impetus.

Today was back near freezing in the morning, with the high struggling to hit 50 F.

Truly decent temperatures won't be around until Sunday.

Ugh.

That's why I scooted out to Papa John's between rain drops to fetch home some treats.

On top is their large Super Hawaiian pizza, with light cheese.

The other is a medium pizza, featuring salami and light cheese on the New York crust.

That one was just $6.99; the other pie was $13.29, believe it or not.

That's because the large was on special of 30% off when added to an order.

The medium was only $6.99 because I "paired" it with 10 Buffalo boneless wings, also bought for just $6.99.

So, that's $5 off the medium, $5 off the wings, and $5.70 off the large.

Woohoo!!!

Then, I had a $5 gift card from AARP that 'cost' me 15,000 points.

My grand total, including tax, for all that food was only $18.83 - woohoo!!!

 

That's why I celebrated with a picnic-style dinner tonight.

Ah, yes: corn on the cob and half of the buffalo wings made me feel like summertime!

Well, almost...

(smile!)

Now to watch "Bridget Jones Mad About The Boy" on Peacock before it's time for a dose of Mulder and Scully.