birthday cake from the universe!!!

It's a real beauty, too, that's for sure.

As Marcia said, I've been dreaming of this dessert for quite some time.

It's called Milky Way Cake and it is some kind of scrumptious!

Far too rich to have on a regular basis, but it certainly was perfect tonight as I continued the celebration of bday68.

This outing for Music Bingo with Sandy and the J Crew was also a perfect ending to my birthday weekend!

Elissa was absent, but Marcia had two daughters (Amanda and Donna) and her 11-yo granddaughter (BatSheva), so that was perfect, too!

Russ was dropping music that I loved all evening, starting off with "Dad Rock Mix #1", like "Learn To Fly" by the Foo Fighters, which would have given me a bingo in that first game.

That was followed by "Bar Favourites Mix #7", which would have yielded me one of two bingos if "Heart Of Glass" by Blondie or "Like A Prayer" by Madonna had either one hit the air. 

He ended the night with "90's Party Anthems #1", giving us "Macarena" and "Ice Ice Baby" and "I Like To Move It" - lots to sing and move to!

Very nice!!!

What a wonderful way to start this month of my 68th year!

 

I had a wonderful ending to the month of May, too.

Last night, my youngest brother took me out for dinner!

Tony and Laura and I went out to Tubby's Tankhouse, as they know I love seafood - and they were right!

I ordered the Tuna Tacos and they were fabulous!

They should have called them "Ahi Tuna Tacos", as the sashimi-grade fish was perfectly prepared and beautiful.

Oh, yes! 

Even in the rain, dinner out with family is a good idea! 

 

Fortunately, the rain had held off for the S&K Friday Fiesta.

Smitty and Mary surprised me with dinner not at our usual haunt but at a seafood place: Driftaway Cafe in Sandfly.

Even with Tony and Laura absent for the Bloomingdale concert, we still had enough for the party table out back!

That's because Addison was there, with her new boyfriend, plus Becca, Robin, and all three of the regular Kamerons.

I changed up my menu, choosing the Jerk Salmon Spring Salad, as it's been a while since I went Caribbean... and I have a cruise coming up at the end of July with Christina and her family... so I had that taste in my mouth and on my mind!

Most excellent choice! 

What a fabulous way to spend the weekend!

Happy birthday to me!

(smile!) 

happy birthday from Smitty!!!

There he is, making my front yard look shipshape again!

It's been more than two months since it was last trimmed.

I'd mentioned to my brother, Smitty, that I needed some help with it... and he showed up about 11 AM, weed whacker in hand, to take care of it for me!

"Happy birthday, sister!"

He not only trimmed up the front, but he got the back yard looking better, too.

What a wonderful bday68 gift from him!

(smile!)

Hopefully, that will keep it straight for the next few weeks.

The Universe is trying to counter the drought we've had, to restore a bit of humidity to the air for my birthday.

I do appreciate it, but that's several days in a row to try to make up for several months.

The weather song may change, though, as it tends to do.

But I don't mind if the days are rainy.

I like the rain.

(smile!)

letting my voice be heard: part 3

Alrighty then!

Today was the first monthly meeting of the new and improved AARP Georgia group, with Gabrielle in charge.

She started us off with an icebreaker: what was our favorite song, and why?

I gave her "Octopus' Garden", as it always made me think of walking down the street with my childhood BFF!

Then I added "Drift Away", as others had mentioned it, too.

Something we had in common! 

Afterward, she gave us a 15-minute training video to watch.

Titled "Strategic Relationship Building", it was all about determining what community bonds we already had in place for our future community awareness events.

The lecturer referred to building a Win-Win-Win strategy that would benefit the key person at an event, our group at the event, and the community members who came out to the event.

I like that "bigger picture" approach!

 

After the video lecture, we had breakout groups to discuss topics raised.

"Where do people congregate?"

"Where are important landmarks?"

"Where do we have a presence, or where do we need a presence?"

 

My group was a bit different from the others, as it had the blanched almond.

All of us - me, Wanda, Brenda, and Lillian - brought up the senior centers located throughout Savannah and Pooler.

I was the only one who suggested libraries and churches.

I even talked about Sisters In Faith, there at Asbury, who have a monthly speaker visit our luncheons.

I thought for sure they would jump on that as an event opportunity!

However, that didn't happen.

The MLK Civil Rights Museum, the Weeping Area, the NAACP center, those were mentioned by the others.

What I'm sure Gabrielle Richardson and John Strong gathered was that we had some work to do to make this group more diversified.

Let's hope we can be successful, for the good of the community at large, and not just a portion of it.

letting my voice be heard: part 2

Another night, another group of people, this time American Legion members, for the most part.

Yes, it was yet another meeting for the Two First Posts planning committee, but this was well attended.

For Post 36, there was Doug Andrews, Joe Cetti, Billy Cope, and me.

For Post 500, there was John Parker, Larry Jackson, Eric Bolden, Brenda Pough, Sabrina Scales, and Eddie Patterson.

Plus, this time, we had Kat Hancock.

That was good, as the contract for her business to take control of the kitchen and bar had been revised and was the major topic tonight.

Doug had taken the initial contract Mike (Kojik) and Kat had started and rewritten it, along with some cosmetic changes from me.

With Kat tonight, we all of us went through the new version from Doug.

That ended up taking about 90 minutes, especially as Section 3.4 contained items that drew objections from Kat about revenue sharing.

Doug had me rewrite that on the spot!

Then, to further clear up the language about another objectionable clause, he asked me to rewrite it again!!!

I was thrilled to do so, too.

They all waited while I hand-wrote the changed version, then I read it aloud as Brenda recorded me doing so.

I offered to retype it on the contract later, and Doug was only too happy to pass off that duty to me.

Good!

I'm so glad to have found my voice in these meetings!

 

I'm also glad that tangible and visible progress has been made.

The new exterior doors required by the Fire Marshal have been installed, though the jambs are not quite completed.

That should happen in the next day or so.

 

The previous front doors will then be installed into the new wall on the ballroom, which is looking very good, thanks to Eric, our building manager.

He set up all the new LIfetime chairs for tonight's meeting.

They look very nice, don't they?

I think we'll be glad to have renters of this space now!

Hopefully, just one more meeting before we open for business...

and hopefully it will not last four hours, like this one did. 

(smile!) 

lettting my voice be heard: part 1

 

I do so enjoy these lectures out at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography!

Jackson Schroeder engages some interesting speakers for this "Evenings At Skidaway" series and tonight's was no exception.

There he is, sitting on the left, across from the postdoc, Dr. Sean Anderson, who spoke to us about "Tiny Plants, Big Impacts: Phytoplankton and the Ocean's Microbial Food Web".

I had not realized that these were one-celled flora!

What complex functions they were able to perform with that single cell!

It certainly had me thinking about science, as well as chemistry, and the size of the molecules which exist in every cell of our own bodies.

DNA is huge, as it contains the 'recipes' for every protein that the body has to build, and every cell has a copy of that DNA double-helix.

Like I said, it really had me thinking about chemistry.

That's why I asked two questions afterward.

Let me say this: I usually do ask a question, but I do so quietly, after the Q&A has ended and I can talk one on one with the speaker.

Not this time!

I asked during the session, so all would hear!

Such a change for me!

The first question was: "Has a study been done on the effect of introducing parasites into areas blighted by algal blooms - like Red Tide - to help clear up the phytoplankton overpopulation?"

He had told us in some detail of certain parasites that were capable of consuming multiple phytoplankton at a time.

Dr. Anderson responded that a group of researchers in Spain were working on that very problem, but cautioned about introducing non-native species into an area and causing an even greater problem.

[For instance, the planting of Japanese kudzu to control erosion around highways and that species now rampant over native trees.]

My thought on that issue is to use the parasites as if they were living enzymes, so that control the ratio of the parasite (enzyme) to the phytoplankton (substrate) would prevent any extra harm to an environment.

Chemistry!!!

My second question: "What research has been done of the effect of major hurricanes on the phytoplankton populations and, subsequently, on the populations of those species that rely on phytoplankton for food?"

Dr. Anderson replied that scientists are trying to study that, but it's a tricky subject, as major hurricanes impact such large areas for a prolonged time.

Heard that.

After all was said and done, Jackson gave me a gift: food for home!

He always has a nice spread of fruit and cheeses for the reception.

It's like a little party!

That was my plate before the lecture... then I had even more after!

Happy birthday to me!

Those cheeses and that peppercorn-crusted salami will be nice on salads.

Thanks, Jackson!

peter pan and the lions!

It's a good thing the SCAD play was a matinee, or I'd never have gotten that many lions wrestled to the ground!

This was another bday68 treat for me, of course!

I'd invited Kathy Mayin to this one and yesterday's musical, but she told me she would only be going to the one next weekend at Tybee.

I had hoped this one at the Lucas Theatre would be a musical, but no.

It was silliness piled on silliness, and the house was full!!!

Oh, have I not yet said its name?

Here it is: "Peter Pan Goes Wrong", composed by the same folks that penned the Christmas mashup two years ago. 

So how did this rendition work?

Well, the boy playing 'Michael' was supposedly a last-minute addition to the play - much like the girl in the last Hive musical - and had a voice in his ear instead of a script in his hands.

'Michael' was not nearly as adept as she had been, as he tended to repeat anything and everything that came through the headset.

Hilarity ensued, naturally!

There were lots of physical gags, too, with trick triple-tier bunk beds playing a role as well as fly-wires that had the actors upside-down most of the time when they weren't crashing into walls and such.

Plus, the stage crew had to keep coming on to fix things, most notably the doggie door when 'Nana' got stuck in it - that was funny!

The most impressive thing for me, though, was the set itself.

With at least three different views that rotated into place, they were works of art and must have been the most time-consuming part of this production.

The scene at the top was of the bedroom for the three children of the Darling family and had two doors, the double windows, the collapsing bunk bed, and other furniture.

The scene above was the opener of the second act and portrayed the Lost Boys' forest and it had collapsing bits, too!

Plus there was one stage that was the outside of the Darling's home, so we could see the children flying off with Peter Pan.

Then there was another stage for Captain Hook and his crew!

Like I said, those were quite impressive.

As for the actors themselves, the online program isn't much help.

It has the names of the characters they are playing, who in turn are playing 'Peter', 'Wendy', 'John', 'Michael', and company.

Still, it was enjoyable... and only $15 for seniors like me!

Oh, did I mention there were lions?

I did... but I never said they were in the play, did I?

That's because they were all part of my MGM+ Film Festival!

I didn't even know Comcast gave me that channel this week until Friday.

I started that day with "Overboard", the 1987 version with Goldie and Kurt - nice and light and perfect for breakfast!

I followed that with "Roofman", the Channing Tatum bit from last year, with him portraying the lovable bandit who lived in a Toys'R'Us store.

Upon my return home from the dinner with my brothers and others, I cued up "A Fish Called Wanda", as I love that 1985 romance!

Yesterday was pretty busy, so it wasn't until after nightfall that I could grab another from the premium channel.

"Novocaine" was the perfect romance-action flick to cap my day!

Today has been busy, too, but I came home from downtown wanting a musical... and there was "Hair", with its 1973 cast of hot actors.

I even managed to dance a little bit.

Then, before the clock ran out on this reward, I grabbed "To Live And Die In LA", just to watch William Petersen in those skintight jeans...

and Willem Dafoe artistically counterfeiting money...

and to listen to the Wang Chung soundtrack... 

yeah, that will do nicely! 

Sweet dreams for me! 

another birthday dinner for Sandy!

The last time, it was Kelly who wanted to treat Sandy to dinner.

This time, it was Joel!

He was late, though, so he and his cousin (Harris) missed out on being part of this photo souvenir.

From the left, that's Elissa, Sandy, Kathy, and Marcia.

I think it was Elissa who suggested Aroy Thai Cuisine, and I'm glad she did, as I've never been there before.

The last time I was in that location, it was called Tangerine.

It's a mom and pop operation now, with slow service, but good food.

I had the Larb Gai and I can vouch for it's freshness!

I'm glad Sandy is such a fan of dining out and has friends to indulge her!

Thanks to her, I now have a new place to spring on the physicist when he returns from Ohio in July.

Maybe he'll buy my bday68 dinner then!

(smile!)