i think the word you want is 'fiasco'

"The word I want?"

Okay, then, the word that would be more appropriate for this episode of the S&K Friday Fiesta than that last one. We all knew that John and Sherry Schomburg would be in town and would be visiting with their friends from the old neighborhood - that is, my brothers and the Kameron brothers and Betsy - at Jalapenos of Sandfly. We knew because Smitty told us last week.

"Oh, how very nice! Always good to see old friends and hear the tales form "back in the day" that seem to come out then!"

You would think so, right? But when Tony and Laura arrived, a fourth table was added to the end and suddenly they were cut off from the regular crowd. They found themselves sitting by the Schomburg's daughter, Ashley, as well as her husband and their two young daughters (ages 4 and 6, as I recall). That was not good. When I joined them, that seemed to add to the unsettled feeling somehow, and Tony and Laura left.

"What? You mean, they didn't stay to eat? Seriously?"

Tony said he felt he'd been disrespected, and i could understand that. This is the only time of the week when he is with men who aren't coworkers. This is his time with his brother and friends he's known since he was a kid. I could understand where he was coming from, as I went through a lot of that when I returned from the Navy.

"Even so, this was a special occasion. John and Sherry were just trying to have family and friends time, so the arrangement was thrown off."

Not quite. The first two tables were as they always are, with the guys on one side and the gals on the other. Where it all fell apart was the middle table with that young family. I feel like things could have been handled better, but, oh well. Then Laura returned, solo, and TOOK A CHAIR - from the third table - TO ADD TO THE FIRST TABLE - so she could sit with the other gals of our regular party - AND THEY MADE ROOM FOR HER. Like, seriously. She couldn't sit with me and the guests for this one meal???

"Oh, this doesn't sound like it's gonna end well..."

So I bounced up to that first table and got onto all the gals from disrespecting Ashley and her family, who were there as guests. They left Ashley and her husband to just sit as outcasts at that third table, as none of the gals were talking to them. Well, God bless Betsy! She picked up her plate and her drink and came down to the fourth table with me!!! She's such a trooper!!! And she ended up charming the little girls and giving Ashley a chance to eat her meal!

"Well, that sounds marvelous! That Betsy, she can carry on a conversation with just about anyone, can't she?"

Yes, she can! As I said, God bless Betsy. I'm glad I have the cruise next week, so I will have at least one week away. Maybe it's time for me to take a break from this. After all, the Schomburgs started it with Smitty and Mary, like ten years ago, so I'm just along because I'm a Smith kid. Maybe I need to start a new tradition, like the second Thursday go out with just my brothers. Something like that. We'll see. But I'm not gonna let it bother me tonight, as the Atlanta Rhythm Section put it. "The world is in an uproar and there ain't no end in sight, but I will not let it bother me tonight, no, I won't." I have a birthday vacation that starts on Sunday and all else can wait until my return.

"Good for you. Don't let it put you off and make you miss it. I know how much you hated missing out on that Las Vegas trip last fall. You go with Christina and her girls and have a wonderful summer holiday together, as y'all have for the past few years. See you when you return... and don't forget the sunscreen!". 

laundry and list done!

That was the carrot to justify my rewards this afternoon.

If I got all the clothes washed and dried and put away, I could have a leisurely double feature, double header, at the cinema. 

So, here are the clothes, in the quadruple machine which I like at Suds.

Sadly, it had a problem with its drain, so there were still suds in the last few items in the washer as I was unloading it.

Ack. 

I had to rinse those by hand, then took them home to dry.

The rest all went into the single dryer, as usual.

I know, I know, it's been almost five months since I was at the laundry!

If not for being able to do small batches during my dog-sitting forays since February, I would have run out of undies a long time ago.

Fortunately, those were spaced out such that those small loads were exactly what I needed, when I needed it.

i thank You, God.

Then, as my reward I finished off my AMC A*List with two more "determined women" films, without realizing I had a theme until I saw the image.

See what I mean?

"Gail Daughtry And The Celebrity Sex Pass" was already discussed.

That leaves the other two, both seen this afternoon and prevening.

I still don't understand why "Moana" was made as "live-action", as it followed the 2016 animated film exactly.

My guess is they wanted to do so while The Rock was still pretty buff.

After all, Dwayne Johnson isn't gonna get any younger, right?

He's 54 years old now, and certainly looks it, but he still looked good enough to stand in for a demigod that had been on a desert isle for 1000 years.

(smile!)

I don't know why they changed out the girl, swapping out Auliʻi Cravalho and replacing her with Catherine Laga'aia, as they are only 5 years apart in age, but there may have been an availability issue.

I'm just thrilled that they kept Jemaine Clemente there to voice that "Shiny"-loving treasure crab!!!

I followed that with a conversation with both Trey and Tom!

The two managers were changing shifts, so it was nice to chat with both.

I found out that parking lot lights should be at least started by the end of this month - hooray!!      

Then I ate pizza for slunch while I watched "Supergirl".

Bless her heart, she was having a rough time on her 23rd birthday, as it seemed to be just another day of getting drunk, like so many others.

Then, of all the bars in that alien world, the little girl walks into hers, seeking someone to kill Krem, the creep that slaughtered her sword-making family.

Kara Zor-El tried to shake the girl, but her dog, Krypto, seemed to like her so the trio seemed stuck together for a while.

That didn't last long before Krem came calling... and reminded her of something her father had told her: to be good.

It was the same message her cousin CLark kept throwing at her.

They weren't telling her to 'behave', they were trying to get her to acknowledge the goodness in her heart.

Pretty good movie!

Maybe I'll be able to see that one again in a couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, that trio will have to do.

Now, I'm going to watch "8 Days: To The Moon And Back" with my dinner. 

I recorded the 2019 PBS documentary a few days ago and now, when naught is on except FIFA soccer, it's perfect for me!

It promises to have actual cockpit voice recordings, as well as recordings from the Houston Space Center and various news broadcasts, so I'm looking forward to it.

I imagine it'll be much of the same things I heard at the Kennedy Space Center, but, still, that's pretty awesome stuff!

What a moment in history that was for the entire world!

Shhh... it's starting...

sparkle of fireflies

An old boyfriend from high school posted this on his fb page.

"I just learned that a group of fireflies is called a sparkle...

and now the world feels a little more magical!" 

He's Father Michael Kavanaugh these days, and we once wrote letters back and forth as he was in divinity school and I was in my "C" school classes.

One of these days, he and I are meeting for lunch, but not today.

This is Tina Tuesday and I've 

spent it with my first niece!!!

Incredibly, unbelievably, it was just me and her...

no children... 

no boyfriend...

just the two of us!

I have felt so special! 

We began with "Sing" at NCG Cinema, one of the last of its "Summer Camp" films, eating popcorn and singing along!

Then we were off to Olive Garden, naturally.

I had asked if she thought that might be doable and she'd replied, "what a silly question, Aunt Tina!"

(smile!) 

I'm so glad she arranged this island of time with me before our vacation with the family next week!

Wmla, my dearest Christina!!!

last week pics i would have taken

So, last week, when I was unable to make it to the Two First Posts meeting, I missed seeing these completed items.

For instance, there are now two TVs mounted in the bar area...

and there are three TVs mounted in the dining area...

and there's a huge TV on an AV cart in the event room.

Also, the game room has a pocket door...

 

the storage closet has stocked shelves... 

the stoves now have lit pilot flames...

the Budweiser sign with the Clydesdales is mounted above the restaurant door...

the event banquet tables are corralled onto a table cart... 

and Brenda's sign is mounted outside on the building, between the two entry doors, to welcome all.

We all stopped to admire it as we left tonight.

Yes, there was a small group that came out on a Monday night.

Doug had called for this extra meeting, but there were only four of us there - me, him, Joe Cetti, and John Parker.

The upshot of that was nothing could be decided, as we didn't have a quorum.

Wait, did I say nothing?

That's incorrect.

What was determined was that we would be meeting again on Thursday, and that promises to be extra long, as it has a packed agenda.

John called Brenda to request that she specifically invite Kat and Mike, as it is of utmost importance that their contract gets finalized.

It's vital that Whiskey Tango Foxtrot become a reality, bringing folks in to spend money and spread the word.

To that end, Doug has rewritten the lease contract from May 27th, incorporating the changes determined to be needed two weeks later.

A month has elapsed since then, hence the need to get JKLM LLC inked in as the canteen management company!!!

Doug will send Version 8 around so we can check it before then, so that part of the meeting will proceed quickly. 

Here's hoping!

John asked Brenda to make sure Justin will make that Thursday meeting, too, as well as Larry Jackson.

Justin is to talk about the chandelier situation, and guess what?

That one that I like has been selected as the winner!

Not necessarily because of its appearance, but on the basis of cost.

Hey, whatever gets it done... though $1900 is still costly.

Why does Larry need to come?

We want to make absolutely sure we'll be on the City Council's docket next time.

That will take place on August 5, so our ducks need to be not only in a row, but with the i's dotted and the t's all crossed.

Even so, that's for the liquor license, which is not something that should keep the restaurant from opening and making money.

Right?!

We will also have special guests on Thursday, who will be there to promote their fundraising gaming option.

The goal is to have them do their pitch first, then for our meeting to take place immediately after they leave.

Speed is of the essence, as Post 36 of the American Legion has its meeting that night, too.

Busy, busy, busy, though I don't know if any of that counts as vibrant for this woman.

(smile!) 

"Your car is ready!"

What a welcome phone call that had been this morning! Woohoo!!!

"But I thought the part wasn't even arriving until today?"

Me, too, but Michelle of Rincon Transmission said it must have arrived after hours on Friday. So they went to it first thing this morning! I called Smitty right after her call and he was finishing up at his shop and available to come get me to take me to my Saturn. What great timing!

"Wow."

And when Michelle gave me the invoice, the balance due was ZERO. I kept looking at it, waiting for the numbers to change, but they didn't! I've never had a bill from car repairs for zero dollars before. Mind blown! They had even waived the diagnostic charge to verify that the shift cable was the culprit. Wow.

"Wow!"

I went straight from there to the AMC Cinema. I had a little over two hours until my long overdue appointment with Dr. Cobb and I didn't want to go home. I wanted to be closer to his office, you know? So, I watched the 11:45 AM screening of "Gail Daughtry And The Celebrity Sex Pass", as that would put me out in plenty of time.

"Really? And how was it?"

Actually not as inane as I'd imagined, though I doubted that a couple of hairdressers like her and her pal would have the funds to gallivant around like they did. There were quite a few well-known actors in it, too - Jennifer Aniston, Elizabeth Perkins, John Slattery, and, of course, Jon Hamm, her 'celebrity crush'. The part I liked most was the nod to "The Wizard Of Oz", with him as the one granting wishes to the ones in her foursome. The end, with him in a hot air balloon, coming to steal her away from her wedding, was pretty cool, too.

"Sounds like a hot mess, to me, but I'm glad it distracted you."

Me, too. I went straight to the heart doc afterward, even though I knew I would be 30 minutes early. That worked out just fine! They took me in straight away and I was all done, EKG and talk with him, just a few minutes after my scheduled appointment time of 2:30. And to think, I had been so stressed about how I would get to it that I'd slept badly last night.

"Why were you stressed? You know that Christina said she would come from Hinesville to get you there."

Yes, I know, but I hated asking her to do that. It had been such a relief to be able to call her and tell her those hoops wouldn't need to be jumped through. She has both girls going to camp this week, so either her or Anthony would have to pick them up, and whichever did that would send the other to come for me. Just too much hoopla, I thought.

"Yes, but that was her choice to make. As she told you, "I love you enough to come to Savannah any time." She really is the best."

She really is. I am so blessed to have her in my life. Now, I'm going to watch an episode of "Shakespeare & Hathaway" before this last-minute meeting at Two First Posts that Doug has called. Later!

smitty wanted a party this bday!

He even gave everyone fair warning that an increased cost would be involved for dinner, as his choice was Miyabi's for his birthday.

Even so, we all still agreed to come, except the young ones... then they changed their minds and came anyway!

After all, Addison and Becca never pay for their meals!

 

So, off to the Japanese steakhouse we went, and there was even a nice cake for the birthday fellow!

Oh, my mistake... that was a RICE cake!

The chef even wrote "HBD 66" on it for Smitty!

All it lacked were candles.

(smile!)

Here's the chef making the shrimp appetizer for all of us.

I'm so glad I can eat shellfish!

My guess is we each got two shrimp, served as six pieces.

Meanwhile, the zucchini and onions were still cooking on the grill.

They smelled so good!!!

We had received our miso mushroom soup as the first course.

Then came the crisp salads, loaded with ginger dressing - yum!

I ate my salad, and my dinner, with chopsticks and was the only one who decided to dine in that fashion.

I swear it tastes better without metal utensils!

(smile!)

 

No one commented on my use 

of chopsticks for eating, either.

Then again, it could be that 

the girls on the side did, 

but I couldn't hear them.

Or, it could be they weren't even 

aware, as they were on the 

opposite end of the huge table. 

I'm not even sure that Robin and Laura saw that I used those wooden sticks.

Then again, they were raised as sisters and are usually rapt in conversation.

Tony was engrossed in having sake with his meal, and Jimmy likely didn't see.

 

I think Smitty noticed, but he knows 

I was in Okinawa for two years, 

so I think he expected it of me.

As for Mark, he really had a limited view.

I know he was more attuned to the 

difference in the size of his Michelob 

Ultra compared to Smitty's Asahi.

LOL!

Anyway, after the first, second, and third courses, we got a generous helping of vegetables... and an even more generous slab of that rice cake!

Then we watched as all the meats were cooked by our entertaining chef!

A steak for Laura and another for Jimmy...

a fish for me... 

scallops for Smitty and Mark and Tony...

chicken breast for Mary, with mixed chicken for the other women...

plus shrimp for me, Smitty, Mark, and Tony.

I had enough left over to use for two more meals!

I'm so glad Smitty chose this for our S&K Friday Fiesta!

Happy bday 66, dear brother!

(smile!)

bday68 trip to the jepson!

"Hooray! You've taken your sweet bippy time about that this year!"

 

I have, and it actually was a spur of the moment thing. I suggested it as a place to go and she said she hadn't been in over a decade. Off we went downtown! And when we got there, a parking spot magically emptied as we arrived!

 

"Fabulous! Right place, right time!"

 

I concur wholeheartedly! And we were able to cut through the shade of Telfair Square, avoiding the summer heat. I'm so glad I recently renewed my membership! That allowed me to treat her to admittance, just as she had treated me to our luncheon. I really loved that I was able to do that!

 

"Marvelous! And I could swear I've seen that painting before. Isn't it one of those from the Monet exhibit a few years back?"

 

Good memory, as that was back in 2015. And you are correct! That's "The Garden Umbrella", by Frederick Frieseke, an American who did most of his works in the first third of the 20th century. This time, the piece owned by the Telfair is part of the "Impressionism And Modernity: French And American Painting" exhibit. This one opened in May, for my birthday, but I've just not made it there until today.

 

"That means you missed the opening reception for it, didn't you?"

 

Sadly, yes. I'm just glad to have made it this afternoon! All total, we probably spent 40 minutes in this exhibit. And, of that time, we sat and talked about this one painting for at least fifteen minutes!!! I have to believe the bench in front of it was so placed to encourage discussion.

 

"This is definitely not an impressionism work. I take it that it was one of the 'modernity' pieces borrowed from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC? What a detailed look at life by a busy waterway! There's even the two ladies in the foreground, stopping while walking their dog so the little boy can play with it! Very nice!!!"

 

That's exactly why we sat and talked about it! Sadly, neither of us made note of the title or artist for the piece. I guess I'll have to make a follow-up trip for that information! 

 

"I guess you will. And what's this exhibit?"

 

It's the one that opened in March. "Off The Coast Of Paradise: Artists And Ossabaw Island, 1961-Now" has a wide variety of pieces. Some are metallic sculptures, many are photographs, and a few are paintings. I really liked this quartet of photographs by Ellen Lanyon.

 

"I bet I know why!!! Three of those photos taken at a beach bear a striking resemblance to the Raman spectroscopy images you obtained for linear polyethylenes during your doctoral studies at Florida State University."

You're absolutely right! I very much liked seeing these. We spent probably 25 minutes exploring the exhibit until we stumbled upon a film being shown in the last room. Guess what it was? "Venus of Ossabaw", that short movie that was part of the talk I went to back in January of 2025!

 

"How very cool! Wait, I thought this was being screened on the outside of the Jepson, in the evenings, so everyone could see it. Right? Wasn't the Jepson offering that as part of the Juneteenth celebration?"

 

That's right, but that stopped two weeks ago. I'm glad we happened to catch most of it. The short is a little over 18 minutes, and we saw 13 minutes of it. The historical fiction followed 'Venus' for over a month, as she travels from her home as a slave to the marshes of Florida, eventually being taken in by a group of Catholics. There was no sound, and no subtitles, either, other than those denoting the passage of time. Still, we both were captivated by the young woman's travels and struggles in the wilderness.

 

"You keep saying 'we'. You and the mouse in your pocket?"

 

Hahaha! I haven't used that phrase in so long! No, no mouse but Rhonda, an old friend that I've recently made new contact with. She and I had a luncheon today and then, as she had free time, we'd wandered to the museum. What a wonderful time!

 

"And I see you captured her in front of Joe Guy's "1000 Cranes"!"

 

Yes, it's one of my favorite places to photograph visitors to my house. It really came out very well, didn't it? We'd visited for a while, with me giving her the history of every piece on the walls. Then we went to Kayak Kafe Midtown, where she'd never been, and both greatly enjoyed our choices! She had the Cilantro Lime Fish Tacos, and I had the Tuna half-sandwich and the West Indies Trader half-salad. Good energy for our museum trip later as it turned out! (smile!)

 

"I'm so glad y'all had such a good time today!"