thanks, fortune cookie?

I'm not saying Dawn's fortune cookie got it on the nose, but I have received credits worth over $800 in the last few days. That's more than half of my usual monthly income, so I welcome it!

Those credits are from three different sources.

The first was from the second of those two colon cancer research programs that I enrolled in this summer.

I had given up on receiving anything from Geneoscopy, then they sent me an email last week.

As soon as I sent them the report from my colonoscopy, they sent me the agreed upon payment: $200 of store credit on a website. 

I set up an account on that site and ordered about $65 of items on Friday.

They were to arrive by Wednesday, free shipping.

Instead, one arrived yesterday, and the other just landed on my porch!

Now I have toilet paper and panty liners to get me through the winter! 

Plus, plenty of credit left for anything else I want.

Thanks, Geneoscopy and ColoSense!

 

The next chunk of credit was on my County property tax invoice.

According to it, I only owed $53 for the whole year?!

Because I'd paid the usual first half in the spring, the invoice stated my remaining balance still due was ZERO dollars and ZERO cents.

I called the office on Friday to see if there was an error, some kind of new math that I was not able to figure out.

Nope, the State had passed the Homeowner Tax Relief Grant (to me, an admittance that they had overcharged us), and that credited my County bill with almost $490, enough to literally pay my taxes for me.

The office also told me I'd be getting back a refund of most of the payment I made in the spring, less the $53.

Sure enough, on Saturday, that check arrived!!!

It was accompanied by that odd letter, but that's okay, as I know the check is real and not a scam.

My guess is the generic header of "To Whom It May Concern" allowed them to get the checks out more quickly than having to personalize each one.

Hey, that works for me!

As for the City property tax, I won't be getting a check back for any of that.

The HTRG did pertain to that, too, but only for about $211 worth of credit.

Honestly, that's fine by me!

That covered two-thirds of what I'd still owe at this point in the year.

Yes, I am grateful for that boon!

I'm grateful for all three of those unexpected credits!

Hallelujah!!!

friday fiesta! no politics, please.

It felt like forever since I've been with my brothers!

In truth, it's only been three weeks since I was at Jalapenos with them.

I guess that's a sure sign of how much I value these family and friends dinners on Fridays!

Here, in this shot of the guys' side of the table, we had just gotten our meals.

Tony was down talking with Jimmy and Mark, while Smitty was getting ready to dig in to his special.

And here we are with the gals' side of the table!

Remember, it's the same configuration every time, unless they choose a different restaurant. 

From the far end, that's Becca, Betsy, Mary, and Laura (though she isn't in the frame of this shot).

I must say, Laura and I had a great time talking about a trip she had last week to honor one of her coworkers.

I'm so glad the company that took over Azalealand shows real interest in making things better there!

As for me, I was at the end of the table, positioned between Tony and Laura, as usual.

I even ordered my usual trio of crunchy beef tacos - cRUncH!!!

But here's where it varied: Tony stood.

Instead of sitting like all the others, he pushed aside his chair and STOOD.

He had offered to help me into one of the high-top chairs, as he and Laura had done for me three weeks ago, but I declined.

And that's when he must have decided to stand along with me.

He didn't make a fuss about it, or even mention that he was doing so, he just quietly stayed on his feet the whole time I was on mine... which was the usual two hours we were all together.

Thank you, my youngest brother, for that choice.

That really showed I was special to you.

He and the other guys, plus Laura and Becca, showed that again later after we'd had a visit by Josh Cowart.

His dad, Larry, had been a regular customer when I worked with Smitty, and his wife died a few months ago.

It seems that Larry, now 76 years old, is dating again.

That sparked a conversation about how long someone should after a spouse dies before they get back in the pool again.

I'm glad Josh had already left.

Mary made a comment about Larry using his money to attract women, and, silly me, I saw that as an opening.

"Well, that's what the man in the Oval Office did. There's no reason a woman would be with him except for his money, because he's such an ugly man."

Betsy jumped in with "Who are you talking about?"

Mary said, "She's talking about the President."

Boy howdy, we were off to the races then!

Both of them started spouting rhetoric about Melania not having needed to marry him for his money, that she was rich from being a model when she met him and so I was wrong, wrong, wrong about that.

They were so fired up that I just shut my mouth and let them simmer down.

I was not about to tell them they were wrong.

When Donald and Melania met 26 years ago, she was making the rounds at parties with her agent, as models are required to do for publicity.

Yes, she was a model, newly relocated from Slovenia, and already 26 years old, making about $40,000 a year after ten years in the business, which is hardly rich, even in 2005 dollars.

She likely made more money when he included her in his Trump Modeling Agency in 1999, but that was while they were dating and before she did the nude photo shoots.

They broke up shortly after, but in 2001 got back together after she got her green card to be working in the United States.

They wed in 2005, prenuptial agreement in place, with them having separate residences and him paying her a stipend.

Odd, right?

That seems more like an action one might take with an escort, which is essentially what Melania was for him.

She didn't even have to stay the entire event with him, just be there at the start so all the media could see him in the presence of a model.

A year into the marriage, in 2006, when she was almost 35 and he was almost 60, they had one child, but that was it.

He already had three children from his first wife and one from the second, and he made it clear to Melania that he would not be helping to raise their son.

The addition of that child didn't help her relationship with Donald; in fact, he started dating models again, to escort him to public events.

What a slimy mongrel.

I feel like the others tonight were aware of the sham of that marriage, and that's why they kept silent. 

I have to wonder if Mary and Betsy are aware of how jealous Melania might be of the loving and sharing marriage and family life they have had with their husbands, a marriage with a true partner, not just as head wife of a harem.

I'll just have to remember to not speak of this particular POTUS again for another two years.

By then, the chickens will have come home to roost and his time in the Oval Office will finally be over.

Who knows what will be revealed then?

I'm glad that hiccup in the conversation was only about ten minutes. 

That hardly marred my time at Jalapenos.

Tonight was still wonderful and I look forward to the next time I can share the company of my brothers and others.

(smile!)

end of 1 month, start of another

"That sounds rather cryptic. You talkin' 'bout the weather?"

Nope, just my AMC A*List! 

"But I thought you'd taken care of September already."

Um, no, there was still a solid week left of that month. Not that I saw a bunch of movies, but I did see these two. I'd recommend the love story, but not the Indian movie. "The Paradise" did have some dance scenes, but was terribly gory and violent. Like, most of the time. It was about some troubled section of the country which seemed to be ironically called 'Paradise', when it was actually a region of war prisoners. Yikes. The only reason I stayed was I kept hoping it would get better.

"Yikes, indeed. Not quite the Tollywood you expected."

Not even close. 

"And what about that one named for the gadabout in 'Two And A Half Men'?"

Hahaha! Yes, Charlie Sheen's character was honestly what I was thinking when I saw the title! However, this "Charlie Harper" was a combination of the two characters' names: 'Charlie' and 'Harper'. The first was played by Nick Robinson, the guy from "Voicemails For Isabelle". The girl, 'Harper', was played by Emilia Jones, who'd been the girlfriend in "Tony". In other words, both are recently on my radar. The movie was an excellent look at the anatomy of a  relationship that falls apart, even though the two people still love each other. They just can't live with each other anymore.

"That sounds pretty deep for something that looked shallow."

I know, right? I'll be willing to watch it again sometime.

"Nice to know it was that well done! Now, what else do you have?"

Just these three from this first week, not including the freebie fourth that I had from AARP MFG last Friday. 

"Oh, my, you dared to see another Indian film at AMC?"

Yes, I did, but this one, "Drishyam: The Conclusion", really rocked! I don't know why Carolyn tried to steer me off from it. She said I would need to see the earlier movies to follow along, but I had no problem keeping up with the story. It starts with the father (Rajat Kapoor) of a murdered young woman coming to Investigator 'Tomar' (Jaideep Ahlawat) to get the case reopened. It's been seven years since his daughter disappeared, four years since her bones were found under the new police station, and two years since the case had been closed. And who is the accused killer? A famous actor 'Vijay' (Ajay Devgn), whose family is his alibi, as all were together at a religious function. However, a well-known lawyer (Prakash Raj) is convinced the two witnesses will help solve the case of whose bones were now in the evidence room.

"Wow! A court drama!"

And very suspenseful! Yes, I'm very glad to have caught this one. And it was so very nice to see Jack Skellington and Sally again! I do so love "Nightmare Before Christmas"!!! It was actually a good pairing with "Forgotten Island", as both were about friendship and magic. I hadn't known anything about that one, but the Latina family that shared the screening room with me were very into it! Two girls who'd been best friends since grade school have now graduated from high school... and college is about to separate them. Then they find the sand dollar that serves as a portal to the island the grandmother had once visited! Such an adventure they had!!! Talking animals, time travel, magic potions... really cool. I'll have to recommend it to my great-nieces.

"For sure, though they may know the book."

No, I doubt it. I'd be amazed if any Philippine mythology had filtered into Georgia public school, or even private school, classrooms. I know I said there was a Latina family there, but they could have been from the Philippine Islands just as well, though I could swear I heard Spanish being spoken.

"I see. What an incredible movie to have found it's way to Savannah! And not via Cine Savannah."

I know! I did have one other movie I saw this week, courtesy of my $1 Movie Night Reward. I treated myself to "The Lost Boys". Partly it was because I wanted to hear that half-naked saxophone player wailing out "I Still Believe" - RAWR!!! Tim Cappello absolutely rocks!!! In fact, that whole soundtrack is just fabulous! I have to wonder if the new musical based on the almost 40-year-old movie has any of those songs in the background. So, partly I was drawn into it because Lauri and Lynn Engler had just seen the musical on Broadway. But I found a third reason to see it: a young Dianne Wiest! She was the 39-year-old mother who'd relocated her teen boys to Santa Carla after divorce. Nice to see her in another movie!

"That is nice! So you've seen her in three in less than a month... and she's still alive! That's really nice. In fact, she's the same age as your stepmom, right?"

Yeah, I guess she is. Bonnie was 78 on October 1st, same day that Chloe turned 8. I donated to KIVA in her honor, but I haven't yet told her. Guess I'll call her this weekend! The Georgia Bulldogs will be playing against the Alabama Crimson Tide, so I know she'll be home and awake on Saturday night!

"Hahaha! Yes, I'm sure she'll be tuned in for that football game! I'm glad she and your Daddy liked to watch sports together. Here's hoping the right team wins!"

Hey, that's my line! (smile!)

tfp meeting, at designated time

Can you believe that someone had the nerve to ask me where I was for the Two First Posts meeting two weeks ago?

Yep, and I think it was Kat that asked, in hearing range of her husband Mike, as well as Eric, Sabrina, and John.

I was absolutely truthful: I'm a busy, vibrant woman and I cannot, and will not, keep changing my plans just because TFP doesn't adhere to its calendar.

That had been a meeting changed to a Monday, then canceled that day. 

Had it been rescheduled back to its Tuesday slot?

Nope, it had not, so I had a movie with Ethan Hawke.

Then, all of a sudden, it was on for the Wednesday?!

No, I don't think so, I already had plans with others, as that was not designated as a TFP meeting day on the calendar.

They all got tickled at my response!

That's because they are all well aware that I am a busy, vibrant woman, as Eddie is good about using that phrase every time he sees me.

(smile!)

I like that he listens.

(smile!) 

Well, that he listens sometimes.

The door to protect TFP's tenant at 5509 Montgomery Street from those people who enter at 5511 Montgomery Street has still not been fitted with a lock.

Kat lodged a complaint at the meeting tonight about someone - like we don't all know who - has been going into the bar area and leaving a mess.

 

I suggested going through the camera footage and having the person arrested for trespass into Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.

I swear, a pin dropping would have made a huge racket after I said that!

I then added that it was akin to someone breaking into the dry cleaners or the church, noth of which are also tenants of Two First Posts.

Deep silence once again, but the message was definitely heard.

 

Mike and Kat have been busy getting their restaurant stocked with both foodstuffs and cooking utensils.

They don't need other people going in there without their permission.

Period.

Also, with all the televisions and furniture in there, it's too much temptation.

No one else needs a key to that door at 5509 except the building manager.

No one else should be in that space except the tenants, Kat and Mike, plus their staff, so the restaurant can one day open.

That's why it was important tonight that we passed a motion concerning access to the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Barbeque and Grill. 

The motion was made, and unanimously passed, that Post 36 and Post 500 be informed that no one is allowed to use the WTF spaces except WTF. 

Eddie said he will draft a letter at once concerning that.

Yeah, that felt good to get accomplished tonight!

Meanwhile, to take action to prevent further trespass, Mike is going to install a hasp and lock on their side of that pocket door tomorrow.

(Mike will also repair the dishwasher so it works; it's currently missing a part.) 

I hope that will be done.

Trespassers will be something they don't need.

Eric is in charge of calling Home Depot to get that door measured for a more permanent solution to that problem.

He is already working with Home Depot concerning the back door on the church, as that door is swollen and cracked and presents a fire hazard, as it cannot easily be opened at this time.

Eric is a pretty big guy, and it took him and another person to open it.

How had Eric known about that particular problem?

The church had called their landlord - that would be Doug, of course - and he had contacted Eric to get it done.

Doug wasn't at the meeting, except by phone, and that was sporadic.

Billy was there, as he had been replacing various faulty electrical outlets when I had arrived around 5:30 PM.

Kat and Eric where there then, too, then Sabrina arrived and Mike returned with his and Kat's dinner. 

John came in shortly after, followed by Brenda, then Eddie.

The meeting started about 6:20 PM, which was earlier than usual, but still later than the scheduled time of 6 PM.

(Sigh.)

Eddie again said the Brenda should have copies of all leases, as well as all contracts for use of the event hall in 5511. 

The commander of Post 500 has yet to sign the contract for his event held on September 5th, nor has he paid the security deposit for that event.

Moreover, he held it over at 5509, which was the wrong location, especially as he had said it would be an outside event.

Plus, that commander has lied and said that Doug gave him permission to use the canteen for seating for the fish fry.

Seriously?!

Then Eric piped up with some blame having to be with Two First Posts, as TFP has been allowing monthly meetings of other groups to be held in the WTF space!!!

Unfortunately, he's correct, as the event room doesn't currently allow more than one group to meet at any given time, so the smaller groups - like the Navy League and the Marine Corps veterans - have been shuttled into the restaurant.

Admittedly, that was wrong, but it's because the conference room is too full of stuff and nonsense to allow it to be useful.

That needs to be rectified at once, even if it means moving that stuff into the offices designated for Post 36 and Post 500.

Get it done, Eric - you raised the issue and you're the building manager!

Fortunately, the event room doesn't have anything special scheduled.

Kat and Mike have the "Hail And Farewell" for the 68th Cavalry of Fort Stewart scheduled this week, but that will be in WTF.

They had planned to use part of that revenue to pay a portion of their October rent to Two First Posts.

However, a motion was made, initiated by Doug, that their rent for this month be waived and their first rent payment will be made on November 1st.

Believe it or not, that vote only passed by a vote of 4 to 2.

Still, Kat and Mike were so pleased that they have waived the repayment of their insurance costs from the last three months - when they still were not open due to liquor license delays - and also the repayment of the fees for the health inspection, the grease trap inspection, and various other business costs.

I suspect the reason that Sabrina and Brenda voted against that motion had to do with the current finances.

The rent checks from the other tenants, as well as that from the previous bank, are all having holds placed by Navy Federal Credit Union, as standard business practice, especially for such a new account.

Meanwhile, Sabrina is owed for the extra she paid for the alcohol permit; Brenda is owed for money she paid for TFP's electricity bill; Billy is owed for money he paid for the rolling TV cart; and Eric is owed his paychecks for August and September.

Even with the money due from the rent checks, there's not going to be much of a cushion left behind for the next utility bills coming in this month.

No fear, Doug Andrews is here to save the day, yet again!

He will meet with Sabrina at NFCU tomorrow to make the account solvent until we get some paying events in this space.

Sabrina also has permission from the TFP committee to speak with an accountant she knows about setting up recurring payments and debts, including those to come from the Georgia Lottery games as well as Queen of Hearts.

The meeting finally adjourned about 8:20 PM.

I sure look forward to shorter meetings in the near future.

Now, I'm getting some supper to enjoy while I watch "Best Medicine".

Glad I taped it! 

pink bandanna and change!

"What was the change, dear? Wasn't this a Music Bingo night?"

Yes, yes, it was, as in past tense. Apparently, the folk running the bingo had not obtained rights to play those song snippets, so they had to immediately cease. Drats. Elissa and her son, Isaac, had been told the sad tale upon their arrival at Midtown Sports Grill. So, after Marcia and I came in, we all voted to have dinner somewhere else!

"Hey, I bet I can guess where! You're at Chili's, aren't you? I'd recognize those ultra-thin tortilla chips any time!"

You're absolutely correct, my dear! Their "3 For Me" deal, and the promise of lemonade, was the winning element for Marcia. Me, too! I upped my game from the last time and had the Shrimp Cajun Alfredo - I knew I'd have leftovers from that! Marcia gave me half her fries, too. And we had tons of chips and salsa, between the one that came with my meal and her freebie from their loyalty club.

"Good deal! And you wore a pink handkerchief??"

Nope, that was from my luncheon with Kathy Mayin earlier today! My burger box was clad in that hot pink bandanna! That's the gimmick at Bandanna Burger: everyone goes home with a bandanna. And I know I called it a 'burger box', but that wasn't a beef patty in there. Nope! I ordered "The Con Artist", which was one of those new plant-based 'burgers'. It shared space on the bun with pineapple, pickles, tomato, lettuce, and onion, and was quite hearty and very tasty. Next time, though, I think I'll try their black bean patty and see how I like it. Kathy just ordered sweet potato fries. Originally, we were going to share each other's food, as this was our first time at this restaurant.

"Originally? The plans changed?"

Yeah. She decided the burger looked too messy for her, but she was still going to share the fries... up to the point where she ate the last one! I only got two of them!

"Hahahaha!"

Yes, we both laughed about that! Honestly, it was a nice place to hang out, with all those brightly colored squares of cloth all over. It reminded me of Sweet Potatoes, and how much I enjoyed that bright place on rainy days like today. We'll both have to come here again!

no Earl, no Elf, no Doctor Pomatter

I had wondered how "Waitress: The Musical" would be used for this first God On Broadway sermon, as it deals with a lot of issues concerning marriage,  mothers and daughters, coping with stress, and pregnancy.

I even used a Comcast reward a week ago to make sure all the songs were fresh in mind!

After all, the filmed musical came out in 2023 and there have been a lot of other musicals since that one.

I had hoped to be at Asbury Memorial in person, but my hip is just not that ready for that kind of action early in the day, so I watched on Facebook.

 

That worked in my favor, as I could take screenshots!

Michelle Meese has the lead role of 'Jenna' and here she is in the first scene.

She was so perfect in the Sara Bareilles role!!!

The show at AsbMemCh began as did the musical, with "What's Inside".

 

That led directly into "Opening Up", with Tom Lewis as 'Cal', the diner cook and manager; Carmen as 'Becky'; and her daughter, Alex, as 'Dawn'.

So far, so good, and right in keeping with the story.

And isn't that scrim for "Joe's Pie Diner" just fabulous???

Nice to have members of the choir filling the tables as diners, too!

 

Then we have the scene with 'Joe', played by Bob Townsend, who was ideal in that role of the crotchety old man who owns the place. 

He's got worlds of experience and he catches on that 'Jenna' is pregnant.

She hasn't shared that information around, but he's had a close call or two in his younger years with lovers who got knocked up, so he knows "the look".

There follows a break for the announcements, birthday greetings, and the other regular church stuff for an Asbury Sunday.

 

When the GOB musical returns, it's just 'Jenna' on the stage, obviously pregnant.

She goes into the "Dear Baby" soliloquy, explaining how the crib was obtained and why she will not be in the pie contest.

Then she sings "She Used To Be Mine", about the younger self she once was.

Very beautifully done!

And that was the last scene from "Waitress: The Musical".

Period.

Reverend Billy Hester launched into his sermon, talking of his marriage to Cheri and their frequent counseling sessions they undergo; a story in the Bible from Luke 13:10-17 about a woman who had lived in pain for twenty years and came to Jesus for healing on the Sabbath, causing both of them to catch flak from others; and changes we go through as we age.

 

He segued from that to telling us of hearing "She Used To Be Mine" sung as a duet between a man and woman and how that changed the song.

That's when Michelle and her husband, Matthew, came to the stage and performed the song for us.

It was nice, no doubt about it, but...

that wasn't in the original story.

In fact, a lot that had been very much part of the original musical was completely absent from the version we had today.

Nothing about 'Earl', the husband 'Jenna' married young, who was abusive like her father had been...

nothing about the extramarital affairs between 'Cal' and 'Becky', or 'Jenna' and her OBGYN doc, 'Dr. Pomatter'...

nothing about the love story that springs up between 'Dawn' - the "Turtle" - and 'Ogie' - the "Elf" - who met online...

and certainly none of the imaginative pies that are created continuously by 'Jenna' in response to life's curves.

I'm glad I know the whole story...

but I'm kinda sorta glad I stayed home for this one.

The down side is I missed all the home-baked pies in Holliday Hall after.

fairy unicorn princess in midway!

Not even the nearly-constant rain could dampen spirits at Susie King Taylor Freedom Park in Midway, Georgia, this afternoon!

Just look at that smile on the face of the birthday girl!

Chloe and her friend, Leela, had taken a break from the playground to do a bit of coloring.

Both girls were rain-soaked, but neither cared!

This was a party!!!

I almost took crayons in hand to color, but I went to chat with others instead.

When I returned, Michael and Alyssa had taken my place!  

I know the saying: You move it, you lose it!

I still sat down and talked with them for a while, though I never got around to coloring.

In the background are Melinda and Christina, both wearing pink as though they had coordinated that.

I doubt it! 

And just what was my first niece fiddling with back there on the table?

That was no ordinary table, it was a nachos bar and I made sure to get a nice helping of most of it!!!

Underneath all that nacho cheese, ground beef, black beans, jalapenos, and salsa is actually a bed of tortilla discs.

It was totally fantabulous!!!

In fact, I was so into that Mexican treat that I almost missed the singing of "Happy Birthday"! 

I saw that Matt was lighting the candles and I tried to hurry and get my camera pulled up and ready...

but the snap just missed Chloe blowing out those eight little flames!

At least Aunt Chelsea was right there with cousin Annaleigh, and so was Grammy and Christina!

Anthony's mom, Tonia, was in her wheelchair and had a great view! 

Then it was time for cake and ice cream!

Silly me, I forgot my lactaid, but I still had a piece of that tall cake! 

I liked the puffy unicorn plate - isn't that cute?

And the cake was so very good that I even ate most of the icing - I did!

Then it was time to open presents, of course!

And was that a familiar face on the woman in the white T-shirt?

Sure enough, it was Kaleigh Cobb, down from Charleston with her fiance, Mac!

I'd spoken with them and Michael while I ate my nachos and it was very nice to get to know more about both of them.

They'll be going to the Savannah Bananas game tonight, if the rain lets up.

Back to the opening of the presents! 

Specifically, the opening of the Minions bag of goodies from me!!!

Here, Chloe paused to read the card.

Why?

Because her Grammy said so, that's why!

(smile!)

Next, she pulled out the book, which I had not even shrouded in tissue paper.

Nope! 

"Creature DIScomforts"!!!

What's this???

A book she'll never see anywhere else, full of beasts and words she's never seen before!

I just -LOVE- this expression on her face!!! 

(smile!!!)

Finally, she reached for the last item...

and it was in wrapping paper!

Oh, joy!

"I love to tear off the paper, " she said!

I'm so glad I remembered she liked that.

When she revealed the little fancy suitcase of art supplies, she held it up high - there were even unicorns on the outer design!!!

Grammy will let her open it later - no need to lose any of the pieces inside!

What a great party!

Later this month, it'll be their turn.

Leila and Alyssa will be 12.

Can that possibly be right???

Yes, yes, it can be and yes it is.

They are so different from each other!

Leila even commented that she wished she could have her own birthday party, but when you're a twin, that doesn't happen until you're grown and on your own. 

As for me, I have been wearing my yellow unicorn tiara ever since I first put it on at the party!

Isn't it gorgeous?!

And now I have two tiaras!!!

And see that little pink unicorn ponytail holder at the end of my braid?

That was in the 'treat bag' that all the kids - even me! - were given by my first niece!

She always spoils me by making sure I get one of those, too.

Muchas gracias, mi cara!