she remembered me!

"Who's that, dearie? Someone's child that you've recently seen?"

 

Nope! That would be Marilyn, the nurse for UHC's Optum House Calls, who came by this afternoon as part of that Medicare Advantage program. I allowed the visit, as it was going to net me $50 on my UHC card. Usually it would have only been $15, but this time of year they up the ante. Hooray!

 

"Good for you for working the system!"

 

Oh, you betcha. Anyway, Marilyn Harris had been the one to see me a couple of years ago for the House Call. How do I know? I hadn't remembered her, but she sure did remember me!!! She was so glad to see my upbeat self was still in place! She even asked me about my volunteering for the Savannah Music Festival - how about that? I had to tell her that the inguinal hernia had kept me from doing that this spring, as I had a hitch in my giddy-up and didn't feel the need to be hobbling there. Then I led her into the dining room and showed her that I'm still going to concerts and musicals and plays!

"Good for you! You showed off your blessings wall, didn't you?"

 

Yes, ma'am, I did. She was so impressed with all my blessings2026 that she took a photo! So I did, too. She was really impressed that all of those souvenirs are from events in just the first six months of this year. I wouldn't be surprised if she recommends that other clients keep a blessings wall!

 

"That would be a very good thing. It's easy for folks to feel like they're missing out if they're not mindful of all they've been to."

 

Right? Just because I'm retired doesn't mean I'm staying home all the time. Hallelujah!

 

"Hallelujah!!! So what else happened with this visit?"

 

Oh, the usual, at first. She checked my blood pressure and all that. Then she told me three words to remember, had me draw an analog clock face set for 11:10, then asked me the three words. I passed all that with flying colors! Plus, she was delighted that I'd chosen to make a square clock face instead of a round one - that was different! Then she checked my feet to make sure they felt the little plastic needle - that was ticklish near the arches! LOL! While she was doing that, she noticed that the toenails on my left foot were pretty long. The one on the pinky toe was even curling over! I told her that the pain in my right thigh was still ongoing, even though the inguinal hernia had been repaired. That prevented me from being able to clip those nails. So then she asked if it would be alright if she did that for me... wow!!! So I gratefully accepted her offer.

 

"Wow!!! I am so happy Marilyn did that!!!"

 

Oh, it gets better. After she did that and was wrapping up the paperwork, she told me she had a gift for me. A gift for me!!! She had remembered that I loved the ocean and she had made a wreath with that theme... just for me!!! She calls her side hustle "Mae Emma Creations" and the wreath is gorgeous!

 

"Well, just look at that!!! It even has nautical twine and a real sea star!"

 

I was very touched that she made that for me! Then I suggested that I'd put it on the wall by "Oceans, Tumultuous" and she was touched by that. "You want to put it on the wall with your art work?" I assured her I did... and then she hung it for me! I like the counterpoint between the feminine wreath and that masculine mixed-media piece. Very nice!

 

"Oh, I like that, too!"

Now, I need to get ready for Marcia to pick me up. There's no music bingo tonight because of all that FIFA soccer, but we're all still getting together for dinner. We're meeting up at Panera. I'll make sure to have a salad to offset all that rich food Smitty brought me earlier. Smoked macaroni and cheese, grilled short ribs, candied bacon... even a piece of apple pie! I haven't eaten all of it, but I've put a dent into it.

 

"I just bet you have! Okay, have fun with the girlfriends!"

just shoot me the 2026 rome parade!

With the weather going to hell this afternoon, I chose to celebrate today with the leftovers of meals with friends!

That made it almost seem like I was dining out.

My plan tomorrow is to stay in and stay warm, so this is as close to that as I'll be until Tuesday.

First up was Papa John's pizza, the meatlovers special, that's been in the freezer for a couple of weeks.

That's from the monthly BOGO Saturday deal for carryout. 

So glad I put some of that away for now... and that tall glass of milk is just perfect to go along!

While I dined, I watched one of my favorite TV shows from the past: "Just Shoot Me!"!

This photo has all the principals of 'Blush' magazine: Laura San Giacomo, George Segal, David Spade, Enrico Colantoni, and Wendie Malick.

The scene was in "Lemon Wacky Hello", s1 e6, which was a hoot! 

Ever since I saw Enrico in that holiday movie, this has been on my mind.

Thanks, Antenna TV, for scratching that itch!

For dinner, I began with a facsimile of Pasta e Fagiole of Olive Garden, though this was Campbell's Minestrone with Italian Sausage.

Close enough for my taste buds, especially as I had a genuine OG breadstick to dip and dunk!

Mamma mia, that's a good soup!

I'd just cued up the "2026 New Year Rome Parade" that SCE TV ran the other day.

This entry was from the Lion Dance Academy of martial arts.

It's one of the local entries, as in from Italy.

There were quite a few bands and cheerleader outfits from the USA!

They came from Corning, NY - Aurora, IL - Palm Springs, CA - and many points in between those!

The parade went on for almost 90 minutes, so that allowed me to reheat my Chicken Scampi as my dinner.

I must say, it was every bit as good as it had been with Carolyn!

And just look at how much I had!!!

It filled the plate with no need to even add more pasta.

That Italian food was especially good as I watched more scenes of Rome during the parade!

I'm glad the Lion Dance group had several opportunities to show off.

They were so good at twirling that huge dragon and keeping it off the street!

The Varsity Spirit Cheerleaders from the USA also had several segments in the parade, with a different song each time - very nice!

Then it was time for my dessert before the parade finished.

I've called this Banana Tempura a la Elvis.

I heated up the five pieces from Sushi Hana, then added peanut butter and more honey.

Oh, yeah, every bit as good as I'd hoped!!!

Just perfect as I watched the last parade entry go by!

Such a colorful lot they were, with ages from twenties to seventies!

Those were all Italians, with my guess that some of them have been in this parade for several decades.

Good for them!

Now, I'm going to finish one last year-end event for me.

Time to unfold and recycle all these mementos of dinners shared, movies with friends, concerts ushered, and musicals attended!

It's always such an effort of love for me.

As for the Jar of Blessings, it won't stay empty but a minute - I already have new memories to fill that bottom!

(smile!)  

first friday fiesta of 2026!

I've received some excellent advice the last few days about how to live.

The above is from Amy in Michigan.

To fit me, it needs a few exclamation points! 

"Be too much! Be extra! Live large! Smile big! Laugh hard! Celebrate your damn self! Open your heart! Express your emotions! Giggle! Dance! Breathe deep and love your damn life! You only get one."

Much better!

Then here's the one from Sherry of Thomasville, Georgia.

It's actually a quote from Neil Gaiman, but it needs some exclamation points, too. 

"May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness! I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful! And don't forget to make some art, or write, draw, build, sing, or live only as you can! And I hope in the next year, you surprise yourself!"

Yes, that sounds more like it's meant for me!

 

Plus, I'm all in favor of living according to this advice from my first niece.

"Today I learned about a term called a 'glimmer', which is the opposite of a trigger. Glimmers are those moments in your day that make you feel joy, happiness, peace, or gratitude. Once you train your brain to be on the lookout for glimmers, these tiny moments will appear more and more."

As I told her, "They're like glitter - small and easy to overlook unless your light makes them sparkle!"

So, keep that "little light of mine" shining for others to see!

That's why I made sure to be at Jalapenos of Pooler this evening.

The inguinal hernia was being bearable, so off to see my brothers I went!

 

Ah, the joke was on me: Tony wasn't there!

Both of the Kameron brothers were in place. 

Smitty was in his spot, too, but Robin was in Tony's usual seat.

Sweet, that allowed me and her to actually have a conversation this time around!

I also got to have conversations with Laura and Mary - excellent!

So what did we converse about?

The vegetables that Robin was growing, the recovery of Laura's broken vertebra, and Mary's feeding of squirrels, among other things.

Oh, and how we started out our New Year! 

I also talked of movies and plays and meals with friends, as I'm always trying to encourage them to come along.

I'll have to invite them over some time to see my blessings walls.

This one was filled twice with events from 2025!!!

Some were free, some had a fee.

Some were parties, some were concerts.

Some were musicals, some were plays... 

all were fun and brightened my world!

Blessings, blessings, blessings, just like these Smith & Kameron Friday Fiestas are for me!

i thank You, God!

blessings so far in 2025!

This dining room wall, with the painting of the Wormsloe Plantation gifted by step-sister Susan (for my wedding to Jeff back in 1992), is where I always begin posting the programs and tickets from events attended.

Amazingly, I paid for only eleven of those events I attended between January and April.

Several of the free ones are from events at the Telfair or Jepson museums, courtesy of my membership to those cultural sites.

Some are free events I found on fb.

And quite a few are from volunteer stints for the Savannah Music Festival (SMF36) or the Savannah VOICE Festival!

Plus, the Savannah Jewish Cultural Arts Festival and the Black History Month events were all free this year, too.

That pink mesh bag?

That's a party souvenir, as well as a memento of my trip to Tallahassee!

This smaller bit of dining room wall, graced with a framed bit of embroidery done by my one-and-only Grandma, has the next set of blessings.

Those events, between mid-April to mid-June, include six that cost money.

Technically, the week-long vacation to Orlando with Christina and her daughters also cost money, but Christina covered the gas and food expenses, so I consider it fairly even.

But that meant I had two trips, in fairly quick succession - hooray!

Then there's my third dining room wall on which I post event mementos.

That's the wall with the painting I bought in Italy for less than ten Euros.

I had actually resisted putting anything up there for almost a month.

I was a bit blue then and thought I'd just forget about that wall.

Then came the second party at Bonnie Blue's little blue house and I taped all the programs and museum lecture notes and such right on up there!

Amazing what that did for my mindset!

Four events had a fee attached, but that was all.

Then I had volunteer duties for eight glorious events with SFV13!

Now, that wall is full... and life is good.

I am surrounded by the proof that I am not missing out on fun!

Hooray for retirement!