my turn to choose the dinner locale!

Heretofore, I've simply gone along with whatever restaurant the others in my Monday night group select.

So, it took me by surprise when Marcia said it was my turn to pick.

Really?

That must mean I'm a bona fide member of their group now!

Very cool!!!

I thought about it, then chose a place I've gone to since I was a child.

Carey Hilliard's on Skidaway Road.

It first opened in 1960, when I was 2 years old.

Serving hearty barbeque and fried local seafood at low prices made it a favorite with my parents, and its midtown location made it prefect for meals any time.

Marcia loved the choice, as it's just down the road from her.

Elissa didn't know where it was, but Sandy did, as she's a local like me!

Kelly was even able to join us, as she was off from work today.

She voiced her approval in the group chat, adding that it was the best of the three Carey Hilliard locations in Savannah!

And Kathy ended up loving it because we were placed at a large table in the front room, where we were the only diners.

That allowed us to talk and allowed her to be able to hear what we said!

Our waitress, Leigh, made sure we had all we needed, then let us be, coming around to check on us, but not rushing us.

That was perfect!

Elissa had her salmon that she loves, I had Carey's Choice - a new item on the menu!!! - and the rest had the single-side options with either shrimp or flounder. 

That meant I was the only one mixing fried chicken tenders in with my shrimp.

(smile!)

Such a lovely time we all had together!

Sandy will have her turn next Monday, as Marcia had chosen Cava and Kathy was the one who wanted Wang's II last week.

I look forward to seeing where we'll go.

I know she favors burgers, so I'm expecting somewhere with beef...

but who knows?

(smile!)

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!)

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!) 

today, i was with king george

"I seriously doubt that, my dear girl. He's been dead for centuries. Or did you get to see "Hamilton" again?"

It was the next best thing! The song, "You'll Be Back", from that show was performed by one of the members of SING at today's concert. Mason Byrd, the teen who sang it as a solo, even dressed the part! He was magnificent!!! He even had us all sing along with him at the end! La di dah di dah, la la la la da di dah! (smile!)

"Most excellent! That must have been great fun for you!"

Oh, it most def was!!! And he didn't enter the stage from the back. Oh, no! He strode down the center aisle to reach the stage, head high! What a grand entrance befitting a monarch!

And that's his dad, Richard Byrd, standing there in the chef's hat at the head of the banquet table. He made all the food for our Italian feast after the concert!!! Pork loin, Penne Vodka with chicken, Caesar salad, green beans with pimiento, mashed potatoes, and plates of pizza with red onion as well as antipasto that included Salad Nicoise!

"Wow, what a feast! Was this the "That's Amore" dinner for the fundraiser?"

You got it! We  had been promised singing with our meal and we got that, too! Each singer gave us an aria from "The Marriage of Figaro", then they whipped out kazoos for everyone there so we could accompany them for "That's Amore"!!! Hahahaha! They even gave us kazoo-playing lessons, as some in the audience had never used those instruments. 

"Hahahaha! That must have sounded both awful and hilarious!"

Oh, it was! I'm glad we'd had the sweet singing from the children to start this bit of fun. The matinee concert featured the Spark Choir, the Kindle Choir, and the Illuminate Choir, each individually. Those would be the seventeen kindergarten to 2nd graders, the twenty-three 3rd through 5th graders, and the fourteen 6th through 12th graders. Plus, they started off with all three groups together, then finished the same.

"What a huge number of singers!!! Wow, that program has grown so much!" 

You betcha. Their inaugural concert, back in January of last year, was done with about thirty-five singers. The one from last April had about that same number. Today, there would have been 54 children singing, if all had been present!!! I'm so glad the City of Savannah has given the program a grant to allow even more involvement of the next generation!

"That's a great accomplishment for SING!"

I even granted them more of my money tonight, in addition to those for the dinner fundraiser. The Asbury choir rehearsal area was filled with Silent Auction items, which I perused before, and during, the dinner. Kathy and Preston Hodges, also at my table, had items they were keeping watch over, too!

"And did you win anything?"

Surprisingly, I did!!! I was the only bidder for a $30 gift card, Kids Meal coupon, Appetizer coupon, and game ("Family Dinner") from Texas Roadhouse... and I 'won' the whole package for just $10. Wow!!! Then, I was the third bidder for a $50 gift card to B&D Burgers in Pooler, and I 'won' that, too!!! My bid had only been twenty bucks!

"Goodness, girl! What great deals you got!!!"

Right? I am so blessed to be part of Asbury Memorial. So many good events and opportunities at this church!

resolution

I do hereby resolve to try at least one new restaurant a month for this year.
Seriously.
No sense in statements which are against my nature.
From now on, each new calendar year will be greeted only with fun resolutions that I have every intention of keeping.
So far, I think I'm off to a great start! Two of my friends have offered to check out new places with me and a third has asked for reviews of those places where I choose to dine. Nice!
One note, to myself and others: "new" is here taken to mean "new to me". The restaurant itself may be one which has been open for years, but if I have not yet darkened its doorway, then it's eligible. This certainly broadens the range of eateries for my dining, as I don't know that I could rely on at least one new establishment opening to the public every month of 2013. But, I must say there are plenty of places I simply have not tried, either due to habit or expense or location.
That said, new franchises of old restaurants do not qualify as "new" for purposes of this resolution. As franchises are duty-bound to adhere to the recipes of the original, then it should be reasonable to expect the same menu, regardless of the location of the diner.
So, there you have it.
And I'll keep you posted...