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!)

byop39 for jenkins family!

How much longer will Robin be hosting these get-togethers that she and Harry started when Brandi was just a toddler?

Brandi is 43 now and she took this great photo with her mom, Mary, and Laura.

Yes, that's my two sister-in-laws  in one picture! 

And what do I have here?

Betsy and Becca!

Becca was the only one of our group to carve a pumpkin this year.

And here's one of my brothers and both of those Kameron brothers!

Mark was standing this time, while Jimmy and Smitty sat with me while I ate chili dogs and coleslaw and other party fare!

It was just as I had hoped... 

...and was almost like being at the Smiths & Kamerons Friday Fiesta!

And where was my youngest brother?

There he was, showing off his new carpentry skills to Betsy and Mary!

He's put a diagonal insert into his back fence and it's quite pretty!

Today was his 59th birthday, so I made sure to call him this morning and sing to him!

What a lovely party for him... and neither he nor Laura had to put it together!

So nice to all be together to help him celebrate!

We're all off-center, to the rear left in this shot, almost like the eye of the hurricane of pumpkins all around.

I just love this shot!

Thanks, Robin, for continuing to bring together family and friends, out there in Ellabelle!

(smile!)

changing up my friday night!

Usually, I have dinner with my brothers, right?

However, I know I'll be seeing them on Sunday at Robin's party.

That's why, when Carolyn asked me to do something with her, I agreed.

It helped that she wanted to see a movie that I've been looking forward to: "Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother".

She even knew some of the actors in it, but I did not.

What I knew was it looked at both Islam and Christianity, among other things, and there are so few movies that touch on those topics.

It started with Latif, a Muslim, performing his job as a hit man for another Muslim.

Then his wife dies and suddenly it's all up to him to tend to his three children.

The eldest is a daughter, the son is 10 years old, and the youngest is another daughter, but there's a catch.

The baby has been raised on breast milk, and now the mother is dead.

How to supply sustenance to the baby, who is allergic to formula?

Meanwhile, his boss is after him to clean up a mess the boss's porn-movie maker son has caused with a militaristic Christian group.

What are to be his priorities in this new paradigm as a single father?

Such an excellent movie about choices.

We had a conversation about it in the hall with others who'd been in the screening room, then talked about it more during dinner.

 

That's right: dinner & a movie, though not in that order!

I had been craving pasta e fagiole, so no other place would do than the Olive Garden!

Carolyn was just fine with that decision.

After all, she knew I'd be paying for hers, so where to dine was my choice.

The latter part of the month is always a bit tight for her on her railroad pension.

I enjoyed that soup so much that I had a second bowl of it, and finished it off, too!

That meant I had leftovers to take home.

Wonderful!!!

I knew that gluten-free rotini swimming in meat sauce would make a mighty fine meal later!

What a nice change of pace this has been, and how good to spend an evening with my friend!

I am so blessed to have been able to treat her for dinner.

I am so blessed to have such good women to call friends.

i thank You, God.

birthday dinner with two celebrants!

Happy 66th birthday to Marcia!

She was there with her daughter, Amanda, as well as her eldest grand-daughter, Batsheva.

Nice to have their company again for this happy occasion!

Happy 70th birthday to Kathy!

Having the celebration at Wang's II was her choice, and what a good one it was!

I haven't been there in years and they've recently reopened.

As well as the free snacks on the turntable, they also gave us free donuts for dessert!

Kathy treated us to freshly-made cupcakes, from her very own oven! 

Duncan Hines lent her a hand... but we all agreed the spice cake was excellent and moist!

Sandy and Elissa agreed that flavor was perfect for autumn.

So nice to continue to be surrounded by friends on a Monday evening!

So nice to know warmer evenings will soon be back, too.

Thanks, Pat Prokop, for the extended forecast to reassure me.

I have two outdoors parties coming up on the weekend and I'd rather not have to dress with a jacket, right?

I'm so spoiled by life at this latitude!

me watching football???

Yes, yes, I was right there, at Marcia's request, watching the Georgia Bulldogs have their first loss of the season.

Not that the team has anyone but their defensive lineup to blame.

I'd arrived at Midtown Sports Grill during the second quarter and the game was tied up at 14-14 as they headed into half-time.

Marcia had called me in because Elissa was going to be out of town and she wanted some company.

She wound up with me and Sandy both on this chilly Saturday. 

As I'd told Cheri last night, the temperature at 7 AM was going to be the highest we would get all day.

In fact, as the WSAV weather song shows, there's a 20-degree difference between the high on Friday and the one today.

All next week is not going to be much better.

I've already put the blanket on the bed a couple of weeks ago.

Tonight, I'll put a heater in the bedroom, too.

I won't worry about the rest of the house, but that one room is going to be my haven against the autumn chill.

So, what was that about the Bulldog's defense?

The score says it all.

With only two minutes left to play, the Auburn Tigers was still matching the # 1 team on the scoreboard.

That's because both teams only scored when they had the ball, because both teams had poor defensive plays.

At this point in the game, Georgia had put on an offensive drive that was beautiful to watch, getting repeated first downs before scoring a touchdown.

Honestly, it was the best they'd played all day!

Auburn's offense couldn't seem to get down the field, so they ended up kicking the ball back to Georgia.

Everyone else thought the Bulldogs would put on another show for us... but not me.

Sure enough, they fumbled the ball and the Tigers grabbed it!

The Tigers held onto it, too, as they jostled down the field, seeking to get within range of a field goal... and they did get within range... and they scored with that kick, placing them three points in the lead.

The Tigers won, 27 to 24, in a Bulldogs' home game in Sanford Stadium, on the Georgia State University campus in Athens, with thousands of red shirts in the stands.

I wonder what the football equivalent is of baseball's "the mighty Casey has struck out"?

dawn of post 36

"Those two things do not go together."

Not ordinarily, but hear me out. After watching the Dragon dock in space, I then had luncheon with Dawn at our usual haunt.

"You mean at The King & I."

Exactly what I said. She wanted us to have one more moment of calm before the upcoming monster BYOP awoke at her house.

"I just realized this was Thursday! Y'all don't usually meet this late in the week."

Well, she travels a lot for work, as you know, and I was catching her just before she was heading off for another convention. Lucky me!

"And you've changed up your order, too!"

I did! I went for one of the lunch specials, mostly because  wanted the spring roll that comes along with it. That's broccoli tofu stirfry, with house sauce. I felt the need for some vegetables in my life, and that really hit the spot!

"Nice to mix it up from time to time. And did y'all talk about the Dragon?"

Of course we did, but also about Halloween being overtaken by Christmas. She had been out looking for a few more items for her party and guess what she found? Not Halloween stuff on sale, oh, no. Stores with no Halloween merchandise at all, all replaced with Christmas decor! In the middle of October!!!

"That's just craziness."

Most assuredly! Then, later, at the meeting of American Legion Post 36, we were talking about that same thing!

"Oh, you actually had a meeting of your Post this month?"

We did! Well, I say 'we', but it was the same folks that show up from our Post for the Two First Posts meetings. Namely, me, Doug, Michael T, and Billy. The main difference was Doug brought us pizza and we were in the conference room.

"Is that a pineapple and cheese pizza???"

Yeah. I thought that was a little odd, too, but that was one of the five pizzas he brought over from Kool Vibes.

"What? I've never heard of that place. And is that pepperoni or salami?"

It's pepperoni and was very good! That pizza and wing restaurant is over on the west side of Savannah, so that's why I've never been there. Doug made it sound like someone from the BC military academy started it. I don't know. I just know it's not somewhere I'll be going out of my way to eat at.

"Yeah, it looks a little strange."

It's all the New York style crust, and that's not one of my favorites. At least Post 36 got together tonight, although I'd hesitate to call it a meeting. No minutes were read, no table for the MIA, no business attended to. Still, it was good to be with these men and just talk, you know?

"I know. Been months since y'all did that."

I'll make a note of the third Thursday in November to be there again. Hopefully, the canteen will be up and running and we can get dinner there. C'mon, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, I want to try that barbecue! Now, I'm going to sit back and watch "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice"! Comcast gave me that reward this morning, to add to my collection of movies I can watch any time. Thanks, y'all!

four nights out in a row... nice!

Sunday, I was out having a double header with my A*List for two movies I doubt I'll ever watch again. 

One was yet another with Anne Hathaway, who has certainly been a busy, vibrant woman herself this year with three movies so far. I liked the first one as it was a worthy sequel to the first and made me notice she was the same age as my first niece. I liked the second one, too, as it was a fine piece of science fiction with a lot of heart, and oak trees. This third one, though, was very creepy and so full of deceit that there was no one for me to root for. "Verity" also had Dakota Fanning in it and she's always a bit creepy anyway, and this movie was just another notch in her bedpost. I wanted to cheer for Josh Hartnett, I really did, but he just may have been a creepazoid, too. Ugh.

The other brought back strong memories of a too-real nightmare from several years ago. I do not understand why the makers of "The Social Reckoning" saw fit to include so much footage of that horrible time. I kept having to look away during the final fifteen minutes of the movie. That's just how much footage was thrown in that was five years old. What laziness. As for the acting, that was very good, especially by Jeremy Allen White - good to see him again. As for the whistle-blower, Mikey Madison was very believable as a woman tormented by her moral need to do the right thing, even though it meant betraying the job she'd loved. I hadn't realized she'd played the escort to the Russian mobster in "Anora". Such a different character!

 

Monday, I was out with my usual group of girlfriends, though not at our usual haunt. Nope, we were at a restaurant I'd never been to... and I loved it! Marcia says she and Amanda go to Cava - the one on Oglethorpe Mall Boulevard - about twice a week! I think Sandy and Elissa and Joel have all been there before, too. I was the only novice. I ordered the chef's special, the Greek Goddess Salmon, taking it as described with pickled onions, fiery broccoli, red pepper hummus, sumac cabbage slaw, tomato + onion, arugula, basmati rice, and Green Goddess dressing as the finishing touch. Wow!!! As I told Amanda, the spices reminded me of the meals I'd received from Blue Apron and Sunbasket several years ago. Those had been oases of calm during the pandemic. Such a nice memory to mingle with this new one!

 

Tuesday found me in Jelks Auditorium for the Savannah Arts Academy's play. In the past these competition pieces had been free, but for the last few years, they've drawn as much of an audience as the two-act plays and musicals do. That's wonderful! I do hope they'll win again, but even if they don't I know the actors are going to enjoy being around like-minded folks from other schools around Georgia. Woohoo!!!

I'd come home to watch "Arsenic And Old Lace". I'd spotted the 1944 movie in the listings on one of the PBS channels and taped it. Nice to see the real Cary Grant and be reminded of my middle brother and how funny he could be!

Wait a minute... that's not quite right... it was Clark Gable that Mister Willie always called Ronnie... another good-looking man! 

 

Today has been my fourth night out, though not the way I'd planned. This was the first of six Wednesday Night Suppers over at Asbury Memorial's Holliday Hall and I'd looked forward to it. They were starting off with barbecued pork sandwiches, along with macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, and dessert. I was able to grab a slice of cherry pie from that first GOB service - hooray! But all of that had been "to go" as I had a call this afternoon from my first niece. She was going to be in Savannah and could we meet for dinner? I did my duty by the church and suggested the WNS spread, but chicken teriyaki is what she craved.

 

So chicken teriyaki is what she got! I met up with them at the Seasons of Japan on Victory Drive, which none of us had known was there. Surprise!!! She was there with Anthony, Miyah, and Chloe, and we all had a nice visit with each other for about two hours. Sweet! If we'd met up at Holliday Hall, we would have had to greatly curtail that visit length to 45 minutes, as the WNS meal is over and cleaned up by 6:15. That's so choir rehearsal can get started on time at 6:30. It was nice for the five of us to have a leisurely time together!

And now I am home again and having dinner with "R.J. Decker" from last night. I must say, I do miss "Will Trent", but I've been enjoying this ex-con private eye who's keeping the streets and girls of Fort Lauderdale safe. How do I know? Because the show included "The Fort Lauderdale Chamber Of Commerce" in one of the episodes. Any show that includes that cut from Elvis Presley is aces with me! Plus I like Scott Speedman. I think it may be the Hawaiian shirts, but it's probably the generous shots of humor in his patter.

I do like a guy that makes me smile! (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!)

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!)

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!

tina tuesday to finish up the month!

"Okay, girlie, I've seen you throwing around that 'Tina Tuesday' label a right good bit when it wasn't warranted. You, by yourself, having a movie double header does not a 'Tina 'Tuesday' make. Remember, that came about because you were with a friend, having movie and a meal. So, that's how it should be used."

I hear you loud and clear, I do. And I can assure you that was the case today! My dear g'friend, Carolyn, was with me on this occasion!!! I'd invited her to come see "Daniel And The Fiery Furnace" with me at NCG... and she told she would! So that's what we saw at 5:20 PM. My movie was free, my large popcorn was free, and the regular drink cost me less than $5.

"What? How did that all cost you so little? Oh, wait, I remember. You had not yet received your birthday popcorn, had you?"

You're correct on that point! As for the ticket and drink, those were purchased with 'Dane money' that I'd put onto a credit card. Good dog!

"Good dog, he is! (smile!) He knows how you love movies!"

That's right! This movie was a bit slow in places, and it told a story about Daniel that I never heard. I was expecting the one from the Old Testament about him in the lion's den, right? That wasn't this one at all. Yes, there was a lion, but he killed it and Nebuchadnezzar thought he did it to save him, so he took Daniel and his three men into his group. The king worshipped Baal, so he renamed Daniel as Belteshazzar, meaning the one who tames lions. I heard it as "Balthasar" and wondered if that story from the Bible was the source of the character's name in two Shakespeare plays.

"Oh, nice question. Then again, it may just point to the name going back for thousands of years by the time the Bard decided to use it."

Again, I think it would make for a nice doctoral thesis for somebody.

"Perhaps it already has? We don't know, but I know it could be researched to find out. Was Carolyn familiar with that story in the Bible?"

She was not. I think that's a fault of the Christian church, as many of its sermons arise from the New Testament, i.e., the part of the Bible that follows the birth of Jesus. As i told her, I think I will ask Tony what he knows about all that. Not about the Shakespeare, but about the story of Daniel we watched tonight. He's had so many Bible studies from various groups that he's bound to know something about it.

"I bet he would love to talk about that with you."

I agree. Okay, back to tonight! After the movie, Carolyn suggested we go down to OD's Seafood for dinner, but she was broke, as it is the end of the month. I countered with an invite to Chili's, provided the gift cards were still in my car... and they were! I gave her the $20 I'd received from reward points on my Chase card. I used the $10 one from that same source, as well as $3.28 remaining on the third card. What a feast we had, too! I made sure she knew about the specials on the back of the menu, which she didn't know about. I also introduced her to the good lemonade they have there as the beverage included at no cost in the "3 for me" deal. She loved it! Not only did she drink all of hers, but also al of her to-go lemonade, too! That's why I gave her my to-go lemonade, to accompany her leftovers. We both have meals for tomorrow to relish! 

"Very nice!!!"

Yep! My "3 for me" was the lemonade, a very nice salad, and the Old-Timer cheeseburger with fries. Hers was the lemonade, a cup of potato soup, and the chicken quesadillas. The card I gave her covered the meal and tip! As for my dinner, I only needed to pay about $3 after I used up the other two Chili's gift cards. What a deal!!!

"Fantastic! And what a treat for both of you! So glad you had that largesse to share with your friend!"

Thanks, me, too. It's good to be able to do that! (smile!)

grateful to Andrew on a music bingo monday

"Andrew, the bartender, at Midtown Sports Grill?"

That's the one. Fortunately, he knows how to do math. Hannah, the new waitress, absolutely was flummoxed. We sat at the table for 20 minutes before we were able to get our tabs straightened out. 

"What?! How many of you were there??"

We were five for this Music Bingo session. Marcia was there with her daughter - Amanda - and with her granddaughter -Batsheva. Merritt had come along with them. Plus, I was there. Like I said, five of us. I'm glad we weren't there last week, as the sound system messed up and the games had to be canceled. All the tunes tonight were the ones that were to have played llast Monday. Really good, too! Summer Vibes #2, with Jimmy Buffett, The Monkees, The Lovin' Spoonful, Bon Jovi, Ed Sheeran... good stuff!

"That does sound like a great mix! Quite a few oldies mixed in there, too!"

You bet! "Build Me Up Buttercup" was a new one for the 11-year-old, but she liked it. Russ then segued into 80's Hard Rock Legends #1, which Marcia said was Elissa's music. Mine, too! Motley Crue, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Van Halen, AC/DC, Foreigner - I was definitely jammin' out!

"What about the third game? Any of y'all go for that?"

Not this time, so that gave us a chance to chill out and talk. That was actually nice! Then came Game 4, Pop 'til Ya Drop #1! Pink, Ricky Martin, TLC, Britney Spears, Bruno Mars, The Bangles, En Vogue, Spice Girls - I know Scott would have been crushin' on that mix! Maybe I should see if he might want to join us some night. Baseball will soon be coming to a close, so he won't be chasing Braves franchised teams anymore. There will be Georgia Southern football games, but not on Mondays!

"Oh, that's a good idea to invite him! It's been ages since you've seen him. Your ex sees him more often than you do."

That's because the Atlanta Braves play the Detroit Tigers. Scott has yet to see the Braves win in the new Comerica Park stadium. I suspect Scott will cease trips to Michigan when that happens.

"Good point. Okay, so what was the snafu with the checks tonight?"

Amanda won Game 4. Ordinarily, that would be a cause to celebrate, as she would have received a $50 gift card as the prize. Right? But now that there is new ownership, there was a new prize tonight: a fifty-dollar store credit that had to be used all at one time.

"Say what??? You'd have to order three meals at one sitting to use that up! That can't be right..."

Oh, but it is. Amanda was not happy about it. As I told her, at least she had her mom and her daughter there, so they could group their tabs. No, she wanted to have it to use on herself, for multiple evenings out. I totally get that. But then Hannah misunderstood and put all the tabs on one check! Now, all of a sudden, the table owed over 36 dollars!!! No, that would not work. I looked at the check, which was entered in some strange fashion, but I could still see that my part of the bill was correct and Merritt's part was correct. So I asked Hannah to separate out ours from the three others. LOL! That blew her mind! She had to go get Andrew to have him talk to us.

"At least she knew she was lost."

Agreed. Andrew knows I can do math, so he came straight to me. I showed him where my tab was and where Merritt's was, and he understood. He returned with our tabs separate from theirs, which had the $50 credit applied, leaving just $2 to pay.

"My goodness! Just what did they have that totaled that much?"

Amanda had a cocktail, Marcia had a beer. Amanda had the spinach dip as well as he pretzel, plus the huge bowl of macaroni and cheese for Batsheva. Marcia had her usual "pick 3" appetizer platter. All of that is easily fifty bucks, especially when tax is added. Honestly, it really was a snafu, but it was also a misunderstanding.

"So, is the store credit how Quinque Martin's F&B LLC going to handle that Game 4 prize from here on?"

I sure hope not. If so, I guess I will be leaving after the third game. I don't want to get stuck with a prize I can't use. I guess we'll see how it goes next time. Maybe Andrew will tell his dad that he needs to stay with it being a $50 gift card, like it's always been.

"Change..." 

Yeah. But guess what happened on "Name That Tune" tonight? A drama teacher won the Golden Medley!!! Caleb said he's going to book a cruise that docks on all seven continents. Good for him!!! Jane literally had to pick herself up off the floor when he won that $100,000 - seriously!!! I'm so glad to end the night on that happy note!

goody bags and treats galore!

Getting ready for the BYOP, part 2!

 

The Koz had Omar out helping him this afternoon, so that was good.

 

Omar's wife, Michanne, was in the House of Dawn with the rest of us women!

 

That's her on the left, putting the finishing touch on a ghost pop, while Margaret admires her art on the pudding cups. 

 

That was toward the end of our session this afternoon.

 

Yvette was at the other end of that time spectrum, having arrived at 11 AM, a full hour before this hen party was to begin.

 

She wanted to be sure to help out, but she had other plans that needed her on this sunny Saturday.

 

When I arrived, she was helping to cut out the printed labels for the treat bags.

 

I was commandeered for that task, too, as treat bags could not be made without them.

 

Then Margaret arrived and she was put to work with scissors to cut labels!

 

Fortunately, Dawn ran out of scissors, so Susan was put to work with tissue paper to start building goody bags.

 

That consisted of placing several goodies onto the open sheet and then stuffing in into a clear plastic bag! 

 

By that time, enough labels had been cut that I was set to work on a different task: building bags of ghost poop!

 

In short time, Debbie was right there with me, but she was building bags of rat tails! 

 

We found those tasks became exhausting unless we did them like an assembly line: fill a few bags with the food first until the right arm tired, then close the bags and staple on the labels, before starting afresh on the next batch.

 

Susan and Margaret followed our approach when they became treat bag assemblers.

  

Susan was in charge of witches' warts, while Margaret handled monster scabs - LOL!

 

All that food - marshmallows, licorice, chocolate chips, and Toast Crunch cereal - required that we wear gloves.

 

Gotta be extra clean for the kids who are going to be grabbing these treats!

 

Still, it was a good thing that handling those sweet things came after our luncheon! 

 

This time, Dawn had bought a Chinese banquet for the nine of us - that would be 7 women, 2 men.

 

Beef with broccoli, chicken with broccoli, vegetable stir-fry, chicken nuggets, edamame, spring rolls, gyoza, eggrolls - and those are just the items I chose!

 

"You will never need to worry about a steady income," read my fortune cookie.

Laura did ask me last week about my Periodic Table, so maybe there's good news to come about that!

 

Meanwhile, I had Jack O'Lantern teeth to bag while Dawn and Debbie worked on dressing up the goody bags with curling ribbon.

 

Those were the last tasks before we could consider our work here to be done - and we completed them!

 

Good friends, good company!

3 wins out of 4 games!

"You won three games at Music Bingo tonight??? Wow!!!"

 

Not me, g'friend, but two of my friends there tonight. Marcia won the first game, "Summer Vibes #1", so her beer was gratis at Midtown Sports Grill. Pretty nice! Then Elissa won a free appetizer with the second game - that was "Girls Night Out #1" - so her giant pretzel was free! Some other table took the 3rd game, with its "Modern Country Mix #1", but that was just a free drink, as there weren't enough players to have a money pot.

 

"Wow. That's more winning than y'all's group has had for weeks. Usually it's just one of you that manages to get a win. Or, like last week, you have no winners."

As I said then, it's more about the music than the wins for me. Sandy is very competitive, so winning is very important to her. And she didn't have that tonight. Elissa was the big winner, taking the $50 gift card for the 4th game. We were all happy for her, but I think Sandy was a bit put out that she didn't get a prize.

 

"That's okay, there's always next week!"

 

Actually, there isn't. Yom Kippur is coming, so they won't be available for Music Bingo next Monday. I was a little bummed out, but Marcia said we can do dinner on Tuesday next week. That will work! I'm supposed to have a Two First Posts meeting that day, but it's been moved to Monday... so I would have missed Music Bingo, too!

 

"Hallelujah! That's going to work out great for all of y'all!"

 

Right? I just love when the Universe sets it up like that! Here's proof positive that I was in the right place, right time this evening, if I had any doubts. My odometer wanted to catch my eye before I turned off the lights in my driveway! The mileage read "247586" - that's a straight, and that's always a winning hand in poker! Plus, it's my second straight in less than a week - that's unheard of for me! So glad I was out with my friends on this Monday!

 

"I'm glad you were, too! And is that what you had for dinner? It looks like one of those sandwiches from Panera."

 

Good eye, g'friend! Yes, that's the Chicken Pesto Ciabatta Dipper, which is back for a while. I was there for a luncheon with Kathy Mayin last Friday. She and I are working on building a friendship, so when she suggested we get together sometime soon, I went right ahead and said, "Let's do it today!"

 

"Wow. And she went for that?"

 

Surprisingly, yes. She really does admire my getting out and about so often. As I told her, sometimes I have to "throw myself out of my house", and she may want to consider taking that action herself. I picked her up for this luncheon, as the restaurant is just around the corner from her. However, I told her that if she arranges for the CAT bus to get her to an event that I'm going to, I'll gladly take her home afterward. it's just that if I have to come and get her to go to an event, that's easily an hour that gets lost in driving. She understands, and tells me she wants to do that, but we'll see. I do hope it will! She definitely needs to make a commitment to herself to get out more.

 

"Yes, I know. She sold her car because the insurance had increased so much. She had looked into her options beforehand and was sure the CAT and Uber would be fine. The thing is, she just needs to plan better, as CAT requires several days' notice to come and pick her up. She insists that she doesn't want any of us to go out of our way to take her places, and I'm taking her at her word. I do hope she will join me for future events!  

 

"I hope so, too. Events are certainly more fun with friends!"

old authors + new technology = hilarity in RH

The absolute highlight of the show on this rainy evening?

Having this friend with me to share the experience!!!

Sure, I would have enjoyed seeing the Richmond Hill Community Theatre troupe in action, as I have in the past - sure I would have.

But being there with Yvonne made it sparkle a bit brighter, especially with rain trying to dampen the occasion.

Forty-plus years of friendship with most definitely make that happen!

So, just what was going on out there?

Titled "Writers Runaround", the performance consisted of a series of six skits, each with writers from the past in a modern setting with today's technology playing a part. 

The first one, which was reprised as the sixth, was called "Happy Hour", set in a sports bar with big-screen TVs drawing their attention.

Who are "they"?

From left to right, that's Oliver Wilde (Christy Schultz), Jane Austen (Laura Ross), Dorothy Parker (Kelly McDavid), and Ernest Hemingway (Kenneth Pereira). 

When we tuned in, 'Dorothy' was getting pickled with martinis, 'Ernest' was hoping for bullfighting on TV, and the topic was "Star Wars" and which movies had been the best of the six that came to cinema.

Hahahahaha! Really was a lot of fun!

Of course the chatter had drifted to other topics from there in the first skit, but circled back to 'Bobofet' before it wrapped up.

In the sixth skit, they again talked of "Star Wars", but also about the movies made from their books and how much they'd disliked them.

'Jane' was especially irate about "Sense And Sensibility" - which makes me wonder what she would think of the new version coming out!

(smile!) 

The second skit pitted Homer against his agent in "Homer Nods".

As I told Yvonne, I know my ex would have laughed at this one!

'Homer' (Lisa Marie Tyler) had come in person to speak with 'Penelope' (Brianne Shuman) because the agent was ignoring her phone messages.

Imagine that!

Of course the woman's phone rang incessantly with other clients, showing that the phone itself wasn't the problem.

And just what did the writer want to discuss?

Writing "The Odyssey", which the agent loved because it was a sequel to Homer's first hit, "The Iliad" - and "the public loves sequels!"

(smile!) 

The third skit was definitely the favorite of both of us.

Perhaps partly it was because both of us had experience with online dating, back about 17 years ago.

Partly though, I think it was because "I Don't Get Out Much" featured two authors we both liked: Edgar Allan Poe and Emily Dickinson.

Kudos to Jeff Harding and Kelsey Ingram for bringing them to life so well!

In the skit, her younger sister had set up an online dating profile for her that matched the two death-obsessed poets, with the ideal first-date meeting place as a cemetery.

And I contend that the two might have met, as both lived in Massachusetts and both were alive in an overlapping time frame.

What if, when his wife died in 1847, when he was 38 years old, he had been approached about meeting with the 17-year-old poetess?

From his viewpoint, she would be the right age, as he and his wife had wed when she was only 13; from her stance, younger women frequently were set up with older men as possible husbands.

Perhaps Poe might have lived a bit longer if he'd had Dickinson in his life.

As it was, he died in 1849, just 40 years old.

Dickinson never married and died in 1886 as a 55-year-old spinster.

Ah, the thoughts I think sometimes!

(smile!) 

After an intermission, "From The Wastepaper Basket of W. Shakespeare" had us all laughing!

Four women took turns unfolding the rumpled papers from the trash can, revealing that spam mail has lasted through the centuries!

"Dear Occupant", "Dear Tenant", "Dear Resident" - hahahaha!

Plus there were missives from his mom, his 'shrew', his mistress!

Also entreaties from his buddies to join them at this pub, that eatery, his play!

Then there were the dunning notices about late rent, late utility payments, late this, that, and the other.

But there were also the rejection letters from theaters, other troupes, other venues in other towns, with several suggesting "Hamlet" was terrible, and such a terrible name it had, too!

Yes, that was much fun, enlightened by having four voices!

(smile!)

"Penguin Encounter" was the only other play that didn't have an actual writer as one of the characters.

It was also the most modern, even though it didn't feature any technology.

Instead, we watched as a former couple, 'Ernie' and 'Rita' meet at a library that is giving away remaindered books that had been donated by the publisher.

As remaindered products, all of the books were missing half their front covers, to prevent them from being sold.

'Ernie' (Tony Castellano) had discovered to his delight that the half-covers led to some very funny puns, like "A Tale Of... Charles" and "Jane... Mansfield" and "Gone With The... Margaret" - hahahaha!

Eventually, 'Rita' (Chancey Doyle) loosened up and got into the game, too, finding one she knew he would like - "A Farewell To... Ernest" - but he was already gone.

That was quite a bittersweet ending that I rather liked.

(smile!) 

What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday evening, and for only $10!

Hopefully, their next show at the Richmond Hill City Center will be a matinee, as neither of us like driving in the dark.

But my sweet little Saturn wanted to let me know that this had been one of those "right place, right time" instances.

The mileage on the odometer when I parked in my driveway?

247568... sure looks like a winning poker hand to me!!!

(smile!)