friday night lights, 17 years ago

These are all photographs taken by me on August 28, 2009, as the Savannah Sand Gnats took on the Rome Braves at Grayson Stadium.

It was the final Friday game of the season. 

Good times, good times!

Here's Mister Willie Smith, in his seat in the bleachers! 

 

 

Here's the last man standing of the group he once sat with, Mister Arthur Crum. 

There were about ten of those guys when I started going in the mid-1990's.

 

 

My brother Smitty had joined me for this game, along with my sister-in-law Mary. 

 

 

Here's their younger son, Tyler, exhibiting teen spirit by sitting off to himself.

That's my 14-year-old nephew! 

 

 

These smiling faces belong to Sherry and Timmy Love.

He's the lead singer for the Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love! 

 

 

Here's one with the team's mascot, Gnate, aka Terri Foote.

Gnate is signing autographs for adoring fans! 

 

 

Then there's the beloved Beer Man, Frank Dinan, sitting and sharing a smile as he quaffs a brew. 

 

 

 

This woman taking a photo of Frank is his new wife, Kathy. They reconnected a year or so ago at their high school reunion and knew it was love!

 

 

What's going on here?

Gnate and the Gnaturals are taking advantage of the 2-minute break between innings to do a little dance out at second base!

Shake it up, y'all!

Here's another shot of that gorgeous baseball diamond, in one of my usual tilted views to get in all four bases.

It looks like the bags are loaded with Sand Gnats!!!

Nope, that's a line coach standing by third base.

Still, it was a great game, grand slam or not!

The Gnats beat the Braves, 6 - 2.

Game over!

My brother and his family had left around the 7th inning stretch.

But my friend, Betty 'Boop" as Willie called her, was still in the stadium!

 

That's me, with my hair short back then. 

I was sitting right there by Betty, in the best seats in the house, waiting...

 

... waiting for those last Friday night fireworks of the season!

I just loved those!

Win or lose, we still got fireworks! 

she was only 63, too

Wendy Taylor Pena has died.

Like Mama, she was 63 years old, just one year into retirement.

I know she had looked forward to being free from a work schedule, just as Mama had been, so it's sad that she did not get time to enjoy it.

I'm glad I chose to retire eight years ago.

 

I'm hoping Conor MacGabhan will have that choice available, too, when he hits 60.

Right now, he's 43, about the age I was when Mama died.

Liam Pena, her younger son from her marriage to "Jeff's Andy", is 26.

They're both in this photo: Liam, Conor, one of Andy's brothers, Andy, Sheryl, and the funeral director at Fox & Weeks.

I took that after the service, and after the receiving line had ebbed to a close with two of Andy's brothers.

I haven't seen most of these folks since Andy's father died.

That was near the same time as when I retired, too.

 

The service was short, but quite heartfelt, with streaming provided for Wendy's sisters in England and Canada. 

Lionel Ritchie music filled the air, as that had been her favorite.

I don't recall what the first song had been, but I caught the other two.

Conor then spoke in his mother's memory, in front of her open casket.

He came and sat again between me and Ashley on the front pew as "Truly" began to play.

As the song ended, he rose again.

This time, he shared a message by speaker phone from Susan, Wendy's younger sister, up in Canada.

Then he sat with us as "Easy" concluded the service.

There was no burial, as Wendy will be interred in English soil, by her Mum. 

 

We all went over to the house Wendy had lived in, and renovated into her own, since her wedding so many years ago to Andy.

I'd been there a few times, but not since her Mum had died.

There's a British wives club in town, and she had been part of that for years.

I met Conor's dad, Barry, for the first time today.

It was good to talk with the family, and I stayed for about two hours, trying to provide comfort and some joy.

When I left, some younger folk - friends of Conor - were on their way, and he had just returned from a pizza run.

I wish them all strength in the coming years. 

Now, I need a little something to release some tears.

"Click" should do the trick for me - that movie about second chances always makes me cry.

a quartet and a plus-one from tom of amc

I not only filled my dance card, but had to be gifted another dance!

See what the banner says?

"You have already maxed out your reservations for this week, but you can still make reservations for showtimes this Friday and beyond."

But how would that do me any good?

"SIX: The Musical LIVE!" was leaving and Carolyn had not yet seen it!

I had raved about it over the weekend, but our schedules were off.

Today's screening at 7:45 PM would be the last chance to see it with my friend, but I was out of free dances... or was I?

Nope!

I still had a pass from Tom!

So that's how it happened that she and I, as well as about twenty others, were there grooving to the show from the Vaudeville Theatre earlier tonight!!!

I have some research on that bit of Tudor history, but first I want to get my A*List caught up, so I can cross that off my list.

(smile!)

So, what else did I see besides that musical?

Two others that were centered on music, plus one that wasn't.

That would be "Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma", seen primarily because Gillian Anderson was in it.

I took that to mean it had some raison d'etre, right?

Wrong.

Its sole purpose seemed to have been to bring in the LGBT+ audience. 

I guess she was just getting a paycheck and keeping up her SAG membership, because this was pretty lame.

However, I definitely enjoyed "Nimrods" and "Elijah Peel"!

The first one was a road trip movie, with three teens who drive across the country to Los Angeles, under the mistaken impression that their band - Analog Dogs - has been selected to open for Green Day's New Year's Eve concert.

[Sidebar: Green Day is almost 40 years old now!] 

Hilarity ensued, of course!

One of the boys was Mason Thames, who I do like, and he ended up with a travel crush on the character played by Mckenna Grace, who I also like.

Nice to see them paired up again in just a year!

(smile!) 

That leaves "Elijah Peel", which tells the tale of a 35-year-old musician sliding down from the top of his career as a rock musician, landing up in the hospital with a heart attack after too many drugs, too much booze, and too much hard-living.

Enter another patient at the hospital, more ambulatory than he is, who comes to visit him when she hears he is there.

Not one of his usual groupies, 'Jessica' is a 10-year-old dying of a brain cancer, and she is intent on making sure 'Elijah' knows about Jesus.

Kudos to Evelyn Grace Kite as the girl, and Robert Malcolm Cumming as the addicted musician trying to remake his life, and to Kevin Sorbo as his agent.

I had been concerned that this would be a tearjerker, but pleasantly surprised.

Good music in both of those movies!

Okay, time to get some knowledge on English history!

what's the perfect amount of ice, ice, baby?

What else would be on my mind on such scorcher summer days?

Remember, Savannah has lots of humidity, so add 10 degrees to those highs.

I run that dining room air conditioner at night, which manages to get the living areas of the house down to about 77 F, which is fine by me.

That means those areas get to the mid-80's in the afternoons.

Again, that's fine by me, and keeps my electric bill below $100 each month.

But part of the reason it's fine by me is I drink a lot of iced fluids.

Ivan Shreve, my fellow member of the League of Savannah Bloggers, posted the above meme on fb to take a poll about that.

"What's the perfect amount of ice?"

In true form as an analytical chemist, I didn't give him just one number. 

"2 usually, sometimes 3, unless it's cold outside. Then it's 1."

He liked that response.

Why not 4 as one of my preferences?

That's too much ice, making it difficult to drink without getting liquids running down my chin or onto my clothing.

Speaking of "perfect", tonight at Music Bingo, Andrew, the new bartender, took my drink order at the table.

Marcia was already in the booth, and the others had not yet arrived.

Andrew asked what I wanted and I said "water", as that's my usual.

He asked, "With or without lemon?"

"Surprise me," I responded... and he did!

I was the only one at our table of 4 that had both lime and lemon!

Sandy and Elissa ordered their drinks from our waiter, and just got lemon.

(smile!) 

None of us won any of the games tonight, but we sure had fun!

"House Party Mix" and "Modern Country Mix #2" were both good music, but it was that first game, with the "Covers Mix", that had us all pleasantly surprised.

Fergie sang Heart's "Barracuda"?

The White Stripes covered "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself"?

Diana Ross singing "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" was a cover?

Like I said, it was a fun evening with my friends!

Now, it's time for "The Quiz With Balls" and guess who they have tonight?

Star Wars Nerds versus Models - that should be good for a few laughs!

stepping into the light, at last!

There's something to be said for coming out of a cinema at night and being able to easily see your car in the parking lot.

The AMC Classic 11 has lacked parking lot lights for... months?

I'm trying to recall if they had working lights last fall, but cannot.

It isn't as if I go to night movies any more, since Barbara's death, but I can say that I have actively avoided being there since the parking lot went dark.

Tonight was different.

I'd had a double header and invited Carolyn to join me for the second movie.

Afterward, we came out... and that photo shows what we saw.

Lights!!!

Brightening the night and our paths to our cars!!!

I guess I can stop complaining about the darkness in my survey responses.

Hallelujah!!!

So, just what had we ventured out to see this evening?

Well, my friend had joined me for "The Invite", the latest with Seth Rogen.

He isn't an actor either of us follow, but he has improved of late.

He plays the husband of Olivia Wilde's character, and they're parents of a now-school-aged daughter that we never see.

They live in the house his parents once owned, now split into a duplex, and on this night they're having the noisy neighbors from upstairs over for wine and cheese.

Edward Norton and Penelope Cruz are that pair, still very much in a honeymoon state in their relationship, hence the nightly noise.

(smile!)

It's very much a tale of the new folks trying to get the curmudgeonly folks to loosen up, with the staid couple only doing so after a joint and some tequila, finally reaching to point of being open to wife-swapping... though that activity doesn't go well.

Still it had some funny moments along the way.

Not as many as "One Night Only" did, however!

From the opening premise, of a government-sanctioned night for singles to have sex, to the scene at the Little Red Lighthouse, it was a delightful romp!

Add to the mix that she's a jingle singer, and that final scene is during the filming of one of those drug commercials where everyone sings and dances, and it was right up my alley for fun!

I can't say I'm familiar with Monica Barbaro, but I love the way she embraced her character and I'll be paying better attention to her after this.

(She was up for an Oscar for her portrayal as 'Joan Baez' in the Bob Dylan movie a couple of years ago, but her name didn't stick with me.)

Likewise, Callum Turner isn't a name that resonates with me, though I've enjoyed his characters in the various movies he's been in.

As for the other two movies this week, I've already spoken at length about both "Hadestown: The Musical" as well as "Spider-Man: Brand New Day", so that ends this week's shout-out about my AMC A*List dances!

Now, on to other things!

bday80 and bday68 dinners with friends!

Bet that's a bit confusing, isn't it?

Let me straighten it out, shall I?

My dear friend Carolyn turned 80 years old last Friday, but was quite busy being regaled by others - hooray!

Yesterday was finally my turn to fete her!

Her choice was Texas Roadhouse, so she could have that country fried chicken in white gravy again.

I'm so glad to have been able to bring a smile to her face with that birthday dinner!

I chose the grilled salmon - always so delicious!

Then off we went for an evening movie! 

Wonder of wonders, neither of us had yet seen "Spider-Man: Brand New Day", which has finished a very successful opening weekend.

The Big-D screening was at 5 PM, which was perfect after our 3 PM slunch.

What an exciting film!

Seeing it in Big-D for the first time was definitely the right decision, as the webslinger was back and forth across that great expanse of silver screen again and again!

We both loved it, especially that "Big" moment between 'Peter' and 'Ned' at the film's end.  

Very touching, literally and figuratively!!!

Still, as entertaining as the movie was, and as much of blockbuster as it is, we both agreed that we felt a bit lost watching it. 

After all, it's been five years since the last movie in this series with Tom Holland, and 'Peter' had been an aggravating teenager then.

That would mean the now 30-year-old actor is portraying a 23-year-old character, albeit a 'Peter' who appears older as he has been bereft of his two best friends for those five years. 

I can attest that loss will certainly age a person.

In his case, it had been his decision to ask Dr. Strange to wipe out memory of him from the minds of 'MJ' and "Ned', so there's that.

Bear in mind that he was a teenaged boy making bad decisions.

Now, he's been living with the repercussions of that decision and it's starting to work on his lust for life.

So far, I get all of that.

But how does that tie in with 'Black Widow' and 'The Hulk'?

I very much feel a need to rewatch some of the earlier movies!

 

So what about that "bday68 dinner" stuff?

That's all about me!

The physicist has returned from his summer vacation in oHIo and this is our first get-together since April.

Want to have three guesses where we were?

You got it: Texas Roadhouse!

The manager even said she recognized us, which threw him for a loop until I explained about being there yesterday with Carolyn - hahaha!

I again had the salmon, but with fries instead of the baked sweet potato.

There was one more difference - this time, I was the one treated to the free birthday dinner!

Many thanks, my bfe!!!

So wonderful to catch up with him after so long, too.

I had suggested several movies, but he wasn't interested in any of them, not even the two with Olivia Wilde.

That was a surprise, but I think he's just in such a more relaxed state after almost two months with Jeannette.

I am so glad that he's happy and in love again!

Now, how to wrangle an invite to his condo near Bell's Landing so I can check out his new digs in the 'Vannah?

I'll have to suggest a pizza and movie night in the next few weeks.

(smile!)

meals and more with my girls!!!

Monday, it was time for Music Bingo again!

This was the first time any of us had been since the debacle a month ago.

"Us" would be me, Sandy, Marcia, and Elissa.

Hey, we've been busy, vibrant, women, a'ight, with family from out of town, cruises, and what-not going on!

I remembered to bring my free appetizer reward that I won about six weeks ago, too.

Fortunately, Midtown Sports Grill has changed their menu yet again.

Potato Skins is a new entry, loaded with bacon and cheddar, and that made for a mighty fine "welcome back" dinner with my friends!

And just look at that first bingo game of the evening!!!

That "Dance Party Mix" yielded me the first "Bingo!" of the bar!

Russ was even surprised that I'd won without using the 'Free Space' - I'd managed to do it with five actual songs that had been played, straight down the "I" column!!!

Andrew, the new bartender, was glad to bring me a free lemonade as my "free drink" reward for the game!

How wonderful to have shared that those three hours with friends!

(smile!)

Then, today, my first niece came to share a favorite movie with me!

This was the last week of the NCG Summer Camp Film Festival and they've been screening "The Wild Robot" since Sunday.

We love that movie about parenting and kindness!!!

Want to know how much?

She stayed awake through the entire movie!!!

That's saying a lot, as she has sleep apnea and tends to take a nap if she sits in one place too long.

That wasn't the case two weeks ago when she joined me for "Sing", but that was okay... it let me munch some of her popcorn!

That time, she was early and bought our tickets and kids' packs; this time, she was running on her standard time, so I bought the tickets and snacks.

(smile!)

After, we popped over to the Chick-Fil-A on Victory for our luncheon.

So glad the lunch crowd had mostly passed by then!

She grabbed the last table and we had a leisurely two hours together...

just us, no children, no boyfriend...

letting us truly talk about issues with that latter item.

Here's hoping for the best resolution for that problem.

Oh, plus a really bright spot!

We had been talking about friends from the past and she mentioned one of her middle-school buddies and spoke of them spending nights together.

"So, you're friends still, on fb?"

No, they weren't... but she quickly found her on that social media... and they are now reunited again!

Maybe I should do a few searches of lost friends, too.

(smile!)

christmas fun for my return from the cruise!

No less than four of the programs I watch all had Christmas themes!

The ones on PBS, the ones on AntennaTV, it just seemed they'd had a meeting and decided that was needed to welcome me home!

 

"My Life Is Murder", the one with Lucy Lawless as a police consultant in Australia, was the first I watched.

That episode was "Silent Lights" and concerned a death around Christmas time, with a man falling off his roof.

The neighbors insisted it was an accident, but his wife insisted that one of them had killed him somehow.

Get this: it was the 25th episode of the show!

Sounds like Christmas to me (even though it originally aired Oct. 2, 2022)!

Next up was "News Radio" with an episode from Season 2 that originally aired Dec. 19, 1995.

Clearly, "Xmas Story", meant for a US audience, aired at the right time for that annual festival of lights!

Everyone gets ball caps from the billionaire boss, causing quite a stir.

To complicate matters, 'Bill' is having a rough time with the lobby Santa, who keeps threatening to kill him.

Yes, hilarity ensued from the misunderstandings!

Then in the line-up was "Just Shoot Me!", this time from Season 6, and was the last episode before their Christmas break.

Airing Dec. 13, 2001, "Christmas? Christmas!" is one I actually watched twice!

That's because it had real-life Ray Liotta as himself, the 47-year-old movie-star cousin of the nerdy mailroom clerk (who is the actor who plays the geologist in "TBBT", Brian Posehn, whose last name on this show was 'Liotta').

Already I liked it!

Then Ray turned out to be a Christmas fanatic, with lots of traditions to share with 'Maya' as he whisks her into a holiday romance - most excellent!

Of course I watched it twice!!!

The last of the quartet came from "Midsomer Murders" (which, in the USA, always runs as pairs of 45-minute episodes to solve the case). 

Aired January 4, 2004, in merry old England, as a post-holiday treat I'm sure, "Bad Tidings" starts off with a college secretary getting killed, then a retired doctor.

What secrets had they been hiding all those decades?

Very much a good who-done-it to stir up the gray matter!

My thanks to the Universe for those...

I have really enjoyed them! 

Now, off I go to Music Bingo!!! 

i think the word you want is 'fiasco'

"The word I want?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

smitty wanted a party this bday!

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

All it lacked were candles.

(smile!)

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

I'm so glad I can eat shellfish!

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

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

They smelled so good!!!

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

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

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

I swear it tastes better without metal utensils!

(smile!)

 

No one commented on my use 

of chopsticks for eating, either.

Then again, it could be that 

the girls on the side did, 

but I couldn't hear them.

Or, it could be they weren't even 

aware, as they were on the 

opposite end of the huge table. 

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

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

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

 

I think Smitty noticed, but he knows 

I was in Okinawa for two years, 

so I think he expected it of me.

As for Mark, he really had a limited view.

I know he was more attuned to the 

difference in the size of his Michelob 

Ultra compared to Smitty's Asahi.

LOL!

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

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

A steak for Laura and another for Jimmy...

a fish for me... 

scallops for Smitty and Mark and Tony...

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

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

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

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

Happy bday 66, dear brother!

(smile!)

wednesday luncheon with a chemist!

With all the 4th of July festivities, I made sure to send texts of fireworks to those dear to me.

Yvonne had replied, "I need to see your smiling face!"

I'd countered with, "luncheon on Wednesday?"

And here we were, in the middle of the week, together again!

 

I suggested Sunny Side Up, on DeRenne, and guess what?

She'd never been there!!!

Everyone at Armstrong seems to only know about two local breakfast places in Savannah, it seems - the Original Pancake House first, then Clary's on Habersham downtown second.

I'm glad to have broadened her horizons!

We both opted for breakfast for this luncheon, too.

I had the eggs, bacon, grits, and toast, like a Southern belle, while she chose buttery blueberry and pecan pancakes!

So delicious...

and perfect for a leisurely meal of catching up with our busy lives as retired women!

We gotta do this more often!!!

(smile!) 

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!"

four meals out this week!

Monday was with my first niece and her man, right?

Tina Tuesday found me with Sandy, Marcia, and Kathy, having supper.

Nope, we were not at MSG!

That's supposed to be our Monday meetup, right?

We decided to skip that, but still wanted to have dinner together, so we met at Seasons of Japan.

Pricier than I'd expected, but it was definitely right place, right time!

This 2007 penny magically greeted me on the floor by the drink stand!

Thursday found me dining out again, this time with mi amiga, Carolyn.

We got together to see a movie first and ran into a snafu, yet again, but different this time.

The movie of interest was on its last screening, so there would not be a make-up date.

Trey made it right, and Tom gave us free cameo specials!

(See elsewhere about the great film!)

We dined at Longhorn, as she wanted their potato soup.

Fine by me!

Then, with me having missed last week's S&K Friday Fiesta, I wanted to be sure to catch it this time!

Smitty must have wanted to make sure, too.

He texted me the location and earlier time about 2 PM!

Spanky's at Mall Boulevarde was the designated spot, with 5 PM as the time.

That worked for me!

I wanted to try out their Spinach & Artichoke Dip as my meal... and I made sure to bring plenty of Lactaid, too.

It was pretty good, but I'm glad Jimmy gave me a slice of his Pepperoni Pizza and Tony gave me some of his Spuds!

No Robin at this gathering, but Addison was there with Sean again, so I made sure to properly introduce myself this time.

He won't be there next week, nor Addison.

How do I know?

Mary was getting a head count for Miyabi's, which is Smitty's choice for his 66th birthday dinner.

Fancy, fancy!!!

I'll need to be sure to set money aside for that.

Now, I'm using some Stella cash to see a musical!!!

Woohoo!!!

new owner at msg, new rules

It had been such a scorcher today, with summer trying to come in hot.

After all, yesterday was the official first day of that season.

So, when Marcia sent around the text about meeting up for Music Bingo, I was all for it!

Gathering for fun and singing with friends, in air conditioning I didn't have to pay for?

Yes, please!

I was one of the first ones there, joined soon by Amanda and Merritt.

Marcia came in next, with her granddaughter, Batsheva, in tow.

The girl had a new short 'do for summer, though the reason for the cut had been too many snarls in her hair.

Her mom said cutting the hair was the only recourse.

The bob looked very cute though!

 

Sandy didn't arrive until my Nachos were already on the table.

Just look at that mass of chips and cheese and chili!!!

Russ came in just before 7, with his bag of Bingo paraphernalia in tow.

Hooray!!!

Then Chris, the manager, came over to break the news to us.

There weren't enough players there tonight.

The Music Bingo session was canceled.

Say what???

The new owner has some such nonsense about needing to have at least 8 players for the game to be held.

Ah, but there were  of us and two players at the bar... that's 8!

It didn't make a difference.

We even said we'd play for no prizes, just the joy of listening and singing along with the music being played!

Nope, that wasn't going to happen, captain. 

Well, drats.

I certainly wouldn't have ordered those $15 nachos if I'd known that.

They all felt the same way... but at least we had each other's company.

back to back bananas for me and stella!

For my last vacation in Georgetown with Stella, I'd been surprised to find the Banana Ball game on TV.

This time, I made sure to check their schedule!

That was a good call.

That meant I was prepared yesterday for the night game...

and I was prepared tonight for the second in that series of three!

 

Of course, I made sure to dine with my brothers last evening.

I wanted to talk with them about our Aunt Linda, who is in the hospital.

I am so grateful Smitty and Tony came with me for her Birthday Tea last year, spending quality time with her!

Nice for me to spend this quality time with family and friends at the S&K Friday Fiesta, too.

I jetted off about 7 PM, though, to make sure I got back to Stella before night fell... and before I missed too much of the game!

I arrived in time for the bottom of the 3rd inning in this game that pitted the Savannah Bananas against the Indianapolis Clowns in their home city of Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Great American Ball Park.

How very cool those aerial shots were, with the downtown surrounding that diamond of green!

The Bananas took the point for the first inning, the Clowns got the one for the second inning, and neither got a point for that 3rd one.

However, the Clowns, playing on the field they'd last been on 37 years ago, got a fire lit up by the crowd, taking the points for the next three innings!

That meant that at the bottom of the 7th, they led, 4 to 1.

Then Joe Gray, Jr. smacked a walk-off home run, bringing it to 5 to 1!

The Bananas managed to get the point for the 8th inning, but couldn't score again in the 9th, leaving the final at Clowns 5, Bananas 2.

Great game!

Tonight, here's the scene, with the same teams, same field, bottom of the 3rd inning.

Kyle Luigs was the starting pitcher for the Bananas and he had kept the Clowns from getting any runs.

That streak fell apart in the third, with the Clowns getting that point!

The Clowns also took the point in the 5th inning to tie the score 2 to 2.

Not to be outdone, the Bananas took the points for innings 6 and 7!

So exciting, with the thunder rumbling outside!

Their lead may have been aided by Hall of Famers for the Cincinnati Reds doing cameos on their team.

Both Adam Dunn and Aaron Harang played in those two innings!

But it wasn't time to count out the Clowns!

They got three runs in the 8th inning to take the point, bringing their score up to 3 against the Bananas' 4.

That's when they brought in Peanuts the Elephant to pitch in the 9th.

Although the fans loved it - as did I! - that may not have been the best for the team in this close game.

See, the Bananas had already scored three runs that inning.

However, Peanuts kept them from scoring any more, so that was good.

Sadly, the Clowns didn't score any runs that inning, so the Bananas took that game, 7 to 3.

There'll be a third game tomorrow, but I'll miss that.

Can you imagine?

The folks in that Ohio town are getting three Banana Ball games in a row!!!

Wow!

That means over 120,000 fans will have seen the games over this home stand.

That's amazing!!!