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!)

a lovely evening for a byop in georgetown!

I speak of the annual Bring Your Own Pumpkin party that I've attended since 2009!!!

There's 'Bubba' Dawn and the Koz, with 'live' Stella and spirit of Delilah to welcome the guests!

I came over right after the play, so I was relegated to the yard until the hostess was done with whipping up all her goodies in the kitchen.

I was fine with that, though!

The weather was right nice, and I'd brought my sweater in case it cooled later.

Never even wore it!

Instead, I took in the vibe on the front porch as I waited for others to arrive.

Absent were the soothing chimes I've enjoyed in the past on Sunday mornings!

That was replaced by the discordant groans and howls of the various beasties out there, all revved up from their AA and AAA earlier.

Bwah ha ha!!!

Then I spotted Susan!

When I'd arrived so early, I thought of helping her feed the fish, but the party on the patio was absent today.

She was thrilled to take me instead to admire the Koz's latest addition: a mailman perched atop the mailbox, having already lost a leg to the dog!

Hahahaha!!!

That must have been inspired by Stella!

Then Michanne and her husband arrived, though they didn't tarry.

She was dropping off her latest ghoulish cake and then they were off... but not before I talked to them about that movie I'd seen with Carolyn last night.

Then I said hello to my boys: Wolfie, Frank, and Drac!

I've been enjoying running with them and their zombie friends for over a decade, though I've slowed down a bit lately.

They don't mind that at all!

Then word came: the house was open!

Time to check out Dawn's "Death by Sweets" table - wow!!!

And there was Michanne's "Maggot Head" cake to tempt those with cast-iron insides... nah, those cakes just look disgusting!

They're always delicious!

Back I bounced outside after chatting with Elaine about her 4-year-old granddaughter!

Oh, look! Russ and Arie had finished their carving and were just putting on the finishing touches!

"Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" 

They sure did, and they used pumpkins!!!

Utterly adorable!!!

It took the prize for "Best" this year and I'm sure the kids in the neighborhood will love the nod to "Frozen"!

Now, I'm the one waving to the moon, having made my goodbyes to the hosts! 

Thanks, Dawn and Chris, for outdoing yourselves once again!

Thanks, Warren, for bringing the baked beans, coleslaw, and barbecue sauces for the feast, plus bags of orange and black tortilla chips for guests to take home! 

Happy 17th birthday to Warren's daughter, Tia, tomorrow!

I'll have sweet dreams tonight!!!

kodachrome, oh, yeah!

"They give us those nice bright colors

They give us the greens of summer

Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama, don't take my Kodachrome away"

 

Ever since I heard the name of this play, that Paul Simon song from my teen years has run rampant down the corridors of my mind.

It's been at least since 1973 that I've been taking photographs.

In 1976, I took lots of photos of places in Savannah, documenting my home town before I went off to see the world with the Navy.

 

That's why I was so interested in this play that Savannah Country Day School chose for its entry into the regional one-act competition in Macon next week.

A modern play written by Adam Szymkowicz, "Kodachrome" takes place in a small town and is told by the local photographer, 'Suzanne', who has the only spoken words for the first fifteen minutes or so of the play.

Kudos to Kharis Ott for a phenomenal performance!

 

That's her, in the near-center, the blonde in the white outfit.

As the story unfolds, she is revealed to be the dead wife of the hardware store owner, 'Charlie' (Cameron Lotz), who has been bringing flowers for her grave for 4 years.

The gravedigger, 'Earl' (Andrew Montgomery), has also been bringing flowers regularly to her grave, but there's a difference: he can see and speak to her ghost.

He's become a bit alarmed that she has not yet moved on, but he's patient.

He can see the writing on the wall (another line from the song), and knows the day is coming when the librarian, 'Renee' (Caroline Bergmann), will get up the nerve - after four years - to ask 'Charlie' out for dinner.

After all, they dated in high school, before he ever met 'Suzanne'.

Very lovely!

As well as those romances, we have a young couple (played by Tanner Kaminsky and Kensie Glass) whose love story is just beginning, as well as an empty-nest couple (Ander Renalt and Dabney Anderson) who have drifted toward divorce after their daughter goes off to college.

All of these tales are accompanied by photographs displayed on two big-screen televisions, serving to dress the set, along with a central station that serves as the florist shop, the library, and the hardware store.

Why was all of that important?

As I said, this is the troupe's entry for the competition, and everything is timed.

They must go from bare stage, through the performance, to bare stage again, and this time it's within 55 minutes.

They completed it this Saturday afternoon, during their final performance of three on their home stage, in just over 52 minutes.

Bravo!!!

Afterward, several members of the cast had thanks and gifts to distribute, then their teacher, James Venhaus, had words for his three seniors.

From left to right, those seniors are Ander, Kensie, and Andrew.

Such bright futures they will have!

I'll look forward to seeing them again in the spring, in "Mamma Mia!"!!!

Here's wishing all broken legs for their competition in Macon!!!

 

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.

zoom, zoom, zoom, hither and yon

It's become a regular thing, it seems.

It reminds me of the pandemic days, when zooming was the safest way to bring groups of people together.

For me, the MOVE! nutrition program from the VA is the latest to join my slate of afternoon appointments via ether.

Ever since my nutritionist left for her dream job, the Savannah VA has been hard pressed to fill her place in my life.

Now, I have Fabiana Carvalho, of the Myrtle Beach VA, coming to me for an hour every Thursday for this 12-week program. 

The first meeting was October 8th, serving as a 1-hour intro to the program.

 

Last week, On October 15th, we met again from 3 PM to 4 PM.

This time, we covered two modules in the MOVE! workbook. 

One of the first things she asked us was "why is it important to weigh regularly".

I was the first one to pop up in the chat box with my reply! 

In fact, I make sure to throw in my two cents' worth at any zoom I attend.

For one thing, it lets the speaker know someone is listening.

As a teacher, I know how important that it.

For another thing, it serves to verify my attendance at the event.

That will be important to my PCP.

 

Yesterday, the class meet for the third time.

This module was all about making good choices when filling your plate.

Colorful, non-starchy vegetables on half the plate, lean protein on one-fourth, and whole grains on the other fourth.

None of that is news to me, but just try finding that in a restaurant!

At least when Ruby Tuesday was in town, the salad bar could complement that lack of vegetables.

I will say that the house salad at Texas Roadhouse is a good alternative, too, just so the dressing is kept to the side.

See, I know all this information... as I last went through the MOVE! program in 2021... but staying with it is the issue.

I will make a conscientious effort to try, though.

Most of those in the ZOOM group are on one of the GLP-1 weight loss drugs and taking this course is mandatory for them. 

 

That four-part AARP-GA zoom seminar on estate planning, held on Tuesday, isn't the only multipart series I had with AARP.

Last Friday, at noon, I began a new series with them on nutrition.

It's a four-week program from a group called Open Hand and that's Kristen Aveno, the instructor in the series, in the photo.

I've only signed up for the 2nd and 3rd zoomcasts (is that a word?), as those were the ones of interest.

This first one for me was "Reducing Inflammation With Nutrition", complete with a chef that made a series of smoothies, but also a Tomato and White Bean Salad that's very close to one I like to make.

I already knew about most of the information - use turmeric, ginger, omeg-3 fatty acids, fermented foods, probiotics - so it was a refresher.

One thing I hadn't known was to look for 'NSF' or 'USP' on the labels of any supplements to verify they had been tested.

Here's hoping the arthritis in my right hip will find relief when I add more omega-3 fatty acids, fiber, antioxidants, and probiotics to my diet!

 

The AARP zoom today was called "Maintain The Brain With Smart Nutrition".

Last week, Kristen Aveno of Open Hand had been joined by chef Martha.

Today, the chef was Carrie and she made Chicken and Quinoa Berry Bowl, combining blueberries with the other ingredients.

I would never have thought of adding those, but it looks fabulous!

The talk was mostly about the MIND diet, with emphasis on leafy greens, berries, non-starchy vegetables, whole grains, seafood, chicken, and nuts.

This blended in very well with the MOVE! talk yesterday!

 

The only ZOOM that was unlike the others was the American Legion meeting from Tuesday of this week.

It was a hastily-called session for the Two First Posts, with only five of us present for the entire 75-minute discussion.

So, what was the issue that warranted this gathering?

The new commander of American Legion Post 500, that's what, as he continues to cause trouble.

Right now, his key to the building doesn't work, as the locks have been changed while the new tenant's side door is being replaced.

Thank you, Eddie, for getting that done.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot deserves the same protections from intruders as those granted to the dry cleaners and the church who are also tenants of Two First Posts.

On Tuesday, we'll convene again to take further action.

That will be in person, though, with a quorum present for a vote.

I look forward to that action putting a stop to the shenanigans.

W W E D?

"What's that, dearie? I haven't seen that acronym before."

What Would Elvis Do...

"Oh, oh, I know the answer!!! He'd take care of business!!!"

Exactly, and that's what I've been doing today. Actually, it started yesterday, after I left Asbury Memorial. It had been the second of 6 for Wednesday Night Suppers. I'd dined on baked chicken with Pam and Walt, as well as Kaye Deffley and Dolores Ellis, with me remarking to all on how delicious the lemon cake was.

"Oh, yes, so moist, and so very lemony! Such a nice cake!"

That's right, though not THE nice cake. (smile) When I left the church, I decided to bop over to the CVS at Skidaway and Victory. I went first to the pharmacy, to see about getting a COVID booster. When I saw my PCP last month, I got the flu shot, but the Savannah VA Center not only didn't have the COVID boosters, they didn't even know if they would be. I most def wanted to get one, as Elissa has been recovering from COVID for a couple of weeks now. That's why she's missed out on our Monday get-togethers.

"At least she did all the favor of not coming 'round to spread it."

Of course! Anyway, the pharmacist took my information, then had me sit for the shot. I was glad it was the Pfizer booster! That one from Moderna was very painful last year. Or was that the year before?

"On with the story, dearie."

Oh, yes, sure. So, I'm around the partition for the booster, and after I get it, I notice the shades are all drawn around the pharmacy. They're closed! I hadn't realized how close it was to 7 PM when I came in! I'm just thrilled they took me!

"How kind of them! Thay could have told you to just come back another day."

Exactly. I'm glad I was able to cross that task off my list! Then, this morning, I finally got the mammogram done! I was to have had it in July, but Candler Telfair Pavilion never called to schedule it, then, when I called them, they had not received the Community Care Authorization from the Charleston VA. When I told my PCP in September, she got onto to folks in Charleston to set it up again. I finally called Candler again and set it up, then contacted Charleston to let them know when the appointment was. I had resolved that if I heard nothing about a confirmation, then I would just skip it this year. Good thing I didn't have to do that! Ever since my outlaw Melinda had her run-in with that aggressive breast cancer, I've been reminded of the importance of the annual mammogram.

"Darn tootin'! She had a year of toxic chemo, but she's lived through it, thank God. Now to start the 5-year countdown."

That's right. I had been so concerned for her, but also for my first niece. I didn't want her to lose her mom at the same age I lost mine.

"I completely understand. So, what did you do for fun after that visit?"

Fun? Oh, know, I was still TCB'ing! Off to the bank on Mall Boulevard to deposit that refund from Chatham County! Then, since I was right there, over to the early voting center on Eisenhower Drive to complete that task! Wonder of wonders, I ran into Kathy there!!! She was with her friend and neighbor, Ann, and they finished up right after I did, so we three walked together back to the parking lot. Nice to have that company!

"Were y'all off to lunch after that?"

No, they had other errands to run, and so did I. Remember, I just got the new wifi router installed yesterday. Today, I popped down to the Xfinity center on Victory Drive and gave them back the old one. I got a receipt for it, too, to make sure I wouldn't be charged for that old equipment! I had a nice chat with the young man about his uncle in the Navy. He's stationed in Norfolk. Very cool to have made that connection!

"Good for you! And I suppose you took yourself to a movie after that?"

I wish I'd had the time, but I didn't. In fact, due to one thing or another, I've only managed to get one movie onto my AMC A*List dance card this week. Can you believe it? Fortunately, it was very good!!! "Street Fighter" melded animation with live action - like another recent movie - and was very entertaining! I didn't know the actors, but several of them have to be real wrestlers and martial artists, that's for sure! The three leads - Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, and Callina Liang - were fabulous to watch. I'll be looking forward to the next one in this series!

"Good to hear that flick based on a video game was a good one!"

For sure! If you get a chance, so see it. The time flies!