as calvin said: the days - and nights - are just full!

And it isn't even fall yet.

That's when the theatre troupes go back into action.

Plus, the Savannah Jazz Festival will ramp up in mid-September, and then all sorts of music and autumnal-themed events follow suit, following folks into that cooler night air.

I just need to remember to stick that mask into my back pocket, as COVID is again keeping company with more of us.

Yeah, that's right, it's still around, still sending folks to the hospital and the morgue.

Truly.

Remember XBB.1.5?

I started talking about that variant of the Omicron strain of the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus back in January of this year, not once, but twice.

Then, in April, I shared the news about its sweet-16 version, rockin' in the USA and worldwide.

Well, now there's a new model, XBB.2.3, and, like these other XBB variants, it spreads as quickly and as easily as the common cold.

That means you don't start having symptoms until three days after infection with it, i.e., three days after the person gifted it to you.

Wash those hands.

Avoid crowded places.

Keep away from folks not in your bubble.

Have a mask handy at all times.

Wash those hands!!!

I already know three people who have it.

Yes, that's present tense: have it.

Now, what did I say about the days and nights being full?

 

Yesterday found me at the Jepson with Michael, Leila, and Alyssa!

 

The museum was having Free Family Day to celebrate its Age of Armor exhibit and I had invited the Saturday morning family groups to partake with me.

 

So glad the Effingham contingent was there!!!

(smile!)

As well as saving the $45 it would have ordinarily cost for the three of them, they got to see live action from the medieval ages!

 

There were two 'living history' groups in the second-floor Auditorium to introduce the kids, and their folks, to the finer points - pun intended!!! - of weaponry then.

 

Schola St. George doesn't have a local chapter, but a group had traveled to be here, to educate attendees in the differences between the types of armor worn and the uses of the different weapons.

The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) does have an active local branch in Savannah and they were quite enthusiastic about having others to spar against!

 

We were pretty excited about that, too!

 

An element of surprise is always a nice touch, not just for the fighters, but also for the cheering crowd!

 

And cheer we did!

Michael was on the 'blue' team and I was on the 'red' team, by dint of which side of the room we were on.

 

The first match was between Sir Ed, for blue, with a spear, and Sir Sam, for my team, with a dagger.

 

The second match pitted Sir Pietro of SCA, armed with sword and shield, against Sir Seth, wielding a pole axe.

 

Each pair battled at least three times, with each winning at least once.

 

My favorite matches, though, were the rapier fights between Sir Zacharius and Lady Jacqueline!

So much more elegant... and she won all five battles against him!

 

What did Alyssa and Leila think?

Their minds were on the trampoline party!

After about two hours with me, they were off!

(smile!)

 

Oh, but one very bright spot for me!

We had explored the new Children's Art Museum on the third floor before the medieval arts.

At some point after the battles, while we were looking at the crafts studio - where kids could construct their own swords and shields! - Leila came up to me excitedly.

"Aunt Tina, come see what i found!"

It was a lovely little park within the second floor area of CAM!

There was even a 'pond' with 'goldfish' and a wrought iron bench and so many flowers!

(smile!)

 

After a couple of hours at home, I bounced downtown again, this time to the Savannah Cultural Arts Center.

I was a volunteer usher again for SVF-11, for my second opera of this season!

As a cultural exchange with the Tokyo VIAA, we were in for a treat: "Madama Butterfly".

What a thrill - and a bit confusing - as the show was sung in Italian, as it was written by Puccini.

Japanese costumes, Japanese cherry blossoms, Japanese design, and not a single thing that was Japanese except some of the singers and some of the names of the characters they portrayed.

However, audience members had dressed in the most colorful, Japanese-themed, attire they owned!

What a lovely parade for me!

And guess who I saw and spoke with?

The 'Tis, of all people, and the cellist Yvonne (that's why-von, not eee-von), from my days at the Povie pool hall!

 

Plus, Liz Lang and Jessica Best, two I held dear from that SVF-8 season, came to watch!

Was there anything that surprised me about this particular opera?

Maybe 'surprise' is too strong a word.

At the end, Jeremy Brauner, the one portraying the US sailor who had bought Butterfly, a 15-year-old geisha, to be his wife while in port in Nagasaki, practically  had to encourage the audience to applaud his performance.

And just why was that?

In this #MeToo time in history, his character was one to be booed, one who took advantage of a young girl's heart and betrayed her love.

He was no Romeo... but all of this took place over a century ago, in a different clime.

Accolades I gave for a perfectly nuanced performance, to him and the entire cast! (smile!)

This morning was all about Miss Virginia.

Yes, that title is correct, as she never wed.

For all intents and purposes, she became a Protestant version of a nun in the latter half of her 39th year, back in 1963, devoting herself to Asbury Memorial Church and to Jesus, for sixty years.

Her favorite color was red and we were all encouraged to brighten the synagogue in that hue.

I wore Mother Pat's Hawaiian dress, a flowing, hibiscus red muumuu of a gown, perfect for summer, and perfect for this celebration a long life well-lived.

Her niece and her nephew were in town, too, and Rev. Billy was back on the stage.

He says we're going to honor her, and the other 24 Elderberries who were holding down the fort" for several years until 1993, thirty years ago when he started here, every year on this day.

What a marvelous idea!

As he read off the list of their names, some of the faces came smiling up in my mental photo album.

Nell Hagins.

Joe Hunnicutt.

Harold Wiley.

Elizabeth Lariscy.

And, now, Virginia Holliday.

I may not have known the majority of them, but I knew these, and am glad I did.

i thank You, God, for sharing them with me.

(smile!)

But my day was not yet done.

The Two Posts American Legion had a special meeting in the middle of this afternoon, in lieu of the missed one on Thursday night.

This time, we were meeting with the contractor, so I was sure, as an Executive Board member, to be present and accounted for... if a little late.

I'm glad I was there.

We have a date for the next phase: September 5th.

That's when the drains and water lines for the horseshoe bar will be dug and construction of the bar itself will commence onsite.

See that blue tape in the foreground?

That's the front edge of the bar.

The blue tape further back is for a cabinet, with another, for the liquor and such, along the wall.

We're hoping for a soft opening for Veterans Day.

I had been hoping for dinner with this meeting.

 

After 90 minutes elapsed, and 6 PM neared, folks began bidding their adieus, as did I.

Now, what to do?

How to finish out this weekend of diverse activity?

Dinner and a movie, of course!

Too late for anyone to join me at Carrabbas, but I certainly did enjoy every last bite of this Salmon Cappieri, loaded with capers and lemon flavor!

So satisfying!

Then to the "Blue Beetle" in BigD with Barbara!!!

What a fun romp it was, too, with lots of story to go along with the action!

The most fun, though, were all the superhero gadgets!

They looked like something a 10-year-old boy would have gleefully made, letting his imagination run free, with material choice being constrained by his finances!!!

Very nice way to end the day.

(smile!)