halloween 2023

Here's one from Perry Foster's fb.

 

"Halloween [is] a day we get it right.

Strangers come to us,

beautiful, ugly, odd, or scary,

and we accept them all without question, compliment them, 

treat them kindly, and give them good things.

 Why don't we live like that? 

- Steve Garnass-Holmes "

 

I like it so much that I've had it as my fb cover photo ever since 11 October.

 

Then there's this guy!

I do so love Jack Skellington!

He's a scientist, ya know.

Hard to believe he's THIRTY YEARS OLD... right?

 

AMC had him back for his Big 3-o birthday party, so that's where I was on Tuesday, October 24.

I watched it on TV on Sunday, but...

he needed the A*List treatment...

and so did I.

This guy is no Jack, though.

He isn't even an ETA, much as he'd like to think he was Elvis.

Nope!

 

That's Kermit's nephew, Scooter.

He was all dressed up for the Halloween party that Gonzo missed.

And just why was that goofy creature not there?

He was at "Muppets Haunted Mansion" with King Prawn!

I watched that on the 26th, for Willie's birthday.

He would have been 86.

That was on Disney+, gifted from Comcast.

 

This was on Peacock, that reward from Comcast.

Last Monday, I'd watched "Death Becomes Her" on that 'channel', rather than wait for it on AARP MFG tonight.

 

Then, the next night...

and the morning of the 25th...

I spent with Bill Murray and "Zombieland"!

This scene, with him and Woody Harrelson acting as ghostbusters, while others are watching the movie in an adjacent room, is a favorite scene!!!

 

Too bad 'Columbus' mistook that professional makeup job for real zombie and shot him.

Oops!

And just what did I do on this Tina Tuesday Halloween?

I went to a crazy, zany, flick at the Victory!

Well, sure, it's called the NCG Cinema, but I'm old Savannah.

(smile!)

This one slipped right up on me, too.

Hard to believe, right, since it's Broadway-esque...

but it did!

I tried to get Boo and Sandy to join me for "Dicks: The Musical - The Sing-A-Long", but, no dice.

Just as well!

It was slap full of boy humor and they would have hated it!

I had a matinee for one and totally enjoyed myself!

What a treat after today's yard work!

(smile!)

surprise! it's alan ruck!

Truly it was!

 

I had taken advantage of the $1 Weekend Movie Night reward from Comcast to watch yet another VHS movie from my collection.

 

This time, my choice was one I didn't quite remember.

 

From 1989, "Bloodhounds Of Broadway" had a huge cast of memorable actors, but I'd forgotten the plot.

That's okay, as it turned out to not have one.

The ensemble cast was enacting four different short stories, all woven together for a New Year's Eve celebration of 1928.

I'd first watched it last night, after my return from the Jenkins' BYOP, then again this morning.

Was it because of Rutger Hauer? Madonna? Jennifer Grey?

Nope, though I do enjoy all three of them.

Was it because of Randy Quaid or Fisher Stevens or Esai Morales?

 

Nope, though I thought they were all quite funny.

 

Matt Dillon? Steve Buscemi? Julie Hagerty?

 

Nope, nope, and nope.

 

It was because of Alan Ruck.

 

You know... the man who told me my name was beautiful.

 

(smile!)

 

Of course, he wasn't on my radar back then for that.

 

It wouldn't be until twenty years later that he would speak those words to me.

 

For this movie, his name wasn't in the opening credits.

 

That's why it was a pleasant surprise when he popped up, in a scene with Rutger Hauer.

 

Very nice!

 

Then he and his two bloodhounds, Nip and Tuck - remember that TV show? - keep showing up, helping the cops solve a murder.

 

Very nice!

 

He was 35 back then.

 

He's 67 now, still two years older than me.

 

I wonder if he still goes to Dragon*Con?

 

(smile!)

chatting with the first niece!

Skelecorn pumpkin!

At my second BYOP party of the weekend.

I like the Mr. White Potato Head pumpkin, too.

Me, taking a break from the crowd.

My skin is finally getting better.

That second bout of poison ivy had me lookin' rough!

Recognize what movie my shirt is from?

LOL!

This is about a third of the crowd.

It had started out as a block party, once upon a time.

Now, the kids have kids and it's an extended family thing!

Like in this photo -

Mary, Christy, Caitlyn.

Three generations now coming out to the Jenkins BYOP.

Caitlyn even carved a pumpkin!

Like Smitty's, her pumpkin was of the permanent variety.

Here he is, with Tony and Laura.

I rode out to the party with them this year.

The nice thing was listening to music and singing along with Dood!

Another nice thing was coming back earlier than usual.

Hey, it's been a long and fractious week -

he and I were both whupped.

But I still made sure Asher got a scarecrow!

I'd made those, and the ghost pencil pops and the witches' brooms, for the kids there.

Asher is 8 and he met me as soon as we'd arrived!

He's Robin's first grandkid from her daughter, Brandi.

Here, she's holding one of her newest.

Such a lovely 36th year of this celebration!

And now I'm home and right on time for Carol Burnett!

Sunday has the full hour of her show, which is nice.

This one is especially a treat...

one that Jack Skellington would like after a BYOP...

it's a Christmas-themed program!

This aired on 12-25-1967.

Know what that means?

Tony was two months old.

I'd like to say I remember seeing this back then -

hearing Ella Fitzgerald hitting those notes...

but I was 9 and I really don't recall it.

Guess that makes it "new to me"!

(smile!)

happy halloween, dawn and koz!

I had very nearly not gone, I was so tired.

Still, I felt the need to be there, especially after helping set it up for two weekends.

So, I threw myself out of my house and went to Georgetown.

Good move!

I ran into Susan there in the front yard and we both talked about the new ghouls and clowns.

I especially liked the flasher - see him? about center of the photo?

He is surely new.

I would have remembered putting batteries in him.

Later, I sat on the porch in a rocking chair.

I was having a respite from the crowd and, somehow, amid the cacophony of witches cackling and ghouls shrieking, it was quite peaceful.

Odd, right?

And I was able to people watch.

It was fun to see the kids playing up there by the pirates, pushing the button and getting squirted before they could scoot back a safe distance!

Then there were the kids - and adults - keeping out of reach of the crazy clowns on the right.

In front of the porch was a graveyard with a mummy that kept doing sit-ups from his coffin - lol!

Ame then there were all the skeletons - the bony motorcycle rider, the extra-tall flag waver, the skeleton Bulldog biting the butt of the Gator hanging from the tree - very funny!

I made sure to take a photo of that display for my brothers, as I knew that game was top of their list!

Apparently, it was for folks at the BYOP, too.

The Koz had a TV on, in the yard, with the football game on, so I was able to see that Georgia beat Florida.

Mostly, though, I ignored that and concentrated on all else.

Like this food!!!

Kenny, the man who cooks ribs and chicken for this party, had ventured out into low country boil this time!

What a special treat!

Plus, there were all these sweet treats!

Nice to see that basket, on the right, with all of those pumpkin-headed scarecrows I helped make!

I even took some of those home with me.

And there with lollipops in ghost shrouds, lollipops with spiders legs, lollipops shaped like witches and ghosts and Frankenstein's monsters!

I took some of those, too, to enjoy later!

But the Rice Krispies pumpkins?

The clementines dressed like pumpkins?

The green frosted pretzel rod fingers?

Those were enjoyed right there and then!

And that witches' cauldron actually held a very delightful cake under all that ganache frosting!

Dawn does such a great job with this welcoming table every year, and this was her 13th, each one better than the one before!

Speaking of her, here she is with her hubster.

It was time for her and The Koz to judge the pumpkins and award prizes to the winners.

Ah, but one prize was a booby prize, right?

The person judged as having "most room for improvement" would see their carved pumpkin get blown up!!!

As it happened, that was the same person who "won" that category last year and she was thrilled to have done so again!

Two others volunteered their creations for that dubious honor, giving Chris three to blast to pieces.

Such great fun!!!

First, the sparklers were set off, then...

boom!

Boom!!

BOOM!!!

Poor Della didn't much care for it, but the rest of us clapped and cheered!

Some of the pumpkin shards even made it as far away as we were, near the back porch!

Oh, yes, the official end of the BYOP!

Time for folks to start heading home.

A lot of them were neighbors, so it was just a matter of walking back to somewhere on the block.

Several attendees had flown in - Elaine from Chicago, Lorelei from California, a few others - and they were all staying over for the brunch tomorrow.

Not me.

I stayed and visited for a few moments longer, then bid my adieus and headed for my fishface.

Now, I'm home again, loot in hand, ready for an early bedtime.

First, though, a call to the West Coast.

It's Cathy's bday63!

Hooray!!!

tony and smitty here: fascia up at last

Dood had warned me last night that he would arrive early.

"I'll be there by 9," he told me.

That meant he would be no later than 8:30 AM.

He's a lot like Daddy with timing: be earlier than you say.

So, I upped my alarms accordingly.

Tony was here around 8, but he started on the left end of the house, to let me sleep.

That meant he didn't hear my first Synthroid alarm go off.

(smile)

By the time Smitty arrived around 10, I was out in the yard, stacking up the torn down stuff that was coming off the house.

Tony made it to my bedroom area a bit after that.

I was relieved to see that the band board was clear of insect signs - just rot from a possum's claws.

That beast had been long gone, leaving just damage from it trying to get in one winter.

Tony had the piece of new and improved, never needs painting, never rot, PVC board up in no time.

With Smitty measuring and cutting, the work went smoothly and quickly.

Still, there was a lot of it.

I stayed out of their way, as they clearly had a rhythm in their work.

(smile)

Mostly, I continued working on the yards.

I cleared out more from the back, outside my bedroom.

I wanted to make sure there was a clear area for the ladder when Tony made it to that side.

Giving my back a break, I saw the lone monarch flitting in the late morning sun, hoping for lantana.

The butterfly resorted to scrounging nectar from tiny ground flowers that I hadn't realized were even there.

(smile)

 

My brothers had cleared the front and were now on the left side, in the driveway.

I had filled yet another Home Depot lawn bag, partly with vines pulled from the redbuds several weeks ago, when I was clearing the back fence.

That bag got tossed over the front fence so I could haul it to the curb.

I tossed over the lantana, too, as well as the branches Smitty and I trimmed the last two days.

That means the back yard is clear of yard debris.

Whew.

Then the work on the back fascia began and I made sure to stay out of the way.

Both of them had told me they had a Georgia Bulldogs game coming on at 3:30 and home they would be for it!

And, home they will be, too.

They finished up about an hour ago, after putting up that last piece of new trim.

After loading up their trucks with tools and ladders, off they went.

How blessed I am to have such skilled brothers...

how blessed I am to have brothers so generous with their time...

how blessed I am.

i thank You, God.

After they left, I went into the house to sit and drink water.

Photos for the insurance people can wait another day.

(smile)

me and smitty, smitty and i

I am utterly exhausted, but it's been a successful day, with real progress made.

Here's the front of the house, all completely cleared of vines, mold, and mildew.

Smitty completed the pressure washing phase today.

I got busy and cleared the lantana and azalea bushes beside the steps.

To me, it looks scalped.

The monarchs and lizards are confused, too.

Here's the left side of the house, looking from back to front.

That looks pretty scalped, too, but not as much as the porch area.

Smitty cut off some of those overhanging oaks, so it gets more sun.

Maybe that will keep it from getting so moldy in the future.

Here's the back of the house, mold, mildew, and vines all gone.

They're all gone from around the air conditioner, too.

Plus, as mentioned yesterday, the deck is again ready for use.

Yes, even when alone this week, I've spent at least three hours in the yard.

Today, I noticed the back yard is going to need to be mowed one more time.

No need for Planet Fitness when I have all this work going on.

And, finally, here's the right side of the house, from front to back.

It'll be getting even more sun than it already gets.

From sunup to about noon, that's the bright spot.

Now that the wild cherry and the oak are gone, as well as the huge azalea, the sun comes straight into my bedroom every morning, unfiltered except by the curtain.

I had already started recalibrating my sleep time, so I could be up for my brothers.

That means slowing down when Carol Burnett comes on at 11 PM, rather than waiting for the shenigans of the Harper brothers at midnight-thirty.

That's all to the good, really.

After all, I've shown Smitty that I'm seriously committed to working with him on this.

And, together, we've shown Molly of Geico, and Travelers Insurance, that we can do it.

The first discrepancy on their list is now null and void.

On to the second discrepancy tomorrow.

But, now, a shower.

Dinner at Jalapenos for the Smiths & Kamerons Friday Fiesta.

i thank You, God.

working on the deck

I made sure I slathered up in sunscreen first, of course.

The deck's in the back yard and it gets sun all morning, until mid-afternoon.

See the front edge of the photo, with the clean boards?

My task was to remove all the sticker vines, all the poison ivy, all the dead leaves, pine cones and seashells.

Those seashells from Panama had entertained the girls while Christina had a last visit with her Papa.

 

It took me almost two hours to clear it.

Hard to believe that's the same deck.

I almost filled a new yard debris bag with all the vines and such, using weeds bordering the deck to help tamp everything down.

I even trimmed the misplaced box hedge and the scrub oak at the corner.

Those limbs will be hauled to the front yard, but not today.

I'd already spent over an hour scraping the little "gecko footprints" left by the poison ivy on the siding while I waited by the sun to leave the deck.

Oh, and notice anything else?

I cleared off those five concrete blocks, too.

Remember them?

When the SeeSAW muralcle on Habersham was to be demolished in 2014, I'd picked up those blocks, thinking I'd do something decorative with them.

Yeah, that never happened.

Somehow, the creative spark just didn't come around.

I did place two of them to the side of the deck some years back, to serve as a step.

Those other five just hung fire, as it were.

That's okay.

I look forward to being able to dine on the deck again, before the cold weather comes.

I miss having dinner out there in the evening breeze.

I do hope my brothers will put the new deck on this weekend.

They'll be here Saturday morning, both of them.

I haven't told them about the twins birthday9 party, but maybe Smitty and Tony won't need me for all the work with the fascia and deck?

We'll see.

Fingers crossed that I get to see the girls!

Now, for a nice long shower...

back to the curb! street patched! good day!!!

The first good thing today was this: the piles of branches and two bags of yard debris getting hauled away!

My thanks to the City of Savannah crew!

I told them I'll have more there for next week... then I spent over an hour hauling limbs from mid-yard to the curb, making four new piles.

Whew!

The second good thing today was this: the street getting patched at last!

I contacted the City of Savannah via their 311 website, last Wednesday, right?

Just a week later, they're here, they got it done, and I can easily get in and out of my driveway again, after two months of hassle.

I should have contacted them earlier!

The third good thing today was this: the weather song is hitting some high notes!

Back we go into the 80's for this weekend!

Sure, it's the low 80's... but I'll take it.

Good to be back into the 60's at night, too.

The fourth good thing today was this: an adoption date has been attained!

Christina contacted me this morning about it!!!

Monday, November 13th, is the day the judge will finally - FINALLY!!! - sign the papers that decree Miyah and Chloe are forever the daughters of my first niece.

That's good, as she is the only Mama they have ever known... and they are 6 and 5 now.

I plan to go to court with her that day, so Hinesville is in my future.

(smile!)

The fifth good thing today was this: Wednesday Night Supper!

No need to try to figure out what's for dinner in my dwindling pantry.

What a relief!

And guess what they had?

Pumpkin pie, gingerbread, and carrot cake!!!

I had all three, too, and enjoyed every mouthful.

(smile!)

The sixth good thing today was this: Tony's birthday!

He's 56 now, and when I called and sang "happy birthday" to him, he laughed!

Laura had been gone to Missouri, but she returned yesterday, so he woke today with her in his arms, making him a happy camper indeed.

He wanted shrimp for dinner, so they went to Desposito's and loved it!

Here's the kicker, though: they serve fried foods now!

It used to be just boiled or baked on the menu, but I guess they relented to folks wanting French fries and such.

I'll stick with the boiled shrimp - they always had the absolute best.

Oh, and here's good news: Tony will be here with Smitty on Saturday!

Well, until the Bulldogs game comes on at 3:30 PM.

Nothing gets between him and football!

LOL!

(smile!)

working on the house, with help

Smitty came by on Monday, to see what needed to be done to fight for my insurance.

i thank You, God.

This morning, he returned with his pressure washer, ladder, and electric saw.

I was having breakfast, but was out there with him by 11 AM.

"What can I do to help?", I asked.

"Clear out the growth at the right side of the house so it could be cleaned" was the response.
And that's what I did until 3:30 PM...

in the heat of the day...

bending and tugging and sawing...

getting my gloves snagged on sticker vines...

again and again and again...

with my back aching from so much effort.

But no complaints from me.

My brother was there helping and I was going to show him that I was putting in the effort.

I did take several brief respites to drink water and sit on the couch for a few minutes...

but then I was right back at it.

Whew.

So was he, taking a break only to go buy more bleach.

He knows I want to put the cost only my Home Depot card, as I'll get a year to pay it off.

Before he left, he had started making a list of items.

Good.

He also cut down the oak tree that had grown back from the stump left years ago.

I had told him about the scary rat in the shed and he made sure it had no access to my attic space.

He even trimmed the neighbor's oak, with its limbs overhanging the left side of the house and the driveway.

Good.

I might even get some grass there now.

And just look at how much better the siding and fascia look there!

There's just one place that needs paint.

Good.

In fact, he concentrated his pressure washing on the fascia.

That included the soffits and the band boards.

Much of that had been replaced back in 2018, when Smitty, Tony, and Zach had come over to help me out.

They had used vinyl composite materials to make for easier care in the future, as it never needs to be painted.

However, it had gotten mildewed and mold since then.

Would it clean up or need to be replaced?

It came clean!

So did the deck, which had been improperly built by the Ansleys, with the beams too far apart.

That's why it has a hole at the other end, where my right leg broke through a rotten board with no support under it.

He noticed the beams were wrong when his foot almost went through a rotting board near the door.

Now, he's talking about laying another deck on top!

That would be wonderful.

I miss being able to eat dinners on the deck.

I haven't been able to do that in too many years.

I've been tasked with clearing off the other end so he can pressure wash that and see the damaged area.

Good.

so, why did i touch poison ivy again?

Hey, I was wearing gloves, long sleeves, long pants, and socks with good shoes.

All it took was some evil poison ivy sap to seep through the cloth glove onto the index finger of my right hand.

That's all it took.

That clear fluid must be akin to silver nitrate solution.

That's a clear liquid, too, but once it touches flesh it leaves a black mark that has to wear away as the skin cells age and fall off.

That takes about a week.

No itchiness, no welts, no oozing, just a mark to say "Gotcha!"

If only poison ivy worked that same way.

But, no.

Where that liquid struck raises up in a red blister that itches madly, encouraging it to be scratched and the liquid spread to other areas.

My skin doesn't even require that anymore.

Welts come up from under skin far removed from the initial site, welts that become oozing blisters that wake me up from scratching.

It's truly hell.

My skin has become so sensitive that anything that touches it can raise a welt.

I've had to go through my closet to find the softest shirts I own.

Just the seam around a collar can set my collarbone area to itching madly.

I've taken photos and sent them to my dermatologist.

I have an appointment with Doc Brown on Thursday, so he can see in person.

Hard to believe it was only August when I went through this before.

As I have told my brothers, I just may have to sell my house.

I truly cannot keep going through this.

goodbye, old azalea

I knew this bush had to go.

There was no way to get a ladder anywhere near that bad piece of fascia, so the azalea had to get out of the way.

I'm not sure how old the bush is, but my guess is the Ansleys had planted that one, and the one around the corner of the house, back when they'd moved into their newly-constructed abode.

That would have been in the mid-1950's.

Some of those branches are as thick as tree trunks.

I couldn't use my hedge clippers for those.

Nope.

I had to break out the saw.

Now, all that was up is down.

Not only is it down, but also the lantana beside it. 

Now, it's spread out all over this half of the front yard, from the house all the way to the curb.

It took me almost two hours to get it done. 

The tangle of sticker vines had so knotted up the branches that it was slow slogging.

The presence of the terrible vines meant I had to keep throwing stuff into the yard debris bag.

That definitely slowed me down.

Still, I did a good job with clearing that space.

Now, I'm going to hide out in the house for a while.

 Actually, I doubt I'll be going anywhere this weekend.

My face is so swollen, as the poison ivy has gotten on my eyelids and across my nose and all over my chin.

Halloween is still too far off for me to claim this is for that.

At least Comcast has given me a distraction: MGM+.

I watched "Lemony Snicket's A Series Of Unfortunate Events" earlier and have "Namu, The Killer Whale" cued up.

My thanks for the excuse to stay in from the world.

progress at two posts

The bar is up, and it's a beauty.

 

No, it isn't red!

 

That's just some protective paper.

 

The bar top is light and dark wood strips and will be quite nice in another month.

 

Originally, the "soft" opening of the Two Firsts bar and canteen was to be on Veterans Day, but I would be surprised if that held.

 

Mid-December is more realistic.

I'm not sure the liquor license has been obtained.

 

The cabinets to hold all the various bottles have to be built, though progress has been made in that regard.

 

The sinks behind the bar are installed.

 

That means the trenches in the floor for those pipes have been dug through the concrete slab.

 

Definitely slow work, and dirty, too.

 

Setting up the bathrooms, and getting the kitchen in working order, has also been slow, but steady.

 

Tonight, those of us in Post 36 were to have a meeting to discuss the project.

 

Post 500 has been holding meetings, but it seems that our half of Two Firsts has gotten slack.

 

Only three of us showed up: Doug, Michael T., and me.

 

So, we ate sandwiches and talked about how much better the bar and the canteen area are looking, as well as chatted about this and that.

 

We never even convened an official American Legion meeting as there were not enough for a quorum.

 

That was fine with me, though, as it gave us a chance to get to know each other more.

 

Then, after our repast, we split up the sandwich fixings and left.

 

At least I got some groceries out of it!

(smile!)

last finishing touches at Greenwich

Here's the final result.

 

I placed fresh daisies - the permanent variety - to both sides of the family marker, daisies purchased yesterday while doing laundry.

 

The little witch was a gift to Mama from someone else in the family.

 

The photo may look a little off-kilter, but I wanted to make sure to include George this time.

 

My stepbrother is one of the ones I miss in October.

 

In 2013, I had six deaths of family and friends that began in August, but October is when the loss is most present to me.

This was my third trip to the cemetery this week.

 

The first time was Sunday.

Asbury Memorial had the Celebration of Life of Mary Pulwarty, mother of actress Faith Boles, who I'd had the pleasure of seeing in action in Pigeon Forge, back in 2010.

Mary had time to plan her celebration before pancreatic cancer took her, and part of that plan was the reading of "letters to mother" by her two daughters and granddaughter.

All I could think of was my Mama as I sat and wept and listened to their loss, reliving my own.

 

So I didn't stay for the reception, just taking a butterfly brooch and heading off to see Mama.

I'd meant to go out there a few weeks ago.

 

I had finally moved the headstone cleaner from the table by the door to the car.

 

I'd bought it months ago, in hopes of removing the black discoloration of Mama's marker.

 

I had tried soap and water, but to no avail.

 

So this was the day.

 

I sprayed the solution liberally all over the granite, then let it soak for a minute, per directions.

 

No rinsing of the sudsy liquid; the stone was to be wiped with a dry cloth.

I was amazed at how much of the black was removed, but it still needed more work.

So, I repeated the procedure a second time

 

Monday, I returned to add more cleaner and scrub a little, then I rinsed it all thoroughly.

 

Wet, it still looked pretty bad.

 

Today, I returned to see how it had dried... and was quite satisfied with the results!

 

All of the engraving can now be read, clearly, cleanly.

 

That does my heart good.

(smile!)