tripadvisor catch-up day!

I had not realized that I haven't visited my page at that site since August.

Say what?

Time to help out some fellow travelers and diners!

I'm listed as a Reviews Superstar, for having written more than 100 (my total is now 171).

I'm listed as a Photos Superstar, for having added more than 100 (my total is now 241).

I'm listed as a Views Authority, for having more than 10,000 people who have read my reviews (my total is now 142,046).

What a nice perk for volunteering my opinions: to have them read by others!

So, today, I added ten restaurant reviews.

(smile!)

Sam Snead's, visited in March with ACS

Kayak Kafe Midtown, visited in April with Yvonne

Cancun, visited in April with Dawn

Jalapenos of Pooler, visited in April with Barbara

Applebee's, visited this week with Barbara and Carolyn

Toast! All Day, visited in January with Sandy

Pakwan, visited in April with Christina

B&D Burgers, visited this month with Armstrong Pirates

E-TANG, visited this month with the J-Dawg

Jason's Deli, visited this month with the J-Dawg

Such good memories!

(smile!)

no longer fliss of kickstarter

Cleaning out closets and clearing off shelves aren't all I've been doing.

I've also been paring down digitally.

One of the problems my ancestors never had was trying to decide what to do with their sites on the internet and who would be in charge of taking care of that duty.

It's a very real issue now that almost everyone does their banking and bill paying online, manages their career profiles digitally, and uses social media to keep up with folks.

I'm following Dorothy's example and making sure I'm ready - or at least, more ready than i have been - for bad weather when it comes.

No one lives forever, not even me, as sobering a thought as that is.

Thus, getting my Estate Plan in order includes that part in the ether.

Some accounts I've outright deleted.

For instance, at one point I had more than 30 credit cards.

I would have thought that would be a plus for my credit rating, but not so.

That was found out last year when searching for new house insurance.

"Too much open credit" was the the reason two companies turned me down.

So, I've closed about half of those open lines now.

My credit rating didn't change, but it's still good to have those cards gone.

However, those aren't the only items closed out.

No more Target Circle, no more Lane Bryant for shopping, no more Staples.

It isn't like I used those anyway.

Why keep them?

And why keep the kickstarter account, either?

 

Once upon a time, I was at its door often, seeking projects to help bring to life.

I started with it in May of 2011.

A few months later, my stepdad died and I found myself with money from Mama.

I took a third of it to "invest" in helping creative folks make films or publish books or whatever.

That was before my time with Kiva.

Kickstarter worked on a different system.

Each project would involve the offer of rewards for investing at certain levels, but those would be predicated on the project making its funding goal.

If it didn't reach that goal, then no money would be charged from the backers and the project would wilt on the vine, so to speak.

That didn't happen often, but I saw it happen several times for projects I backed.

By March of 2015, I had amassed quite a few treasures from successful projects, rewards from creators for my sending funds their way.

However, I have not backed any new projects since September of 2016.

That's about the same time that I had begun pursuing a patent for my invention.

Money was tighter, and now that I'm retired it's even more so.

That's why I decided to go ahead and close down my kickstarter account.

I notified them on May 8, after logging in for what I thought would be one last time.

I told them to "delete my data", receiving notice that they would work on that and send me an email when the task was completed.

Today, just over 23 days since I requested that service, I finally was notified.

It's done.

Perhaps it took so long because I had invested in so many projects?

Nice to know they were so thorough.

ribs at last!

I've been dreaming about 

those Killer Ribs 

ever since Texas Roadhouse sent me 

the coupon for my birthday... 

so, it's been a couple of weeks!

When my biggest little brother

called yesterday to sing me 'happy birthday',

I asked if he and his lovely wife

would take me there for dinner. 

"Yes, but it would have to be Thursday."

That sounded fine to me!

I don't need it to be -on- my birthday

for me to celebrate, as my littlest little brother had found out when he took me there last year.

There Tony is tonight, with Laura by his side and Mary in the corner.

Smitty is right across from her, beside me in my Hawaiian dress.

The manager took this for us, after first laughing at my phone and asking, "Does it have a camera?"

That's okay, the joke's on him.

That little camera gets quite a workout in my hands, as all will attest!

And what about cake?

Not even Mary ordered dessert, which is certainly not her usual, though she still took half her 'Herbert's' Chicken home.

And what about candles??

Nope, there were no candles, though those picked-clean ribs did have the right shape.

Was there at least some ice cream???

Yes, yes, there was!!!

Thanks, Publix, for gifting me that half-gallon delight!

Now to dig into that Black Jack Cherry... yummmm!

Thanks for the birthday dinner, my dear brothers!

tcb: living trust signed and sealed

I've had a Living Trust ever since 2008.
Nope, that's incorrect.
I've had what I thought was a Living Trust since then, but I had never finished it.
I discovered that in December when I was actually reading through it.
It had been at least a decade since I'd done so and I was surprised to find unsigned pages.
Damn.
Plus there was one document that I'd marked through, unaware that had rendered the entire Trust null and void.
Damn.
So I'd saved up points on AARP.com to swap to them for the GoodTrust Estate+ Plan.

That was in January of this year.
Then I'd set about from scratch writing the important documents with that software: the Will, the Health Directive, the Power of Attorney, the Living Trust.
That's when I realized that what I needed was an update to the Living Trust I already had established years ago.
The funding for that Estate Plan of 2008 was already completed; starting anew with a new document seemed to be causing more trouble than good.
Damn.
So, back to SmithBarid I went, having a free consultation with Michael Smith after attending one of his webinars, lugging in my 5-inch thick Estate Plan from 2008, plus the documents I'd made using the GoodTrust Estate+ Plan.

That was in March.
That's when I found out that crossing items out and writing on the witnessed documents had rendered them useless.
Damn.
So, I signed a contract with SmithBarid for a "restatement" of my already-established Living Trust and all other needed documents.

That cost me $2500.

Damn.

In April, I met with Richard Barid, the original lawyer who had helped write the initial Living Trust some sixteen years ago.

We went over the information, changing things as needed, verifying that all names of Trustees and beneficiaries were correct, confirming the funding sources.

Why is that last part important?

The estate needs to be settled after death, with any items not already in the trust being transferred into it, so as to offset any call for probate.

I made sure to ask the lawyers what would be needed to settle my estate.

I was informed that fee was $1500.

Fine, the accounts for the Living Trust have that amount, plus a bit more.

After that meeting, I had to wait for the changes to be made in named Trustees and Beneficiaries, then I had to verify those changes were correct.

Reading legalese is certainly slow work, and dry, too.

Finally, the Signing Date arrived.

I spent almost exactly 90 minutes with Maddy Gough and Melanie, the two designated as witnesses for all the signatures that I made, and all my initialing of pages.

I think we were all surprised to find that much time had passed.

My phone had remained home, and the room had no clock, nor were any of us wearing watches or having our phones at hand.

Good.

Knowing that much time elapsed made me feel good about my review.

Good.

I had been told that Signing Day was typically a day of relief for the client.

Yes, I agree.

It is very much a relief to have my Estate Plan completed.

Yes, very much so.

Now, time for me to relax and to celebrate my birthday with my brothers.

(smile!)

yes, i'm... if in the middle... with you!

Did you think of the song? Tell me you thought of the song!!!

"What's up? Song? Whatever are you on about?"

The Stealers Wheel tune!

"Sorry, I must have been distracted. You know we have that signing of the updated Living Trust coming up and I'm kinda sorta watching the clock."

Well, you're no fun. There I was, trying to lighten the mood by riffing on a chorus from your high school days, and you t-o-t-a-l-l-y missed it.

"How's about we try again. You post the title and I'll give it a shot."

Oh whatta goo soo r.

"Hahahaha! Now, that riff on a joke played on Sheldon is funny! That was the episode of TBBT when the boys were waiting in line for the Indiana Jones movie with two extra minutes of footage and the girls were having a sleepover. Penny had to show Amy and Bernadette how to make a prank phone call!"

Alrighty! You're back! Now that I have your attention, let's look at my A*List, shall we?

"Major coolness! As you know, that one is much better than General Ennui. LOL!"

And we're off and running with puns!

"That's better than running with scissors!"

(smile!)

For sure! 

"So, what were your three movies this time?"

Well, so far, it's "The Blue Angels" and "If". I'm really hoping to win that trip to New York! Yet another reason I went to see it last week.

"Only two this week, though? You still have time for a third one today."

True, and I hope to do that, but will be after dinner with my brothers. We're going to Texas Roadhouse at 6 PM, so which movie will depend on what time we're done. That depends on how long we have to wait.

"Oh, yeah. They don't take reservations."

Correct. So, I'm tentatively planning to see either "Ezra" or "The Dead Don't Hurt", which both have a 7 PM start time. As we all know, that means the movie begins at 7:25. So, I see that as very possible. If not, then I know I'll be able to make "Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga", though it won't be on the Big D. I'm okay with that.

"What a mixed bag of choices! An autism pitch with Robert De Niro, the western written and directed by Viggo Mortensen, or the post-apocalyptic road race in the desert... wow. I don't even know which one to root for."

Me, neither. That's why I'm going to let the whim of the moment guide me, though I'm secretly rooting for the western. I don't get many of those.

"I hear you. Well, good luck with all that. Have a nice dinner with family!"

Thanks! I just love these birthday outings!

unexpected film shorts, too!

I had almost forgotten about the "Action: Young Filmmakers of Savannah" film festival presented at the Jepson museum by the Telfair Teen Arts Council! 

Correction - I didn't forget, but the topic didn't fit in with the others.

(smile!)

I had not even realized this was there until I noticed the door to Neises Auditorium was open and peeked in.

Holy toledo!

They must have known my love of shorts and wanted me to have this for my birthday!

What a special treat!!!

So I went inside and watched for an hour while the films streamed along, with me in their wake, there for the ride!

Nice imagery, yes?

(smile!)

All in all, there were 21 films, mostly by middle school students.

Wow.

Many of the movies were stop-motion, using clay models or toys.

I laughed at "The Rubik's Crew", with the toys solving the puzzle!

"Schoolyard Romance" was interesting, as it took the tale of a bully picking on another student and switched it into a love story.

"Arrested At McDonald's", like the one above, also used clay models; I know it was meant to be taken seriously, but I found the stupid customer to be quite humorous.

One, "Kinetic Fashion: Digital Threads", was about the design of four outfits that had an ocean theme and featured moving scales and lights.

THAT was pretty cool: clothing that looked like sea creatures!

Another, "The Tale of Hades and Persephone: A Silent Short Film", was live action, taking the Greek story and condensing it into a bite-sized romance - quite nice!

Two others were live action and were informational.

"Earth Day 2024" had a little girl explaining how to draw our planet.

Very sweet!

On the other hand, "How NOT To Make Breakfast" was a rather humorous piece - LOL!

However, "Why Are You An Artist?" was one that truly spoke to me.

The filmmaker interviewed people in different types of careers, such as musicians, painters, sculptors, graphic artists, and writers.

Fabulous!!!

That brought to mind this fb post from my multimedia painter friend, Bill Peterson, which is, surprisingly, a quote from an author.

"We make art to connect to life."

That certainly describes why I write: to connect to people and events, and even thoughts, in my life.

My guess is that is the reason all of these children turned to film: to connect with life.

What a perfect Route 66 birthday gift for me!

Thanks, y'all!

sharing a joke with the jepson!

When I told fellow Legionnaire Doug Andrews what I had planned for my birthday, he got it right away.

"Always good to look at stuff older than ourselves on our birthday!

We are younger by far in comparison! Haha!"

That's especially true down at the Telfair.

All the boys in the basement are much older than I...

but I still love looking at them...

especially 'Hermes, Belvedere' with his sweet tush.

Plus, this space brings memories of Italy, and both of those trips - in 2002 and 2012 - were very pleasant times!

When I told amiga Barbara what I had planned for my birthday afternoon, she had a different spin on it.

"That sounds very pleasant, almost meditative."

I do believe 'A Belle of 1810' would agree.

This is a little different perspective on her as she is concentrating on her image in the mirror.

Might she see the first fine lines of smiles past?

Are their slight laughter crinkles by her eyes?

Or is she making a decision about which beau to marry?

Perhaps she wonders whether she will dine on fish on Friday?

Then again, she may see her mother's eyes looking back at her.

Most of my time was not at the Telfair, but at the Jepson.

That's the usual case, except when I have company in town, as they always want to see 'The Bird Girl'.

And just what is up there where 'katniss' once gently hung?

There were boys in the belfry!

Well, not belfry, as there were never any bells hung there, but I wanted some more alliteration, right?

(smile!)

I don't know what new piece will be there, but it's good to know that construction is ongoing!

I had just left the "Of A Feather: Birds In Art" exhibit.

It had been my first destination today, to catch this display of fowl captured in paintings and ceramics before it leaves next month.

And which piece had captured my interest?

Of course it was "Morning Flight", by Zoltan Sepeshy.

Memories returned of "Cubist Mirror", part of the 2017 PULSE exhibit and the hours of fun I had on each visit for two years!

Today, though, it was the date of the painting that grabbed me.

1953... for real?

Yes, that's when it was painted, and when the Telfair bought it.

My goodness, it's just a few years older than me!

My next in-depth examination at the Jepson was "Shattered Illusions: Reconsidering Glassware through the Lens of Care".

What a mouthful... but what does it mean?

I found out very quickly that the title referred to the centuries of household help who tended for the fragile items, keeping them sparkling and beautiful for the proud owners.

The pieces in this exhibit included excerpts from "The House Servants Directory: A Monitor For Private Families".

That handbook by Robert Roberts, published in 1827, continued explicit instructions on the care and polishing of glassware.

I have no doubt that the household of John Wallace Owens had a copy of that manuscript!

Having invested so much money in full sets of crystal from Bohemia, he would certainly want to make sure his dinner guests would be well impressed with the status it conveyed upon him.

All of these pieces were emblazoned with a large "O" to denote to even a casual observer that they belonged to him.

Sherry glasses, wine goblets, glass coasters...

ashtrays, candy dishes, serving bowls...

every piece of crystal made with the same brilliant red...

every piece 101 years older than me.

Yes, those breakable bits were new in 1857.

My bits were all new 101 years later.

That's actually a joke for me, as I had to type that as "l o l" or change into numeric font.

Hahahaha!

And here where the painting of 'katniss' once held sway, a giant mirror now exists.

It's the third floor entrance to the new Children's Art Museum", and I have enjoyed having it here.

I don't think many visitors regard it as an exhibit, accustomed as we are to plate glass windows, but I like posing in front of it on each visit.

Today, I especially wanted to do so, as I was wearing my 'Japanese flowers" dress. 

I'd worn it in 1997, when my three brothers and I had taken Mama out to dinner for that first Mother's Day after Grandma died.

Today, I wore it in memory of both of them.

No, it may not fit quite as well these days, but that's okay.

Hardly anyone was at the museums on a Wednesday.

(smile!)

Plus, today is my actual 'Route 66' birthday, and that was the dress that came to my hand from the closet.

Just perfect!

(smile!)

And who do we have in these last two photos?

We have jokes for museum-goers like me!

Remember, I wear my glasses there so I can read all the labels.

That upper one has two unlikely fellows sharing a cubicle!

"Old Abe" - Lincoln that is, President of the USA during the Civil War - is bunking with "Cap Lee #3" - as in, Robert E. Lee, main general for the Confederacy.

What a clever inside joke for those who take the time to read!

Then there's the "Song And Dance Man" - with his dangling screw, a joke in and of itself! - swapping air inside the display cube with "Playdate", who's not shy at all about her nakedness!

Hahahaha!!!

Thanks for the laughs, y'all!

(smile!)

there... are... only... 4... blondes...

That's because my first niece has dyed her hair black!

New house, new life, new hair color - hooray!

That loss of blonde must have adjusted her timing...

she was actually right on time for our luncheon!

And just where had we two chicas met?

Chicken Salad Chick, naturally!

Fruity Fran was just my speed, now that I'm on 

birthday Route 66!

Next up?

Picking up her two little blondes from their Grammy, at her doctor's office, then meeting up with two more little blondes, and their dad, for a movie!

So much energy they had!

The four girls have had four nights together and were soooo revved up!

This is almost an hour after "If" ended -

which we all enjoyed -

and they're still playing games!

That's Miyah, hand up for Uncle Michael to give her a proffered dollar, while Alyssa stands beside her and Leila waits her turn.

And Chloe?

She was off scoping out which machine to take her money.

Oh, and speaking of toys... Michael won me a little pink dog (or was it a pig?) with teal green muzzle, ears, and tail, from that very machine!

Dog or pig, it certainly is a cutie!

By the time we ended that birthday get-together, it was 5 PM.

For real!

Thanks, AMC, for the large birthday popcorn and large birthday drink (that I shared with the four little blondes)!

 

By the time I was back to my car, it was after 6.

My goodness!

They ordered dinner to go from a nearby spot, while I did the same at Jason's Deli.

Good deal!

I got two kids meals for 99 cents each, as well as dinner for another time.

Most excellent!

Here's one of the kids meals, the Chicken Penne Alfredo, which was so very tasty!

It also went well with "27 Dresses" on Peacock.

(smile!)

Tomorrow, I'll eat half the kids Pepperoni Pizza for breakfast, and the other half on Friday.

Just perfect!

Such a wonderful day with family!

(smile!)

flying high with amigas!

What a lovely way 

to spend a Monday!

Barbara and Carolyn met me 

for our unexpected

private screening at AMC

of "The Blue Angels" -

just us with no distractions!

We were able to soar

over Pensacola surf

along with those planes!

So wonderful to see it (again!)

on the silver screen!

(smile!)

Then, it was off to Applebee's

for my birthday dessert -

literally on the house! -

and it was the very first item

delivered to our table!

LOL!

That little waitress must have been new.

Or maybe she was trying to help me

s l o w  d o w n

again.

Possibly that was her goal

as we were there

more than two hours.

Good to have that time together!

(smile!)

forget wheaties!

"This is the Breakfast of Champions!!!"

So said I in texts to a bunch of people this morning!

 

The ex: "YDR!"

 

The first niece: "I don't care what anybody says. Pineapple absolutely belongs on a pizza."

 

Blue-sky Penny: "Good morning sweet cheeks. I'll let you enjoy that. I'm having yogurt."

 

The physicist: "Ha ha! That looks so good!"

 

Bonnie in Alabama: "Looks fine to me."

 

Amiga Barbara: "Hahaha! Cold pizza and a glass of milk makes a fine breakfast, lactose free of course."

 

She had been the inspiration for the toppings of the slice on the left.

A dinner party had been planned for last evening, at her house, with spinach salad as the main course, to add other ingredients to taste.

Sadly, her air conditioning went on the fritz, so that put a kibosh on the soiree.

(How's that for an international flair?!)

So, after finding out that Papa John's was having another FREEDAY special, and having missed the one last weekend due to Dane time, I bought pizza yesterday!

And, for mi amigas, I got one with grilled chicken, roma tomatoes, and spinach, dubbing it "Spinach Salad".

Nice, right?

The other I call "POP", as it's pepperoni, onions, and pineapple.

Both are thin crust - so I get that crUnCh! - and light cheese.

So very tasty they are!!!

I am so looking forward to pizza for breakfast all week!!!

Such a birthday treat!!!

(smile!)

thanks for the birthday flowers, mary and pat

Wonder why these particular flowers 

are around the mailbox?

The deer don't like them.

I suggested the reason might be 

the peppery taste of 

the chrysanthemum petals.

 

Right inside the back gate

were these delicate-looking

lace hydrangeas.

I think Grandma 

would have enjoyed

their pastel 

French blue centers.

And here are the ones

that I look forward to

every year:

the oak leaf hydrangeas.

I'm not even sure

if it's the flowers 

or those giant leaves

that attract me more.

Together,

they are quite

the lush couple!

Believe it or not,

this flower was more than

seven inches wide

and two inches deep.

It's called - and rightly so -

a dinner plate dahlia.

This particular one is

5 days old.

These are also dahlias,

just not on such

a grand scale.

The largest had a diameter

of nearly 4 inches.

The reason for this photo?

They struck me as 

misplaced stars,  

still trying to maintain 

the relationship they'd had 

in the night constellation

of their origin.

Here's St. Francis of Assisi,

communing with

the lilies of the field.

Follow the line of sight...

and there he is,

not minding the fact

that these lilies are so diverse

in color, and petal shape,

and height.

All are to be loved.

I took this for Bill, the artist,

now living large

in California.

 

This photo was taken

for Mama.

She had daylilies 

circling every tree

in the front yard

of the home of my youth.

My birthday is always

a day with her.

 

Then there's this shot!

This lily speaks of the

inside joke between

me and my first niece,

from the time she 

"fringed the porch light" 

on for me.

I miss having her

only seven houses away.

 

What next?

I could show the photo

of the gloriosa lily that 

I snapped this trip -

as always -

but I'd rather show off

this leopard-spotted variety.

It was facing the ground,

so I had to get creative

in my stance

to catch this shot.

What an exotic flower

to close this session

in the Prokop garden!

 

Not that I was done

with flowers

just yet.

I made a beeline -

get the pun? -

for Kayak Kafe midtown

after I left Coffee Bluff.

The pita and hummus

wanted to sing me

a happy birthday!

Ah, so good,

down to the last note -

I mean, bite.

(smile!)

mushnik and son???

"I thought you went to see "Little Shop Of Horrors" tonight. Did you change your mind?"

As if!

"G'friend, that's from "Clueless", not that musical."

Oh, I am so sure!

"And now you're a "Valley Girl"? Is that it?"

Hey, I'm just going for a little perspective here. I'm just setting the mood for this musical, a'ite? After all, it was an update of the 1960 film, a time warp into the next generation's post-"Rocky Horror Picture Show" zeitgeist.

"I definitely catch your drift. Sail on!"

Yes, let's! As you may recall, I was destined to be there tonight! Right place, right time! I arrived right about thirty minutes before the show, amazed to find there were still tickets. Hooray! I was even able to snag one of my favorite seats - that would be L-24, right behind the wheelchair access space - with plenty of room to stretch my legs and dance. Hooray!

"Wow! The SCAD students had not already snapped that up?"

They swarmed in 15 minutes later. They all had free tickets, as this production was by the SCAD School of Film and Acting. This was definitely a sold-out show, as Foreigner would attest! The show was even delayed by 10 minutes so all could find seats.

"You were so fortunate to be at the Lucas at all!"

You're telling me! I made sure I warned those around me that I'd be dancing in my seat and singing along, and they assured me that would be fine. Which was great! I had forgotten that there were six songs that were not in the movie... and those were part of a plot line also absent from the movie... and led to an ending totally unlike that of the movie! Pretty incredible! That's okay. Remember, I was there for "Suddenly Seymour", and that was spot on!!! Kudos to Allen McBride and Eva Daskos!

"That's them in the photo? Nice! And I see the 'Greek chorus' girls in the bottom corner of that second photo and the upper corner of this one. How many clothing changes for them?"

Only two. They stayed in the same wardrobe until near the end of the second act. That's when they got dolled up and glamorous! And before I forget: Micah Engle brought the house down as the dentist!!! Seriously!!! Every time his character came on, the students in the audience just erupted with applause. Justifiably so, too!

"Very nice! Names to look for in Broadway shows some day!"

Speaking of dolled up, this is the Davenport House at night. Somehow, I'd overlooked its night lights on my returns to Columbia Square.

here! there! done!

1245

I'm at the Savannah VA Center for the first of two appointments, and I'm actually there a tad early.

That calls for a bit of fun!

They finally have the pictures back up from when the walls were painted, so I took advantage of that.

My plan is to post this photo on fb and ask the question: is it real, or is it AI?

Knowing what a shutterbug I am, I'm sure they'll know!

(smile!)

1359

My appointment with Dr. Peter Urban is finally done, and my bladder has been relieved.

He had his technician, Krystal, run several tests on my eyes after he was done, as he has some concern about the vision in my left eye.

But there's good news, too: the bug in my right eye is settling down!

Now it's time to see E. Carley, my favorite nutritionist!

I do so enjoy my time with her.

(smile!)

1515

I'm getting new glasses for my birthday!

This pair will even have a different prescription from that of the previous three years.

I definitely wanted to get distinctive frames, so I'll be able to tell them apart easily, and was going for a deep red one until I tried on these.

Amazingly, they just disappeared from my face!!!

And, as I write this, I realize why: they are titty pink!

My guess is the optician calls it blush pink.

(smile!)

1:37 PM

Back in the civilian world, I arrived at the Citizens Center, assigned number B432.

Time to renew my driver's license... but, first, there's a catch.

Since I'm now 64+ the state has a visual test and form that must be completed.

That's one of the reasons I was with Dr. Urban longer than usual and had so much done, but he found my vision suitable to drive without glasses and signed the DDS-MR-274.

The whole process to renew, including getting a new photo taken, was maybe 20 minutes.

My hair is in low ponytails this time, and I do believe it's the best mug shot I've ever had!

Happy birthday to me!

Afterward, I walked next door to the Chatham County office to renew my car decal.

That took all of ten minutes.

Right place, right time!!!

4:14 PM

I'd gone to the Eisenhower post office, just down the street, to mail the bday12 gift to my niece, Aubree, over in Alabama.

I bought some more stamps, too.

(smile!)

4:34 PM

By the time I was done, I was ravenous!

Breakfast had been at 10 AM.

What restaurant would feed me RIGHT NOW???

Cici's Pizza, of course, and it was close at hand.

Within fifteen minutes of leaving the post office, I had pasta and salad to appease my growling stomach.

Within another five minutes I had my special-order pizza at my table.

Ah, yes, life is good!!!

(smile!)

And now I am home and everything is done which needed done.

Such a great satisfaction in that!

(smile!)

aarp cinema, so to speak

Back to my own house, I am!

My brother and sis-in-law are safely home from Missouri, since just past noon30.

Good for Dane and good for me!

I had a ZOOM scheduled at 2 PM with AARP and Senior Planet to become more informed.

"Fact-Checking In The AI Age" was given by Devon of the News Literacy Project.

I just may have to watch it again.

He gave us a lot of information in that hour talk.

The best thing he told us to do to protect ourselves from misinformation and false images?

S-L-O-W D-O-W-N.

Take a few moments to do these five checks against anything presented, especially on social media.

Consider the context of the story or image; check the authenticity of the news; use your own reasoning skills; look at the source of the post; and, if in doubt,

look for evidence from other sources to validate the story or image.

So many examples he gave us for verifying something, rather than blindly passing it on!

Even so, when it came to images, those are the hardest to distinguish real from fake.

That's okay, as he even has some difficulty with that.

For close views of people, count the fingers, look for odd facial features, check the background.

However, for images like these two, of firefighters on the scene, one may be stock footage and not for the actual blaze still burning.

That's the case for Image A.

Looks pretty real to me, though.

Yeah, I think I'll watch that webinar again...

but not right now.

Rain is coming and the yard beckoned.

"Bring it," said that wild green that I left yesterday.

So I grabbed the Ryobi and we set to work!

By that time it was nearly 6 PM, so the day was cool enough and the sun had nearly fled the back of the house.

The growth was dry enough that I made short shrift of the task.

Then, to show the weeds I mean business, I changed the mower to its lowest setting, and went back over that open expanse.

Like I said, more rain is coming, and the weeds grow quickly.

I don't intend to mow every other week! 

I took a popsicle break and watched "Mr. Monk Goes To A Rock Concert" as I started dinner.

Ah, one of the little touches that was a sure sign I was home: "Monk" on Peacock!

(smile!)

I was so enjoying that part of life in retirement that I was late for this movie at the AARP MFG!

"The Blue Angels" is a new documentary about the US Navy's aerobatic demonstration team and I tuned in about 30 minutes late.

What an informative look at the training program!

How incredible that the new team members are chosen by the current team... and that the vote must be unanimous!

That's certainly understandable, though, as they have to be able to trust each other completely.

When flying in that "Blue Angels Diamond" formation, their wingtips are less that 2 feet apart.

Moreover, when they are making those rolls toward the ground, only the "boss" pilot is actually looking at the earth rushing up.

The three other pilots are sighting off him and each other, keeping the line tight.

That's why, in 1973, when the "boss" miscalculated and hit the ground, two others crashed right on top of his plane, with only the 4th in line seeing the error in time.

The movie didn't talk about that, but it did show us this framed painting multiple times.

Those are the 28 members who have died over the SEVENTY-EIGHT YEARS since the formation of the Blue Angels.

Amazing to have such a low mortality, given the inherent riskiness of their maneuvers in the air!!!

I'm looking forward to seeing this on Monday on the silver screen...

but, shhhh!

My friends don't know I've already seen it.

Yes, I've done that again, but it's okay.

My birthday is next week and I'm arranging these special times with others, watching movies they have agreed to see with me, and I am greatly looking forward to their company!

Dinner and a movie, or luncheon and a movie - both are just fine with me!

(smile!)