getting ready for the new year!

First order of business: preparing "Dance At Bougival" for its new home in Hinesville.

That meant taking it off the wall, dusting it off all around the frame, across the back, down the front.

I am so glad to be passing this along at last, with no death involved.

Next order of business: washing clothes.

My winter wrap had developed a smell and that needed to be removed before the colder weather comes tonight.

I haven't yet put the clothes away, but it's comforting to know that I'll be starting the new year with clean attire.

Third order of business: my last A*list dance card, completed on this final Tina Tuesday of the year.

I'm glad the last two films, both new ones, were seen with loved ones!

Fourth order of business: prepping a new batch of jumpsuit-clad men with marching orders.

Now tattered and torn, these seven have been taking care of business all year long for me.

Another squad of dancing Elvis secretaries are now standing by, awaiting their turn on the kitchen cabinets. 

Fifth order of business: washing dishes.

Counting coffee cups, there are six, though it's only been five days since I last cleaned off the counter.

That's because I have a new one - Yoda! - from Tony and Laura and I'm using it tomorrow.

(They actually gave me two, but I shared with Michael.)

Now, I have another Christmas movie lined up and ready to go.

"A Holiday Spectacular" is set in 1958 and is about a young woman's quest to dance as one of the Rockettes!

Right time, right place for this girl!

First, though, time for a shower so I start the new year clean, too.

I'm ready for 2025 to begin!

ending the year on a high note!

Quite literally, as we all were at a musical matinee of "Mufasa"!

How better to see a movie about family than with family, n'est-ce pas?

Quite a good movie it was, too!

All four of my great-nieces of Hinesville stayed put for this one, so that means it definitely held their attention!

Here are Miyah and Chloe, both holding their baby dolls that Santa brought them.

Poor Chloe is still a little sick, but I hope her new meds will soon kick her headache to the curb.

Alyssa and Leila didn't have baby dolls with them.

Here they are, respectively, to either side of their Papa.

Alyssa did have a stuffed critter, though!

Leila brought a big blanket to keep the cinema chill off, as well as the hooded coat she wore.

I wonder if she might already have thyroid issues?

I'll have to remember to ask Michael about that.

I remembered to give Michael the three shot glasses I'd set aside for him in September, plus a new Star Wars coffee mug with Yoda on it.

I'd received two for Christmas, so he was the first person I thought of for sharing!

 

So where's that first niece of mine?

There she is, absolutely beaming!

She is finally the owner of that art print by Renoir that Mama had so enjoyed!

I approached her about taking it a few months ago, but she wanted to make sure I was ready to part with it.

I'd assured her that "Dance At Bougival" had been with me for plenty of time - 

I didn't want to wait until I died for her to have it.

This way, she has it death-free, a memory of her beloved Grammy, and the many good times they shared for the first eighteen years of Christina's life, to enjoy every day.

i thank You, God, that I could do this for her.

 

Now, off I go to Olive Garden for dinner with Christina and her girls!

Michael and the twins are off to Chelsea's for a year-end party, so I'll have to catch them another time.

What a wonderful Tina Tuesday this has been!

vampires and the physicist!

A movie and slunch with the physicist was had today!

Quite a treat to have his company again so soon!

We last met up just two weeks ago, and that was a movie and luncheon, too.

This time, the film was one that was on his wish list: "Nosferatu", the new version, with Willem Dafoe and Nicholas Hoult.

It wasn't anything I might have seen on my own, but it was quite well played and was very true to the feel and story of the 1922 vampire classic.

He very much liked it, which was good, since the last one he chose was so poorly done.

As we were watching the credits, he asked me who the guy was who played 'Thomas Hutton".

"That was Nicholas Hoult," I said.

Nope, that name rang no bells.

So I rattled off a list of movies: my absolute favorite of his, "Warm Bodies"; the fun live action fable of "Jack the Giant Killer" in 2013; him as one of my favorite authors of my youth in "Tolkien"; him as a balls to the wall War Boy for "Mad Max Thunder Road"; with my other Nicolas in "Renfield", ripping off a bad guy's arms to beat him with them.

Nope, none of those rang a bell for the J-Dawg.

So he looked him up, using his communication device, and realized how he knew Hoult's face: it was from "The Great", a TV series on Hulu.

This more serious role gave him a real appreciation for Hoult - good!

After, he wanted french fries and I had a gift card from Tony and Laura to Texas Roadhouse, so there we went!

And guess what?

We both ordered fish and chips!

Well, kinda sorta.

(smile!)

He had fried catfish and steak fries; I had grilled salmon with baked sweet potato.

Like I said, fish and chips!

Maybe that can be our little inside joke.

(smile!)

As we have done so many times, we sat and talked about a myriad of things for about two hours, with Maya checking on us every so often to see if we needed anything.

Nope, we were just fine!

Throughout our bread course, our salads, and our dinners, we talked and talked.

I have enjoyed that with him for so many years!

Looking forward to more of that next year!

(smile!)

thanks, schomburg!

"Schomburg? You mean John and Sherry were in town?"

 

Yes, they were!!! And they weren't the only Schomburgs at Jalapenos, either.

 

"Oh, sweet, they were there for the Smiths & Kamerons Friday Fiesta!"

Well, sure, kinda sorta. They were here to visit with the parents, but also to catch up face to face with friends.

"That's wonderful! So his brother was there, too?"

Yes, Brian was. That's him on the left, with older brother John. I didn't remember him from back in the day, but I don't recall much from my high school days, and even less from those at Myers Middle School. I mostly know John from my years of working with Smitty. Anyway... I was saying that both Schomburg brothers were there, as were their wives. I actually spent a lot of time chatting with Regina, Brian's wife, and their daughter Delaney. She goes to Savannah Arts Academy!!! She's in the choral program there, but is hoping to get into the Skylarks group next year, when she'll be a junior.

"I see. I'm so glad you were able to connect with them and help them feel like part of the group. They hadn't been there before, had they?"

I don't believe they had. They weren't familiar with the menu. It didn't matter to the girl, as she just got a cheese quesadilla. But the mom wanted something else, something different. I recommended the shrimp ceviche, as that's what I had promised myself, and Regina loved it! She ate every bit, just as I did.

"I am so glad you were able to steer her to that! Maybe she and Brian might come out again some time for y'all's Friday gatherings."

Maybe so! As it was, she and I were at the end of the fourth table, so we really didn't hear anything going on at the other three tables. Like, right here, where Smitty was regaling all with a story of stupid things in the past - we had no idea which story it was. LOL! Tony was missing, but all of the rest of our usual group were there, plus The Kameron girl was still home from UGA. All total, there were 13 of us. Claudia was kept quite busy!!!

"Oh, my!!! Quite a crowd!"

Yes, it was. I'm thankful that the guy at the bar saw me and helped move in that fourth table. You know the guy I mean? The one who always teases Smitty? The one I talked to about the tall chairs giving me sciatica and he mentioned his mom had that?

"Sure, I know who you mean! The one who comes up and kind of flirts with Smitty!"

Yeah, that's the guy. I don't know his name, but he is almost always there.

"Maybe you can find out next time. Anyway, you haven't said why you dedicated this post to Schomburg. I'm assuming you mean John, not his brother?"

That's right, John, not Brian. So there we all were and I'd been chatting with Regina, then she left and John moved over to me. And he proceeded to tell me a story about Mama, one I didn't know. You see, when he was younger, it was considered nice to give a token of appreciation to companies for their business. So, he took a turkey and a ham out to Union Camp for the mill manager... and Mama was the manager's secretary. Well, she invited John to the company dinner, so he went. And Mama called out to him and had him sit with her at the manager's table, introducing him to all the bigwigs there. Next thing you know, the folks at Union Camp have quadrupled their orders with John's company! John said his orders went from $20,000 to $30,000 per month to $100,000 per month!!! And everyone who placed an order asked him, "How do you know Sybil? How do you know Sybil?"

"What a wonderful story!"

Right? And he told it to me apropos of nothing. No segue in the conversation, just off the cuff. I regarded it as an unexpected gift, with due gratitude for the telling of it. It really made my night, it did. Like a Christmas present from the past.

i thank You, God.

not Christmas gifts, just presents for the kids

That's what I told Tony and Laura as I set the bag of items under their tree.

I'd made sure the local great-nieces and great-nephews knew that no Christmas gifts would be forthcoming from me this year.

My budget's been that busted.

However, the "Gift Closet" in my living room still held items that had been intended as birthday presents for Tony's grand-kids, so I'd brought some of those.

 

For great-niece Carissa, I had a book from DEEP Center full of writings from Fall 2023 students.

Amazingly, she knew all the writers from her school, Oglethorpe Charter Academy!

I pointed out that I chose the book because it had

stories from Myers Middle School, which I went to

when I was her age (14).

I also gave her the Elephant Joke bracelet I'd brought for her in 2014, so many years ago.

That meant I had to tell her Mama's jokes about pachyderms painting their toenails so they could hide in jellybean jars and apple trees and watermelon patches and blueberry bushes.

For Bert and Sebi, ages 11 and 8 now, I had a box of "Super Mario Brothers" movie items which included a game they could play.

That had been a reward from Comcast.

As well as the game, there was a poster, an activity book, a popcorn bucket, and a package of microwave popcorn.

I added about ten packages of candy from the NCG kid-packs; they all have strawberry as the candy base.

That box of movie goodies was not all the Gift Closet 

had for them.

It allowed me to add two activity books.

Those were both from Disney movies.

Lots of pages to color, lots of mazes to solve!

There are even puzzles to find differences in pictures, 

as well as scrambled words to set right!

That should keep them busy during this winter break.

Then there's little Olivia, who's maybe 3.

The Gift Closet held the cuddly toy dog, in hopes that it

will soothe her fear of the overly-friendly -

but very large and muscle-bound - Dane.

For her, there are also tiny books for her little hands

to hold and look at while her mom reads them.

I have a Braves bobblehead of Spencer Strider for

great-nephew Dylan, but I knew he would not be there,

so that gift remains here, in the closet, waiting.

i thank You, God, to have that magical Gift Closet.

on christmas day, on christmas day!

Bonnie, here are some photos from today's family gathering at Tony and Laura's!

 

Here we have Sebi and Bert (Hope's sons), Carissa (Damon's older daughter), and Tony.

 

Sebi is 11, Bert is 8, and Clarissa is 14.

 

Clarissa loves spicy food, so Grandpa Tony gave her a box of different hot sauces... and she loved it!

 

She was letting her cousins try them, too.

 

It was quite funny!

 

Here's a photo of Hope!

She's 35 now, and quite a live wire!

I'm sure she's the life of the party wherever she goes!

There she was in a gorgeous brocade dress and what was on her head?

One of those silly animal face toppers!

I loved it!

Here's a father-daughter shot for you.

 

There's Carissa with her dad, Damon, as he is opening the gift from Tony and Laura.

 

Damon is 39 now and will be 40 in March.

 

You can see that Carissa is quite tall, and she's the head of her middle-school basketball team.

 

Bonnie: "Good for Tony having Damon and Hope with him."

Tony has his kids over almost every Sunday for dinner! That's gone on most of this year.

 

Bonnie: "It is great they are close enough to do that."

 

They've really been working on it. Really gladdens my heart, Bonnie!

 

Back to the opening of presents.

 

This time, it's Mary and my brother Smitty.

 

I'm not sure what else is in that basket, but I know that two different types of sangria were!

 

Apparently there's now a white one as well as the typical red one.

 

Laura did such a nice job with those gift baskets!

 

This is one of the few photos I got of her, as it seemed she was always in motion.

 

I call this "the hustle and flow of Christmas"!

 

I can't believe I managed to catch her in focus!

 

She was constantly pulling gifts from under the tree and calling out a name to come get it!

 

Reminded me of Christmases in the past.

 

Oh, here's a nice one, too!

 

Grandpa Tony gave Sebi a beautiful baseball bat and was pitching to him in the front yard.

 

It was great!

 

Smitty was watching them while Mary and Laura were talking in the foreground.

 

Such a wonderful family moment!

 

I'm so glad I was there for this gathering!

 

Good low country boil, too!

 

rawr! mgm+ film fest!

This week has been a free sampling of MGM+, courtesy of Comcast.

You know what that means, right?

Movies, movies, movies!

My choice with this Film Festival was to take a representative film from each genre.

With no further ado, here we go!

holiday

"Scrooge" (1970)
This was a musical with Albert Finney! I remember seeing this many years ago. So nice to be reminded of Finney's fine performance!

sports

"Bull Durham" (1988)
I don't know that I'll ever get tired of this baseball film with Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon! Bonus: no snow in this movie! I don't know why it is, but seeing snow on the screen makes my body get chilled. True!

romance

"Still Today" (2020)
Jody Thompson (writer, star) as groom ditched on his wedding day. Teri Wyble is the "model" escort who challenges him to still make it "his happiest day ever". Rather an upbeat film, even though the man isn't even good-looking by any standard.

international comedy

"French Girl" (2024)
Zach Braff is a welcome familiar face in this Canadian farce. His live-in girlfriend gets a chance to audition for a chef position at a fancy restaurant in her hometown of Quebec City, so off they go! It's also the first time he's meeting her family - lol!

western comedy- soft porn

"Sixpack Annie" (1975)
Annie and her best friend go off in search of a 'sugar daddy' to get the $5000 needed to save her aunt's diner. Really was a cute film!

family musical

"The Frog Prince" (1986)
A delightful Globus-Golan production with a young Helen Hunt as the rude older sister who wants to be a princess, though she suspects her younger sis is.
Aileen Quinn is just-right adorable without being cloying.
John Paragon as hilarious as the dancing "too tall" frog (with someone named Nick Curtis doing all his singing)!

suspense

"Fargo" (1996)
Ah, back into snow country! This movie is so good that I couldn't pass up the chance to see it one more time! Love the accents, too!

asbury goes to the theatre at the beach!

I say that as if it were intentional, but it kinda sorta was!

None of us six wanted to travel out to Tybee Post Theatre at night, so we were all glad to come out for the 3 PM matinee offered by Savannah Repertory Theatre.

That's me, Robin, Tom, Heidi, Lee, and Gordon.

Yes, I'm wearing the jingle bell necklace from the Telfair tree lighting!

I even wore it to church today!

(smile!)

What play had brought us all out in the cold again?

"Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some)" - what a mouthful!

It was a rather minimalist production, with only three performers: Shawna Pena-Downing, introduced to me in summer of 2023; Nathan Houseman, an old favorite of mine; and Will Nunziata, an absolutely new player for me.

The play was an abbreviated version of holiday favorites, though names had to be changed for one of them, due to copyright law.

So, the trio is performing "Gustav the Green-Nosed Reingoat" in the photo above.

Very funny, especially as Nathan/Henry, had to be repeatedly reminded to not mention "Rudolph" or red noses!

Shawna was very cute as Yukon and Will made an adorable reingoat!

(smile!)

Another skit I really enjoyed was the "Fruit, Nut, Dating Game", with a volunteer from the audience called "Cindy" (though her name was Laura).

Shawna was the host of the show, with questions about fruitcakes, naturally!

Nathan kept getting hardball questions, while the other two had soft pitches, letting them get all kinds of points and him staying steady at nil.

Very funny!

I also liked the different take on "How The Grinch Stole Christmas", as well as "The Gift Of The Magi" (in which Will played the long-haired woman!).

And having Will performing Linus' soliloquy on the meaning of Christmas, with blue blanket and spotlight, right before intermission, was true and perfect.

(smile!)

However, my absolute favorite part of this Christmas show was yet to come.

Creating an amalgam of "A Christmas Carol" and "It's A Wonderful Life", the three-person troupe truly shone!

It reminded me of the mashup of two songs that I did a few years back.

Anyway... let me explain this scene.

On the left is Shawna as the Ghost of Christmas past.

On the right is Will as Mr. Gower, the pharmacist.

All the while, there in center stage, Nathan is switch-hitting the two roles of Ebeneezer Scrooge and George Bailey, and doing a spot-on job of it!!!

I loved every minute of it!!!

(smile!)

The show closed with scrambled Christmas carols.

Every other line it seemed was from a different song and it was hilarious!

Many thanks, y'all, from Seat I-18!!!

take a basketball to church day!

And to think: I dreamed I'd missed it!

"That doesn't sound like a real thing anyway. Are you sure you didn't dream about that?"

No, this really was "take a basketball to church" day! Well, it was for me. Remember that tag I'd pulled from the Angell Tree?

"I do. That tag for a sport toy."

Well, this was the last Sunday before the youth group delivers the gifts. Last night I felt like it was Sunday and I'd missed my chance to take the ball to Asbury Memorial. I went to bed trying to figure out how, and when, to get it to P.A.C.K. in time on Monday. Then, when I woke up this morning, I felt like Ebenezer Scrooge!

"What the fresh hell does that mean?"

Hahaha! As I told Candace Jenkins, I felt like Scrooge when I awoke and realized this was Sunday! I hadn't missed it after all! What a great start to the day!!!

"Hahaha! That's a funny story!"

That's what she said. I'd repeated the story to the police officer in the parking lot as I returned to my car and he thought it was funny, too.

"Very nice!"

And as I was leaving the church, Jan of VBS was waiting inside the door with an older woman. The car to fetch them home was on its way. So I stopped to chat and told them a story from yesterday. A guy selling a house security system came by and was pretty insistent. So I asked him to look at my car. "It's 23 years old," I told him. "Does it seem likely that I'd need a security system when my car is that old?" Amazed, he said, "23? That's older than I am!" The two ladies got a hoot out of that.

"Hahahaha!"

It all made me feel like an encourager, spreading verbal sunshine on this cold day. That had been the focus of Billy's sermon and I very much liked it. He spoke of Elizabeth, Mary's older cousin, as the one who Mary searched out when she found herself single, virgin, and pregnant, in danger of being stoned by the townspeople for what was regarded as a crime. The cousin gave Mary a new perspective on her condition. Sometimes, that's exactly what we need: a fresh take on what we consider an insurmountable problem. Very nice!

"Yes, it is. I just may listen to it again."

Me, too, though I must say it was extra nice to hear in person today. Now, there's a variety show on network TV and it looks to be similar to the 1940's show last Sunday. It's called "Byron Allen Presents: The Comedy & Music Superfest". Such a splendid name!

"It is! You'll have to regale me with highlights!"

off to Mount Sinai for Christmas!

This scene of the young couple paying taxes is certainly something everyone can relate to.

They don't even live in Bethlehem, but because Joseph was born there, that's the locale to which they had to travel.

Did it even matter whether they lived there anymore?

Nope, not even.

Did it matter whether Joseph still had relatives there or not?

Nope, not even.

He was on the registry as having been born there, so that is where the Romans expected him to come for tax-paying.

In this scene, they have submitted their money and now are leaving the site to find a place to stay the night, as darkness is falling and Mary is too far along for travel.

Of course, we know the story, but it was good to get another perspective on it.

I haven't seen Langston Hughes' "The Black Nativity" for several years.

The first time was at Muse Arts Warehouse, back in 2011, when Albeni Arts presented it.

Now, that dancing group has grown into the Performing Arts Collective Savannah and the venue this season is First Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church.

So good to see Muriel Miller still dancing, thirteen years later!

So good to see her son, Josh Miller, still active on the stage and in the band as the Drummer Boy, literally and figuratively!

My guess is all of the "Senior Ensemble" have been part of the troupe all these years.

Kudos to Darrren Deloach, Devan Cokley, Jenique Williams (with her clear, pure, singing!), Laurent White, Lorenzo Daniels, and Veron Jackson.

The play itself was contained in Act One, but I stayed after intermission.

I wanted to see what would come next in this church that kept tambourines in the pews!

I'm glad I stayed.

For almost an hour, Darren Deloach and Sharon Aikens held a service that glorified what came next in the life of the boy born once he'd had three decades as a man.

Much singing accompanied the personal stories of salvation and the sermons about God's love.

I grew up in a Southern Baptist church, knowing that my mother had been raised in the house of a traveling Baptist minister, so I welcomed this look back into my history and this church's present.

Yes, I felt like I must have gone fast-forward through Saturday and into Sunday during this chilly afternoon, but it was a trip through time I was glad to take.

i thank You, God.

happy rural highway speed limit to the ex!

Here Jeff is, with his buddy Bob, from an earlier time.

(Thanks, Amy, for the photo loan!)

I called Jeff today, of course, and sang to him for his birthday60.

We had a nice chat, too!

He'll be escaping the brutal cold spell for Christmas.

He and Amy will be visiting Bob in Arizona.

That will be a nice bit of thawing out!

I would like to go somewhere warm.

As Calvin's mom says, "Heat is expensive", and boy, do I know it!

My new electric bill was almost three times higher than normal!!!

Still, it wasn't as high as it was at this time last year, so either the weather hasn't been as bad or I've been layering up more.

Trust me, it's the latter.

I'm wearing a wrap right now as I write.

One of the things I did today was prepare more "love in the mail", including this for him.

"That may not be a partridge

in a pear tree,

but I know it wishes you

the best year yet to be!"

These cards will be too late for Christmas wishes, but perfect for the New Year.

One of the other things I've done today is my daily visit to AARP to play games for points.

Get this: a topic that was perfect for today!

"Broadcasting Innovation"

Right place, right time!

I wonder how many of the 18 questions the former ballpark announcer of the Savannah Sand Gnats would have known?

I was surprised I knew as many as I did!

Now, time for a recent Zach Braff movie ("The French Girl") that promises to be funny!

Happy birthday again!

a*list with tailz

Note: That is -not- at typographical error.

That's how the alien being spells its name.

For real!

All the other aficionados at the special screening would agree with me.

That's Tailz in my hand here.

Actually, it's just the critter's head, designed as a keychain reward for those who came to the "Sonic The Hedgehog 3: Fan Event" at the 3 PM showing in the Big-D room.

I was there early this time, having missed out on the Lego rewards at the Fan Event for "Wicked" a couple of weeks back. 

This time, AMC had plenty of the rewards, with four buckets of the character keychains, allowing patrons to choose which they wanted: Sonic, Tailz, Knuckles, or Shadow.

My first choice was Sonic, but Alicia let me swap him out for the foxy yellow guy with the ability to fly.

As it turns out, Tailz was a perfect fit for me!

He's the nerdy analytical member of the trio formed in the second movie, you see. 

I'm the nerdy analytical member of any trio I'm in, too!

Well, most of the time, but not always!

 

 

Speaking of trio, this upbeat movie, filled with puns and inside jokes, was the perfect one to complete my dance card this week.

"The Order" and "Homestead" were a bit scary, given today's political climate in the USA.

The first one was real and the other was not, but both dealt with homeland terrorists.

Neither are anything I would see again.

But this movie today?

That had everyone there cheering on the good guys?

With everyone laughing at all the silly parts with Dr. Robotnik?

Plus lots of applause as each character entered the story, especially for Stone?

And everyone staying in their seats until the very last credit had rolled so they could see what would be forthcoming in the next adventure?

This was absolutely delightful!

I just may see it again tomorrow!

Meanwhile, I have a new Christmas ornament gracing my tree, right next to Melanie's snowflake and Mama's gingerbread house.

Isn't that smiling yellow face so cheerful?

Right place, right time!

(smile!)

up to the highest heights!

"Oh, let's go, fly a kite!"

I do so love that song from "Mary Poppins" and was thrilled to hear it tonight!

Moreover, every child on the stage had one and each waved their colorful paper diamond enthusiastically!

I just know Barbara would have loved it, too.

She's the reason I was there, as she was the one who introduced me to these plays by the students of Rambam Day School.

She knew I would enjoy them as much as she did.

Two of the teachers who knew her greeted me, having seen me with her at these holiday plays for the past few years.

In keeping with tradition, this year's offering was also a musical.

"A Spoonful Of Sugar" was a take-off on the flying nanny (there's a little joke!) and contained several familiar songs, including both of the ones that the chimney sweeps sing - and there must have been a baker's dozen of them doing it!

There was a line of elementary-aged boys the length of the stage, as all wanted to be in on those dance routines!

I would have loved dancing with them!

There were also a few songs that touched on Judaism and even one about the man that the school is named for, set to the tune of the Beach Boys' "Help Me Rhonda" - making learning fun, just as the nanny did!

I think my favorite of those was "Soup and Challah", to the tune of "Supercali" -

"Soup and Challah, Candlesticks, Kiddush it is delicious / Every Shabbat meal we eat is really quite nutritious / Can I have some chicken served on Irma's special dishes / Soup and Challah, Candlesticks, Kiddush is is declicious!"

Guaranteed to bring a smile!

After the free show was over, I knew to stay for the free dessert: a Krispy Kreme doughnut.

Many thanks for making me welcome, y'all!

i thank You, God, for this gift from Barbara.

sharing Christmas with the physicist!

That very nearly rhymes, doesn't it?

"Sure, if you're playing fast and loose with the rhyming rules. Just like me claiming that what I wrote just now was a rhyme."

Oh, I get it! "Loose" and "rules" - you just have to slur over that hard "L" in the second word, like ignoring the "T" in "physicist". Still, I guess it couldn't really be called a poem quite yet. A few more lines would definitely be needed to have poetry.

"For sure. So, I take it that Tina Tuesday was spent with J-Dawg?"

Yes, it was, g'friend! What an unusual time it was, too. Can you believe that I convinced him to go to an animated film? Truth to tell, he probably wouldn't have agreed if the characters spoke.

I'm sure I wouldn't have asked him to go, either, had that been the case. But Carolyn had steered me to "Flow", and I did the same to him once I saw it was carried over for a second week at NCG.

"That's the foreign film about the cat and the tsunami, right? That did look quite interesting!"

He and I agreed and, as it was cheap movie day, we went to the noon30 screening. I was surprised that about fifteen people joined us for it!

"Very nice! That bodes well for such an artsy film. And was it good?"

It was delightful! I may have startled folks there with my laughing, but the kitteh did such patently kittenish things that I just couldn't help it!

"Oh, my! Did he laugh, too?"

Really, that isn't the sort of thing he would ever do. If we were at each other's house and watching it, he might have joined me a couple of times. But in a room of strangers? Not likely. Still, he didn't get up and move away from me, so that was good. (smile!) 

"That's not his way. He's quite supportive of you."

Yes, he is, isn't he? That makes him my bfe, as he's a keeper. (smile!) And, as I'd paid for the movie, he treated us to our luncheon at Jason's Deli! They were having a "2 for $20" special as part of their '12 Days of Deli-cious' promotion. We both ordered monster baked potatoes and the two drinks, then sat there talking and eating for the next two hours! It was great!!! I'm considering that a Christmas luncheon, for sure, especially with the movie. (smile!)

"That's what I'd do! Long afternoons with him are super rare!"

They're practically nonexistent, but winter break is here now. I'm hoping we'll be getting together next week for "Nosferatu", as he's already told me he wants to see it.

"That starts Christmas Day, doesn't it? That might make for a nice afternoon, perhaps with a meal somewhere afterward. Chinese at eTang would be great!"

Yeah, we'll see about that. Today was just so wonderful!

"What's up with the three photos? That's like something you'd get out of photo booth at the fair or a theme park."

Exactly!!! (smile!)

wrapping with toonie

Every day this week has seen special episodes of the Bill & Toonie show.

Today's was about the proper way to wrap gifts of varying shape.

No cheating with gift bags and tissue paper, nosirree bob!

Inspired, I set about preparing items to go under my tree.

 

Determined to use up all the bits of Christmas papers from years past, I started with the 2025 calendar from AARP, there in the middle.

Going clockwise from the lower right, I also have a new blank journal from Memorial Sloan Kettering, a calculator from Disabled American Veterans, the paid-in-full hospital bills for the cardiac ablation from the Department of Veterans Affairs, a canister of decaffeinated coffee from Senior SNAP, a $20 discount from Savannah Repertory Theatre, and a new shower curtain liner courtesy of United Healthcare.

Within an hour, they were all decked out in pretty holiday colors, using the scraps of wrap that I have held onto for at least a decade.

Well, all were wrapped except the discounted ticket from the troupe.

Now, they're under my tree, awaiting Christmas morning.

Thanks, Santa, for these many blessings!

the doc says...

"See you in June!"

i thank You, God.

 

That "doc" would be my cardiologist, which is why this was so important to me.

 

It was my post-surgery visit, which had somehow been scheduled for the absurd time of 0845.

Yes, as in 8 hours and 45 minutes past midnight.

As I told them, that's the time of my first alarm, the one that tells me to take my Synthroid so I can have coffee when the second alarm rings at 9:21 AM.

 

Of course, I'd called his office to try to get the time changed, but I would have had to wait until the end of January to see him.

Nope, that wasn't an option.

So, there I was, bright and early.

Actually, with the heavy fog that had descended upon Savannah, wrapping everything in shrouds of mist, it wasn't that bright.

Ordinarily, there would be a clear view of St. Joseph's Hospital when standing outside his office.

 

As for inside his office, I found myself in Exam Room 4, one I'd never seen.

That's because it was a busy morning and the first three rooms were full.

 

I was early.

I'd arrived at 0830, concerned about being late.

By the time this photo was taken at 0848, I'd had my EKG and was waiting on the results.

Within five minutes, he'd told me I was good to go, so I did, back onto the foggy roads.

i thank You, God, for Truman Parkway.

This lovely shot of the flaming trees across the street from my house was taken at 0914.

Ten minutes later, I was back in my nightgown and under the covers, straight into dreamland.

No lawnmowers or leaf blowers disturbed me.

 

I slept the sleep of the contented, deeply and warm, until a quarter of noon.

Delicious to have slumbered so well!

Today, the high is to reach the low 70's, which is a blessed break from the 50's of Thursday and Friday.

The pattern of late is three days of warmth, usually at the week's start, then the song going into low notes by midweek. 

Believe me when I say that I'll gratefully take whatever number of warm days I am allotted at this time of year, and I'll open up the house to invite inside every bit of it.

This day, which is amazingly still Monday, will be shared with Carolyn, and perhaps Sandy, too.

I've invited them to join me for the new Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult movie.

That will be at 4:45 PM, which will be a little later than I usually go, but it's a little early for them.

Compromise, right?

I'm hoping they'll join me at Houlihan's for dinner.

 

Between that time and now, though, my brunch will be these leftovers from the church holiday party.

Then, I truly must set about finishing the Christmas cards that need to be mailed.

So, ta ta for now!