you and me, we have a history

What an unusual dream!

So vivid I was sure it was real!

Chris Soucy threw for me a "This is your life" party for my 67th birthday.

He invited everyone I knew on fb, asking each person to ask those that weren't on that social media to come.

There were people there that I's never met, like my paternal cousin Rebecca Figone who lives in Texas, my maternal cousin Daniel Jaworski who lives in Texas, and even Dave Hewitt and Lorrie Bernhard, both of whom are still members of the League of Savannah Bloggers, though they live halfway across the  country.

There's also Ivan Shreve, Jr., another LSB-er, who lives in Athens and who I almost met when I supported a kickstarter bus stop project there.

Chris made sure to have people at the party that I'd not seen since I was a girl.

Those would be neighborhood pal Fae Hill Kameron as well as maternal cousins Jennifer Bowens and Chris Lee and David Lee.

Everywhere I looked were people who loved me, people I loved.

Even folks from my military days were there, at least the ones there online, like Balinda and Brant Dixon, Bob Bueling, Jim Metzger, and Lizz Wellington Smith.

I have no idea where the party was being held, but it was huge to accommodate the hundreds of people from near and far that came to share my birthday.

Incredible.

 

I'll have to share that tonight when I go to Jalapenos.

I wonder what my brothers will think of that dream?

Wouldn't it be swell if they were inspired to throw a party for my 67th?

Maybe not as extravagant as the one in the dream.

That was clearly a case of me dreaming big!

But, a reunion of sorts with all the Smith kids, and grandkids, and great-grandkids...

well, that would truly make my day! 

Yes, that would be quite nice! 

(smile!)

bday87 party for Mama!

First of all, there was singing!

 

But not "Happy Birthday" on this occasion, oh, no!

 

The Cantabile and the Chorale of the Savannah Arts Academy Chorus performed for us at the Trinity United Methodist Church.

 

This was their "Voices Of The Season" concert and it was totally free!

We were greeted with "Carol Of The Bells", always a favorite during the holidays.

(smile!)

Before we left there, everyone joined in to make a wish for Mama.

Every person received a candle, with each taper being lit by one of the young singers.

 

Then, we all sang "Silent Night", a song I know Mama knew by heart, as many years as she was part of a choir!

 

At the song's end, each person closed their eyes and blew out the flame as they made their wish.

 

How wonderful that was!

 

(smile!)

 

And you know what came next, right?

 

Cake!

 

Not just any cake, either, but a great and glorious Christmas cake like Frank always made, chock full of fruit and pecans!

 

That was a gift to me from Mark Kameron last Friday, right in time to share with Mama.

 

Delicious!

 

(smile!)

What's that you say?

 

Where's the ice cream?

 

Here it is, half-price courtesy of Publix, to celebrate my half-birthday.

 

I chose the Mint Chocolate Chip, knowing that Mama always liked that one, too, at this holiday - and her birthday! - time of year.

 

So creamy and cool, it is, leaving your mouth with a tingle to brighten a cold day!

 

Today was lovely and warm, in the low 70's: perfect.

 

(smile!)

All very nice!

 

Now, it was time for gifts!

 

Publix again came to my rescue, gifting me with this Salsa Bouquet to mark my 4th anniversary in their loyalty club.

 

Don't the flowers frame Mama so well?

 

And now I'm, settled in to watch "The Polar Express" with her, with Comcast gifting me this movie yesterday as a reward.

 

Perfect!

i thank You, God, for this day, and for giving me this woman as my mother!

bday10 of twins: Part 2

Here Leila and Alyssa are, preparing to open the "8" part of my two-part gift to them, as cousin Miyah looks on, dejectedly, even though she knows it isn't her birthday. 

Isn't she so funny?

Alyssa is even wearing the jacket she received from Nana, who wasn't able to make the party.

 

I prefaced the opening by telling them my gift could be used as a timed game, or as art for their walls, or for solving together.

 

Nice riddle for them to puzzle out! (smile!)

 

And here is the trio of girls again, with Alyssa ripping the wrapping paper off and excitedly showing the gift to her sister.

I was thrilled!!!

Winner, winner!!!

Now I know they love jigsaw puzzles!

 

I already knew they would love the ocean-life populating the eight different puzzles in the box.

 

Next up was the number "2" of the two-part gift from their crazy G'Aunt Tina, who makes them do math on their birthday - lol!

That salmon-colored item is "Ocean Duets", a 2007 winner of best books.

"Duets"... get the joke? For twins? (smile!)

The book is even autographed by the photographer, Michele Westmoreland, who is now in the Hall of Fame of Women Divers.

 

Poor Miyah papaya, she should look at this page by the diver as I know it would make her smile!

Where was Chloe in all this?

Oh, she was definitely there, to the other side of Alyssa and right beside me.

At 6, she is definitely the youngest, and had to resort to playing a cat when the foursome played a pretend game of 'family'.

Melinda and I were talking and agree: the twins, now in double digits, and moving away from their days of playing with Chloe, and will soon move beyond Miyah, too.

It's all just part of growing up!

How wonderful to have time to learn from Matt about his hunting license and the different types out there!

Maybe next time he'll have grilled venison for the ribs!

That's the reason these pictures seem a bit blurry: grease on my fingers.

Well worth it!!!

bday10 of twins: part 1

As I explained to Leila, tonight wasn't the birthday party, it was the birthday dinner.

The party, with cake and gifts and all that, will be on Sunday!

By the way, that's Leila on the right, having changed up her hairstyle again.

Good for her!

That makes it easier for folks to tell her and Alyssa apart, without anyone having to search out the birthmark on the forehead of the other.

So what was going on?

Well, in that photo, we were all singing "Happy Birthday" to them, embarrassing them good and proper there at Cici's!

 

They were getting used to that, though, as Christina sang the song to them at school earlier today, right in front of their class!

That's what happens when you're right there and attend the school where she teaches!

Here, in this photo, are the two aunts of the twins.

Chelsea had come straight from her nursing clinicals.

She told me she really thinks she wants to work in pediatrics or in the "Mommy and me" programs.

That's the beauty of internships: you get to test-drive the different departments to find your future!

And here we have the father of the birthday girls!

Yes, he's put on a goofy face, just as Ronnie would have!

That's Shauna with him.

That's good, since the girls have liked her for years.

She seems to have a steadying influence on Leila and Alyssa.

Now that they're a decade old, they need that to keep them out of trouble and off internet sites that are too old for them.

Oh, and now the girls know a new word: decade!

I asked Alyssa if she felt like she was a decade old, and she said, "I'm not a decade, I'm ten!"

Sweet child, that's how many years a decade has!

I wonder if she'll share that new word with her class tomorrow?

After all, there was another child that had her birthday today today, and that Christina sang for!

That child is also a decade old now.

And here's one more photo before I go!

Here are all four of the cousins, the ones I used to call the "four little blondes".

They're growing up fast.

Maybe the two older ones will slow down a little so Miyah and Chloe can catch up?

Yeah, that's not how time works, is it?

Red-shirted Miyah now misses two teeth, with a third on its way out, and Chloe bounces around like she's on springs!

I just barely caught the 4 of them in one shot!

(smile!)

bday6 for miss chlo!

It's hard to believe that little blonde running around is six years old now!

Was that first birthday party truly five years ago?

No 'bout a doubt it, as her Grandpa Ronnie would have said.

That's her to the left of the yellow table, with her Mom in the red dress, her Grammy in the chair at the end of the table, and her Uncle Michael heading toward the sidewalk where her cousins, Alyssa and Leila, are playing with her sister, Miyah. 

In the foreground is Mousse, getting his head petted by one of Nieve's hijas.

With a slight shift in perspective, here's a continuation of the scene just a moment later.

Chloe is helping Nieves with the heavy wooden chair from my first niece's kitchen.

Michael had started the grill, but Coach Willie has taken over and is cooking the burgers and franks.

Moussie is in heaven, still getting head scratches and neck rubs from the little girl.

As for me, I'm just enjoying the view!

The tables are all covered with cloths, the air is full of good smells and the sound of kids playing, and now I can visit with Christina and Melinda!

This was taken about an hour later.

We've all eaten to our stomach's content of burgers, hotdogs, chips, and even chili - yum!

Now it's time smack a piñata... or two!

That's become the highlight of the birthday parties these days, as the kids each take turns whacking the hanging container until it spills its candy guts all over the ground!

Miss Chlo, as the birthday girl, got the first three smacks, then everyone else took their turn at giving the rainbow piñatas three whacks.

In fact, everyone had taken their swings twice before the candy was freed!

By the time they were done with the second one, another hour had elapsed and it was time for me to head back to Savannah.

Daylight was fading fast and I have Dane Days!

As I told Alyssa and Leila, the dog is their  age and, like them, he doesn't like being in the dark, either.

They completely understood that, as they have been sleeping with the TV on since before their time living with me!

I would have liked to have stayed for cake and ice cream - I even had Lactaid with me! - but that's okay.

I'll just be sure to have double helpings next time!

But what I missed most was watching Chloe open her gifts and seeing her face light up. 

"Hope you enjoy the gift and that it reminds you of our vacation in Florida."

I do hope she enjoys the Minnie Mouse puzzle!

It has 24 pieces, so that shouldn't be too complex.

Plus, it will help her with spatial orientation as well as problem solving.

All good skills for everyone to have!

Okay, time to give Dane his "ice cream" treat for being a good boy while I was gone!

What a wonderful day!

And tomorrow I'll have pizza for breakfast!

That's because today was the third Saturday of the month.

In Papa John-speak, that means FREEDAY!!!

So my choice tomorrow will be either the Spicy Italian or the Fiery Buffalo Chicken - I'm a winner no matter which I choose!

Hooray!

(smile!)

thursday with zoom and the gals of ethel

Ethel who?

 

Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD in philosophy, was the founder of AARP, the American Association of Retired Persons.

 

Note that forward-thinking word: "persons".

 

She started that organization in 1958, when she was 74 years old, making sure its membership was open to all, regardless of gender, race, or anything else.

 

In 1958...

wow.

 

Before that, in 1947, she founded the NRTA, the National Retired Teachers Association.

It took seven years, but she finally located an insurance company that would provide health insurance at a reasonable rate to that group.

 

Knowing all retired people needed that, two years later she started AARP, and now that organization has celebrated its Route 66 birthday...

just like me.

 

So, when asked to supply one word in the ZOOM chat to describe Ethel, I knew what to write:

Pioneer.

 

After all, I know a bit about that.

 

That's when I knew I was right place, right time.

 

In fact, when we broke into ZOOM rooms to get to know some of the other attendees, I told them that I'd never heard of Ethel Andrus.

 

I'd seen "Cheers To Ethel: A Virtual Birthday Bash" on the AARP website a few days ago and signed up, as it would be "something different".

I swear I heard Mary K, the moderator, gasp from her home in Michigan.

 

That's me, in the upper right, with women from Charleston and from somewhere in Virginia.

The other two were from Colorado.

 

We were all asked where we were and to give two words to describe why we were there tonight.

 

Then, Mary asked us to describe a moment when we knew we were truly noticed by others...

and this is the first thing that came to mind.

 

That's the Wall Of Women notice, posted originally at the Health Professions building on campus at Armstrong Atlantic State University in March 2013.

 

The nursing students had been asked to nominate a professor that made them feel empowered...

and three of them named me, a chemistry professor, someone decidedly not in their major field.

 

I was the only one on that Wall of Women who was not a Health Professions teacher.

 

Wow.

 

Tonight, I told the five other women in that ZOOM Room about that, about how touched I was that the students had chosen to honor me in that way, as a woman who would "inspire, innovate, imagine, empower".

 

I also made sure to tell those in the Zoom room that I taught chemistry and always endeavored to make it personal and approachable for my students.

 

Then I added that the Wall of Women notice is still in view in my dining room.

 

Very nice.

 

"Flexible office hours, emails back in time, helps you understand the material in class, will take time and talk to you, and she learns your name, and is hands on in lab (Organic Chemistry Class)."

 

"This is my first year here at AASU and this semester I knew would prove to be a challenge for me but Dr. Smith made it so comfortable and fun in her organic chemistry class that I don't fear it anymore. She's always willing to help us anyway she can, but still pushes us. She feels like a mom away from home since I'm so far away from my mom. She's just a sweet person and I just love her. :)"

 

"She has inspired me to work harder and push myself more than I have. She is teaching me that no matter how difficult the problem may look, it's not really that difficult if you just break it down. :)"

 

Wow.

 

Proof positive that they listened to me, that they heard me and saw me.

 

Tonight, these five women heard me and saw me, too.

 

Most definitely right place, right time.

I think I'll sign up for The Ethel newsletter and see what this group is all about.

first live musical for the 4 little blondes!

First, my many thanks to the Hive Repertory Theatre, in Rincon, for this golden opportunity.

Everyone knows how much I love musicals, and to have this chance to share that love with my four little blonde great-nieces was absolutely magical for me!

Here's what they did that made it possible for all of us to go: they gave a free hour-long preview of the Tony-nominated show, "The Wind In The Willows"!!!

The musical is based on the book published in 1908 by an English banker, Kenneth Grahame.

He was 49 years old and he chose to retire after the publication of "The Wind In The Willows".

That book was comprised of stories he told his son.

Isn't that a nice touch?

I have to wonder if he and his boy spent afternoons walking in the woods together, discovering there all that nature had to offer.

Then, the Fox and River Rat and Mole and Otter living in that area just naturally became characters that the child could envision, right?

And the Toad, that silly speed-happy chap who loved motor cars, would serve as the cautionary tale of the consequences of bad decisions.

Perfect for middle-school aged tweens!

I'll go again for the entire musical in two weeks.

I'll hope for company when I see it then, but I'll certainly understand if that's not to be.

Single parents have to watch their money, and the $45 cost for a family of 3 can find other uses.

My many thanks to Michael and Christina for making sure they reserved their free seats for this performance when I sent them the link!

My many thanks to them, too, for making the trip from Hinesville - southeast of Savannah - to Rincon, northeast of this seaport.

I'm glad their mom, my outlaw Melinda, set up a cookout for Michael's birthday at her place in Guyton, while they were in the area.

That worked out beautifully for them... and for me!

I missed the ribs, but I benefited from the company of these six that I love!

Plus, get this: the musical was at 7 on the 7th.

Nice inside joke with the Universe!

Right place, right time, for us all.

(smile!)

bday party of 3 amigas!

What was the evening highlight for Barbara, the birthday girl?

 

Was it

A) dinner at a new restaurant?

B) an unexpected dessert?

C) seeing "Mamma Mia!" on the silver screen at the Lucas?

D) dancing to "Waterloo" during the end montage?

E) hanging out with two amigas?

 

Ah, so much of that was on the menu tonight... and this little joke, too!

(smile!)

 

Let's start with dinner, shall we?

That was at Toast! All Day, right there on Broughton Street.

We beat the dinner crowd, so we had Semaj, and most of the restaurant, to ourselves.

Hooray!

I had delicious toasted rye bread - yum!

Boo dined on the Meeting Street meal and Sandy chose the same as she had back in January.

And guess what?

We each ate every bite!!!

That calls for dessert, right?

Most def... and even more so for a birthday celebration!

No cake, but we did have ice cream!

Leopold's had something to tickle the taste buds of each of us.

Sandy had strawberry something, Boo selected the Pistachio and had it in a waffle cone, and me...

I've found a new path to follow there.

Yes, the vegan peanut butter chippy - with its cute name and coconut cream base - gave my mouth such a treat!

Plus, we had a vertical rainbow follow us there!

(smile!)

Then we three bopped over to the Lucas around the corner!

I'd bought the tickets on Sunday, so at least we didn't have to be concerned that the SCAD students would cause a sell-out.

However, we did need to hustle to seats before they snapped up all the good ones.

And lookie where we sat: the third row!!!

And, oh, how hard it was to stay seated for all those songs!!!

"Mamma Mia!" is a true musical, with all the lyrics written decades ago by the Swedish band -

how did ABBA know they could be used to tell a story???

Just marvelous!!!

And let me tell you this:

as soon as the story was done -

and Meryl, Christine, and Julie 

came onscreen with their jumpsuits 

and high-heeled boots, 

doing an encore of "Dancing Queen" -

I jumped up to dance and so did Barbara -

and so did most of the audience!!!

My, oh, my!!! 

And when Meryl asked if we wanted more,

we all shouted 'YES!!!"

and all stayed up dancing, 

throughout the theatre, 

for all of "Waterloo"!!!

Happy birthday, Barbara!

(smile!)

as the beatles would say...

'Yes, we'll still feed you,

Yes, we'll still need you,

Now that you're sixty-four!"

 

Sure, a bit of a paraphrase, but it'll do nicely.

Hardly seems an eye-blink since it was my turn to do so...

and now my biggest little brother, Smitty, is that age!

When I called and sang "Happy Birthday!" to him, I also told him a joke.

 

Question: What's the difference between Iron Man and Aluminum Man?

 

Answer: Iron Man defeats bad guys; Aluminum Man just foils their plans.

 

Hahahaha!! Hahaha!!!

 

He didn't know that oldie and thought it was pretty funny, too!

So in his honor, I'm posting a few jokes today!

 

Here's another 'science-themed' joke, gleaned from the fb page of Patrick Young.

 

"Tired of boiling water every time you make pasta?

Boil a few gallons at the beginning of the week

and freeze it until later."

 

Oh, yeah, sure... not! 

Hey, a joke with dinosaurs would be 'science-themed', too, wouldn't it?

Andy Pena had this one for me!

"Velocirapture...

What really happened to the dinosaurs."

Okay, but what about all those non-raptors??

Hahaha!

Dawn Kosmach had a very clever funny on her fb!

"New guy asked me where the right-handed gloves were."

What a hoot!!!

This reminded me of one of the jokes pulled on new CTM's when I was stationed in Okinawa.

The new guy would be sent to fetch a left-handed Philips screwdriver... and off they would go!

Now, how about a joke for those who speak a few other languages?

My thanks to former sailor Bob Bueling for this!

An American, a Frenchman, a Spaniard, and a German were all attending a Zoom meeting with their supervisor, who asked, "Can everyone see me ok?"

To which they answered...

"Yes"

"Oui"

"Si"

"Ja"

Hahahaha!!! I just adore that one!!!

Now, gotta go, my turn to go to Hinesville for a movie!

poland, china, and italy!

Those were the countries I visited for food and entertainment on this week!

The Polish man who runs CinemaSavannah brought us a Polish film tonight and was quite pleased to introduce it to us.

Barbara and I went, but none of the other amigas, to see "Kobieta na dachu", which literally means "Woman On The Roof".

What a hard time that 60-year-old had, caught between a promise to her sister and a secret from her husband that had her mired in debt.

Yes, E-TANG was a good place to revive our senses after that deluge of dourness.

Even better was this: mi amiga treated me to the dinner as my birthday gift!

Plus, the restaurant treated us to little plates and bowls so we could share the Hot Sour Soup, the Garlic Cucumbers, and the Snow Pea Greens as Chinese food is meant to be eaten - and we each took home food for a later meal!

We both agreed that I really do need to thank the bfe again for introducing me to this place.

(smile!) 

Speaking of him, we met up on Monday evening!

He had returned from his ashram experience and was excited to tell me all about it.

Learning the Sanskrit alphabet!

Chanting in different languages!

Sleeping under the stars in his tent!

Such wonderful tales of his vacation!

We were Bonefish-ing, naturally, and I tried a new dish: Pineapple Shrimp on coconut rice.

Rather tasty it was, too, like having dessert with my dinner... and I do so enjoy that, when dessert first is not an option!

(smile!)

Oh, and I had a luncheon on Monday, too!

Yvonne and I went to the Olive Garden 'cause they treat us like family and it's our go-to place for gathering.

Soup and salad, both dining on Pasta Fagiole for a change!

We had a nice and leisurely - three hours!!! - meal, there inside the cool of the restaurant.

Yes, summer didn't officially get here until today, but the humidity makes those upper-80's feel more like mid-90's.

Spotty little showers just add to that water in the air!

We even had one of those earlier, but I had finished the back yard, thankfully.

Oh, and that post reminded me that I'd mentioned going to Jalapenos today.

However, Mexican wasn't on my list as all I had time for were chips and salsa, as I knew Boo was coming for me and she's always early.

Still, I did get to visit with all the usual folks at the S&K Family Fiesta, except for Becca, as she was having a birthday dinner with her mom.

I had some visit time with John and Sherry, too, as the Schomburgs had popped down from the mountains to surprise all of us!

That was quite nice!!!

And when I told John I was going to a Polish film, he reminded me that his birth parents were Polish, and he was adopted.

Major coolness!

(smile!)

Okay, time for me to settle in and settle down.

I have a busy weekend planned!

(smile!)

two full minutes of screen time!!!

 

 

It's even better than I thought!

When I viewed the game video again, I discovered that our little quintet did even better than I'd thought with getting famous.

How so?

Well, we inadvertently photobombed Jesse Cole when he was giving kudos to the second Savannah team, the Party Animals, who had their last night of a home stand with us watching from the cheap seats.

The Savannah Party Animals were created in 2020 as opponents for the Savannah Bananas for the newly-created BananaBall games.

Even though the first BananaBall games were played in 2019, it wasn't until the BananaBall World Tours began that the need for another team who knew the rules became vital.

Enter the Party Animals - which, as happenstance goes, was one of the five possible names for the collegiate level team which was started in 2016.

There are now two other Savannah teams that play BananaBall, one of which - the Visitors - played in this home stand against the guys in pink and black.

The other team is called the Firefighters, but I don't know much about them.

Both of these new teams formed last year, to allow more games of BananaBall to be played in more venues for more fans, with sold-out crowds being the norm.

Wow, right?

Anyway, as I was saying, our front-row aluminum bleacher seats set us up in exactly the right spot to not only watch as Jesse got pranked by two of the Party Animals, but for at least one of our five to be in every frame from 1:39:00 to 1:41:00 of the video.

Never have I ever had that happen before, not even when sitting with Mister Willie!

Wait, yes I did, but that was for my birthday in 2019... what a blast that was!!!

Still, that was not with Christina Ann and her girls.

That's what made this so very special!

And they were in the game video at multiple times, too!!!

 

The first was at 1:04:00, when our section was background for the hair-whipping contest.

The next was at 1:13:50 for six full seconds of our section on screen.

 

For the sing-along with "Hey, Baby" at 1:15:48, there we were!

Me, my first niece, and her friend, standing tall and singing along!

Nice, right?

Our first big bout of screen time came during the Bananas Foster promo, with us serving as unintentional background for the spokeswoman from 1:18:55 to 1:19:15, then again from 1:19:33 to 1:19:50 - wow!

That was a whopping 37 seconds!

 

Plus, later on, when Pink's "Raise Your Glass" was played - it's apparently the theme song for the Party Animals - Christina and Kayleigh were both not only onscreen, but seemingly highlighted for the five-second segment from 2:02:02 to 2:02:07 - woohoo!

My party of five is even in the highlight reel after the game.

Wow...

what a grand time we had!

Thanks, Party Animals, for documenting that for us!!!

Right place, right time!

(smile!)

busy with 2 little blondes at the ballpark!

Here we are, wonder of wonders, having literally walked right into five open seats!

Even more incredible was this: they were on the very front row!!!

My gratitude to the angels for these, as it was well past 5:30 by the time we walked in!

My first niece snapped this one of me, Chloe, Miyah, and her, with the sun heading back behind the bleachers.

She'd brought along her friend Kayleigh.

That girl was definitely there for fun!

When Steve, the bartender for the Savannah Party Animals, came by to offer shots, she was the first in the section to open wide!!!

One of the gals in the next row followed suit, and I'd bet Steve ended up with an empty bottle by the time he got to the beer loft area.

Just what was in that bottle is anyone's guess, but the song clip told me this: tequila!

If not for A-fib, my mouth would be open, too!

Yes, that was definitely one of the perks of those front row seats we had!

The game was only 13 minutes in the tequila man came up to Kayleigh.

Not three minutes later, a series of Party Animals came past us, with treats in their hands.

Not for us grown-ups, but for the kids!

Specifically, the guys were in search of Cupcake Girls, and our two little blondes won out!!!

For being such cuties, they were each awarded a gorgeous, frosted sweet, nestled in a protective plastic shell... but not for long!

The girls gobbled them right up!

Within an hour, Miyah had obtained another treat: a yellow Banana baseball!

Chloe kept trying to get one, too, but no luck.

So when it was suggested that the big sister let the little sister help get autographs, that brought smiles to both of the girls!

This photo was about thirty minutes later.

One of the dancing Party Starters came by and, when Chloe asked her to sign the ball, the woman was delighted to do so!

Miyah kept scooting closer and closer while the woman talked and personalized her autograph for Chloe; it was quite cute to watch!

But the icing on the cake came afterward.

As the Party Animal moved on to others, the little sister sat down and handed the baseball to her bigger sister.

The item had turned from a sports memento into pure treasure, with both girls admiring it.

What an absolute treat for me!

The game ended within the next thirty minutes.

The Visitors won, but by what score I knew not.

I still don't know!

For me, it was a night at the circus, under the stars... and that was absolutely perfect!

from kid flicks to coffee

My intent had been to attend two kid flicks at different locales today.

Ah, yes, shades of Summer Kids Film Festivals of years past!!! 

The NCG Cinema began their Summer Camp Film Festival (SCFF) on Saturday, with the best deal around: movies for $2 (all ages) and popcorn combos for $5.

 

The Tybee Post Theatre started their Summer of Sea Adventures Film Festival (SOSAFF) a full week ago, so I'll have to see about catching the 1996 version of "Flipper" somewhere.

They have the highest cost, with $10 tickets for adults and $5 for kids.

No popcorn specials have been listed yet.

Even so, my intent had been to go to NCG, then to Tybee.

However, a phone call to set up my annual mammogram threw off my timing.

 

Peacock to the rescue!

I was able to watch the 14-year-old "Despicable Me" for free, right here at home, and I even did so close to the 10:30 AM screening time at NCG.

That let me capture Gru using his Freeze Ray to get to the front of the coffee line!

Oh, yes, Dr. Horrible would have been so thrilled to see that action!!!

(smile!)

The next "scheduled" kid flick time was 3 PM.

Didn't I remember that Papa John's had a $9.99 Cheeseburger Pizza special?

I did, I did remember that very thing!

I ordered two of those, not realizing they were large - yeah, pizza for breakfast!

That saved me $9 per pie,  plus I picked up my birthday reward from them: a Chocolate Chip Cookie Pizza, that would have cost $7.

By the time I threw in the $5 gift certificate (exchanged for points on AARP), the two large pizzas and dessert ran less than $17.

Woohoo!!!

Then it was time for the SOSAFF movie, "Shark Tale", also free on Peacock - hooray!

To my amazement, I had missed this 2004 film when it first aired.

How fun that Oscar, the colorful fish draped over a rock, worked at a whale wash.

He was on the run when some human dropped an anchor on Frankie, whose brother, the vegetarian shark Lenny, hoisted off the weight, but to no avail.

Oscar was only to glad to let the other sea denizens believe he was a shark killer!!!

That didn't last long, but it sure was fun while he got away with it.

Cute movie, great soundtrack!!!

(smile!)

Now, what to do with the rest of the day besides eat pizza?

How about spend that $5 gift certificate for Kroger?

That was another "freebie" from AARP that I received for watching informational videos.

As good fortune would have it, they had a buy-one-get-one sale on decaf coffee, so those two packages only cost me a dollar each.

For decaf!!!

What a deal!

Such a nice Wednesday this has been!

(smile!)