is that you, clark gable?

I woke to a dream about Ronnie that had me sobbing...

before coffee...

on a Tina Tuesday.

In the dream, it was warm weather and I had the window of my first floor apartment open to the breeze from the garden.

Suddenly a huge, knobby tire appeared, taking up the entire window casement.

Someone was maneuvering a huge Jeep and needed that window space to get the vehicle moved... or did they?

As the tire receded from the opening, I looked out.

Was that a familiar Clark Gable face on the man driving?

Grinning at me, he waved bye...

was that my brother Ronnie???

Later, I was out and about and passed by a police officer in a Jeep...

a tall, good-looking guy with dark hair and movie star appeal...

it was Ronnie...

having another go at life...

as a young cop.

Wow.

Still makes me tear up with happiness for him.

 

I'm glad the ex called with a distraction right after I awoke.

The Church Street Inn property has been sold to LaTour Hotels and they have offered to buy out all the owners of the alternate-years options.

That's right: buy them out.

Not like Diamond Resorts did, with me having to pay them to get free.

What a coincidence, though, that this has occurred.

He and I had a textversation about that Charleston property in mid-November.

He had asked if I was interested in using it this time, as they could not.

I told him we needed to get my name off it "while I am alive".

Now, there's to be a vote on January 31st and my signature was needed so we could both legally be shed of it.

i thank You, God.

I can do that.

Timing is everything.

There are no accidents.

but... what about Ben?

This day has held a series of misadventures all around me.

Take this morning at the Savannah VA. I had an 11:45 AM appointment for blood labs, as I see my PCP next Friday. I was there at 11:38, so good for me! However, there I sat... and sat... and sat.

I tried to be patient, I did. I even entertained myself with the song from my mental jukebox that had cued up upon my waking: "Video Killed The Radio Star". Very cool tune for doing knee flexions and knee extensions, especially in the tall chair I had chosen.

 

But enough was enough.

At 12:20 PM, I snagged one of the staff as she called yet another newcomer into the lab. I asked her what was going on, as I'd been waiting for more than thirty minutes. 

She looked surprised at that, but took my name and said she'd find out what the problem was.

Then I sat... sat... sat, another 15 minutes, until another staff member ushered me inside.

She was one of Ms. Barker's assistants and she'd recognized my name at once when the other woman has asked.

So she had come to my rescue.

Someone else on the staff had marked that they had me in their booth...but they did not... and the other staff had just accepted that I had been called in earlier and was still there, getting blood drawn.

She had to print out my name labels again, as the others were past time, and that took a few minutes.

Thankfully, only blood was needed this time, not urine, so she had me out of there by noon58.

My late morning appointment had taken almost 75 minutes.

As I walked toward the bathroom and stepped past the reception desk in the main lobby, I saw this colorful sign: "Game Time! The 4th and 5th Wednesdays of each month, at 1300"!

I mean to remember that for next week and the week after!

Chances are I would have missed that sign if my blood draw had been on time.

 

What was next on my agenda?

Brunch at Texas Roadhouse, that's what!

Melaness had given me a gift card there, and, as I'd told the nurse, "they will feed me now!"

The problem was, they did not.

The usual first course of dinner rolls never came.

The hostess did not bring a basket of them with her when she seated me, nor did Marquis ever ask me about them.

Not that he was a bad waiter.

He probably assumed that I'd deferred on the rolls, as he saw me eating the bagged roasted peanuts on the table.

My Tater Skins came out quickly, and he checked on me several times to make sure all was well.

And the food was great!

I held the Skins like pizza as I ate them... yum!

Half the order went home with me... as well as a bag of four dinner rolls.

As I departed, I stopped by the front desk and asked for the rolls, as I'd not been given them.

The hostess and scheduler were flustered, but I got the rolls!

Then I was off to AMC for the 2:15 PM screening of "The Room Next Door".

The synopsis said Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton were two old friends who hadn't seen each other in many years, until circumstances brought them back together.

What it did not say was that Tilda had terminal cancer and wanted to find someone to be close by when she took the euthanasia pill.

Julianne had been quite a few choices down on her list, but the others had been aghast and refused to be present for the suicide.

Julianne had been aghast, too, at first, but had relented.

But it wasn't until after the fact that the situation got to me.

The police were determined to arrest Julianne for aiding and abetting the suicide, which was illegal in that state.

Suicide was considered to be a crime???

What the fresh hell???

I needed a hug.

As it was almost 5 PM, I knew just where to go: Jalapenos in Sandfly.

The Smiths and Kamerons would be gathering there, with hugs a-plenty.

Plus, I could deliver the Christmas cards for my brothers that Aunt Linda sent to me.

Smitty and Mary were there, surprised to see me, as I'd said last week that I would not be able to join them this time around.

So I explained about the movie and got hugs.

Then Betsy and the Kameron brothers came and I got more hugs.

Tony and Laura didn't come tonight.

That's probably for the best, as we talked about suicides in our lives.

I seem to know many more than they do: Jean Marie; David Kopek in 2013, then his brother, Brian, a few years later; and now Kal, who killed Barbara, too.

What an odd night.

 

True to my word to Smitty and Mary, I didn't stay long, as I had a dance performance to attend.

As I had written on my fb page earlier this week, "Movement In Motion: Where Art Meets Emotion" sounded like exactly the kind of show I would love!

Plus, the show was free!

However, it never happened, as it was postponed for some undefined future time, according to the student there at the door at the Savannah Arts Academy.

She couldn't tell me or the others waiting why, just that it had been announced that morning at school.

Well, hell's belles.

I could have gone to the Jepson for their screening of "Steamboy", had I known.

Drats.

So I returned home, finding absolutely naught of interest.

Peacock to my rescue for the third time this week!

They had Hallmark's "Ruby Herring Mysteries" mini-series and they'd proved enjoyable.

The premise was this: the widow of a Seattle cop, Ruby (Taylor Cole) hosts a "news you can use" segment on a local TV station, and helps Jake (Stephen Huszar) solve homicides.

Not that he wants her to, but he's a transplanted NY cop and she knows folks.

In the first movie, "Silent Witness", a friend of Ruby's mom gets killed before a cooking convention and that's how Ruby gets involved in the case.

In the second movie, "Her Last Breath", a famous health guru dies in an auto accident, but it's found to be homicide by the coroner.

In both movies, we see Ruby visiting the grave of her late husband, Ben, and having talks as if he were there.

Very nice!

Then, something skips a note and throws off the melody of these movies.

For "Prediction Murder", which concerns a five-year-old cold case of a fortune teller that was killed in her shop, no mention is made at all - not once - about Ruby being a widow.

Not once, not even by her mom.

Instead, there's this supposed "left at the altar" story of her, with the high-school sweetie, and now famous cardiac doctor, back in town for their class reunion.

Say what???

I can understand now why that 2019 series only had three movies.

I'm sure I wasn't the only viewer who wanted to know: What about Ben???

Such an odd day this has been.

first friday fiesta of the year!

I thought briefly about taking a photo of the Smiths & Kamerons, but didn't. 

Then that idea fluttered right out of my head!

Maybe it was because Addison was still home on winter break from UGA and was there by her dad on this occasion.

Maybe it was because Mark had switched seats with Smitty and was sitting beside my youngest brother, down at my end of the table.

I know I brought up the "Dining In The Dark" event, mentioning that I'd entered a drawing for two of the tickets to it.

It's a fundraiser for the Savannah Center For Blind And Low Vision, and WRHQ was hosting the giveaway.

Winning tickets would be the only way I could go, as they were $150 apiece.

Hey, it's a fundraiser!

Anyway, as I said, I told Laura that if I won, I'd like her to go with me.

Then she says, "I think you should take Mark with you!"

Ever the matchmaker, she is!

So I asked him and he didn't want to be served in the dark by SWAT personnel wearing night-vision goggles.

LOL!

What a sight that must be!

I couldn't even imagine eating Sopas Caseras in the dark, much less gourmet food.

Still, maybe one day I'll give that a try... but I'll wear clothes that are already stained!

(smile!)

ho-ho-holy shiite!

What a treat it's been to watch Santa Claus in action against those who have been naughty!

Just looking at him here, after he's hoisted a few pints in England, it's clear from his expression that he has had his fill of greedy children and naughty, naughty, people.

Then he's off to make his deliveries to the few children on the "Nice" list, eventually getting to Connecticut, for one gift on an estate full of naughty, naughty people.

Well, save, one, a little girl named Gertrude, who goes by the nickname Trudy.

She even baked cookies herself for Santa... and even gave him a candy cane.

The 1100 year old man really enjoyed all that!

Trudy is such a sweetheart that when the machine gun-toting naughty people have beat up on Santa and have him surrounded in a shed, she asks him what one wish he would wish at that moment, because he deserved some Christmas magic, too.

Nice, right?

That wish to see his wife again and tell her he loved her led to him finding a sledgehammer in that storage barn... 

and, with Trudy's encouragement, he proceeds to make it a "Violent Night" for the naughty, naughty people by reverting back to his Viking past as Nicomund The Red.

Not that he relied on the sledgehammer alone.

Oh, no.

The things that man could do with a candy cane and a pair of ice skates - wooo weee!!!

Sheer artistry!

Many thanks to Comcast for the $1 Movie Night Reward!

Many thanks to David Harbour for truly bringing home the meaning of Christmas by his tender interactions with the little girl who still believed in magic!

I can totally relate to that.

I'm going to enjoy that message for the next two nights.

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.

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!

 

new configuration and an old(er) who

Yeah, that sounds like it would be an opener 

from an organic chemisty teacher 

for an Abbott and Costello joke riffing on baseball, 

but it ain't.

The joke's on you!

(smile!) 

I'm retired from that now!

Hahahaha!

So just what is it that I'm saying?

These are the words coming out of my mouth:

we had a new arrangement of brothers

at the S&K Friday Fiesta!

I had my coat on the back of the chair next to Mary,

so Laura sat in Betsy's chair,

leading Tony to sit beside Smitty in Mark's chair.

Addison sat next to him in her daddy's chair,

with Becca in her own usual chair.

Betsy was ill, so she never made it.

So where did the Kameron brothers sit?

They were to each side of me on my end of the table!

That was magnificent!!!

We don't usually get a chance to chat, so we loved it!

Tony loved being able to talk with Smitty,

Laura loved talking uninterrupted with Mary,

and the two young ones loved their talk, too!

The question now is: where to seat Betsy next week?

Hahahaha!

More comedy awaited when I got home.

AARP MFG had "How The Grinch Stole Christmas", the 2000 version with Jim Carrey staying true to the green one's spirit.

Hooray!

By the movie's end, I had a question.

Just how old might be Taylor Momsen,

the sweet-faced child that portrayed

Cindy Lou Who?

She had to have been 6 or 7 back then, right?

She was actually 6 years old during the filming, as that was in the latter half of 1999.

Taylor Momsen is now 31 years old.

That's only ten years younger than my first niece.

Wow... mind blown.

Then again, the story is 67 years old,

which I shall be next birthday.

I wonder if she watches this version of the story

every year, or the cartoon one on TV?

Actually, I wonder if she watches either?

She was apparently teased badly in school for being

"the Grinch girl".

I guess Paul Harvey would call that "the rest of the story",

and now I know it, too.

misfits and a 43-year-old angel

As noted yesterday, today's weather has had me housebound all day.

That doesn't mean I've sat around twiddling my thumbs, mind you.

It just means the front door was opened once, and that was to bring in the mail.

No Smiths & Kamerons Friday Fiesta, but I did have Po' Girl Ceviche for dinner.

(smile!)

I had a bowl of Mama's Tuna Chowder for lunch, too.

Warm foods, warm thoughts.

(smile!)

Then, the Universe gifted me a treat: "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" on TV!!!

I had pulled the three bins of Christmas decorations out of the closet several days ago, and had the Christmas tree in the living room, but that had been as far as I'd gone.

Then, something happened that spurred me to action: Rudolph, Hermie, and Yukon Cornelius landed on the Island of Misfit Toys.

By the time the little polka-dotted elephant appeared onscreen, my toys were in place!

That felt very good to have accomplished!

(smile!)

Then I located the tree skirt Mama made and it was time to decorate the tree while watching "Every Day But Christmas", a favorite about second chances on Bounce.

The first to be placed, of course, was Mama's angel, made in 1981.

That makes her two years older than my first niece, by the way.

The same is true of the little red car, the rocking horse, and the glitter-trimmed gingerbread house, all ceramic pieces she made that year and sent to me in Okinawa.

Those three were the last ones on the tree.

(smile!)

Then I plugged in the light cord... and was greeted with the tiny purple lights!

Just beautiful, and certainly personalized just for me!

(smile!)

I have Grandma's embroidery under the tree, for Tony.

He'll be coming tomorrow with the fruitcake Mark brought for me!

When Tony texted a few minutes ago, that's when I decided to give the framed work to him.

I doubt he has any mementos from our grandparents.

This was something I usually hung in the hall, swapping it out with another one from her.

"Twas the night before Christmas..." the piece here reads, with her initials and the year, "1991", and she gifted it to Mama and Frank that year.

I'm sure they're the ones who had it framed, keeping the gift tag on the back.

Yes, I'll ask my youngest brother if he would like it.

I'm sure he will.

(smile!)

flashback: 27 november 2011

Thanks, fb, for this memory of a trip made to Augusta for Thanksgiving 13 years ago.

I'd somehow managed to convince my middle little brother to come with me to share the feast and meet our paternal cousins, who he did not know.

Afterward, Ronnie and I crossed town to see our other relatives from Mama's side.

Here's the photo of him with our maternal cousin, Sharon, who lives up there.

 

Then came all the comments on fb between cousin Penny, cousin Sharon, and me. 

Penny Walker Bos
Ronnie looks more like grandpa Lee every time I see him! Sharon doesn't ever change -- how does she do that???

Faustina Smith
You really see Grandpa in him? I see grandpa in Smitty and Tony. I see Daddy and Uncle Jimmy in Ronnie.

Penny Walker Bos
Funny how the eye of the beholder thang works, huh???

Faustina Smith
You betcha! Oh, and Sharon doesn't age... wonder how THAT works??

Penny Walker Bos
I don't know but I don't think my Oil of Olay is working anymore!!!

Sharon DuBose
Unfortunately I am way aging...I feel it every time I get up after sitting down too long...

Faustina Smith
I second THAT motion! (warning: all puns intended)

eek...

Having seen no sign of the rat since Tuesday morning, I thought it was maybe gone.

I'd even started cooking at home, instead of only eating packaged foods from the store.

Just in case, I've been turning off the heat in the kitchen when I went to bed, too, and blocked off my bedroom door so none of that heat escaped.

Plus, I've kept up with the peppermint oil refresh every night.

My house smells like a candy cane bakery.

(smile)

Last night, I decided to move the electric rat trap from the sunroom to the kitchen.

I placed it right up against the cabinet, right in front of the doorway out to the hall.

A noise in the kitchen had brought me in, while watching "Ghosts", but it quelled after I banged on the cabinet doors and barked.

Yes, barked, like the big Year of the Dog person I am.

No more noises was reassuring, but not by much.

I slept pretty well, even so, snug in my secure room.

This morning, I got up late, as the temperature dropped to the 40's last night.

As the coffee was brewing, I noticed a flashing green light on the rat trap.

I made a mental note to contact my brother and ask about it, then turned on the heater and made a cheese and egg wrap for breakfast.

Then, as was eating and watching "The Price Is Right", I heard a noise.

The crowd was cheering, so I thought it might have been a high-pitched person...

but I knew it wasn't.

I continued eating my breakfast until I was done.

Then I got dressed and went into the kitchen.

 

Yes, there was definitely a rat tail sticking out of the electric trap, just as Smitty had said there would be. 

The green light that had been flashing was off.

It must have been signaling that the creature was within.

I unlocked the front door and pulled it ajar, then I very carefully picked up the trap and set it outside on the front porch, then closed the door.

Ugh.

Now what to do?

I contacted Smitty to let him know the trap had finally done its job.

I think I was hoping he would come and deal with its contents.

Nope, that didn't happen.

So, I dealt with it, emptying the rat into the kitchen trash bag, then depositing the whole thing into the garbage can outside.

I took the trap back inside and placed it again by the cabinet.

Then I washed my hands.

Hopefully, that ordeal with a house invader is done...

but, just in case, I'll keep an ear and an eye open for the net few days.

unwanted visitor here

Ack... a rat.

Sure, I could call it a mouse, but why quibble over terms?

It had left this mess in front of the sink.

I don't know if it heard me get up earlier, or if the coming daylight had scared it.

All I see is the torn batting and the hole as it squeezed its way out.

All of this before coffee today.

I contacted my two brothers, of course.

Smitty responded.

I showed him the mess on the counter and asked if he thought if came from behind the stove.

He shone his phone light, but didn't see any evidence of a hole back there.

He brought an electric rat trap from his warehouse.

Peanut butter went in as bait.

He placed it on the floor, by the trash can.

Then he left, with the Gnome of Odd Lot in hand.

I know he really likes gnomes.

I really appreciate that he came to my aid.

Now, to clean up this mess.

everlasting, or the last?

That was the question still tugging at my post-anesthesia brain tonight as I went off to the Smiths & Kamerons Friday Fiesta.

I decided to let the evening's end make the decision for me.

If the dinner time with my brothers ended around 6:30 PM, then I would be off to the event with the 7 PM start.

However, if dinner ran a bit longer, then it would be the 7:30 PM entertainment for me.

Easy enough, n'est-ce pas?

(smile!)

I began dinner at my usual place, standing between Laura and my youngest brother.

I told them, and everyone else, about "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever".

"It would be a wonderful family outing about the reason for the season!", I said.

They seemed to be interested, so maybe they'll take Hope and her boys.

That would be very nice!

Then, after ordering the beef nachos, I moved up to Becca's empty chair, as she was off with her mom tonight.

I had intended to stay only until the servers came with our food, but, before I knew it, the nachos were in front of me, cheese bubbling hot!

 

I switched from sitting to standing, to keep that high-top chair from waking me up with sciatica on Saturday morning, as it has in the past.

So I carried on talking with Jimmy and Mark about "Conclave".

Rather, Jimmy and I talked, but Mark was definitely tuned in.

(smile!)

I do hope they'll see it, as I'd like to get their perspective, as Catholics, on the story.

Then the bills came, and the hugs came!

That was very nice, too.

The time was just after 7 PM.

Decision made for me, it was off to Jenkins Hall at Armstrong for me!

(smile!)

The Last Laugh Improv Troupe was offering fun, fun, and fun, and for free, free, free!

That was an unexpected bonus for my wallet!

The stage contained 8 chairs, as well as two pairs of stools at each side.

That foretold a pretty large number of performers!

Pam Sears came up to greet me, then she and her husband (Les) sat behind me.

Most excellent!

She said something about this being a very inclusive group of young people, but I figured that just meant the usual: color-blind, gender-blind, orientation-blind.

It also includes those who are other-abled!

 

That was not just for show, either, as Dylan O'Brien was called to take part many times.

The second sketch was called LCD and the players were Luke, C J, Deja, and  Dylan.

That acronym stood for "Location, Career, Death (cause)" and we in the audience shouted out those parameters once the players (except Luke) went back stage.

Well, all except Luke. 

Like the old kid game of "Telephone", he (Luke) was charged with miming the L, C, and D to the second player (C J, in this case) until that player understood what they were.

Then that player would mime to the third person (Deja), as the first person (Luke) lay "dead' on the floor.

Then, the third person (Deja) would mime to the fourth (Dylan) until that person "got" what the LCD was, and then collapse to the floor, "dead".

At the game's end, the dead would rise again and the troupe captain would ask the foursome if they understood what the parameters had been.

That was definitely part of the fun!

They all knew that the location had been "nail salon" - applause for them!

Only the first one knew "lunch lady" (which had been my career suggestion!), but C J knew it was someone in food service.

And they all knew that food was the cause of death, though none but Luke had guessed that the particular dish was "pizza".

Applause for all anyway!!!

(smile!)

Some of their sketches I already knew from years of watching Odd Lot: "World's Worst", "Press Conference", "Slips", "Freeze" - such fun!

I hadn't known the troupe was taking audience lines on pieces of paper or I surely would have contributed my two cents' worth!

Some of my favorite Odd Lot skits had been "Slips" seen with my ex and Amy!

In the game of "Slips" tonight, Melanie, Liana, and C J were "grave robbers" tasked with digging up some treasure while interspersing the audience's suggestions with their own.

Very funny when they realized the treasure was Michael Jackson!

(smile!)

Odd Lot did "Freeze" sometimes, but also did a variation called "Changing Channels", which still consisted of two players on stage at a time, with other players tagging in to change the direction of the unfolding dialogue.

Let me see, what else?

Oh, yes, the other skit new to me tonight: "Top That".

They played as teams, with a person from each team facing off against an opponent.

They were given a motion to do, such as waving two arms up and down, and then tasked with saying what they were doing.

They took turns until either one got flustered and stalled, or the timer went off, then the winner of that round would be determined.

That game had five rounds, plus a last-try round to see if there would be a tie.

Definitely a fun evening!

My thanks to the Universe for putting me in the right place, right time!

Now, time for bed!

After all, on Daylight Savings Time - which I still keep - it's after midnight.

My brain, and body, are requiring at least 9 hours of sleep lately, so that is what they shall most definitely have.

Listen to your bodies, y'all!

home, hopeful

Here I was this morning, dressed and ready to go home!

The i.v. had been removed from my right arm, though they still had the electrodes on.

You know, just in case.

Thankfully, they were not needed!

Avery whisked those off as soon as Smitty pulled up this morning, at 11 AM sharp!

Hooray!

No need to stop by the pharmacy for any antacid prescriptions this time.

I'd eaten every bit of my breakfast - grits, sausage, eggs, wheat toast, orange juice - with nary a quibble from my digestive tract.

Also, the pre-surgery apple had done its job and netted me a nice bowel movement, so all at the hospital were pleased with my progress.

Hooray!

Smitty has even taken care of lunch for me!

My brother started smoking a turkey this morning, trying a new technique.

About two hours after dropping me off, he was back with this feast.

Let me tell you, that turkey breast was the moistest I've ever had - delectable!!!

For dinner, I'll cook some corn on the cob to go along with it.

For slunch, I made some leftover tortellini, as that took all of two minutes.

Hooray!

And Comcast has given me something different for distraction.

Every week, there's some new channel to preview for free.

This time, it's a Native American one.

I've watched the first season (which was just 6 episodes) of "Mohawk Girls" and am about to start the second season.

It reminds me a lot of "Sex In The City", though it's set on a reservation.

Four young women trying to sort out what they want in a man, right?

Like I said, it's been a nice distraction.

I've been waiting to see if I'm going to have any pain from the cardiac ablation.

Remember last time?

Just breathing was painful!

But, this time has been different.

I had no pain during recovery, I've had no pain since then, I've had no pain here at home.

Well, I did have some at the hospital, but that was at the surgical sites in my groin where the catheters were placed for two hours during the intracardiac electrophysiology portion of the procedure on Thursday.

Thursday...

that was just yesterday, but it seems like last week.

Must be part of my post-amnesia brain talking!

It's a little off.

Speaking of, I'm off, too.

Time to watch those four girls and see what they do next.

Here we go now, as Ozzy would say

Brian was just in to brief me on what will be coming next.

I told him I was hopeful to be released after the catheter ablation procedure on my heart, but he cautioned me that I would more likely remain at St. Joseph's Hospital overnight.

For one thing, the surgery is to start at 1 PM and there is to be a mandatory four-hour bed rest afterward, period.

As the electrophysiology mapping of my nerves and arteries will most likely last two hours, that would put me out of the operating room and into recovery around 3 PM.

So, after the four hours of lying flat on my back, that runs the clock up to 7 PM.

Yeah, that probably means I will be staying here.

At least I have a piece of home with me: my soft, warm, blue socks.

I had spotted them near the front door and grabbed them to bring along.

They have tread, so I was hopeful that I'd be allowed to wear them instead of those thin, gray, hospital-issue socks.

Thankful I am that I brought them and have been allowed to wear them!

(smile!)

Thankful I am that I made sure to have a healthy last meal last night, too.

Mindful that I would not have food in my system until well after the surgery, I watched the clock after the WNS of turkey tetrazzini.

I wanted to get as close to the witching hour of cutoff as possible.

So, at 11:30 PM, I dined on Ensure High Protein, in the vanilla flavor, as well as a fiber-rich Fiji apple, cut into six slices of crunchy delight.

Truly, it really was quite satisfying!

I made sure all of it was eaten up just before midnight, too.

 

I even woke up without any hunger pains.

All I ingested were three of my usual meds: Synthroid, Ramipril, Sotalol.

I abstained from the diuretic ("Very sensible," Brian told me) and the Eliquis, partly because I usually took that much later and partly because I didn't want uncontrolled bleeding (which warranted another "Very sensible" from the nurse).

So, what did I do whilst awaiting the arrival of brother Smitty at 10 AM?

I watched a show I don't usually watch.

The morning talk series don't do much for me, but it was already well past 9:30, so the news part would be over and done.

This one, with Al Roker, promised to have Kool & The Gang, so I tuned in.

And they were true to their promise!

They had the recent Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees at the end of the show, giving us a full five-minute medley of their hits!!!

Naturally, I danced along for all of them, from "Jungle Boogie" to "Ladies' Night", from "Get Down On It" to "Hollywood Swinging", all the way to "Celebration"!

What a perfect exit line for me this morning!

(smile!)

making sure the driver can see

I've had the windshield wiper for most of a month.

Allstate had given me a 7-dollar coupon for buying $31 of car maintenance stuff.

For real!

So I bought the one new wiper - 22" for my side - and a quart of oil.

The ones in the photo above are both the same brand, same style, believe it or not.

It's just that the lower one has spent better than three years wiping water, leaves, pollen, et alia, off the glass, come rain or sun or wind.

The sun had faded the black paint to a dull gray; the blade was ragged and brittle.

Now, only the passenger side has a faded arm and tattered rubber.

Maybe I'll see about a new wiper for that side the next time I get a coupon...

maybe!

Now, off I go for the first Smiths & Kamerons Friday Fiesta in three weeks!

Later!

(smile!)

byop in the boondocks of central georgia!

That's right - time for the Jenkins' family gathering out in Ellabell!

 

As you can no doubt tell, this photograph, with me lounging between host Harry and brother Smitty, wasn't taken by me.

Hostess Robin took it!

I was so busy telling the two skeleton jokes that I didn't even know she was right there!

That's okay - turnabout is fair play!

Here she is, oblivious that I was snapping a pic of her with her older daughter, Brandi, and the twins.

Both of the six-year-olds had insisted on having the blue rubber gloves to keep their hands from touching the ooey, gooey, pumpkin innards.

For real!!!

Yes, even the boy wanted gloves!!!

We all thought it pretty funny!!!

Hahahaha! Hahaha!!

That was going on during a quiet lull about an hour before the party officially began.

Start time was 3:30 PM, but Tony wanted to be there early as he had been "volunteered" for the cooking duty this time.

Here he is later in the day, in a shot from Laura.

You know it was her who "volunteered" him!

Not that Dood minded in the least.

Grilling and smoking meats are almost second-nature to him now, as often as he does it!

 

Tasty!!!

Here's another photo that I took, when folks were gathered to get seconds, or thirds.

That's Tony, far left, then Noah and Noah's gaming buddy from Statesboro, Griffin.

Noah had stayed in Savannah after the cruise, just so he could come out to this party... and see his mostly-online friend in person!!! 

They really loved the pulled-chicken bbq that Tony and Laura brought, as well as the chili Robin made, the grilled wings from Smitty, and all the rest, too.

Betsy and Jimmy Kameron are in this shot as well, while Becca was at a table with her mom (Patti) and a friend, Abby.

So, where was Laura in all this?

 

Well, first she was helping Robin get chairs and tables out on the lawn for all the pumpkin-carvers.

 

She was also helping set up food and decorations.

 

Plus, she was visiting with her son as much as possible, as he flies back to Missouri in the morning.

 

I was quite fortunate to catch my two brothers and their wives in this single shot!

 

Tony, Smitty, Mary, and Laura, all together!

 

Yes, a good time today... with hopefully more to come with Harry and Robin.

(smile!)