are you an artist?

That's the question that Cindy Liu - not to be confused with Cindy Lou Who! - asked me.

She's the leader of HA HA HA, a group that holds art workshops for seniors, and perhaps others, too.

One of her assistants took a photo of me, then printed it while I busied myself with a blank 5x7 card, coloring it in spontaneous fashion, as I do.

That means a Spirograph-type pattern emerged, right?

So, when the young woman brought me the sticker with me on it, she expected I would place it in the center of the paper, as most folks did.

Yeah, I'm not 'most folks', am I?

(smile!)

I folded back part of the sticker, then placed it in the lower right corner.

"Me and the Scribble Flower"

I really like it, and so did they, taking my photo with it to post on their Instagram page.

I'll have to look it up!

(smile!)

That wasn't the only 'masterpiece' I created today.

I also "Pansy Through A Rainy Window" in the 'flow' watercolors workshop.

That's one of the many workshop tables that were set up on the second and third floors of the Jepson for the museum's Free Family Fun Day for the PULSE18 exhibit.

I had hoped to be joined by some of my great-nieces and great-nephews, but their absence didn't stop me from participating in the creative bits!

(smile!)

Not that I was the only adult participating, nor the only older person having art there.

This moderated chevron design was crafted by ten senior veterans, using markers, cloth, batik, and paint at the Georgia Sheriff's Office.

What an appropriate image for former military!

 

That's just one of the pieces from this season's "Making Marks" exhibit.

All are fairly large-scale, with the smallest still using six squares of cloth knotted together to form an all-encompassing design.

I missed the opening night for this exhibit in December, due to the weather as I recall.

That's why I made sure to view it on Thursday when I came early for the PULSE opener.

 

The piece that had grabbed me then was this one.

I have to admit, the bright colors may have drawn me to it, but the title kept me there.

"Aphasia Tied Together With Hope And Love" -  remarkable!

How wonderful to be able to use imagery when vocal language skills are lost, n'est-ce pas?

"Making Marks" will be on display through April 5th, so I'll have to visit it again.

(smile!)

Meanwhile, it was 3 PM and time for the event I'd specifically come for today!

Tybee Ballet Theater had created dances to correlate to the works of two of the local artists who were part of the "Certified Humans" exhibit.

 

The first dance, "The Garden", had six dancers in black, descending singly down the stairs to each side within Neises Auditorium, to join together on the stage.

Throughout their descent and dance, Michael Betancourt's piece was projected on three sides of the auditorium.

Very cool!

The second dance also featured his work, but only projected on the front wall.

"La Fee Electricite" featured only a single dancer, clad in white, with enormous, flowing, sleeves that were swirled about in time with the music.

Such very graceful dancing that was, and exactly right for The Electricity Fairy!

That's her in the lower right, with her shadow reflected on the back wall... just follow the image on the floor between the two.

Very lovely dance... and I swayed in my seat the whole time!

(smile!)

Then there's the third dance, with James Gladman's "Cosmodities" projected on the three walls of the space.

That one didn't work for me.

The TEMU-derived imagery was so dominant that the three, black-clad, dancers were fairly well invisible.

Then again, maybe that was the point?

Perhaps.

It's all about perspective.

(smile!)

PULSE me, please!

I had not realized it, but this exhibit parallels my life AD.

 

"Are you meaning to say that PULSE began that first year after divorce?" 

Exactly so. The very first one was in January of 2008. This year's art and technology celebration is PULSE18.

"How very cool for the Universe to gift you this!"

I agree. Some years I've enjoyed more than others, finding sweet spots that I completely identified with. You know, like SWARM. I still find that to be my absolute favorite, though Jim Campbell has a work I very much like. The difference is that his piece is not interactive. In fact, none of his pieces are. When the engineer first started exploring his artistic nature, he did produce works designed for the viewer to actively participate with. The thing is, he didn't like the way people interacted! Funny, right? So, after a couple of years, he changed to a different style. That seems to correspond with his brother's death from cancer. I can understand how he needed a new perspective then.

"Most definitely. Death of someone close does seem to call for change. Back to the art, please. What was the Campbell piece you liked most?"

 

It's called "Eroding Wave". The piece physically consists of 3500 white balls suspended on wires to form a huge, three-dimensional, cresting wave of water. So, that's all static, meaning the balls do not move. Got that image of water that doesn't flow? Now, overlay that with dark images that swim through the light in all directions, sometimes singly, sometimes in pairs or trios. As a scientist, I really appreciated that wave-light particle duality of the piece!

"Very cool! Were the images projected onto the light balls, like onto a screen? Or did he use variation of light intensity in the balls as the image 'swam' over them? Do you know what method was used?"

Those are good questions that I cannot answer. I'd be very impressed if he used a variable current, which I'm sure, as an engineer, he would be able to accomplish. However, I think he had the film of the swimmers running on a screen. I do know that he obtained those images by filming a group of boys in a pool. He even had them clad in long dark suits, probably like the full-length bathing suit that Lauri wore. He spoke of that in his talk tonight after the opening reception.

 

"I take it that's him on the right in the above photo?  I recognize Harry Delorme there, talking with the students."

You're correct! The group of SCAD student council members was about to enter the exhibit devoted to Campbell's works. I was already within, having chosen to view "Thresholds Of Perception" before his talk. For the most part, his works are like watching a fish tank.

"Say what? That doesn't sound like much fun."

Having had fish tanks for a number of years in my 20's, I can tell you that watching the fish is actually quite relaxing. They're always in motion, but it varies. The swordtails are small flashes of color moving quickly at the top of the tank, while the pictus catfish are slow and sinewy as they graze the bottom. All the other fish traverse the whole tank as they swim in their continuous circuits. It's almost meditative!

 

"Hey, maybe you should suggest the bfe get a freshwater tank!"

 

Actually, he has a cat, remember? Odd that you brought him up, though. I think this is definitely an exhibit he would appreciate, as both a physicist and an art lover. I hadn't even thought of inviting him to this, but I don't know that it would have been worth $20 to him. The reception and lecture were free to me, of course, as I'm a member of Telfair Museums.

 

"Well, I think you should mention PULSE to him and invite him the next time."

 

I'll keep that in mind. Now, let me tell you about the food this evening. I made sure I was there at the stroke of 5:30, and such treats they had! That's a Thai Shrimp lettuce wrap on top, with little crunchy bits of peanut for texture - totally yummy and definitely my choice as the servers made subsequent laps in the Jepson lobby. The other is pretty delightful, too, as it's marinated mushrooms on toasted baguette. I had several of those, too!

"Those do sound very tasty!"

They were! Linda of the Lucas days came downtown from Georgetown and joined me, as did one of her former SCAD colleagues, Michael. I was able to cue them in to these delights, making sure the servers knew that our table was glad to help lighten their platters! Michael enjoyed the mini BLTs best. I liked them, especially those layered, buttery, biscuits used as the base, but they sure made a mess! Then again, maybe that's just me. (smile!)

"Well, it sounds like a lovely dinner and lecture for you. I'm so glad the weather held for you to go to this!"

Me, too!

i thank You, God.

belle and the christmas tree!

Here she is, looking at the Christmas tree before its lights are lit.

"How can you tell she sees it? Her back is to the rotunda at the Telfair."

She's looking into the mirror, remember? 

"Oh, yes, that's right."

I had a very nice chat with one of the staff about "Belle of 1810" when I asked about the other Walter MacEwen painting that had hung on another wall. She told me Belle is going to travel this summer!

"Oh, I do hope it will be after my birthday!"

Me, too. Or, if not, maybe somewhere I can travel to visit her. My birthday won't be the same without a visit to her.

"I hear you! What a lot of silver and gold on that tree!"

Yes, Yukon Cornelius would love it, right? I'm sure that style of decorating is in keeping with the century-plus age of the museum.

"Wow! With the tree all lit up, those huge glittery balls just meld into the background!"

Yes, they did. So very shiny, but also regal.

"Regal... yes, that's a good word for it. And I see that Belle has more company now."

She does, and it was a bit tricky to get a pose of her with the tree. Everyone wanted their photo taken with the tree! I'm sure Axelle and Jordan did, too, but I didn't stay long after the lighting.

"You mean you missed the reception?"

I did. Axelle asked if I would be at the Cinema Savannah film tomorrow and I told her I had to decline. Friday is to be mercilessly cold, with 20's in the morning. I simply cannot be out in that, as I found out last night, when I was walking back to my car.

"Yes, I noticed the heart having bit of trouble with breathing in that near-freezing air. And the sinuses were bloody this morning. However, you still came home with treats, I see."

I did! They had treats for the kids, as well as ornament-making crafts. I made sure to grab a jingle-bell necklace for me and wore it the whole time I was there!

"Are those peppermint Tootsie Pops???"

They are, and they are delicious! I don't usually go for suckers, but those have me hooked. I'll have to see if I can find them.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good time! And even ran into friends!"

I am, too! What a lovely night!

rockwell reception!

I know, that sounds like a party for the Flintstones!

Didn't Fred's boss have that surname?

Hahahaha!

Wrong Rockwell!

This little gathering was at the Jepson.

It seems like forever since I was at one of these!

Such classy little hors-d’œuvre we had, too!

That's butterbean hummus flatbread topped with ginger shrimp in the foreground.

The ball is mushroom risotto drizzled in butterscotch - that was definitely dessert!

Plus, there were mini-tacos of mojo pork - yum!

My thanks to the Wildflower Cafe for the catered affair... such a delicious tapas dinner!

Thanks to Vicki, too, as my dining companion there.

She volunteers at the SKIO aquarium!

(smile!)

That little feast, with me savoring at least three rounds of each nosh, served me well for the discussion ahead!

The museum has a new exhibit, "Norman Rockwell And Peers: Illustrating Childhood", with an informal Q&A between Erin at the Jepson and Judy Goffman Cutler, the woman who first drew interest to the original artwork done by illustrators of the first half of the 20th century.

Of those, Norman Rockwell is certainly the one I know best, remembering his covers on various magazines from my youth, as well as reprinted on calendars I've owned over the years.

That's Judy on the right, in pink, and she was so very informative about the history of Rockwell and other American Illustrators.

I guess so: she runs a museum in Rhode Island about what is left of their art.

Of the hundreds of magazine covers that Rockwell's art adorned, very few of his original paintings exist.

Those paintings were essentially regarded as drafts by the printing industry, and, once the image was set for the issue to be printed, there was no need to keep the painting.

Can you imagine???

However, that's the way it was.

Illustrators were not regarded as artists back then.

The only paintings that survived were ones that Rockwell, or other illustrators, kept for themselves or gave to friends.

Mind-boggling, isn't it?

I very much look forward to perusing the 20 canvases of his - as well as those of Maxfield Parrish, J.C. Leyendecker, Ethel Franklin Betts, Jessie Willcox Smith, and N.C. Wyeth - on some other occasion, but I needed to rescue my car.

See, I had parked in a space that I knew wasn't valid, but I did it anyway.

I figured that if I got a ticket, I'd let that be my "local citizen" freebie from Savannah Parking Services for the year.

But guess what?

No ticket!

i thank You, God!

(smile!)

Now, I'm going to enjoy a free musical!

Comcast has rewarded me with my monthly $1 Movie Night, which I'm spending on 2007's "Enchanted", with the fabulous singing of Amy Adams and James Marsden!

Seriously, who knew he could sing as well as play Sonic's adoptive dad?

(smile!)

how to party like a local in Orlando, una vez mas!

Thursday

Off northward again, as we had been on Monday!

 

This time, we were headed to the Orlando Museum of Art, following a red-brick road!

 

No need for tickets, either, as we happened to be in town for the free monthly "Art For All" day, like the Jepson has.

 

That meant the two little blondes could make art!

 

Christina even took part in the mosaic workshop led by Cherie Bosela - very nice!

 

Not I, though.

 

I took advantage of their hands-on art time for an adventure of my own: exploring new exhibits!

 

Before I reached any, this lovely 20-yearr-old piece from Dave Chihuly bade me pause in its "Citron and Cobalt Tower" glory...

wow.

 

Even the shadow cast by it was photo-worthy!

The "Florida Prize In Contemporary Art" exhibit lay straight ahead in Galleries D through H.

 

This giant tiger on canvas occupied an entire room!

 

Hai Vin used twenty gallons of paint - wow - to create the beast in the style of pointillism, so he must be amazingly patient.

 

And that large boulder on the tail of the piece?

 

That's to keep it "pulled from sky to earth" - wow.

Impressive as those were, they were dwarfed by this massive one from Sheila Goloborotko!

 

I kept the stranger in the photo to emphasize the sheer size of "Now Our Minds Are One" - wow.

 

Like "katniss", this was constructed of shapes cut from colored plastic and strung as mobile art.

 

Unlike that favorite piece, this one was a celebration of animals and plants and included some human creations, too, with silvery sperm swimming on the white platform.

 

I was fascinated by the light play, in the air, on the walls, stretching out along the floor.

 

I must have spent at least twenty minutes there.

And when I ventured away, I discovered that the artist was talented in other styles, with other materials!

 

Everything - and I do mean everything - in this area of the gallery belonged to her, from that gorgeous mobile construction of plastic and wire to the crafted metal objects and daguerreotypes on these blocks and the walls.

Those other pieces were part of her "me/you" exhibit inspired by her struggles with her then-16-year-old daughter.

Time to see some other artists!

 

Hahahaha!

 

After an hour, my two little blondes had completed their compositions and were ready to join back up with me!

 

I had them pose with their creations - don't they look like budding artists?

 

Chloe wanted her mosaic to be part of a bracelet, hence the ribbon she's holding.

 

Miyah has more experience with design.

I get to enjoy one of her earlier artworks with my morning coffee from time to time.

How about perking up their enthusiasm for art with a visit to another gigantic piece?

 

I very much enjoyed this colorful wigwam!

 

Constructed of huge blocks of fabric, there was even a sign that bade visitors to come on inside - so we did!

 

And see the message there in the center?

 

"Kuna Matata", no doubt a reference to the song from "The Lion King"!

 

Njeri, the student artist from a Swahili-speaking country in Africa who designed the structure, probably grew up with that movie from 1994!

Wondering where my first niece was?

 

She was enjoying the art, too!

 

I don't know what it was about that painting that urged her to take a photo of it, as I was busy with the Chlo.

 

I do know she's posted it on fb from our visit today.

 

Very cool!

And her she is again, this time with both girls.

 

This display would have been right at home at the Jepson during its annual PULSE technology exhibit!

 

We watched all of the 8-minute, 9-second video as Kate Gilmore created "Blood From A Stone", moving heavy squares full of white paint onto those white shelves on the wall.

That's art which would be different every time she crafted it!

I had kept up a running patter throughout the video and was pleased that the girls watched so intently.

Of course they did!

It was a TV screen!!!

LOL! Okay, time for some lunch!

Off to Cici's on 192, back in our neck of the woods!

Why there and not somewhere else?

I'd gone to GOVX and purchased an "Eat and Play Orlando" card to get discounts - like the locals! - on various restaurants and fun activities, like this place right here!

 

It's the Bonanza Gold Rush mini-golf!!!

 

Our card granted us a 30% discount on our tickets, so that was a sweet deal, especially right there by the pizza joint.

 

Here, the two little blondes were waiting for Christina's ball to emerge from under the bridge on the Gold Nugget course.

See the ball, there on the right?

 

She knocked it into the hole with the next stroke.

 

Miyah and Chloe had never played mini-golf before, and they struggled with trying to hold the putter the way we showed them.

 

They were still pretty good at making it into the holes in five strokes or less!

 

New vacation with a new experience!

 

Note to self: This was not a game to be played in the midday heat.

 

They're off to the pool at Orbit One now.

 

Me?

 

I'm just "chillin' like a villain" after four cups of water.

 

Hey, the physicist will get that joke.

 

(smile!)

sharing a joke with the jepson!

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

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

We are younger by far in comparison! Haha!"

That's especially true down at the Telfair.

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

but I still love looking at them...

especially 'Hermes, Belvedere' with his sweet tush.

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

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

"That sounds very pleasant, almost meditative."

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

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

Might she see the first fine lines of smiles past?

Are their slight laughter crinkles by her eyes?

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

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

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

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

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

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

There were boys in the belfry!

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

(smile!)

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

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

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

And which piece had captured my interest?

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

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

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

1953... for real?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sherry glasses, wine goblets, glass coasters...

ashtrays, candy dishes, serving bowls...

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

every piece 101 years older than me.

Yes, those breakable bits were new in 1857.

My bits were all new 101 years later.

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

Hahahaha!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hardly anyone was at the museums on a Wednesday.

(smile!)

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

Just perfect!

(smile!)

And who do we have in these last two photos?

We have jokes for museum-goers like me!

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

That upper one has two unlikely fellows sharing a cubicle!

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

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

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

Hahahaha!!!

Thanks for the laughs, y'all!

(smile!)

traveling on frank's nexus

I do wish I had spent more time with Frank Stewart's exhibit while he was here for the Savannah Music Festival.

I kept thinking I'd "get a round TUIT"... so I never did.

I tried once, planning on having three blondes with me, but that plan failed.

I kept thinking the exploration of the decades of his work would be part of my annual birthday trip to the Jepson museum.

Nope!

It's leaving town on Sunday.

That's why I devoted this afternoon to taking in as much of it as I could.

 

This is when his long-standing fascination with photography first began, the origin of his time-traveling nexus.

The year was 1963 and he was 14 years old.

His mom had brought him for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, giving him her camera to capture the moment.

Here is one of his thoughts as a teenager.

"It was interesting to me that it seemed as many white people as Black people were there."

I found it interesting that he capitalized "black" but did not do the same for "white".

I also found this configuration of his original 9 photos very interesting, and wondered why it had been chosen and whether he had been the one who had that final say.

Interesting.

This was one of the first photos that really grabbed me.

Titled "Yokohama 2004", the blurb posted by the shot said he took the shot "to capture the repeating arcs".

So, what about it spoke to me?

At that spot on his nexus I flashed back to a moment in 2017, jumping straight from the present time and from my location at the museum.

That's when I took this snap.

Mi amiga Sandy and I had arrived at Myrtle Beach for our New Year's vacation, to find the highs in the 50's.

Nonetheless, we'd taken a walk along the boardwalk.

That's when I spotted these diverse geometric shapes and captured them on (digital) film and on my memory.

Nice time travel trip!

Back in the present again, I concentrated on continuing my journey to other images he had captured.

This was the next that stopped me. 

Why on Earth had he taken a photo of a dumpster and a target practice sheet and that white gate left ajar???

It was absolutely -because- of all the disparate items that he had paused in 2020 to snap it.

Very nice!

And, justthatfast, without clicking my heels or even snapping my fingers, I was sent back in time again. 

I don't recall the exact year, but it was between 2008 and 2010, with this new/old addition to my sunroom.

My BFF and her family had been down from the ATL.

I'd just had four windows replaced in the house, with the old ones left out in the back yard, waiting to be hauled off.

Sandra Lynn asked if she could have them, as she had a friend who refurbished them into art.

This is the one she brought back on a later visit, the one she and her daughter had made for me.

That piece of paper in the upper right is the note she had included for me.

As Frank had said of his image, "the only thing linking these items together is the frame".

Most def - although mine has loving memories as well for all its contents!

And like a rubber band snapping back in place, I was again in the Jepson.

What else might he have that would bring me a memory for my nexus to align with his?

Indeed, what else besides this limned image of a blind pianist whose music I have enjoyed at several SMFs of the past?

Specifically, I recall seeing Marcus Roberts in 2019.

The first time was April 1, during practice, when I was tending their "green room", and gave him my protein bar, to keep up his energy.

The second time had been four days later, at the performance of a piece he had composed... and the inclusion of whistling just for me!

Ah, such good memories!

Thanks, Frank Stewart, for mirroring my life!

#FrankStewartPhotoChallenge

plans changed for the better!

We were supposed to be meeting up at the Jepson museum, for Free Family Day and spending time with Frank Stewart's Nexus photography exhibit.

Nope!

The day was gorgeous, nice and warm with a little breeze, and a bit of an overcast to block the sun's heat, if not its UV rays.

That meant EVERYONE had the same idea, and those who had found parking were now walking out in front of cars trying to find parking, as well as bicyclists darting in and around.

I called my first niece, suggesting we head for Forsyth Park instead, go ahead and take in the SCAD Annual Sidewalk Chalk Festival.

So, that's what we did, hoping the South of Gaston Street area would be better than the NOGS had been.

Nope!

The day was gorgeous, nice and warm with a little breeze, and a bit of an overcast to block the sun's heat, if not its UV rays.

That meant EVERYONE had the same idea, and those who had found parking were now walking out in front of cars trying to find parking, as well as bicyclists darting in and around.

Sound familiar?

I called my first niece again, after hunting in vain for a place to put my car, asking if she'd found a spot yet.

Nope!

Off to Daffin Park we headed, to the swing sets and slides and such, sure that we'd be able to swing right on in and park.

Nope!

A Family Fun Day was in progress, with food trucks and police cars taking up all the spaces inside the park, leaving us the offside lot for Grayson Stadium.

Fine, that would be fine.

And it was!

That's Chloe and Miyah right there, having fun and getting their ya-yas out, just as the Rolling Stones would have advised!

Very nice!

We went to the Park's play area first, but the two little blondes said it was "for babies".

LOL!

They had espied the playground near the park office and wanted to go there, so there we went, and there we stayed for at least thirty minutes, with Christina showing off her "Ohana" tattoo bracelet and the girls chasing each other around.

Very nice!

Suddenly it was heading toward 5 PM and was way past lunch time.

Off to Carey Hilliard's on Skidaway for slunch and bathrooms!

Ah, much better, and we had a nice leisurely meal, sand electronic toys and gadgets, with our new waitress trying to keep up.

How new was she?

She didn't even know where the silverware was!

Hahahaha!

I know, that sounds like a joke, but it's absolutely true!

They went off to buy a gift for a birthday party they had after their time with Aunt Tina... but it wasn't long before they pulled up at my house! 

Bathroom break, and a run around the spiral at the base of the Japanese magnolia, and playing with a slug and a roly-poly, too!

Chloe found the critters, of course.

That girl has eagle eyes for anything on the ground, moving or not!

I wonder if we would be so enchanted with roly-polies if we used their real name?

Like, ew, a woodlouse...

Hahahaha!