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!

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!)

flashback: 14 september 2014

Once upon a time... 

 

This tale is from a decade ago, but it began a few years earlier.

That was 2011, after my stepdad died and I inherited a share of what was left of Mama's estate, eleven years after her death.

I became Fliss of Kickstarter, helping dreams come true!

One of those I helped was a musician, David Lareau.

His dream was to get his CD, "Hugs From Distant Neighbors", produced, and that became reality in 2012.

As he was a Tallahassee native, I had a dream of my own: to go hear him and his band, The Copperpots, play.

 

The stars aligned in 2014!

 

The 319 Wine & Cheese Shoppe was hosting him for their Friday 'happy hour', so south I went!

I even had company for the drive: Jeff Secrest came along to meet my cousin and hear some music!

 

Here's the caption on fb for this photo: "Just David, no Copperpots this time - very nice acoustic set and then he came over and had a beer and talked with us for a while. Woohoo!!!"

I even had him sign the CD.

(smile!)

We spent the night with my blue-sky Penny and her hubby, Steve, there in Tall'ee.

The next day, we ate cold-cut sandwiches and had lemon cake for dessert.

We visited with Aunt Linda, too, who came over to coach Jacob and Alex in math.

Then, at some point, we returned to Savannah.

Those are all the details I have from that fb post.

Glad I took photos!

(smile!)

flashback: 15 august 2010

There were auditions in Columbia, SC, for "The Biggest Loser", a television show.

My first niece had won a VIP Pass to be part of the event.

I don't recall how she had done so.

The point is, she had invited me to be her Plus-1 for the trip and I'd gladly accepted.

A chance to travel with her?

Of course I said yes!

Here she is, putting on lipstick.

Isn't she so pretty?

I really believe she was too pretty.

I'd seen a few episodes of the show and she was, by far, much prettier than anyone I'd ever seen on it.

Perhaps they concurred.

All I know is, she did not get chosen.

Their loss!

Our gain was a weekend out of town.

We both enjoy "waking up somewhere else" every so often.

(smile!)

How could we have known it was to be such an auspicious Sunday?

We were having breakfast at the Chick-Fil-A in the hotel before heading back to Savannah.

Then, suddenly, there was a horse...

and a man holding an umbrella...

and a wedding party!

What a special treat for us!

Right place, right time.

The preliminaries of the Indian wedding slowly unfolded before our eyes, with the young groom mounting the white horse before galloping off to meet his fair maiden...

well, maybe not quite like that.

(smile!)

They traveled at a slow walk.

Nonetheless, it was quite a marvel to behold as the brightly-clad party headed down the street in downtown Columbia toward a bride awaiting her future husband.

So romantic!

We watched until they were out of sight, enjoying this unexpected rainbow under a clear sky.

 

i thank You, God.

back to home, in Hinesville and in Savannah

This was my view for most of the ride.

It's pretty cool, isn't it?

This bumblebee decal is rather like the cubist mirror once part of the Jepson museum.

She'd put it on the windshield to entertain the girls, but that likely hadn't engaged their attention for long.

How could it possible compete with lit phone screens?

Fortunately, I lack that addiction.

Oh, yes, and I am easily entertained.

(smile!)

Between sing-alongs with the music on various channels of Siri, with various accompanists, and chatting with my first niece, we were out of Florida fairly quickly, it seemed.

That above photo was taken at 2:02 PM, shortly after crossing the Georgia state line.

I know: we should have been almost to her place.

Hey, not with two little girls on the ride!

Our pitstop at MacDonald's had taken over an hour.

Still, we arrived just in time for the low country boil awaiting us at Michael's house - hooray!

(smile!)

That gave me a chance to talk with Melinda and Matt!

True, it hasn't been that long since I saw them, but I always enjoy their company.

I didn't get to spend much time with the twins, but I did get to have a visit with Michael!

Even better, I talked him into taking that exerbike off my hands... and out of the back seat of my car!

The security guard at the church auction had placed it there for me, but I couldn't handle it by myself.

Now, either he'll use it or he'll sell it during their upcoming yard sale - either way, I'm done with it.

Hooray!

Now, to try to restore my peace lily.

Poor, thirsty, plant...

highlight for two little blondes: the pools!

Friday and Saturday

I truly do wonder if the girls would have been just as happy to hang out by the pools every day rather than go off to do things.

 

Truly.

 

Friday began with them off to the pool with Christina.

 

Yep, first thing in the morning, and they stayed for two hours.

 

TWO HOURS!!!

 

For lunch, we dined at Olive Garden.

 

And guess what we did upon our return to Orbit One?

We all four of us got into our swimsuits and headed out to the "quiet and peaceful pool", as Miyah dubbed it.

 

Yes, me, too.

 

Unfortunately, that was not meant to be.

 

The pools had to be cleaned after some earlier kids mistook them for the bathrooms...

so, we waited for them to re-open.

 

The very moment they did, we headed to the "big and noisy" pool, as I dubbed it.

 

Chloe and Miyah just loved the two slides there!

 

Not I, nor was I fond of being in a packed pool with a bunch of strangers, right?

So, in deference to me, we returned to the smaller pool for our last day's swim.

 

Well, they swam, not me.

I danced to the music of my youth coming out of the surrounding speakers!

And, yes, they all swam, including Chloe, first with her water wings, then without.

Miyah was very helpful at teaching her sister!

I was quite proud of both of them!

(smile!)

After nearly two hours of the girls trying their very best to transform into mermaids, we were done.

 

Time for showers!

Time for hair to be washed free of chlorine!

Time for one last load of laundry!

Lunch break!

 

Surprisingly, the girls had dressed in matching tops - how very Dr. Seussian of them!!!

 

Then Thing 1 and Thing 2 had a ticklefest with Mom!

 

Hahahaha!!

 

Time for Mom to have some quiet time.

"Let's go play golf!", they asked me.

 

Sure, we can do that!

 

So we walked up to the office and signed out the two putters and balls and off we went!

 

Yeah, that was good for about 15 minutes.

 

"It's hot. Let's go back in," they said.

 

Nope!

 

I told them we were going to play outside for the same amount of time that we had been out for the pool.

By gosh, by golly, so we were!

They played on the two hammocks, something Chloe especially enjoyed.

 

They slid and climbed on the playground set.

 

One of Miyah's vacation pals came out and she played mini-golf with her for a while as I chatted with her mom and Chloe tried to play with the brother.

 

We ate the popcorn we'd gotten at the office and went to the ice machine at the small pool.

 

Then outside time was up, time to go in at last...

ah, but first we had to return the golf stuff.

 

(smile!)

 

Dinner was leftovers from the fridge.

Christina even created something new: garlic bread pizza, using the sketti sauce from last night and the shredded cheese from the Taco Salad the night before.

Magnificent!

Plus, we had to finish off the ice cream, too!

None of that would make the trip home, right?

 

(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!)

how to party like a local in Orlando, again!

Wednesday

There we were, traipsing around outside in dresses, all four of us.

 

That's right, I wore a dress, too!

 

After all, it was a special time there at Harry P. Leu Gardens: the Summer of the Fairies.

 

Oh, yes, I remember a similar jaunt with the littlest girl, once upon a time!

 

Was that really five years ago when she was only a Toodles toddler???

And here I am again, in search of fairy folk and such, with that littlest girl as well as the younger sister, and their forever mom.

 

Actually, we were looking high and low for the twenty Fairy Doors which were scattered throughout the grounds.

 

Miyah is flashing a peace sign by Door # 3, as that belongs to Jasper, a fairy with light brown hair like hers!

 

He's a lover of animals, too, just like her!

Surprised that there were male fairies?

 

Don't be - half the doors belonged to builders, gardeners, beekeepers, treasure guards, and others, all male!

 

But the fairy at Door # 9 that Chloe identified with was not only female, but was a princess named Shaylee, with blonde hair and blue eyes - just like her!

 

We never did find the door of the dance fairy, Annalise, which certainly would have been my favorite.

Our map for the Fairy Doors exhibit said she even twirls while she flies!

 

What a sight that must be in the air!

 

So, my favorite would be the Dragon Door, where Ryu keeps watch over the nearby nest of Dragon eggs.

 

His door is the dark spot on the leftmost tree and the nest is in the tree Miyah is pointing to.

All in all, we found twelve of the wee doors in the two hours we were there.

 

Pretty good map-reading skills, Christina Ann!

 

And what did that adventure cost us?

 

Absolutely nothing!

 

Leu Gardens is part of the Museums For All network, meaning we all got in free thanks to the SNAP program, saving us fifty dollars.

 

I'm glad I did some homework before the trip, or I would have missed this Delicious Monster plant!

 

I haven't seen those since I left Panama!

We dined on the grounds with our picnic lunch, then headed south to Disney Springs.

No, not a water park - it's the free site with restaurants and stores and much to see.

We were there for the AMC Summer Camp, to watch "Sing 2" for a song!

Well, not really a song, but only $3 each, with my ticket comped as an A*List entry.

Plus, I had a coupon for $5 cameo popcorn and drink combos for each of us.

What a deal!

They all had fun posing at the various movie pop-ups after our screening was done.

Hahahaha!

Then we did a bit of exploring next door at the M&M's store, while I gallantly tried to teach the girls about window-shopping.

 

Silly me... they really didn't understand that concept at all!

I grew up with it, which no doubt accounts for my lack of interest in browsing around in stores looking at sales.

The grocery store is pretty much the only place I do that, when I'm not pulling a guerilla operation on it.

You know: go in, get what I came for, and get the heck out!

(smile!)

They've all gone to the pool, so I'm taking a breather.

Christina is making "taco salad" for dinner, so I'll be looking forward to her interpretation of that Mexican dish.

Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the quiet... and looking forward to an early bedtime!

(smile!)

how to party with locals in Kissimmee!

Tuesday

I don't really know that we can call the transplanted Pennsylvanians "locals", but they've been living down in Florida for the last four years, after having a home on Tybee for over fifteen years before that, so... I say they're "locals" now!

 

I had not seen the Englers but once since their move, so I'd contacted Lynn last week to see if she and her daughter would be up for a visit.

 

Bring it on, she'd said!

 

She's 77 now and she found an instant new friend in Chloe - LOL!

Lauri was still working when we arrived, so we all splashed about in the pool until she was done.

 

Did I say "pool"?

 

Indeed, I did, and it was on a lovely lanai that had been been one reason they bought this house.

 

Screened-in, on all sides and the top, so no gnats or mosquitoes could wander in from the marsh!

 

When Lauri graced us with her presence, she did it in true movie star style, wearing a full-length, UV-proof, bathing suit - wowzah!!!

 

She's uber-pale, like the Chlo, so that was perfect!

And what was she doing in the above photo?

 

Making pizza dough, from scratch, no less.

 

Perfect for our pool and pizza party!!!

 

Here, she's sliding the first pizza - the one for the kids - into another reason they bought this house: a pizza oven installed by the previous owner.

 

Hey, his business was pizza, so of course he had installed this beauty!

 

There was also a very nice grill, which was Lynn's to work culinary magic upon.

 

Very nice!

Once both pies were done, it was dinner time!

 

That was out on the lanai, too, as the rain had held off, allowing us to dine on the fire table - yes, a third reason this had been the house for them!

 

Chloe and Miyah enjoyed the cheese pizza that Lauri made especially for them... and we grown-ups totally enjoyed the pepperoni-mushroom-veg treat... and then there were brownies!!!

 

Absolutely wonderful!

Then, the girls went off to play around the pool, giving us time to talk and catch up - hooray!

 

Seriously, all it seems to take to make the two little blondes happy is a swimming pool, right?

 

Here, they're pretending to fish with the pool noodles attached to cat toys on little poles, and they did that for about an hour.

 

They followed that with an imaginary story line as they circled the pool and explored the view. 

That gave us time to laugh and share stories - like of the coworker that confused "incompetent" with "incontinent" when complaining to Lauri about a fax machine, leading Lauri to seemingly commiserate when she said, "Yeah, that's a pisser."

Hahahaha! Hahaha!!

 

And before we knew it, the sun had set!

 

And before we knew it, it was 10 PM!!!

 

We stayed for the nightly ritual with Sancho and Sahili, as Lynn made treats for the medicines for the two 14-year-old felines.

Very cool parting show, y'all!!! 

Many thanks!!!