have a howly wolfenoot!

Unfamiliar with Wolfenoot?
Then perhaps this site will be of service!
The celebration of "people who are kind to dogs" is not yet two months old, but has already become a sensation around the world... and in Pooler, naturally, at the home of the squirrel mistress, Christa.
(smile)
She's recently become a dog owner, by the way.
Her old-lady cat passed away this year.

Now, a pint-sized bundle of fur named Widget
calls her house his home.
He's only about half the cat's size, so he's
very, very tiny -
and adorable, in an Einstein's-hair way.
(smile)
So, for his grand debut, i.e., to show him off,
Christa threw this party!
One of the 'requirements' for the celebration

of Wolfenoot is a "cake in the shape of a moon" -
looks like she nailed that one!
She even had a little howling wolf as cake topper!
Then there was a ring of bacon strips as decor,
mostly because everyone who loves dogs knows that
dogs love bacon!
"Roasted meats" was another 'requirement' and she
had cooked several bits of those, all in treat size
and with different seasonings - yum!

Lynn and Lauri brought pigs in blankets, but with a
twist - they looked like little piggies!
It was actually pancake batter molds that I'll have
to tell my nieces about - such fun for tailgates!
We had other goodies, too, that I know my dog
would have approved, so we can count this first
outing to honor The Great Wolf - and perhaps her daughter, too - a howling success!

We're all going home with 'doggy bags', too!
Apparently, gifts for those kind to dogs is also
a 'requirement', so Christa had "hidden" bags with
candy and 'fortunes' around for use to find!
My first bag had this: "TRANSFORMATION:
Positive time in your life. Undergoing change for the better. Experiences are transforming you. You will view challenges more positively . Success to follow. Rebirth. Balance. Psychic talents discovered."

How did it know about the telepathy between me and my cousin Bev or between me and the bfe? In each case, I'd been thinking about contacting them (her about Thanksgiving and him about his birthday) and within seconds they had texted me!
Amazingly on point for me!
Plus, I really like that the image reminded me of one of my favorite movies, "Ladyhawke". In the movie about two lovers, she is a hawk by day and woman at night, while he is a man by day and a wolf at night. They only have two fleeting moments together each day, at dawn and at sunset, until a little Mouse helps them break the curse. How interesting that this is the second time that movie has come to mind this year!

My second bag of treats, found peeking from behind
a photo frame, had a timely message for me, too!
"WALKING AWAY: Walking away from a difficult situation. Even though you are starting over,
be patient. Your actions will be rewarded.
Happiness to come."
That seems to be in keeping with the first message, doesn't it? Change is coming, success will follow -
sure sounds like it to me.

And I very much like that last line.
"Happiness to come."
As this Year of The Dog starts winding down, how fortunate it seems to be to have this Wolfenoot celebration newly created in it.
I'll have to mark my calendar for November 23rd - it official date - next year.
Maybe the party will be at my house then!
Now, though, the movie is about to start.
She's selected a 1992 film, "Sleepwalkers", based on a Stephen King tale.
I'm sure it will be bad enough to be PFS-worthy, so let me get ready for it.
'Bye!

game time!

As I mentioned earlier, I had a cook-out in Hinesville today -
and what a feast we had!
Hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken breasts, steak - and all scrumptious!
Thanks, Christian, for breaking out the grill!
I made macaroni and cheese and there was none for me to bring home. Everyone loved it! Little did they know it was made with LactAid milk, fat-free cheese, and no oil or fat!
(smile)

The kids had been set up in the formal dining room, while the rest of us were in the kitchen nook.
Miyah had started out sitting over there with us, but when she saw she was being excluded from being with the other kids, she pitched a fit!
I was the one who moved her high chair over ...
calming her down at once ...
so I guess I speak her language.
(smile)

After we'd all finished eating - I had three chicken breasts! - I played outside with all of the children.
Then, someone said something about it being dessert time and we all surged back indoors!
Karin, Christian's mom, had made her Black Forest Cake, at Christina's request -
wow! That was sooooo tasty! And quite rich, too!
But we sure had a bit of quiet time for a while.
It's hard to talk with a mouth full of cake!

And you know those little puzzles I had brought
for the twins and Junior?
Well, none of them knew what to do with them.
We decided to try out some of the boy's games,
but most of them were for kids a little older
than any of the girls were.
That worked out just fine, though.
The game time slowed them down enough that
bed-time sounded like a good idea to them.
(smile)

i thank You, God, for this fun day with family!

breakfast experiment

First consider this. I've been taking care to have 'good choices' as foods at home, knowing that I ate a lot of special Thanksgiving foods yesterday, and that I have a cookout in Hinesville this afternoon.
In other words, I've been loading up on lean meats and vegetables for my meals in.
(smile)
Next, consider that Food Lion had a special sale on apples. They were "buy two bags for $5", so I purchased two different kinds, in case I liked one better. After all, Why have two bags of fruit to go bad because I didn't like them?
(smile)
As a third point to be considered, I offer this story. Last night, after my return from my brother's family gathering, I had a nearly two-hour phone call with Paul out in California. Actually, Cathy had called while they were returning from her mom's Thanksgiving merriment. She sounded surprised to actually catch me in!
(smile)
Anyway, she kept me on the line until they got home, then Paul took over on their end.
I think he wanted to be debriefed on his fire-related rescue efforts. That's been quite harsh, especially for someone who is a chemist and knows what temperatures are involved when aluminum (in cars, for instance) melts and flows out of a fire-gutted vehicle.
He will be going out again on Saturday, on another SARS mission.
Maybe I should plan to call him next week and check in...
Not that we spent the entire time on that topic.
Apparently, they didn't know - or didn't recall - that I am now 'retired'. So, he and I talked at some length about how that came to be and how I was doing and what my plans were toward any future teaching and the betrayal by Jordan at Savannah Tech and options as a tutor.
(smile)
We also discussed my recent SERMACS adventure and the fun I had in Augusta!
I think all of that science nerd talk was still rolling around in my head. That's the only rationale I can propose for my looking at the two bags of different apples on my cool kitchen floors and thinking a taste test was in order.
Not the first time I've done such, right?
Heck, it isn't even the second time!
(smile)
So, a taste test was held!
That's a McIntosh apple on the left and a Rome apple on the right.
Both are red apples with pale flesh inside.
However, the Rome apples have small light-colored spots adorning the red peel, but the other does not.
The Rome apple slice produces a crisp sound when bitten, as its inner meat is dense and quite firm.
The McIntosh, though, lacks the crunch, with its softer, creamier insides easily yielding to teeth.
However, that particular apple has a tartness to its taste that the other does not have.
I think perhaps more testing is in order...
but not now.
Now, I need to head off to Hinesville with the macaroni and cheese I made, per Christina's request.
(smile)
I also have puzzles for Leila, Alyssa, and Junior ("Cars", "Mickey Mouse", and "Spiderman")!
Little Miyah will receive the Supergirl squeeze toy to fly around!
Later!

brussels sprouts, really?

Really! That's what I took to Smitty and Mary's for the Thanksgiving gathering!
I had told him on Monday, when we did the sales tax report, that I'd bring those.
He didn't seem too enthralled at the thought.
I guess he was still thinking of them as 'monkey balls', what we called them as kids.
(smile)
After assuring him that I would be roasting them and he would like them, I decided to try to add in some other bright vegetables, to make it colorful and inviting.
Beets, I had thought, beets and carrots, those would be colorful!
Plus, I knew he liked beets.
I remembered that he asked for them for his birthday dinner many years ago.
When we were kids, you see, Mama would allow us to request a particular meal or item.
Beets were the vegetable he wanted.
Ack.
I never cared for them.
In fact, outside of one instance about nine years ago, when I'd eaten pickled beets, I had not eaten beets since I was kid. Mama had always told us to take some of whatever veggie was served. "Try some," she'd say, "you might find you like it."
Then, back when I was dating Harry of Charleston, he was cooking dinner one night and said he was making brussels sprouts.
That became one of my new favorites in the vegetable world!
Another time, he included pickled beets with dinner at his place.
Those weren't particularly appreciated by my taste buds, but they were edible.
(smile)
Remembering those experiences, then, encouraged me into today's foray.
I bought the raw beets - "from out of the ground" as Carolyn said - on Monday. I'd had to ask the produce clerk to help me find them.
(smile!)
There were four in the cluster, with bright purplish-red stems, full of large purplish-red-veined leaves, towering above each beet. Quite pretty!

My "40th Anniversary Edition Betty Crocker's Cookbook" - a gift from Mama for my 1992 wedding - was reassuring. The beets I had bought were prime for cooking and eating! All that was needed was to cut off the greenery, leaving only one inch of the stem above each beet. Then, to wash them thoroughly to remove any loose dirt, wrap in aluminum foil, then pop into 400 °F oven for an hour and walk away.
That's them above, nestled on the same pan as the butternut squash for my breakfast.
(smile)

So I had returned at that time to remove them, hoping for the best.
Ah, but I still had to peel the beets and remove the stem!
And so I did, dyeing my hands red in the process.
Then, I sliced the four beets into quarter-inch disks and popped them back into the over to stay warm.
Quite lovely they were!

Quite lovely they were beside the Brussels sprouts, too!
Mary had placed the dish right at the head of the food line - what an honor!
I think everyone had a slice of beets, except maybe Kobe.
And, as it turned out, Tyler and Zach are big lovers of roasted Brussels sprouts and very much approved of the lemon pepper seasoning on them. In fact all of the sprouts were eaten and I had none to bring home.
As for the beets, at day's end, three slices remained... and I gave them to Smitty.
(smile)
i thank You, God, for family and this time together...
and this opportunity to show my brother my love for him.

happy 45th, bfe!

When I gave this pair of lovelies to the physicist this afternoon, I'd told him I'd had them since May.
Later, I had to correct that statement; the cat grocery bag was purchased at that time for him.
These were bought in August, when I'd been in Florida for "MOAS at Night".
(smile)
I'm sure he would have appreciated them that much more if he'd known of the rabbit.
Inside joke, y'all!
When I'd bought them, it wasn't just that they were cats that attracted me.
It was also the fact that they had been carved of soapstone.
While I was in Panama, I'd bought a fairly large turtle and a fish, both carved from that substance, with intricate designs and lovely marbled tones of buttery taupes and creams. As heavy as they were, they were also quite fragile and did not fare well when dropped. Hence, I no longer have them.
I've kept his cats safely atop my entertainment center, awaiting his birthday.
When I gave them to him, they were wrapped in styrofoam and inside a styrofoam cube.
As I told him, you can't be too careful with soapstone.
(smile)
Maybe I should have mentioned that the material's old name is magnesiocummingtonite.
Seriously... say it aloud for maximum enjoyment!
(smile!)
I'm so glad we had such a wonderful time today at our four-hour lunch!
And where were we?
At The Diner, of all places!
And what did we do there?
We had breakfast, naturally!
And we talked, talked talked!
We talked about his upcoming move next month into his own bachelor pad, something he has not had for two years now. Yep, ever since he left Nicholl Street, he has lived with a friend (while on sabbatical, then back here with me, and then with Erica and her daughter). That's a long time to not have your own place!
We talked about his addiction to "Psych", the television show that I had taped and made him watch because I was so hooked on it. I had forgotten all about getting him started on that!
We talked at length about movies and Dr. Who and Kris Kristofferson - nice!
We talked about folks who have grandkids and how that affects how they view themselves as older because of that responsibility. I had started that, with my talk of "When Mama was my age", which I seem to be doing lately. (I've also spoken of it to Kevin). After all, I realize that my life is very different than hers was. When Mama was my age, she had been Grammy for fifteen years. When Mama was his age, she became a grandmother for the first time. Sobering thoughts!
Then we'd gone out to the parking lot so I could make sure he had gold glitter all over him!
That was the fancy paper I'd wrapped around the styrofoam cube.
And he totally loved the little pick girl cat and blue boy cat...
and the nice heft of them in his hands...
and the fact that'I'd thought of him again whilst on my vacation60.
But of course I did!
He's my bfe!
(smile)
i thank You, Goc!

puns and odd times!

My little fish-face got a kick out of being included in
the show tonight!
I told my car that I had written "What does it mean
when the odometer reads '202101'?"
(That's the number upon my return home after the
Post 36 Thanksgiving meeting last Thursday.)
I don't think Bill Cooper or the Soucyman or Dom quite knew what to make of that - and I'm sure they thought
it was a figment of someone's imagination!

I doubt any of them have ever had a car that long!
The game was "Slips" and the scenario had the three
"playing board games" and using mostly the audience-
supplied written suggestions.
Dom used another of mine -
"Mas tacos, por favor!" -
while pretending to throw a pair of dice.
Loved his enthusiastic delivery of the line!

Those were the only two of my nine suggestions that were used tonight.
"I can usually only do three before I'm tapped out." was overheard from a fellow behind me when he saw my growing stack.
"If three is a crowd, what is 4?" didn't make it.
Nor did "It sure sounded like a good idea to add butter."
Hey, I was just happy to have two drawn, honestly.
There were probably fifty people there tonight!

A good part of that crowd belonged to the 'birthday boy (man!) sitting beside me.
Jason was the emcee for the proceedings and he started everyone off with a game of "World's Worst".
Here, he was gathering types of jobs from the us.
The other three players were Justin, Thomas, and new girl Shawna, who may hereafter be known as "Bubbles",
the lass who went to the moon instead of to the Moonbounce - Hahahaha hahaha!

This game of "Click!" was new to me!
Chris was "showing slides from a vacation trip to
Alaska" while the others froze (get it? a little
inside joke from me to you!) into a tableau depicting
the activity he was describing.
Hilarious! Especially when they were 'feeding the bear'
and then 'fleeing the bear'!

But the highlight of the evening for me had to be the onslaught of puns during a rousing final game of "Objection!"
The word to be debated - a word from the audience, mind - was "chivalry".
Now, consider each of the players having misheard that gentlemanly word, of their own volition, and how that misunderstanding could lead to a hearty round of Monday Madness...
and there you have it!
Bill started it off by talking about the "shovelry" of grave diggers...
then Chris objected and jumped in with "shiverly", no doubt inspired by his recent sojourn to the northernmost state...
and here's Thomas, after objecting, to pontificate about the fine art of "shivery" prevalent in prisons...
to which Dom objected, preferring the term 'shank' and speaking of "shankery"...
causing Justin's white-man angst objecting to the use of 'shank' and waxing on about "chive-ery" in French cooking...
and so on!
What a blast!
I am so glad I was there...
and so is my car!
(smile!)

Alex, Marie, and Leonore

Over the last three days, I've seen three autobiographical films.
Three.
I can't say that I usually tend toward such things, as that would be a lie.
However, I don't necessarily shy away from them, either.
With these three, I had reasons for seeing them which were completely unrelated to the people they were about, as I did not know those people.

The first, "Free Solo", featured El Capitan of Yosemite National Park. Why did I care? Well, my friend Paul had insisted in mid-May of 2010 that we visit there before going to Las Vegas. Cathy had pointed out that we might not be able to if the snow had not yet melted. Yikes! Fortunately, the road was clear and I was able to see this great peak, as well as halo rainbows and a waterfall that was so beautiful that I wept.
I welcomed the chance to see this natural rock formation once more, courtesy of the silver screen, and saw the film on the last day of its weeklong stay in Savannah.
I'm glad I did, as did a few others. The story was about Alex Honnold and his decade-long dream of climbing it. On June 3, 2017, just before his 32nd birthday, he successfully ascended nearly 3000 feet to the peak of El Capitan, using only his bare hands and shoe-clad feet, with the entire almost-four-hour climb captured by a film crew.
Wow.
If not for the fact that he was such an introvert, such a solitary sport that required hours of practice would not have drawn him.

The second, "A Private War", had Rosamund Pike portraying the lead character. She is an amazing actress, playing such diverse characters such as a presumed-dead-and-missing wife and as a lone survivor of an Indian attack and as a behavioral psychologist in a comedy. In other words, she is both delightful and fearless, fully occupying any and every character that she portrays.
So it was in this case, too, as she brings back to life war journalist Marie Colvin. The based-on-facts film followed key events in Colvin's life over her last eleven years, until her death by bombing.
Wow.
If not for the fact that Colvin was such an introvert, she might not have been able to withstand the time and space of such a stressful career.

The third, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?", drew me in because it starred Melissa McCarthy. Yes, once upon a time, I had dismissed her as a one-trick pony, as she played the same overweight, foul-mouthed character in several movies. Then, in 2014, I saw "Tammy" with my brother Ronnie, as his birthday request. That changed my view of her, as she portrayed the daughter of an alcoholic (played deliciously by Susan Sarandon). I kept watching her, impressed with her subdued persona in 2016's "Ghostbusters". Ever since then, I have continued to be quite impressed with her range, especially in those movies written and directed by her husband, Ben Falcone, films such as ... "Tammy".
As Lee Israel, a dowdy lesbian, aging and alone, McCarthy is fabulous, prompting me to care about this biographical writer who chronicled the lives of others. In the 1970's and 1980's, Lee Israel was flush with cash and successful, but the film picks up with her in 1992, after a bug dud and a bout of writer's block. She discovers by accident that letters by famous people would sell, so she actually became a bit infamous for her "carefully crafted witticisms" when she had used up the few genuine letters she had possessed.
Wow.
If not for the fact of her being such an introvert, she probably would not have been able to have the space and time for such ingenuity.

Three different films, all about introverts that had mental blocks against society, mental blocks that allowed them to shut out society's rules and regulations about normality and expectations.
Wow.

Of late, I've been watching a new television show, "The Good Doctor". It's about an autistic young man who is especially gifted in the medical field, having an ability to concentrate on the disease more so than on the patient. Accordingly, that ability allows him to catch fluke diagnoses that are masked by others' expectations.
If not for him being such an introvert, people would be more likely to die at that hospital.
I think I'll watch another episode, right now.
Somehow, I can relate to these folks...
(smile)

another one bites the dust

Of course this particular Queen song came to mind today.
The Regal Savannah Stadium 10 Cinema on Shawnee Street is closed.
When I went to the website to check the slate for this weekend, I was met with this message:

Ouch.
I clicked the link to go to the Regal Cinemas mothersite to make sure.
Sadly, it confirmed that the company no longer has a presence in Savannah.
So, no more Franks Victory Theatre. I don't recall when it closed, but sometime between Hurricane Irma and the middle of this year.
And no more CineGrand Spotlight Cinema, either. That closed during the summer.
That leaves the two cinemas, formerly known as the Carmike and the Wynnsong, representing the AMC presence here, and the only places left for movie-going on a daily basis.
Sure, as I pointed out to Barbara and Carolyn, we can still bop over to Bluffton to the Cinemark there, or drive over to Pooler to the Royal or the GCT for films.
It's still a sad state of affairs to have three empty cinemas.
I hope someone else will take over at least one of them for theatrical works.
That would be wonderful!
Here's hoping, y'all...
For now, though, we have the second movie of our double-header coming up! The first was "A Private War", here southside at the Wynnsong. Then we dined at Texas Roadhouse - for the country vegetables dinner, believe it or not! Now, time for "Widows", with the ever-amazing Viola Davis.
Off I go!

of mileage and men

Yes, I am slyly referring to the John Steinbeck book, simply because I can.
No, it has nothing to do with this post, so kindly rearrange your thoughts.
(smile)

Ihe Kris Kristofferson concert at the Lucas last night started it all.
I was in the balcony, ushering for the sold-out show...
and dancing, of course, to long-familiar songs!
From the first lines of "Help Me Make It Through The Night" and "Loving Her Was Easier", into the lost love of "Me and Bobby McGee" and the sweetly hopeful "Here Comes That Rainbow Again" and gospel plea "Why Me?" and remembrance song "For The Good Times" and my favorite, "Sunday Morning Coming Down".
I may have a new favorite, though: "The Silver Tongued Devil And I". It's not that the song is about a bit of a rogue that has me caught - no, no.
It's the story he told about it.
He'd gotten through most of the last refrain when he stopped singing.
Then he mentioned that one time he was singing this song to his son, who was about five years old. When he finished, he son said, "Daddy, that isn't a very good song." Surprised, Kris had asked what the boy hadn't liked. His son replied, "It's about someone doing something wrong and then blaming someone else for it."
At which point, the 82-year-old legend finished the last two lines of the song he'd been singing for us. Absolutely aWEsoMe!!!
You could have heard a pin drop while he related the tale to us, as if we were all holding our breath. Then, thunderous applause at the song's end!
Absolutely aWEsoMe!!!
My odometer definitely agreed that I had been in the right place, right time.
The mileage was 202020 when I was home again.
(smile)

The next morning, I was off straightaway to Bluffton's erstwhile Sea Turtle Cinema for a special engagement with three adorable he-men, all with much different styles!
First up was the wise-cracking 33-year-old Bruce Willis, fresh from his "Mooonlighting" gig.
Next was the suave, sexy-voiced 42-year-old Alan Rickman, unknown and new to me.
Then was the 39-year-old tall, blonde, former Russian ballet star, Alexander Godunov.
What was the occasion that brought together this rich smorgasbord of males?
It was the 30th anniversary of "Die Hard" - yippeekiaye, y'all!
And I knew I was meant to be right there...
my odometer read 202050!
(smile)

From Bluffton, I drove back over the Savannah River on the Savannah Bridge, but only as far as downtown.
I had a voluntary ushering job at the Lucas Theatre!
Tonight's show was a filmed documentary, "Coldplay:
A Head Full Of Dreams", and I was hopeful of a lot of concert footage.
What I received was even better: the tale of four misfits (plus Phil) who had found each other.
"The truth is, that without the other three, each of us would be kinda screwed."
That line from these Brits sounds much like that spoken by another group of Brits.
"We're four misfits that should have never come together, playing to a bunch of other misfits."
Beautiful description of found family, isn't it?
As for the music, I as surprised to find how may Coldplay songs I knew.
"Yellow", back in 2000, put them on my radar; "Clocks" and "Fix You" helped keep them there.
Then, in 2011, "Paradise", and its tie-in with Ang Lee's movie, "Life of Pi", etched them into my soundtrack. I also loved the music video for this song, with the lost elephant not fitting it... and then finding her 'people' - lovely!
2014 brought "A Sky Full Of Stars" and a video with a Pied Piper parading in the street sense of joy - good one!
Two years later, collaborating with Beyoncé, they gave me "Hymn For The Weekend", this time with a Bollywood musical production - definitely my speed!
But the song that's really rocked me is "Something Just Like This", cowritten last year with The Chainsmokers. Such a wonderful song, with its message of hope for those wanting someone to kiss... for those like me. The animated romantic video - about two coins in a fountain - certainly makes the song that much dearer to me, as does the mention of Superman in the song's refrain.
That particular superhero is pretty special to me.
(smile)

And was this the special reading after that movie?
No; my odometer had 202080 post-Coldplay.
This reading, 202101, was after my first Thanksgiving dinner at Post 36.
(smile)
When the short American Legion meeting was over, we all celebrated our last November in that building by sharing a meal together.
I sat with three fellows I didn't know;
by the meal's end, I had found two guys, Sam and Reginald, who shared my love of things Marvel.
Right place, right time.
I'm so glad I've started attending the Post meetings again!