i can't wait / 'til we're all alone

Nu Shooz was absolutely right!

I just can't wait until '$5 Sushi Wednesday' at Publix!

I had gone there after the cinema to refill the Sotalol Rx and to do a bit of shopping for sundries.

And when I saw this bit of loveliness in the display, it was the only one for me!

Oh, my, my, my.... so very good!

Just tuna and salmon, salmon and tuna, tones of red and peach loveliness!

I had used Singlecare to save on the prescription, so I felt justified in splurging on this treat.

So very worth it!

Plus, I rather felt like celebrating, as I'd managed to complete my AMC A*List already... and I'd only started working on it on Sunday.

Before venturing out to the middle school play, I'd taken in "Ambulance", a very fast-paced thriller that had quite a bit of unintentional humor in it.

Then, again, that might have just been my warped sense of humor that had me bursting out in laughter at odd times.

I blame Jake Gyllenhaal.

His bad guy was just so over the top that I had to laugh at a lot of his lines -

I had to!

It would have been criminal of me not to chuckle!

(Like that little bit of a joke right there? LOL)

Yesterday, I was off watching "Sonic The Hedgehog 2" once again.

Yes, the interplay between the Doctor and Stone is humorous, but that avalanche of snow cascading over the Pretzel Lady's sister in Hawai'i was fabulous!

Yes, I like the similarity between Tails' and Sonic's headgear when they're bumming around in Siberia hunting for the combined Chaos Emeralds (which begs the question: is this part of the Marvel Universe, or am I seeing connections that just happen to be the same?), with the goggles used by a kickstarter graffiti artist, Nice One., who did a mural here in Savannah in 2012 at a local middle school.

But, mostly, I love the little baseball game at the end.

I am so very, very, ready for some baseball at Grayson Stadium!

Okay, enough of that.

Oh, but there's one more movie: "Doctor Strange And The Multiverse of Madness", see this afternoon, and I must say: I'm not impressed.

I'm over the whole "multiverse" thing, as it seems to be the latest craze.

Plus, that fake-looking third eye in the middle of the forehead is just creepy.

Hey, at least it didn't cost me anything!

zooming in late for b-i-n-g-ohhh!

I was so distracted by the felling of the Bradley pear that I overlooked the post-it on the kitchen cabinet while I was making some po' girl ceviche for dinner.

By the time it caught my eye, I'd already missed the first three games of BINGO with the KC Crew!

The red, green, and blue games were done and Audrey was calling numbers for the butterscotch round while Grant hovered in the background, marking their master board and waiting for a trivia number to come up so he'd see a bit of action.

Just a few minutes after I joined the play, "bingo" was called in the chat bar, so that round was done.

That's all fine.

 

The fuchsia round was next and this time I was exactly where I needed to be!

How did I know?

I won the first trivia question!

It was an early one, too, so I just took a wild guess and claimed N-44 as the "bonus number" that I alone would get to mark.

And just what was that bit of trivia lobbed out there?

"Which planet is closest to Earth?"

You'd be surprised how many folks thought for sure it was Mars.

After all, that's the planet we're going to send rockets to and we're gearing up to populate one day, right?

But I knew the correct answer was "Venus".

So, why aren't we sending our rockets in its direction?

Well, as I explained to the other sixty or so players, exploratory probes have revealed that Venus has a thick, murky, poisonous atmosphere that would eat us alive, should the rocket be able to safely land.

Mars, on the other hand, has a thin atmosphere that doesn't contain caustic  substances, so we frail humans will have a chance to survive.

Speaking of survival, my board served me well for this round, allowing me to reach "Uno!" before someone else called "bingo".

That was the best game I had, too.

I'm so very glad I finally realized what day it was!

Right place, right time, for fun!

(smile!)

that tree is sooooo gone!

Here it is, dwarfing my house with its massive height and its spindly limbs.

I had arranged for it to be taken down, so I'd snapped this photo on Friday before heading out to my luncheon.

I absolutely had not realized how tall it had grown in the last decade.

It's like with children, right?

Unless you're paying close attention, before you know it you look around and they're head to head with you!

In my mind, this tree was only about thirty feet tall still.

I'd wager this one was at least fifty feet.

I didn't know flowering Bradley pears could attain such dimensions... but this one had, adding much of its height and girth in the last decade.

I hadn't known, but that's a danger sign for this invasive species of trees.

Did I say "invasive"?

I did... and I had not known that until a week or so ago when I found this link about them on facebook.

The trees were brought from Asia to the USA in the early 1900's to beautify the suburban areas that were being built after soldiers returned from WWI.

Why? Because of their pretty white flowers and well-rounded shape.

South Carolina is moving to ban sales of them by 2024 and, right now, they have placed a bounty on their heads.. literally. 

Georgia has made no such move, but that's okay.

I don't need to plant a new tree there.

I had thought it was throwing shade on my dining room in the afternoons and evenings, but that cooling action is actually from my neighbor's oak tree.

So, for the same price as I paid years ago to remove the little oak too close to the other side of my house, this pear was slated for removal.

 

Today, I returned from an afternoon at the cinema and a shopping trip to the CVS on Wilmington Island to find the pear is gone!

Well, there's still this two-foot stump, which I may leave to mark the spot; I haven't decided yet.

As I told the tree surgeon and his helper, I want to decide over coffee in the morning, after I've looked out the window and don't see it.

Maybe I'll have it ground down or perhaps it will become a holder for a planter.

Who knows?

But there will be no poem to mark its demise, nor a photo series of its removal.

Amazingly, that was done in just under three hours!

So, I missed it, but that's okay.

I'm going to enjoy that extra sunshine!

(smile!)

cursed with insomnia! lol!

"Hey, chica, insomnia is no laughing matter!"

Actually, it is when you're talkin' 'bout a flip on the "Sleeping Beauty" tale!

"So, instead of a princess falling asleep for years..." 

... there's a prince who hasn't slept since he was born! Yep, you got it!

"Wow. That's a gender switch, too. So I guess he's rescued by true love's kiss?"

Nah, that mushy stuff is for tales aimed at girls.

"Do tell."

Hey, I just call it like I see it, right? And it does seem to me that fairy tales spend a lot of time building romantic fantasies for girls and mythic strength stories for boys. "Tuckered" had no interest in promoting stereotypes!

"Good for that play! So, how did it go?"

In a nutshell, we have the standard curse placed by evil sorceress on the newborn son of a king and queen who had cast her out of the kingdom. Flash forward to the opening of the story tonight! The prince has lived his life locked in a tower so his being ever-awake doesn't drive his parents bonkers. His only constant companion is Stewart. Now the prince is having his sweet sixteen and he's ready to be set free, but his folks don't agree. Fortunately, Stewart, his trusty steward, has had enough sleepless nights in the prince's company and sets out to find a cure for the curse.

"Hey, I don't know why but that reminds me of Mama's joke! You know the one I mean, right?"

Of course! I had that same thought! So during intermission I told Barbara about the Red King and the Blue King, and the brave Page that walked through the Yellow Fingers! She laughed, too, and we both realized that anyone under 30 won't get that joke based on the old Yellow Pages advertising. That's sad, really.

"Yeah, but you saw "The Wall" with all the millenials on it. They didn't get most of the references to old tv shows or commercials."

Yeah. Poor Jane Lynch. She ended up with two of them battling it out at the end.

"So, what else happened in the play??"

Oh, yeah... train of thought derailed! LOL! Okay, so Stewart finds a knight to help with his quest, but the knight is not very bright. Sounds like a pun, right? LOL!

"Sure. Now, back to the story?"

Stewart also finds a very helpful village girl who turns out to be not only smart but strong. She even drags along the knight when he gets hit with a sleeping potion! LOL! All the way up the tower stairs, too, bumping his head on each step! What a lass! Then they find the sorceress and she gives them a potion to remove the prince's insomnia. Only, she lied! Good for them that her hunchbacked assistant, Cain, had loose lips!

"That worked out well for them!"

Not for the evil sorceress, but certainly for everyone else. Cain ended up getting to live in the tower with all the prince's books - and he was elated! The sorceress got hit with the potion, so she was sleeping in a corner, leaving him all the rest of that lovely space and its gorgeous view. The king and queen had their son back, though he was planning to explore the countryside with the girl that saved him.

"And what of Stewart?"

He was tuckered out from years of being awake all night... so he slept! Lol!

"What a fun play! How wonderful that Boo had invited you!"

She fetched me there, too, and we talked a while after. Lovely evening!

"Here's to more good times with your amigas!"

Amen to that!

communion for a carmona!

Dig this: it was at the same church where I'd attended his mom's First Communion.

That must have been 25 years ago... wow!

When I walked into Saint James Catholic Church, it felt like I'd been there much more recently than that.

I was a little late, so I took a seat by the door, but not for long.

Tony's son, now 37, saw me and fetched me to the row where the family was seated; many thanks, Damon!

He was seated between his girlfriend, Dana, and his younger nephew, Gilberto, who is a fan of making funny faces.

The platinum-haired woman is Dianne, mother of Damon and of Hope, who is the mother of the two boys. 

Here's the one we were celebrating on this occasion: Carlos Sebastian Carmona, Jr.

He's opening a silver cross pendant, given to him by his Uncle Damon, who made sure it had the same verse that was on his.

How very nice!

Sebi really liked that, and he liked the baseball bat on the reverse of the cross.

I liked all of it - after all, I do love pomp and circumstance!

Mostly, though, I loved seeing Sebi and Bert in person.

I've only seen Sebi on fb since his first birthday party, which was down at Tybee in 2014... and he's 8 now.

That may have been the last time I saw Hope, too.

Shortly after that, her husband's job transferred him to Tennessee.

Then, they went to Mexico to visit his mom... and he could not return to the United States.

So, the family stayed down there for a couple of years, then my niece and her sons returned to Savannah.

I'm just glad to know they're ready to make contact again!

I look forward to getting to know this little 5-year-old monkey better.

Thanks, Dianne, for inviting me!

Good to see your sisters and meet their husbands, too!

Such a lovely Saturday morning with y'all!

chem nerds + one!

Yvonne had succeeded in cat-wrangling to get our schedules in sync again... well, almost.

Cathy wasn't there for our luncheon, but I was, as well as Yvonne, Brooke, and Leah.

Plus, we had a token physicist in our midst!

No, not the bfe, silly one kenobi - no boys allowed.

It was Donna Mullenax, the one who used to arrange the Georgia Science Bowl gatherings at Armstrong.

Hooray!

Why no pictures of them?

Well, we were seated at Kayak Kafe Midtown next to the glass window by the outside patio, so the glare just wouldn't allow it.

Hey, you know I tried, right?

I gotta take those photos to prove it was real and not a dream!

(smile!)

So, this time I'll have to make do with the image of my Big Healthy salad; seriously, that's what it's called!

Much better than The Big Salad that Elaine liked.

(smile!)

good morning, goldey!

"Oh, don't tell me, let me guess. You've watched "Free Guy" again!"

Yes, I have! He and I ate breakfast together today!

"Well, good for you. Free movie week again?"

It is, this time called The Watchathon. I think the hope is that people will watch some of the series with buzz power, and then be compelled to sign up for those premium movie channels. I'm not even going to waste my time on that! Movies, movies, movies, that's what I want!

"Speaking of such, how's your A*List going this week?"

I was done on Tuesday, thank you very much, watching three that had strong male leads. I had toyed with the idea of naming this post "Liam, Nicholas, Willem, and Channing" but I really liked seeing the goldfish again this morning. What a sweetie!

"Hold up there, girlie. You've named four guys, but only show three tickets."

Do you realize I've seen four movies at the cinema in as many days? Sunday was Liam Neeson as a hitman losing his "Memory" - very well done! Monday found me southside to watch the inimitable Nicholas Cage playing a down-in-the-mouth aging version of himself with "The Enormous Weight Of Massive Talent", forced to make birthday party appearances to pay the alimony - LOL! Tuesday led me to "The Northman", a movie seen in honor of Thorfinn on "Ghosts", with Willem Dafoe as a Viking version of a fool. Sure, it was a small part, but he was fabulous! It actually brought to mind his role in "The Lighthouse", a character-driven study that failed to stick its landing.

"Yeah, I remember that one. It was in the fall of 2019, right?"

Yep, as that's when the dour films make their bids for Oscar nominations. Movie pickin's get pretty slim for anyone like me. It's all sadness and horror at the cinema.

"Heard! Now, why did you mention Channing Tatum?"

Because he's in the fourth movie at the cinema this week! I knew "The Lost City" had its final screening yesterday, so I was there, one last time, for the Adventures of Loretta and Alan. I'm so glad I had one more chance to see it!

"Wow. Fourth movie? That means you had to pay for it."

Nah, I had reward bucks, so, essentially, AMC paid for my ticket!

"Well, I'll let you get back to your Watchathon."

Thanks! I'm going in search of "The Sandlot". Wish me luck!

coffee with alan ruck!

Yes, there's coffee in that mug!

For the second day in a row, I had coffee with breakfast, and today I had a little "Psych", too, to go along with the physicist!

After all, the bfe gave me those dvd's, right?

And today's episode had Gus walking into a bank - the very one Alan Ruck was robbing!

Yes - that same Alan Ruck who told me my name was beautiful as he held my hand at Dragon*Con!

And yes, those are blueberries on top of the peanut butter, and they're better than jelly!

(smile!)

This was yesterday's breakfast: a three-egg whites omelet with cheddar, on a high-fiber English muffin.

I've started a new food plan, the Whole Body Reset, that focuses on tracking protein and fiber, that was specifically designed for those over 60 years old.

A change is definitely needed and now is the time!

And what's in the "beach time" mug that my first niece gave me?

Coffee, glorious coffee!

No matter that it's decaf; I have so missed its taste and aroma, absent from my life since February.

I deliberately chose Christina's cup, as she's been fairly absent from my life this year, too.

Maybe this will spur more interaction with her, as well as with this breakfast elixir!

With that in mind, I'm going to select coffee mugs with the faces of those I love, faces I have seen too seldom during the pandemic.

Tomorrow, coffee will be with Smitty and Mary, to honor their 21st wedding anniversary.

What about Friday's mug?

Well, I'll have to go through the cupboard and get them line up, won't I?

I'll do that tonight.

Right now, it's time to get in some exercise - I mean, go grocery shop!

(smile!)

guest room cum dance studio update

Once upon a time, the house had a guest room, with various friends staying within its Valencia lavender walls over the years.

Then, things changed.

It was no fault of the room; life intruded, causing changed family dynamics and less travel by those same friends.

The guest room then became a temporary haven for those needing a new home.

 

The first to stay with me was the Peace Guy.

I had known him for a few years, as he was a frequent audience member at the Muse Arts Warehouse as well as various other places.

Then, in 2013, life in his parents' (second) house with his partner became too toxic for him.

So, early in the year, I had invited the kind and gentle Quaker Rogue to move in with me.

He had been sure that he would just need the respite for a month or to.

He was sure that the court case to evict his partner from the house they had shared would move quickly.

Joe wanted me to know for sure that he would not be overstaying his welcome.

By the time AirTran had disappeared into Southwest Airlines and Joe had to transfer to Atlanta to keep his job, it was August 4th, almost the end of summer.

Fortunately, his partner was finally evicted from his parents' house and Joe made frequent trips to do repairs so it could be rented out.

On one such trip, I invited him to a baseball game at Grayson Stadium.

"Well, I guess I need to learn baseball one of these days," he'd said.

What great fun that was!

Oh, yeah - good times!

The guest room remained empty for a few years.

Partly that was because the central air conditioning had died and gone to hell a month or so after he moved from Savannah.

Sure, folks could have come to visit during the cooler periods of fall... but, kids were in school and vacation time was done.

Joe found a mobile air conditioning unit in his storage space, so he gifted that to me the following summer.

I would use it at night, for sleeping comfort, but was okay otherwise.

 

The next person to call the Guest Room their "Home" was my bfe, the physicist.

That was the summer of 2016.

He'd vacated his apartment before he went on sabbatical to New York, knowing he'd need to find new digs after his year there was up.

Those new digs became my place on June 5.

He was here for the solar eclipse that August and through Hurricane Irma the following month.

Well, that was kinda sorta, actually, as he holed up at Erica's of Berwick for that one.

She had just bought the big house and had thought she had a roommate to help defray costs; instead, he opted to take that person's place.

By the start of October, he was settled in there.

Still, he and I had very much enjoyed having those months together.

I think that's why, when he heard that I'd turned to Guest Room into a dance studio, he suggested that I put up some photographs of those who had stayed within its walls.

Good idea!

This one, with the Shades of Purple of him at The Atlantic (a restaurant that's gone), of the two crabs he's given me over the years (not that kind of crab!), and of him performing magic on his wedding day for a friend's kids (and me! I was there!) was the very first to adorn that lavender wall.

Very nice, right?

 

The last framed memento contains a quartet of photos for the last ones who rented out the guest room from me.

Did I say rent?

Sure, they'd all paid rent to me, but it was just a nominal fee of $50 per week, with the understanding that I was not a cook.

The room was furnished for Joe and the bfe, but I had cleared everything out for Michael and my twin nieces.

I even moved out of my own bedroom, and into the smaller Ocean Room, so Leila and Alyssa would have plenty of space for their stuff!

That was in November of 2019, a month which became a bit of a nightmare by the time they were actually living with me.

But I made an effort and they all made an effort and so the holidays were very good! We watched "Frosty The Snowman" as a family, the girls helped decorate the Christmas tree, Michael and the twins had a craft day to make nativity sets for gifts, and the girls loved the books I gave them!

Then January of 2020 came and, next thing I knew, they were moving out, going to Guyton to live with my outlaw Melinda.

I had suspected that might happen, as I well knew that Michael needed more help with the girls than I could give; still, it was a heartbreaker for me.

I will say, though, that living with children is so much harder from living with adults.

Just getting children to wash their hands, right?

And to cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze, right?

So when the coronavirus came and the pandemic began, I admit to a sense of relief that they had moved in with Grammy and Pop, and are still there.

I do miss them, but I'm glad Michael has the help he needs with babysitting...

and I'm glad I'm back in my aquarium bedroom again...

and I love having these pictures to remind me of the life we shared together...

and I'm so glad life has worked out well for all those who took shelter under my roof.

i thank You, God!