waiting on a plaza in siena

That's what I told Dawn when she arrived for our luncheon: I felt that I've been sitting in the plaza in Siena, as I did several times over my four days there in 2012.

"Oh, I remember! And there's that packet of sugar you picked up at the Bar Il Palio, there on the plaza where they race the horses! You still have it after 9 years???"

Of course I do. It's still held by a magnet to my refrigerator, as is this souvenir postcard from the Wegman show at the Jepson. That Palazzo was the background as I sat and watched folks in the evenings.

"I do like those colors you added, like frosting on a celebration cake. Nice of the artist to have that card!"

Right place, right time!

"Absolutely! And just where were you that you felt as though you were back in Italy?"

On the patio outside Cancun. We were taking a change from going Thai, and she really loves this place, too. You know that brick facade out front, with the arch openings? Well, from where I was sitting, the curve of the arch matched the curve of the big oak, with blue sky and a changing parade of clouds... and my mind began thinking of Italy.

"My goodness, just how long were you out there in the sun?"

Oh, no, I was in the shade of that palm tree on the patio. That said, I was there for quite a while. I had arrived early and settled in to wait for her. After standing around for four or five songs, I went into the restaurant to check the time. Was it 1:30 yet? "It's 1:18," the hostess told me, suggesting I sit while I waited. And so I did, but outside, under the cloud-mottled blue sky of summer.

 "So, you didn't sit long out there."

Oh, but I did. She's job hunting and had texted to say she would be there between 2 and quarter past. My phone had stayed home on the charger, so I had no idea. That's why I had to ask about the time earlier.

"I had wondered about that. So, when did she get there?"

I saw her blue Jeep just about the time I was going to go ahead and get my shopping done at Publix. I gave her a big smile and we sat down in the cool of Cancun. She checked her watch and said it was 2:10.

"Wow."

I thought it was a nice coincidence that I'd waited as long for her as I had waited for my appointment with the breast cancer doctor this morning.

"Wow."

I know, right? Sure felt like right place, right time, to me! I even talked about that to Dawn, and she had asked how I had passed that much time in the waiting room.

"Yeah, forty minutes is a long time at a doctor's office. Was the waiting room full?"

No, just me there. So I listened to the health-tv spots: nasal polyps and how they're caused (I have had one in my right nostril for more than 20 years); three different types of insulin shots (I wonder which one Bunny takes); the timeline for lung clearing after stopping smoking (it's been 25 years since I did, so my risks are now same as those of a nonsmoker, and have been for the past decade).

"Dang, g'friend! Well, at least it gave you some table conversation!"

Even better! I found out that Dawn had once had laser surgery for the many nasal polyps she had, as that was supposed to improve her breathing. Sadly, it had not. I was also reminded that she was once a cigarette smoker, too, but quit almost 14 years ago. Her no-smoking anniversary is in January. Oh, I just thought about that! That's about how long she and the Koz have been a couple!

"That would have been a good question for her! Maybe that's why she stopped."

That could very well be. I know that Frank stopped for love of Mama.

"Yes, and they had a few years of travel fun after that, until COPD caught up with him."

That would have been sometime in 1992. I remember he had an oxygen tank at mine and Jeff's wedding out under the oaks at Wormsloe.

"Good memories! I remember that the bridal march music wouldn't play, so Ronnie had started loudly humming the song and Smitty and Tony had chimed in, as had Sam and Bobby! What a hoot!"

Yes, it was. Good memories!

"And I take it this means good movie?"

 It does!!! "Free Guy" has been all I hoped it would be, after waiting for almost two years for it. It's a pinch of "The Truman Show" and a dollop of "The Matrix", plus a dash of "Groundhog Day" and heaping spoonful of "Dead Pool"!

"I see. So, it's a hopeful romantic comedy that features a man who was clueless?"

 Exactly! Yes, that's it exactly!

"And you've used all three of your A*List freebies for this one movie?"

Not quite! I just found out that it's going to be on the Big D screen tomorrow night!!! At last!!! Nothing against "Respect", but that screening room is meant for panoramic vistas and large explosions... and the Aretha Franklin film has none of that. Plus, it's super long. "Free Guy" gets in and gets it done in under two hours. That's been a rarity this summer for action films. That's why I've only seen "Black Widow" and "F9" once, but I've watched the delightful "Jungle Cruise" multiple times!

"Like you're doing with this Ryan Reynolds."

Exactly.

"And like you may do next week with this same movie."

Well, possibly. The new Hugh Jackman starts Friday and it's science fiction. So, I just may need a double-header of the new "Reminiscence" with "Old", just to satisfy that itch.

"Heard. Okay, get your Almost Applebee's Wonton Tacos ready! 'Press Your Luck' will be on in another thirty minutes!"

So will the "Quantum Leap" with Sam as Elvis. Decisions, decisions!

"Enjoy, dear!"

how i spent valentine's weekend

"I thought you said this was for the weekend events. I happen to know this was taken at the American Red Cross on Thursday, when you gave blood. Thursday is not part of the weekend."

You are correct, mon cheri, about the donation of a piece of my heart to others, as well as the week day.

However, as I am retired, I can have 'weekends' whenever I choose and this one ran from the 11th through the 15th. If others can have an extended Valentine's weekend because of the President's Day addition, so can I!

"Fine, fine, have it your way. So what have we here? A nice steak dinner to celebrate?"

You betcha, and a fine piece of pecan pie, too! Carey Hilliard's gave me such a huge hamburger steak that I took home more than half, then bought Food Lion Stroganoff Helper for another meal from it and the grilled onion. So very good, and enough of it to freeze half for another night!

"You go, g'friend! That will be good to heat up on a cold night sometime soon."

Yep, February isn't over yet. Fortunately, Jim Reed is still doing the PFS movies, so I had Oliver Reed in this 1967 film, "The Trap" for free entertainment. To my surprise, it turned out to be a variation on "Beauty And The Beast"! You know how much I love that story!

"I do, especially the musical version which came out in 2017."

Funny you should mention that - I watched it via TBS On Demand the next morning! A woman forced to stay with a coarse, but gentlemanly, guy, learning to love him after he rescues her, him learning to love her, her leaving and returning to her family and town, but then realizing she wants to be with La Bete and returning to his waiting arms. Lovely story!

"Sounds like it was! So Thursday was a winner and Friday seems to have begun nicely, too."

So it did, with Carolyn joining me for a movie for three days in a row! Friday, we saw the new historical movie, "Judas And The Black Messiah", about events she actually lived through. On Saturday, we went to another historical film, "Hidden Figures", much more enjoyable, but also set in the early 1960's. I really liked seeing Kevin Costner again!

"LOL! You keep picturing yourself dancing with him, don't you, dearie? I know you do!"

Hey, that was such a good time!!! Thanks for reminding me of it! This Hawaiian chicken from Cajun Cafe reminded me of the Aloha Festival in Las Vegas, back in 2013 - yummy! Carolyn and I ate there at Savannah Mall during the two-hour, very rainy, break in our double header. The first film was "Land", the new one about a woman going through grief, and the second movie was a Fathom event, both at the old Wynnsong, with Hunter looking out for us.

This weekend, Fathom treated us to the 35th Anniversary of "Pretty In Pink", which I mostly love for Annie Potts' ditzy role and for Jon Cryer's delightful Duckie, the guy who would always be there in a pinch, without even needing to be asked. I'm not sure, but this movie may be part of the reason I love "Two And A Half Men" so much, as glimmers of Duckie shine through every so often there. 

"Well, that all sounds positively wonderful! How very nice to have had company at the cinemas!"

Oh, it certainly was! But the universe had a treat up its sleeve just for me! See that fellow in the denim outfit, with the sweet tush and broad shoulders and lush hair? That's my man, Scott Bakula, in a 1995 episode of "Murphy Brown" that takes place in a bowling alley! That meant a lot of bending over! LOL!

"Ooh la la! Is that him stretched out on a lane?"

Hahahaha! No, that was from "Split", a movie I watched on Streampix on Saturday night when I got home. That channel was free, so I tried to take advantage of it while I could, to see some movies that were new to me. This movie was out in 2016, but I'd never heard of it. Fun!

"Hey! This is Christina Ann! What's up with this photo?"

We were having a rare luncheon, just me and her, at Olive Garden! The holiday Monday gave her a chance to come to town and so she did! She's a Paparazzi jewelry big shot now!

"How wonderful that y'all had a girls' day out! And I'm glad to hear she'll have more jewelry to flash about. She's a gypsy, just like Mama!"

"And what have we here?! I know those red and white boxes - paczki!!!"

Yes, I picked those up, one with custard, the other with apple, both the last two boxes Publix had. I gave all of them to Mister Willie, too, as I do at near Mardi Gras each year. To my surprise, Gloria let me in and we all had a visit together for the first time in over a year! What a delicious treat for all of us!

"I heard that! Good thing that you had your face on instead of one of your other masks!"

It really was! And I had such compliments all day from it, too, starting with one of the waiters at the restaurant, then from the cashier at the grocery store. Willie and his sweetheart really liked it, too, as I wore it the whole time I was visiting them. That was about forty minutes!

"How marvelous!!!"

Yes, and my Monday was not yet done! Christina and I watched back-to-back episodes of "The Wall" 'together'! I don't know why there were two of them, but that was good fun for us! They both ended well, too - what a sweet bonus! We like the happy endings, just like in fairy tales. Oh, I just realized something: "Quantum Leap" usually ends well, too! Maybe that's another reason I like it so! Marvelous! (smile!)

dancing to a new groove thang

This is where all meals at home have been eaten this year.

What a concept: using the dining room table for dining!

Not the coffee table, not my lap while sitting on the couch - no.

I have the company of Elvis, which is always a bonus.

I have that lovely painting I bought for just a few euros while waiting in line to see The David in 2012.

When the day is sunny, I open the drapes and look out the window at the azalea bush trimmed as if it were a bonsai tree - I'm looking forward to its blooms in another month.

As for the Element tv, it may be on or it may be off.

For breakfast, I like to watch "The Great British Baking Show" reruns on GPB.

Today, it featured soda bread for the signature bakes.

That prompted me to cut two slices of the soda bread I baked last Thursday, then to top it with slices of the Gouda from the Hillshire Farms package.

Utterly delectable and such a grand coincidence!

That show airs at noon, by the way.

That means lunch is around 4 PM, allowing me to indulge in the antics of the folks on the "Family Feud" reruns around then.

That's usually good for some laughs!

Dinner is served at the oh-so-continental time of 8 PM, at the earliest.

That allows me to continue enjoying time with Sam Beckett, as his "Quantum Leap" adventures still bring me great pleasure.

Those are usually on at 7, 8, and 9 PM most week nights, with some leap-a-thons on a weekend.

Now that I've seen most multiple times, I concentrate on my favorite episodes and feel free to skip others.

Sometimes, though, the tv is off and I read.

The material may be a book, it may be a magazine.

It may even be the incoming mail, from time to time.

It's good to have choices and not a rut.

It's even better to have healthy choices and plenty of variety.

That's not only true for my meals, but also for my activities.

My goal last month was to eat every meal - breakfast, lunch, and dinner - in the dining room.

Mission accomplished!

My goal this month is to get up and dance to at least two songs each day, not just set Rudolph in motion and move around with him... not that I don't love doing the "little kid shuffle" with this gift from Smitty, because I do.

It's a great way to warm up the feet and lower legs!

However, the little reindeer just knows the one tune.

For variety, I turn to "The 80's" on the Music Channel.

I can always hear a few tunes guaranteed to get me on my feet!

On Monday, it gave me "Billie Jean" and "Bad Boy" - those paired up nicely!

(Get the joke? Listen to the lyrics, you will!)

Yesterday, I was "Addicted To Love", truly "Heart And Soul"!

(Hahahaha! Another inside joke from the universe to me!)

And today?

It was all about action!

"Pour Some Sugar On Me"!

"Jump"!

"She Drives Me Crazy"!

I look forward to continuing with this new habit...

and seeing what song couplings await my dancing feet!

One day at a time, one step at a time...

that's the way we do it on this blue-green planet!

(smile!)

leaping about with Sam and Marty and the Doc

Time travel here,

time travel there, 

in movies and on television

multiple times this year!

How's that for a bit of poetry?

True, it has the same meter as the other, but when inspiration strikes first thing in the morning - yes, even before coffee - I make sure to jot it down!

As long as it rhymes, it's a poem!

(smile!)

And just what, if anything, brought this about?

Well, Marty McFly's antics on stage started it, with this scene in both "Back To The Future" and "Back To The Future, Part 2", shot in 1985 and revisited in 1989.

Quite a bit of footage was reused in the second film, to allow two Docs, two Martys, and two Biffs.

Plus I had this bit of eye candy!

That's my man, Dr. Beckett, glistening with sweat in the afternoon sun, post post-hole digging in a contest with a cowgirl to win her heart.

He can leave those boots under my bed any time, as I may have said before - oh, yeah!

Love that hair on his chest!

Those bits of time travel were on Sunday and Monday.

Tina Tuesday found me at "Back To The Future, Part III", in the wild, wild West, with Doc Brown's chitty chitty wooo wooo train!

There's something about that man, too, that's quite charming -  it's his optimistic attitude and his towering stance and that lovable grin!

But he's a good deal older than me and I tend to prefer someone within a few years of my age.

Scott Bakula is just four years older than me.

So, when I have sweet dreams tonight of this beau in a bubble bath, I can easily imagine our 1989, 30-something, selves together... and I already know he can dance.

(smile!)

so very not the elf you are looking for

I am so having fun looking for elves!

This may not have been a viable source, but it sure tickled my fancy! 

Yes, that's Sam Beckett on the left, as an acrobat in a circus act.

The young woman in the middle is the sister, with dad there in the brown checkered bathrobe.

For the first time in a while, I had caught "Quantum Leap" and it offered me three episodes, all in a row on one night, that are favorites.

Those would be: Sam as a mortician solving the death of an 18-year-old German girl; him as a elderly black pool player (with failing sight) shooting to save his granddaughter's budding blues club; and him as a tights-clad high wire artist.

I very much liked those latter two, of course, as he was showing off his body in both of them.

Thanks, Comet TV.

Right time, right place!

I just need to remember the new schedule starts an hour later and goes for two extra hours.

 

And this is how I finished up the night: with "A Christmas Story" from the year that gave me two nieces and one nephew.

They're all 37 years old now and so is it.

That would mean Ralphie is 45.... hahahaha!

And, yes, that person in the red tunic is dressed in an elfish style, but his mannerisms are off the mark.

Definitely an ogre in elf's clothing!

(smile!)

from swim trunks to a car commercial with ruck

 

No, silly, not me in swimwear.

That would be my fictional hairy-chested paramour, Samuel Beckett...

and his real-life counterpart, Scott Bakula, of course.

What a honey!

Comet tv certainly has done right by me, lending this man to my imagination and my evenings, for months now.

I think the "Quantum Leap" is on its fifth lap since it started brightening my nights.

(smile!)

My first niece is well aware of where I can be found between 6 PM and 8 PM on weeknights.

She also knows that even though this is Tina Tuesday, that my activities with regard to that have been curtailed by the cinemas change in screenings.

That meant I would be available on this Tuesday, yes?

Yes!

 

 her: We are watching the weakest link on NBC wanna join us?

me: Yes, please.

her: :-)

me: I have not seen this in years! Nice to see Jane Lynch hosting it.

her: She so much better than old person.

me: Agreed! I love her as the shrink on Two And A Half Men.

her: Most men add inches.... lol

me: Yeah. I liked that too.

her: What is an Intuitive healing person?

me: Someone who tells you what you already know to do.

her: I don't think they should have sent home the smartest person yet. Christian disagrees. What's your opinion?

me: Yeah i -think- that was a bonehead move.

her: 'Could have Answered in the next episode' was hilarious!

me: Land is two years younger than me. I thought she was older. That surprises me.

her: Land? Did you mean Lynch?

me: Yes. I thought i typed J a n e but those keys also make l a n d.

her: Oh...

me: Bank bank.

her: That is what I just said...

me: Yeah, they are so fixated on answering that they are not watching the money.

her: That is the highest I have seen them get. Chris thinks I would be good on this. I know most of the answers but I think I would freeze with the cameras.

me: Yeah, i would need a hit of tequila to distract me.

her: Tony seems pissed.

me: I didn't get that vibe.

me: Oh, wow! Alan Ruck in that commercial with the car! Loved it!

her: That is my favorite commercial in a long while.

me: Most def. I love him, especially since he said my name was beautiful when i met him at DragonCon. :-)

her: Team Megan!

me: Lol! That was fun! Thanks for having me join you! Love you!

her: Love you too.

 

Thank you, my dearest Christina Ann, for including me.

I am so blessed to have you in my life!

i thank You, God!

are those REAL?

 

Yes, the dish drainer does have real glasses and real plates and real forks.

I don't know that I'd go so far as to say the strike has ended...

but I would agree that a cease-fire has been called.

This is the second week of my usage of such, rather than the ersatz versions.

Has my stash of plasticware been depleted? 

Not hardly, although the disposable plates are almost all gone.

So, why the shift toward the real things?

Partly, I've stepped away from the plastic because I've needed a change.

Mostly, though, it was predicated by the arrival of an unexpected box.

I say 'unexpected', but it could well be that I simply forgot about the order.

The meals sent by Blue Apron are certainly ones that meet with my approval...

so, perhaps I did have them on 'impending' status and forgot.

That's certainly possible.

My drift factor has definitely increased this year.

They'd notified me on October 2 that I had a box on the way -

and it had arrived last week on Wednesday morning - 

so I had plenty of time to unpack it before my Royal adventure.

The menus certainly looked familiar.

So, I had started using real plates, thinking I would save the few remaining plastic ones for the meals I'd be making.

I've now cooked two of them and have not switched back to plastic.

Maybe I'll stay out of the china cupboard for this third meal...

maybe not.

As I said, my drift factor, due to my blonde roots, is pretty big now.

(smile)

Okay, time for "Quantum Leap"!

For this Tina Tuesday, Sam is a bouncer with a bouncing baby girl, shades of "Raising Arizona", then he'll be shipboard trying to win back the hand of his lady love from a mobster.

That latter one is the one I'm looking forward to, as he'll be clad in swim trunks.

Oh, yeah...

that's what I like!

No dinner and movie?

Frayed knot tying that together.

It looks like Saturday may become the new day for that, as the AMC (the cineplex, not the church) has switched to Friday-Saturday-Sunday screenings only.

Maybe that change is partially responsible for my drift now.

Then again, October tends  to be hard on me, though not so much as April.

Reminders of deaths of family, both those born with and those chosen.

Sigh.

Thank God for these imaginary fictional characters on tv for distraction.

(smile)

breakfast with dinner at the stadium!

Hi, I'm Faustina, and I'm addicted to "Quantum Leap".
Even though I knew the game started at 6:30 tonight, I delayed leaving home until after 7.
Just because this episode was on, with Sam as "Black Magic", the dad who had to win at eight ball to save his daughter's blues club.
Plus, I really wanted to take this particular shot.
(Get the joke? I couldn't resist!)

Last night, another favorite episode made me delay another event: the latest episode of the svf-8 that was celebrating their resident composer.
(Shhhh, don't let them know that I over an hour late arriving!)
That's Melvin the mortician, the sole mourner in 1957 at the grave of an 18-year-old.
It may have been the Mark Twain he quoted that tugged at my heart.
I like the snow falling all around like crystallized tears.

Still, I was able to get to Grayson Stadium in plenty of time, corralling my 'gators over in the picnic area and treating myself to a hotdog and chips and soda while this poor Bacon was left stranded on third base.
Seven minutes, that's how long he waited, after hustling to steal two bases to get there.
Seven minutes, before the third out was called and he was free to leave it.
That was the closest Macon came to scoring tonight.

The Savannah team had much better luck that inning!
The home boys had already scored two runs early in the game.
This time at bat, they loaded the bases full of Bananas...
with each one successfully stealing home on wild pitches!
Boom, boom, boom -
three runs more!

And guess what?
The inning was still rocking on, even though my boys of summer only landed one more man on base.
Then came number 40, a guy named Clint - Clint Hardy, that is.
Name ring a bell?
Well, his bat sure did ring one, sending the ball over the left wall just as he'd done in 2016, and adding two more runs to the tally!

After that, I decided to change seats.
The strange guy and his posse of women and kids kept looking at me like he wanted to start trouble.
I got some more soda and free food and parked myself and my invisible congregation on the open-topped aluminum bleachers.
That something different turned out to be something very good!
I could call balls and strikes again - hallelujah for that!

The move also put me where I could feel more engaged in the action on the field, and where I could easily be acknowledged as a veteran during the "Troop Salute."
(I've missed that in the picnic area.)
Right after that inning break, it was Clint's turn at bat again.
Doesn't he cut a mighty fine figure there, standing in the batter's box like he owns it?

He hit a sweet line drive between second and third, assuring him plenty of time to tag up on first base and catch the lay of the land.
Doesn't he cut a mighty fine figure there, too, with that white uniform making him stand out in a sea of bacon burgundy?
I like that he was leading off just a little to let the pitcher know he was ready to run.

Run he certainly did, taking advantage of a wild pitch to grab second base!
Then, on a solid double from a Banana teammate, he sped around and raced across home plate!
That's him, between the umpire and the Bacon catcher, after scoring the last run of the evening, by the home team or the visitors.
Way to go, Clint!
I'm so glad I was there!
i thank You, God!