welcome home, with blondes!

As I was the first to arrive, I quickly laid siege to the outdoor patio at the Jalapenos of Pooler. 

That proved to be perfect!

It was partly shaded, due to the prevening time, and fairly cool, so as to please Christina and Michael.

It turns out that Miss Chlo is the most spoiled and prefers air conditioning, as evidenced by her repeated attempts to go inside - not this time!

That's her, to Leila's left, at the side table.

Miyah is there, too, while Alyssa chose to sit with us and the queso dip... well, for the moment!

By the time we left, the sun was setting and the patio had diners at three other tables.

I'm sure they all breathed a collective sigh of relief when we took the girls away!

Trying to restrict them to the patio had worked well; trying to keep them to only part of that space had proved more problematic.

But look at how much fun they were all having!

Surely there was somewhere else we could go to let them expend energy (so they'd maybe sleep late on a Sunday morning)?

What to do that wouldn't break the bank?

Trust Michael to know just the place!

The YMCA there has a playground that's still fairly well lit, so that's where we headed.

Guess what?

We had it all to ourselves!

The swings, the slides, the running paths, the things to climb onto - ours, all ours!

Marvelous, simply marvelous!

Thanks, y'all!

Wmla to all!

(smile!)

gift from the bfe

"Don't tell me, let me guess - he finally remembered your birthday!"

Nah, not really. He may have thought about the last time we met for lunch, but he didn't actually say the words. He did, though, buy my lunch at The Noodle Bowl, so that was very nice. Oh, and he told me The 'Cole was getting rid of her dvd collection of "Psych" and he had it set aside for me!

"Well, that's very cool! Was that last month?"

 No, it was May 18. We never did get lunch in June, due to my travels.

"Oh, that's too bad. I mean, that you and he didn't get together, not that you were so busy with your holidays in Florida and California. Where did y'all dine today?"

At the Olive Garden, yesterday. That was his treat, too, with both of us scarfing up soup and salad!
We spoke of stars and spectroscopy and some show on youTube called "42nd Street Forever", that just has trailers for grind house films. I need to remember to tell Jim Reed about that.

"Did you tell the physicist about that youTube show Paul and Cathy turned you onto?"

You mean "Absolute History"? But of course! And he had countered with "Drunk History", which uses celebs to re-enact famous events.

"That sounds like it could be humorous..." 

Yeah, I think so, so I'll try to keep it on my radar.

"Did he have the box of videos for you?"

Nah, and, honestly, I forgot to even ask about them. That's okay, I already "got" my 64-1 gift from him... and I got it myself!

"Oh, you mean that trip in early June to Bath & Body Works?"

Exactly! The coupons were in his name, so it's as if he got the smell pretty stuff for me, or gave me a gift certificate for them!

"Yeah, I hadn't thought of it that way. I really like the Japanese Cherry Blossom body lotion, both the way it feels and the delicious aroma!"

Yeah, so do I! That was completely free, too... and I just got his new coupons in the mail, so I'll be sure to bounce out there and get another free body lotion! I won't be getting anything else this time, though. The four foaming hand soaps were not only on sale, but I had a second coupon for an additional discount, courtesy of the bfe. I was nearly out, so that was good timing!

"And what are the four that you choose?"

Kitchen Lemon is the one in the bathroom now and I've been using that since I got it on June 2nd. The other three are Aloe Water, Boardwalk Vanilla Cone, and Sunshine & Lemons. My plan had been to switch them out every month or so, but that hasn't happened yet.

"And just why had you bought four of them, instead of just one?" 

They were on sale, four for $20. Plus, I had a 20% discount from the bfe. Between the two, the deal gave me two free for buying two. Rather nifty to know math!

"Rather nifty indeed! and who do we have here!?"

Alyssa and Leila and Michael! The girls were in town for VBS at Bible Baptist Church, so Michael hung out with me until they were done. Then we all had dinner at Chili's! That was on Monday.

"And what's that? In their hands?"

Those are the souvenirs I bought for them at Jelly Belly! Alyssa  has BB8 and Leila has Chewbacca, my favorite Wookie! Michael really loved that I got them "Star Wars" character tins... as I knew he would! He and I share that love of that science fiction franchise!

"Very nice! And here's Christina Ann!"

So she is! This was from our penultimate Tina Tuesday of the summer. She returns to school on the 26th, sadly, but that's a good thing for her.

"I hear you. Are y'all at Rodeo again?"

You know it! I treated her to lunch, just as I had treated her brother and the twins the night before.

"Good for you! Feeling more financially sound?"

A little, but I also wanted to do her a favor, as she did for me that day. I'd arrived too late for lunch and a movie, so we went grocery shopping... and she had coupons for all of my fruit and veggie purchases! I ended up paying less than six bucks for almost $30 of food! 

"Wow! That's amazing!"

It was! So, my pantry is restocked with canned vegetables and I have cherries, carrots, and onions, too. I'll need to buy milk, of course, but my shopping for the week is done!

"Wonderful! "

Yes, yes it was! Now, I need to skedaddle! Smitty and I are meeting for the quarterly taxes, as well as sales taxes from last month and May. My goal is to get the laundry done before that, so I'm going to be cutting it close.

"Perhaps the clothes can wait until next week?"

Only if I plan to go commando... and that ain't hap'nin', captain!

"LOL! Your first niece would love that you used her saying!"

Sho' 'nuff! Later, tater!

"Later, gator!"

with bows and without

Little girls, little girls...

surprising me with a visit from the beach ...

posing in the front yard...

with hair neatly brushed...

and great lovely bows from the first niece ...

all done just a little differently!

Little girls, little girls...

Miyah with her tongue out and eyes closed...

Alyssa in the back with arms crossed...

Leila tilted over and flashing a peace sign...

Chloe walking out of the frame...

all doing just a little bit differently...

Little girls, little girls!

lunch with funny-faced girls!

Yep, yep, that's them!

Miyah was crying, missing her bubba, tired and taking refuge in the fort atop the slide.

Next thing I knew, the twins had joined her as well as her baby sister, all to keep her company.

Then, to lighten the mood, Leila crossed her eyes...

I made a big deal of getting out my camera...

and all tears disappeared as the other three girls joined in making funny faces!

That's Leila, Alyssa, Chloe, and Miyah, with three out of four able to cross their eyes at will!

Miss Chloe hasn't quite gotten the knack yet, but she's trying!

All of them thought it was hilarious as pretended to be freaked out, clicking the shutter over and over again, sharing the photos with each of them before taking another.

What a wonderful way to chase tears away!

The twins had to leave shortly after, as Monday is a school day.

The other two blondes were soon to bed as well, for the same reason.

I stayed on to give moral support to their mom as she plowed through online homework - in algebra - for the next four hours.

Boy oh boy, it really showed that it's been more than three decades since I had that!

 

But what fun we had earlier!

Michael and his girls had arrived in Hinesville just minutes after me.

We were all there for the cookout!

Beef brisket with Apple Crown barbeque sauce!

Pork chops, hotdogs, bratwurst!

Baked beans, German green bean salad, cheesy hash browns!

Angel food cake, popsicles, and strawberry pie!

Well, none of that last thing for me, of course, but more cake instead!

This was the girls holed up in the living room, waiting for the hotdogs to get done, ready to eat and wanting to make sure not to miss out.

LOL! Like that would happen!

That was the only time they were all inside, as the day was beautiful and warm and called for all of us to come outside and enjoy spring!

So we did, naturally.

So did this caterpillar, attracted to the flowers on my top and the bright salmon of my skort.

Christina rescued me from it - or vice versa, maybe - and Michael looked up what it's future self would be.

Oh, poor thing!

A drab brown moth is what it becomes, not a brilliantly hued monarch!

I guess it needs to enjoy its yellow dots and sage greens while it still has them.

As for me, I'm going to enjoy these beloved ones every chance I get.

Thank you, Christina, for this invitation and for sporting the jewelry I'd given you.

Thank you, Chris and Christina, for cooking up a pile of deliciousness to share and granting me CJ's room for the night.

Thank you, Michael, for the dessert and the reminder that I need to call more often.

i thank You, God, for this time we had together.

Life is short.

The distance between here and there is a scant 47 miles.
I checked.

It doesn't matter if I take DeRenne to Veteran's Parkway to 95-South to their exit, as I did on the way there yesterday.

Nor does it make a difference if I go from their house to 17-North to Abercorn to Truman Parkway to my home, as I did this morning.

Forty-seven miles.

And I didn't even need the GPS this time.

i thank You, God.

sunday groove thing - i hope!

Head 'em up!

Move 'em out!

Load em' up!

Rawhide!!!

I don't know why that song popped up on my mental jukebox, but there ya go!

I snapped this as we were preparing to leave the GTC Pooler, having spent two hours there watching "The Emperor's New Groove".

Hard to believe that movie is 21 years old!

The good thing is both my first niece and my nephew were old enough to remember the voices in it, so that made it a nice walk down memory lane.

I really loved hearing Tom Jones singing one of the few songs!

Oh, yeah... love his voice!

And here's a note to myself for next time: get the seats in a two-row block, rather than everybody in the same one row.

That worked beautifully for separating the four kids from the four adults, as well as keeping all of us well away from anyone else.

Plus, as we were in rows B and C, that made it easy for us to move in front of the screen during the credits to do our dance, do our dance, yeah - word up!

Good to get out some energy before popping into the car for the next big thing!

Plus, it let's everyone else in the cinema safely get out before us - winner, winner!

This is the second time I've danced with the girls after a movie and I love it!

I think that is part of my new groove for 2021; yes, what a lovely habit!

After the movie, we were early enough able to snag a table for eight at Jalapenos.

Most excellent!

That meant shrimp ceviche for me!

Even better - Christina surprised me and paid for my meal!

Muchas gracias, mi corazon!

Here we are, nearing the end of our second hour there, with Grammy Melinda helping to get coats on Chloe, Leila, Alyssa, and Miyah.

We'd already had the bathroom rounds, so with full bellies and empty bladders it was time for all to hit the road...

well, after another thirty minutes or so talking in the parking lot and multiple hugs all around!!!

Now, I am safely home in Savannah again, with my odometer reading a mileage of 21 57 57...

Melinda and Michael have Leila and Alyssa home in Guyton again...

and Christina has Chloe home in Hinesville again.

What's that?

Where's the littlest girl?

She went to Guyton to have a sleepover with her twin cousins.

(smile!)

4 girls birthday party!

Here they are, rounded up from the playground and sitting at the table, waiting for the "Happy Birthday" song to start!

There's Leila, closest to her Grammy; then the shorter, at least as blonde, head of Chloe; and then Miyah Papaya, closest to Nana Venita!

I know, I know, there's supposed to be four girls at this shindig...

and there were...

until Alyssa broke her arm in multiple places on the swings.

(She and her daddy missed the entire three-hour pizza party there at J.F. Gregory Park.)

After cupcakes and ice cream, it was finally time to tackle that massive mound of gifts!

I swooped in and set up the girls with my gifts to open first!

I wanted to make sure I would get this photo, right?

Of all three opening the G'Aunt Tina presents at the same time, right?

Good call!

Once they started tearing off wrapping paper, it was anyone's guess whose gift was in their hands!

Not my first rodeo, right?

I was in exactly the right place, right time, to capture this shot - amazing!

Not only did I catch 2-year-old Chloe with her toddler art kit and 3-year-old Miyah all ready for a tea party with her multi-piece set, but I also got their Mama, my dear Christina Ann, right there, too -

just by pure coincidence -

which means Mama was right there with me.

What a blessing!

After that, my turn was over and I backed off and let others in close.

I knew that Papa Chris, sitting there on the tailgate, was videotaping the proceedings for posterity, as well as for the missing twin sister and dad.

I also knew this was probably the only shot taken of him, right?

The one behind the lens is the only one not captured on film, usually -

but not this time!

But wait!

I had not revealed what 6-year-old Leila had received!

Well, first, inside that Dia De Los Muerte bag was a smaller gift bag, stuffed with five pairs of fun socks, a package of mini-posters to paint, and five reusable cloth face masks, each with a floral pattern and in a nice variety of colors.

Those are sure to keep her healthier, not that she's in kindergarten!

But the part she was most excited about was the yellow monarch card at the top of her bag -

I'll have to remember she likes butterflies!

Alyssa's lighter color DdLM bag had the other 5 pairs of socks from the ten-pack I'd bought, a mini-poster package, and, of course, five face masks for her, this time in bright bandanna colors.

I hope she'll like them!

I know I liked the goodie bag I walked away with - and I'm not talking about the half-package of mini-Tootsie Rolls I got!

Oh, no, I'm referring to the 'corn (as Miyah refers to unicorns) filled with candy eyeballs, stickers, a stamp pad, a mini-notebook, and a even a pen!!!

Wow - pretty nifty goodie bag!

Thanks, y'all, for letting this big kid have one!

(smile!)

to watch or not to watch, that is the question

I've been working on a themed film festival at home, just a little something to pass the time and engage the brain, right?

But one of the movies has had me tripped up.

It's not as if the movies all have to be fiction -

no, I already have one documentary viewed and a pseudo-doc in line.

It's not as if the movies all have to contain a central character -

several deal with ensembles with no one person carrying the show.

It isn't even as if the movies all have to have only famous actors -

several that I've watched have had actors I've never heard of and that I doubt anyone in the USA would know.

With so much flexibility, why should any movie give me doubts about its inclusion?

But there was something about "Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby", something that called to me, but also something that pushed me away.

I had even lined up a replacement to use in its stead and had decided not to do so after seeing that one's bad ratings...

which is not something to which I generally give heed.

So, what was the issue with this film?

I remembered having caught bits and pieces of the Will Ferrell-John C. Reilly flick over the last fourteen years since it came on the scene, but not the entire movie.

I very much like John C. Reilly and have enjoyed most of his movies; however, Will Ferrell has been more miss than hit, though I loved him in "Elf".

Might it be the car-racing theme that held no allure for me?

No, that certainly isn't the case.

I've been to car races, locally and elsewhere, and enjoyed them.

"The Art Of Racing In The Rain" was all about such things and I saw that one multiple times, loving it more with each viewing.

Hmm... what about the comedy film was bothering me?

So, I set the puzzle aside and kept it on the list, but still had not watched it.

Tonight, while intermittently washing the dishes and working a cryptogram, I finally realized why I was so reluctant to watch "TN:TBORB".

I have to thank Sally and Jack for helping my brain work through the conundrum.

"The Nightmare Before Christmas" is one of my favorite movies, one that I have watched countless times since seeing it on the silver screen in 1993.

Part of the draw then had been Danny Elfman, born on my birth date but five years before me.

I was familiar with his band, Oingo Boingo, back in 1983 and 1984 when I was stationed at Imperial Beach in California.

("Weird Science" was one of their most popular tunes.)

If he was doing the music, I was most definitely in!

The other draw for me was Tim Burton, born just three months after I had been.

I was a huge fan of his work, both animated ("Frankenweenie") and live-action ("Beetlejuice", "Edward Scissorhands", and "Batman" as well as "Batman Returns", with Michael Keaton as the very best Dark Knight ever. Period. But that is a discussion for another time.), so I was primed and ready for the long-awaited tale of the overlap of Halloween and Christmas.

Oh, yeah!

I had seen it last night, returned to the big screen this weekend by AMC.

I was blessed to be in the company of the bear and Carolyn, who had never ever seen it.

I went on fb for the first time in more than a week, mostly to post about the movie being in the cinemas.

My Canadian Sue (sort of an outlaw 'sister') told me she had never ever seen it.

(She closed by saying she'd find it and watch tonight.)

This afternoon, good fortune granted me a second viewing, at the other local AMC, this time in the company of Michael and the twins...

and we were not alone in the screening room, either!

I'm glad so many others love this romantic, musical, dark comedy!

I sang along with every song both times, sotto voce of course.

After all, I'm not riffraff.

(Hey, that's an inside joke for the bfrb.)

Michael and the girls dropped me off and I've been home since.

I watched one of the films for this film festival I've scrapped together, but it wasn't "TH:TBORB".

I had meant to pull up that one, I had, but changed my mind, yet again.

Then, moments ago, I realized why I had not watched it.

It all goes back to the day I found out my husband was cheating on me again.

(Yes, I said again, but I don't want to go back to the 1996 episode.

This post has already become quite long enough, thank you.)

That day, the Savannah Sand Gnats were having an away game at the home of the Charleston Riverdogs.

The Gnats had arranged a bus to carry the season ticket holders (which included me!) and their spouses (which included Jeff, who was also the Gnats' announcer) to the South Carolina site for the evening game.

Hooray!

The game actually got rained out, but we still had the trip out of town, with no driving duty for either of us.

Hooray!

But no sooner had we arrived home than Jeff told me he needed to go out to the radio station to take care of something.

It was already after midnight, I asked, couldn't it wait for morning?

No, it could not.

Well, that was okay, I'd ride out there with him, keep him company.

No, I didn't need to do that.

I just want to be with you, baby, I told him... and he relented.

And while he went and did whatever in the control room at the station, I waited for him and sat at his desk...

and saw the fruit-scented whiteboard markers by the landline phone...

and saw the cell phone box under his desk, where I'd kicked off my shoes...

and when I asked him about them, he told me they were a gift...

a gift from a woman in the office, a person he would not name.

I had him take me home, then I told him to find somewhere else to go.

I had known something was amiss, but had thought he had been preoccupied with the recent death of his mom, had hoped that was the reason.

That night had been the beginning of the end of our marriage.

And the movie that had played in the background on the bus, during the three hour drive back to Savannah earlier, had been the one with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly.

I wonder if, deep in my mind, I associate the divorce with that film?

Maybe that's a reason to watch it, to lay that demon to rest.

'Tis the season for such things...

but I'll wait for the bright light of day.

That's best for dispelling ghosts.

3 with me 4 the 3rd

Here it is, only a Sunday, and I've already filled my A*List dance card.

Seriously, I'm just three days into my sixth week of the AMC cinemas being open again, and my three free ones are viewed and done.

Ah, but here's the thing: I watched "Unhinged" and "The Last Shift" by myself.

For the third one, though, I had three keeping me company!

That's Alyssa and Leila and Michael there with me at the Classic 11, waiting for "Madagascar" to begin!

Talk about coincidences, I had recently seen an educational program about islands - and this was the one highlighted!

That means I already knew that it truly does have a wide range of lemurs, and those critters are kin to apes, not squirrels.

Fun facts that I shared, of course!

Right place, right time!

And here is more proof of that: three pennies spotted in my path as I walked outside awaiting the arrival of my nephew and his girls.

Yep, that's right, three pennies that caught my eye on different passes of the same strip of sidewalk.

Right place, right time!
Plus, notice the guest pass.

We each received one due to projector snafus and our patience at the multiple delays.

Woohoo!!!

Actually, I think the machine might have overheard Michael talking about the rise of the robots in the future and didn't want to miss out on all that fun.

That was during the first delay.

The manager got the machine started...

and all seemed to be going well...

until the sound went out!

One more reboot was all it took, but we were granted the passes as well as free noshes.

 

That was magnificent lagniappe!

I had simply wanted to spend more time with them and thought this movie was the perfect answer for a rainy afternoon.

This had been my treat...

and now it had been doubled so they could enjoy a second movie gratis, on the silver screen in a cinema!

And why had I wanted to share this movie?

Well, mostly because it was a kid movie and I wanted to spend more time with the kids.

(smile!) 

They had dropped by yesterday afternoon to pick up some mail.

After a bit of visiting, I took them around back so the girls could each pick out three shells from the big jar of bounty I'd brought back from Panama back in 1980.

Alyssa picked three snail shells; Leila selected three shells that had nothing in common except country of origin.

I love that they are so independent in their minds!

Leila now has the raccoon mask and Alyssa has the panda mask from the five-pack that included the unicorn mask I wore today.

I just may have to buy another package of those!

What a wonderful, fabulous, rainy day!

i thank You, God!

lessons i taught the twins

That photograph of Leila and Alyssa, being slime monsterz, is from almost a week ago.
It's hard for me to believe they will be gone in another week, but Michael said they were leaving to move in with his mom.
Tonight has been so very pleasant, though, maybe he will change his mind.
I came home from a One Hundred Miles event in time to help with the bedtime routine.
I even got to select the book for him to read to the girls!
(smile)

I though it might be good to make a list of the helpful life advice I've shared with these five-year-old twins.
That will at least make me feel that I've made a difference for them.
So, here goes, in no particular order.

Brush your hair starting at the bottom of the strands.
-- For bad tangles, that will keep hair loss - and scalp pain - to a minimum.

Only use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste on your toothbrush.
-- No need to slather it on all the bristles!

Wash your hands after using the bathroom.
-- Honestly, I was shocked they weren't doing that already.

Chew with your mouth closed.
-- Again, I would have thought they'd know better by now.

Take your shoes off at the front door.
-- Yeah, I admit this is one of mine from my time in Okinawa. Keeps the house cleaner.

Wash your hands before you eat.
-- No wonder they get sick so easily, right?

Wash your hands after playing with slime.
-- That stuff was soooo very nasty to touch!

No food in the bedroom.
-- That keeps bugs from crawling on you at night.

No more fake crying.
-- As I told them, I'm a girl and I know when the tears are real.

No television at bedtime.
-- Going to bed with a loud movie on? No wonder they can't sleep.

Quiet time is the hour before bedtime.
-- Yeah, that's a work in progress. Hence, the reading of a book with their Dad.

9:00 PM is time for sleep.
-- That's definitely a work in progress, but they should not be up at 11 PM. Period.

Do what your Daddy says.
-- He's their boss and what he tells them is the truth.

Here's hoping some of those lessons stay with Leila and Alyssa.
I'm so grateful to have had some time with them.
And to think it all began with a trip to Lake Mayer that unearthed two pennies.
i thank You, God.