christmas eve eve dinner!

Great googly moogly!

The Carey Hilliard's on Skidaway just went ahead and gave us the entire back room!

There were only ten of us...

but I guess it seemed like more with four little blonde girls running around!

That's Papa Matt, as the girls know him!

He was holding down the end of the table where the food would eventually be.

Papa's got a brand-new... cap!

I guess James Brown needs to change up some lyrics!

 

And what's that?

A table full of nothing but gift bags!

It was just crazy the amount of gifts there were... 

there were even some for me!

Christina knitted an ocean-themed scarf and Michael gave me an ocean-at-night shoulder wrap with fringe (!) and Melinda made apple butter that I can't wait to try on panettone French Toast!

There were gifts from me, too.

Here's Michael, reading to Alyssa what I had written on the gift tag for her special ornament.

Her left arm is already nearly all healed up from her breaking it - 

just a soft brace, now, no cast.

Looking for Leila?

She's more independent and doesn't have to stay by dad all the time.

Her newly-engaged Aunt Chelsea read aloud her gift tag while Grammy listened in.

And this Littlest Girl?

She's Miyah, of course, and she's standing in her chair and holding the ornament her G'Aunt Tina gave her...

and giving her a big smile!

Psst... I think she likes me!

I think she's making sure that Miss Chlo likes me, too!

That little one does whatever her big sister does, that's for sure, and neither one of them miss a trick!

What a blessing to have this time with them - with all of them...

my first niece and her daughters...

my nephew Michael and his twins...

my outlaw Melinda and her hubby and their daughter...

all family!

i thank You, God!

better than i found, again

When I'd returned home from my second visit with Ronnie yesterday, my first niece had a message for me to call her.

She'd seen the logo for Gamble Funeral Home on Jean Marie's damaged grave marker and had telephoned them about getting a replacement.

They had been glad to make one for her cousin; I could pick it up from them any time in the next few days, free of charge.

I had gotten off the phone in tears, so very grateful for her initiative and care.

Today, after brunch, I gathered up what I needed and headed out.

First stop was the funeral home, where they very graciously provide the marker, this time on a marbleized plastic - very nice!

Then, out to Greenwich again and straight to her site.

During the night, the marker had completely broken along the lower left and was lying in pieces, the wire stand no longer fully attached.

I moved the pieces, and the moss and sticks, over to one side, out of the way.

Then I located the rocks I had moved from the road once upon a time and again piled them at her site.

After that, I was ready to dig out a trench to lay the stone I'd brought.

This dragonfly paver was something I'd bought several years ago, intending to build a garden walk and place it as a highlight.

I'd forgotten about it until a thought this morning - thanks, Mama! - had reminded me of it.

What a perfect gift for this niece.

As for the wreath of moss, I'd constructed it atop a circlet of vine from a nearby tree.

Totally serendipity, that was.

Or, perhaps, it was my mother's guiding hand, adding her creative touch at this, the Christmas season, her favorite time of year.

I miss Mama so much.

better than i found

I'd started this special day "playing Santa" with Christina, as she had a week or so ago.

She'd gone to pick up the toys and clothes over by Savannah Arts Academy, then swung by for my company on the way to their haven.

(Hey, that's a little inside joke for me and her.)

I then suggested we go over to Greenwich and 'visit with family' and, to my delight, she'd agreed.

Very nice!

 

We'd tidied up at the Barry plot, doing the usual: setting the flowers into the jars, picking up random bits of jetsam.

Then we'd walked over to Jean Marie's, only to find her sign half-broken and all chipped, with the rocks I'd left centered all strewn about or buried.

When we left, my goal was to return with duct tape and try to secure the marker to both wires.

That didn't happen today.

I'd pointed out to her, on our way to the cemetery, the Marathon gas station where Smitty said her dad hung out. 

We didn't see him on the way there, but she spotted him as we drove back along Skidaway, sitting in the sun.

She hasn't seen him since August of 2018, when she and I and he had dined together for lunch.

I had not seen him since the dinner at the Diner two months after that.

We visited him for about twenty minutes or so.
Then she took me home and headed out to pick up her daughters from daycare.

I took care of the November sales tax for brother Smitty's business.

Then I updated the bookbag for Ronnie that I'd carried in my car since summer, hoping to spot him.

The package of socks and bag of Tootsie rolls were items I knew he would like. 

Given the shift in weather, I added mittens, a knitted hat, and a scarf.

I'm hoping he'll use the bag of toiletries and the mask.

As the time was already after past 5 PM, I knew the cemetery would be closed, but I went ahead to deliver the bookbag.

Miracle of miracles, I actually found my middle brother for the second time today.

i thank You, God.

tang-erine tea

We started out talking about his birthday and the next thing ya know, we're talking about our moms!

Actually, it began with him talking of an upcoming trip to Pigeon Forge.

He was telling me about this bus that had been turned into a restaurant where all the foods were smoked - not boiled or baked or fried, just smoked.

Even the dessert, an apple pie, was smoked, though he wasn't sure if the apples were smoked or the pie itself was cooked by smoking.

He and Amy had stumbled upon the place when they took a shortcut that ended up being a lane through the woods.

Of course they'd sampled the food!

After all, that kind of place is what he lives to discover!

(smile!)

Anyhow, on one such trip, the folks in charge had included some "tangerine tea" along with the meal.

"Tasted more like it was Tang-erine tea," Jeff said.

And I just cracked up with laughter!

Then I told him about the "Russian tea" that Mama made when I was in high school...

and he remembered his mom making that, too, when he was about ten...

and it had some orange drink and cloves and cinnamon...

and I said, yeah, it was like "THE" crafty gift for the holidays that year, with folks putting it in fancy jars and tins...

and he knew all about that, because folks in Monteagle were doing the same thing...

and we realized we had both lived through the same fad at the same time!

That was pretty cool!

(smile!) 

 

Happy 56th birthday, Jeff...

good to have you 

still part of my life 

and my family.

(smile!)

thanks, amc, for the nutcracker!

Ordinarily, by this time in the holiday season, I would have seen at least two performances of this ballet, ushering for children's recitals at the Lucas Theatre.

My record, though, was six nutcrackers, only two years ago, although it seems much longer.

I have certainly missed that during the pandemic.

That's why I made sure to see this version when it came via Fathom events.

"Bolshoi Ballet: Live From Moscow - The Nutcracker" was a performance that had been filmed in 2018 - the very year I had ushered for six of the dances downtown.

(smile!)

While it was quite true to the others in the first act, it was markedly different in the second.

For one thing, it had a ship in it!

That was called the "Voyage of the Future" sequence and had Clara and the doll-made-man sailing above the stage as the other dolls danced.

For another thing, there was no Snow Queen and Snow King.

Instead, Clara and the Nutcracker danced for that music, then they were married!

Yes, quite different from the others, but apparently meant to be true to the version staged in 1966 by Gregorevich.
At least, I think that's what the multi-lingual interviewer was discussing with the woman in charge of this ballet.

I admit, I was rather distracted, and certainly more entertained, by the Spanish 'doll' practicing his twirls behind the two women.

Repeatedly.

Definitely a fan of being in front of the camera!

(smile!)

How wonderful to have shared this with Sandy and Barbara!

They happened to be there, too -

dos de mi tres amigas!

Magnificent!

Right place, right time!

i thank You, God!

wishing i was shocked

Yesterday, the total number of Georgians who have been infected this year by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus surpassed half a million (500,265).

Yesterday, the total number of Californians who have newly contracted the coronavirus infectious disease (COVID) over the past week surpassed a quarter of a million (273,127).

Yesterday, the total number of new cases of people with COVID in the United States for the one day surpassed a third of a million and was headed for half a million (403,359).

Why am I not shocked?

I am a well-traveled person and an analytical chemist.

I am well acquainted with how spoiled American citizens are, with how many in this country regard their own desires as the most important, with the need for instant gratification being foremost over future happiness.

After all, I am an American, too, so I recognize those traits in myself.

And now the holidays are upon us.

People have already demonstrated that they did travel for Thanksgiving and they will be traveling for Christmas and Hanukkah and family celebrations.

Perhaps the news of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines has made folks giddy and lured them into a false sense of security.

That is a mistake, as inoculations have only begun and there are more than 328 million people, in this country alone, who need the vaccination.

Perhaps the churches that have re-opened their doors during this money-making season have instilled a false sense of protection via belief in God.

That is a mistake, as God gave us brains and a conscience so we could distinguish wrong from right courses of action.

Something has changed, for the worse, and we are certainly not taking care.

We need to remember that the virus is not yet done wreaking havoc.

If we are to have hope for a spring of promise and a summer of shared adventures, we need to continue following the simple steps to contain the virus.

First and foremost, wear a face covering in public spaces or in the company of those that do not share your dwelling.

Second, maintain you congregation of 'gators to keep strangers well away.

Third, wash, wash, wash those hands that touch, touch, touch surfaces.

Please.

one-eyed pirate cat

 I think you may be missing an apostrophe in that title.

 

Let me double-check.

Nope!

That's exactly what I intended to write!

 

Okay, so I get that you're referring to something with one eye...

like a Cyclops? 

 

Oh, no, not at all!

That's part of the reason I made sure the word 'pirate' was in there.

This was a one-eyed pirate creature, with a patch over the right eye.

Or perhaps it was the left one...

 

Hold up, please!

I caught that 'creature' in that descriptor.

You know that humans are creatures, too, right? 

 

Of course I do!

But this one-eyed pirate isn't human - it's an anthropomorphic cat.

 

I think I'm getting the picture now.

There's a cat, with a patch over one eye and standing and walking on its hind legs, as well as wearing the togs of an ocean marauder... 

 

Exactly correct!

And just where was this feline?

 

In a movie, naturally!

I went to see "Monster Hunter" at the cinema for my Faustina Friday date night.

I'm so glad I saw it in the Big D!

In fact, I may well go see it again in the near future!

 

Seriously, you went to see that?

Oh, wait, you went because Milla Jojovich is in it and you like her in science fiction, ever since "The Fifth Element".

But you should be aware that the entire movie is based on a video game, rather than the other way around. 

 

Well... yes, I went because she was starring in it... and, no, I didn't know anything about its origins... but it looked to be full of action and a total flight of fancy from reality and that, more than anything else, was the draw.

Again, I'm very glad to have seen it in Big D!

Fabulous cinematography!

And the bad-guy creatures... wow.

In a way, it reminded me of "Love And Monsters", but it also made me think of Ray Harryhausen and the fantastical beings he crafted for monster movies once upon a time.

 

Harryhausen?

Wasn't that the name of the restaurant in "Monsters, Inc."? 

 

Good call there!

It certainly was!

I'm so glad to have been part of the kickstarter campaign to honor the man.

Speaking of restaurants, I went to one tonight!

 

Do tell!

Did you use one of those gift cards you have? 

 

As a matter of fact, I did!

I'd found a ten-dollar one for Red Lobster lost in the depths of the car door pocket.
It was put to most excellent use for this feast: Sesame-Soy Salmon Bowl!

I brought nearly half of it home!

Fabulous slab of savory salmon atop a flavorful rice pilaf, with a side salad and roasted Brussels sprouts that could have served as dessert they were so sweet and succulent!

 

Oh, wow, my mouth is watering...

 

Well, hands off!

I'm saving that for brunch on Sunday, ya hear?

You already at that cheddar biscuit, so leave the rest alone!

 

Fine, fine.

There's that shrimp scampi in the fridge, too...

 

Leave it be!

That is not a midnight snack, no, no, no!

 

Okay, okay, don't get your tinsel in a tangle, g'friend.

Hey, look what's on Comet right now!

"Earth Girls Are Easy"!

These three look rather like feline creatures, and are similar in behavior to them, too!

 

Oh, very nice!

Last night, I had "The Long Kiss Goodnight" on Bounce, so that's two nights running with movies starring Geena Davis!

Perfect for finishing up my evening -

thanks for letting me know!

Later, chica!

Peace OUT!

(smile!)