One of our favorite breakfast spots here in Savannah is Le Café Gourmet, a small but very-big-on-flavor spot tucked away on Victory Drive that victoriously specializes in French pastries and sandwiches.
We love chatting with owner Helen and playing with the café’s mascot, Theo.
And best of all, Le Café Gourmet oozes with welcome and goodwill.
Which makes the little, low placard below the coffee bar so very appropriate.
Especially in today’s divided and difficult world.
At my age, I may no longer be able to be anything, but with just a little effort, I know I can be … KIND.
On a couple of recent trips to our buddy Gordon‘s old farmhouse over in Effingham County GA, Robert and I discovered one of the greatest treasure treats on earth.
Ally’s Bakery in the town of Rincon.
Ally’s pastries are simply beyond delicious.
Probably the best cinnamon rolls we’ve ever had.
And Robert is embarrassingly obsessed with Ally’s artistic cookies.
He and his obsession really get on my nerves. Robert won’t eat (or more important, let me eat) the cookies until these ridiculous “photo sessions” are complete …
Meandering through the cozy shop on one visit, trying to burn off a few calories, I came across these oh-so-very-truthful T-shirts.
And this last one gave me such encouragement:
So if you’re ever around Savannah, drive over to Rincon and Ally’s Bakery.
Tell the delightful Ally (the one with the flour on her fingers or frosting on her nose), Hannah, Marci or any other friendly crew member that Neal and Robert sent you.
You’ll leave so much sweeter than when you arrived.
Robert and I spent last week at our friend Gordon’s old farmhouse just north of the tiny town of Springfield GA.
Gordon, who lives in Arizona, told us that the last time he was at the farmhouse, he caught a quick glimpse of a gopher tortoise near its burrow on his property. That there are three of them, as far as he could tell. To be on the lookout!
For the first few days, we saw nothing. Then one day, when we arrived back at the farmhouse after lunch, we saw this poor little fellow trapped beneath the mesh wiring which Gordon had put down to protect his violas. Notice that there are no longer any violas around GT! (Gopher Tortoise).
Robert pulled back the mesh, and off GT went!
Back towards home.
I found it amazing that he made his way back so quickly and so accurately. After I showed Gordon the video, he told us that he thought GT was the smallest of the three tortoises that make his rural south Georgia property their home.
“Gopher tortoises are native to the upland pine forests of the southeastern United States, and are the only tortoise found east of the Mississippi. Their muted-brown, domed shells are distinctive; like a tiny round bulldozer plodding through the palmettos. Adult turtles average between nine and 11 inches long, although girthy adults can grow up to 15 inches. Like other slow-growing reptiles, these tortoises are especially long-lived, surviving an average of 40 to 60 years in the wild.
The tortoises are found on the coastal plain that stretches across Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina. While the species is often associated with the longleaf pine forests, they are also found in other habitats, including coastal dunes, xeric oak hammocks, scrub, and dry prairie.
The thing that all of these ecosystems have in common? Sandy soils.” floridafishandwildlife
The gopher tortoise signature burrows can extend 10–40 feet long and up to 10 feet deep!
Or in GT’s case …
Where you find dark when all grows light.
Perhaps I wasn’t so silent on this Shhh Silent Sunday post, but GT certainly was.
I love this quirky corner coffee shop that Robert and I stumbled upon on our trip to Philadelphia last December. (WHO visits frigid Philly in DECEMBER?!)
Walking through the skinny black door, we discovered that the baristas were as quirky as the architecture.
Baristas Toboggan Hat, Milts Hat and Green Hat behind us.
After thawing out a bit with a steaming joe …
… I warmed up conversationally and asked the baristas about the story behind the coffee shop’s name.
The three looked at each other, then at me. Toboggan Hat became the storyteller.
“A long time ago, in the early days of old Philly, this neighborhood was overrun with English tea houses. They were at every corner! You couldn’t swing a stick without knocking over a cup of Earl Grey.”
“Hmm,” I thought.
“One day an ancient bearded man, feared by children for his gruff demeanor, maybe his name was Old Joe, came sauntering down Spruce Street to this very spot, and to nobody but the cold wind, yelled, ’I’mma sick o’ tea. Ha-bat-it some damn coffee!’”
“And right here, RIGHT HERE!, the cold but kind wind morphed the decrepit corner into a coffee shop and named it Habatit Coffee, which over the decades finally became Habitat Coffee.”
“Hmm,” I thought again.
I stared at the loquacious barista.
Toboggan Hat stared back at me.
Milts Hat and Green Hat stared at Toboggan Hat.
Robert stared at, well I couldn’t tell because of his sunglasses.
Then Green Hat said, “You’re making that up, dude.”
“Yes I am,” he replied with a laugh.
“I think you should keep it as your official origin story.” I suggested.
“Naw,” Toboggan replied, “I like to make up a different one whenever anybody asks.”
We left Habitat, doubly satisfied. And walked back into the arctic but lively wind.
This week Robert and I are getting away from downtown Savannah for a bit and staying at our buddy Gordon’s old country farmhouse in Effingham County GA.
When I texted my family to let them know we would be gone for a few days, daughter Amy almost immediately sent back this photo:
I asked her how on earth she did that.
“Put the photo y’all sent from Easter into Chat and said make them into farmers. 😂”
I love this delightful, insightful quote I ran across recently.
Haven’t we all had these folks in our lives? For whatever reason, they are not always with us. Childhood friends, school buddies, romantic partners, relatives and loved ones who passed too soon.
I am so very happy and thankful to have a bunch of dog-eared pages in my book. What about you?
NealEnJoy 