My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts
1. My brother Lamar and me “decorating” our parents’ gravesite this morning in my little North Georgia hometown of Ball Ground.
2. Finally, after a decade, getting a new car.
Toyota Corolla HYBRID.
3. The ability to scratch when we itch!
4. Celebrating Robert’s birthday this evening at one of our favorite seafood restaurants, Atlanta Fish Market.
5. Butter.
May you have a delicious weekend ahead.
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. An abundance of Coleus!
2. Robert’s incredible “Sin-sational Chocolate Cake” at Savannah’s Gallery Expresso the other evening.
Decadent chocolate cream cheese icing!
3. Remembering joyful childhood summers.
4. The sky. It’s always there. Clouds, rain, storms, industrial pollution/smoke, etc. may come and go across it for a time, but the sky is always there. Holding it all.
5. Our simple vegetable dinner last night. Charred bok choy, oven-roasted yellow squash, and fresh ripe tomatoes.
I hope you have a delicious weekend ahead!
The magnificent Southern Magnolia is in her full blooming glory this spring here in Savannah.
For a couple of weeks now, as we drove or walked by one, I would say to Robert, “We should get a few blossoms for a little arrangement.”
But the ivory white beauties always seemed to be above my humble reach.
Until one day as I was driving us home, HR semi-yelled, “Neal! Pull over!”
A couple of small magnolias with a few blossoms I could possibly get!
I plucked several and brought them home.
And how beautiful and aromatic they were …
… for the first couple of days.
But Day Three told another, darker story …
What?! Why?!
Staring forlornly at my Brown Bouquet, I immediately thought of Robert Frost:
Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
*********************
Thanks for the encouragement, Frost!
But I know he is right, and I know that I really did enjoy them for a couple of days.
But why did they and I “sink to grief” so quickly?
Google AI told me:
“Magnolia petals are highly sensitive to bruising, temperature changes, and handling. When picked and placed in a vase, the oils on human skin will quickly turn the delicate white petals brown. Additionally, the exposed, pollen-heavy blooms are prone to rapid shock, wilting, and bruising from air exposure.”
Oh no! Why didn’t I Google earlier? And what could I have done differently?
AI answered:
“To make your blooms last for up to a week, follow these quick-handling tricks:
Wear gloves: Handle the stems and petals using floral gloves or a clean cloth so the natural oils on your hands don’t transfer and cause bruising.
Strip the foliage: Remove most of the leaves along the stem, as they steal moisture away from the flower. Leave only the 4-5 leaves closest to the bloom.
Dump the pollen: Turn fully open blooms upside down and gently shake them to remove excess pollen, which otherwise speeds up decay.”
********************
And that’s My Saturday Evening Post.
Robert and I spent last week house- and dog-sitting for daughter Amy at their place on Savannah’s Skidaway Island.
Perhaps the Greatest Joy of visiting Skidaway (other than grandchildren, of course) is the wide variety of wildlife that abounds at nearly every turn.
White-tailed deer run around as if they own the island (which of course, they actually do, or used to).
Raccoons, marsh rabbits, gray foxes, and opossums are common.
Dolphins and river otters.
A variety of native turtles, frogs, and non-venomous snakes are also present.
But by far, the true Attention Grabber on the island in many of the lagoons and waterways is the omnipresent American Alligator.
Robert and I saw four others (!) in this same pond on this day.
You simply learn to give alligators their space.
They are not inherently aggressive, naturally fearing humans and usually prefer to retreat or swim away when approached. The problem comes when humans illegally feed alligators. They learn to associate people with food and may aggressively approach them.
And that’s my Saturday Evening Post.
My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.
1. This incredible pizza Robert and I devoured at Ricciardi’s Pizzeria in Richmond Hill GA.
2. This sheet of flowery wrapping paper …
… which wrapped a bundle of supplies I need for a summer memoir writing course coming up in June.
More about that adventure later. 
3. The ability to get out of bed each morning.
4. Completing 2222 meditation sessions on my 10% Happier app.
Wouldn’t you think I’d be a tad more guru-ish by now?!
5. The beautiful spring lights outside daughter Amy‘s next-door neighbor‘s house.
May something light up beautifully for you this weekend.
Morning walk while HR’s still snoozing.
Neat Little Free Pantry in Savannah‘s Live Oak neighborhood.
Johnbo’s Cellpic Sunday:
https://photobyjohnbo.com/2026/03/15/cellpic-sunday-the-artist/
On a recent spring morning walk here in Savannah, my eye kept going to doors that were not the main door to a house or dwelling.
Like this one, which sort of looks like a garage door, but on closer inspection (i.e. spying through the cracks), I saw that this rooster door led to a small courtyard.
A bit farther down the alley where I was walking, I came upon this vine-topped garage door.
And I love chancing upon iron gates, which are often doors leading to beauty.
And looking through another gate, spring charm exploded.
I hope you walk through some doors into beauty on this Thursday.
NealEnJoy 