Tag: Friends

Posted in Five Friday Happy Bringers

Five Friday Happy Bringers 7/12/25

Posted on by Neal Saye

My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.

1. Beautiful reflections (during a recent walk in daughter Amy’s neighborhood).

2. Rest. Sometimes you simply have to lie down.

Amy’s dog Coastal (named for their medical company, Coastal Care Partners) after Robert and I took her for a long walk in the South Georgia heat.

3. Speaking of South Georgia heat, how HAPPY I am for the blessing of air conditioning in Savannah!

Tuesday of this week.

4. Sitting near these Lively Ladies the other morning at a new coffee shop we were trying out near us, Foxtail Coffee Company.

They asked HR to take their pic.

“Wave, be silly!” Robert instructed.

We discovered that they are a group of ladies called “Savannah Newcomers,” which has been around for nearly 70 years! Most of the members are no longer newcomers, but they liked the group so much they just keep coming.

I asked if Robert and I could become members. They dodged the question in demure Southern Belle fashion and told us how happy they were to have met us. (I think that meant, “No.)

5. Walking to our car in the Publix parking lot yesterday …

… And seeing this:

For some reason, the view gave me pause and reminded me that life continues even in the starkest of environments.

May your life be filled with a bit of LIFE this weekend (in whatever way you define LIFE).

Posted in Beautiful Savannah, Humor

Always Leave Room

Posted on by Neal Saye

This is a fairly long post, so you might want to put on some comfortable shoes and grab a snack.

Yesterday Robert and I visited the most SPECTACULAR garden center hideaway here in the greater Savannah area: Savannah’s Secret Garden.

But wait. Let me back up a second.

On Monday, we went over to the backyard of our friends and fellow church members Pat and Mary Prokop.

“Hmm, why their back yard?” you are surely asking. “Won’t they let you inside their house?”

Well, because they (primarily Pat) are incredible gardeners of flowers and vegetables (and friends).

Now I’m going to plagiarize a bit from HR‘s recent blog post about the same garden party.

But first he is forcing me to include the link to HIS blog post about the garden party.

SKIP OVER IT VERY QUICKLY SO YOU WON’T READ HIS BEFORE MINE!

Spending Memorial Day in a Private Garden

Whew!

The plagiarism: Pat and Mary open up their garden each Memorial Day weekend to be enjoyed by all: gardeners, garden lovers, photographers, solar panel enthusiasts, astronomers (all Prokop hobbies). Sit a spell under a cool patio with fans and cold drinks, pet the garden cat “Grizabella” who roams freely (yes, from the “Cats” Broadway play).

A few of my photos from the garden party:

All the dahlias are darling! But this off-white beauty is my favorite.

While we were sitting in the shade, chatting with Pat, Mary and guests, for some reason HR (Husband Robert for any newbie readers) brought up the pitiful fact (pitiful since we were sitting in a glorious backyard garden) that he and I only have some potted plants and a tiny tree lawn in front of our place in downtown Savannah. But that we are looking to plant some milkweed to draw the butterflies!

“Then you HAVE to go to Savannah’s Secret Garden!” one of the guests immediately exclaimed!

“Wow,” a secret garden,” I thought. “Then I wonder how you ever find the place.”

Next my mind wondered a while back to when young actor/singer/grandson Daniel played the part of Colin in the Savannah Children’s Theater production of The Secret Garden and I presented him with an “Academy Award” …

“Neal!” Robert (rudely) interrupted my yesteryear thoughts, “Let’s remember to go to Savannah‘s Secret Garden to look for milkweed.”

Fast-forward (backward?) to yesterday, which indeed found us at the delightfully hidden-away secret garden nursery.

We spent about an hour meandering around the lovely place …

… until we finally came across this secluded little corner … filled with the cutest Faires!

HR was mesmerized!

Moral of the story:

Oh, and here’s our marvelous milkweed …

Always leave room!

Posted in Five Friday Happy Bringers

Five Friday Happy Bringers 11/17/23

Posted on by Neal Saye

My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.

1. Falling beauty. (Even in a Savannah shopping center parking lot.)

I had to look at this leaf for a bit before I started to see its aging beauty as well.

2. Belts.

3. More autumn beauty in Savannah.

The Kehoe House Historic Inn one square over from ours.

4. An early Thanksgiving dinner at our church’s Wednesday Night Supper this week, with ex-wife Donna and our good buddy Margaret.

We all just have SO very much to be thankful for! (Especially those garlic mashed potatoes with gravy.)

5. Covered streets.

May you have a cornucopia of joy this weekend.

Posted in Humor

The Revelation of Riboclavin (And a Dog Stealing Cabbage) (You Know You Have to Read This Post)

Posted on by Neal Saye

As faithful blog followers know, I have a buddy “named” Riboclavin who is quite a character.  (And of course we all know his name isn’t REALLY Riboclavin, come on, but as I said in a post from way back, “I’m just not very good at giving people fake names if they don’t want their real names ‘published’ on my blog because, heaven forbid, the ‘tens’ of people who follow my blog might see their name and … and … idk.”)  Anyway, here he is, rocking.  And even though that dualistic rocking chair looks über huge, Riboclavin looks comfortable and relaxed.  And, really,  isn’t that what counts?

[By the way (true story), on my 16th birthday, I received a rocking chair from my parents as my main gift.]  [Therapy has helped.  But only so much.]

Ribo loves two things in life (maybe more than two, but right now only these couple come to mind).  One, he LOVES his dog MisterDillHarris.

Here’s MisterDillHarris with a big ole bone:

Two, he LOVES (or maybe hates, I’m not sure) his obsession with health, or actually his perceived lack of health.  The guy can be standing in line at the movies to see, for example, Miley Cyrus in The Last Song, and all of a sudden he HAS to take his temperature.  Don’t believe me?  Well, here he is taking his temp.

And, look, here he is taking his dog’s temperature:

(For me, pretend this is normal.  Thanks.)

So anyway, recently Riboclavin texted me a video link, and as usual, made NO attempt to introduce or explain the link.  You can surely understand by now my trepidation and why I came two hairs close to deleting the text and pretending I never received it (as I do with any unwanted or ill-timed text, email, voicemail, regular mail, fax, postcard, Hallmark card, smoke signal, etc.).  Afterall, his most recent link took me to a medical site where a disgusting surgical procedure was in full “operation,” causing me to gasp and snort and vow to never speak to Riboclavin again.  But for some reason I decided, even with the high risk,  to open the link.  And I was pleasantly surprised!  (If you’re near wood, please knock on it for me.)

Here’s the video, entitled “Dog Steals Cabbage.”

Now isn’t that cute … and happiness-worthy?  Please tell Riboclavin thanks, and wish him good health.