Marveling this morning at the joy and many moods of PURPLE.
“All the other colors are just colors, but purple seems to have a soul – when you look at it, it’s looking back at you.” Uniek Swain
Monday Moaning or Monday Marveling?
Tag: Fun
My Saturday Evening Post: 5/28/22 “Pet Poetry”
“The Artful Dodger“ #9
A blog category about finding “art” in unexpected places and situations.
There I was, minding my business and sitting at lunch with HR at the Grub Burger Bar up in Atlanta. Nearly finished with the meal, I looked down at my tenders plate, and saw a little bird sashaying among my fries!
I stared at it for a minute it two, wondering how it got into the restaurant. When, lo and behold, the little bird (little duck?) took flight and flew down my throat!
Startled, I looked over at Robert, levelheaded as usual, who told me to “Feed him a fry or two. He’s probably tired and hungry after that flight.”
So I did.
“Robert and …” #17
A blog category of pics I’ve taken of HR (Hubby Robert) and … well, just about anything
Robert and … mansplaining. Here’s HR in his gay Smirnoff t-shirt at breakfast, left hand either furtively hiding something he doesn’t want me to see or gesturing awkwardly, as he drones on and on about some trivial topic or other. If I remember correctly (and don’t hold me to it, my mind often wanders/wonders), I think he was painstakingly explaining to me how important it is to double check the forks and spoons after washing them (our dishwasher is ill right now), since I tend to just let a little drizzle of water touch them before tossing them in the dish drying rack …
Here’s What I Have to Put Up With
I don’t know about you, and I don’t claim to be an exercise physiologist, so correct me if I am wrong, but I always thought that walking involved movement. Especially your legs propelling you forward.
HR comes from an alternative school of thought. The “Walk Till You See Something—ANYTHING—That Grabs Your Attention Philosophy.” Then stop and take multitudinous (Is that a word?) photos of the attention grabber. You can always edit—and walk—later.
So this morn, we ventured out on our SMW (Sunday Morning Walk), which we often do instead of church (nature’s sermons are much more interesting).
If I wanted to hold a grudge, I could document at least a dozen “attention grabbers” Robert stopped for this morn. But let’s allow two to suffice.
We paused for a good five minutes at this “interesting” old chopped-up bush.
I think I’ve told you this before, but Robert NEVER thinks to inform me that he is going to “stop for the op.” After all, his attention has been grabbed! I usually end up walking at least a block away, chattering animatedly about some important topic, like how disappointed I was in the last season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. When I realize HR’s nowhere near me, I turn around and head back, ignoring the sympathetic stares and giggles of people who heard me talking to myself.
And looky here …
A caterpillar! (A good ten minutes.)
This stop was multidimensional for Robert. 1. To take twelve dozen photos. 2. Good Samaritan-ly to save an innocent life. The caterpillar was in the middle of the sidewalk. (We watched the Tiny Worlds documentary series.)
It’s important to take the time to document the caterpillar’s body from EVERY conceivable angle.
Here are a few of HR’s pics …
See what I have to put up with?
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But when all is said and done—and photographed—I do love our walks. And I do love HR.
He’s my blossom.
“The Artful Dodger“ #8
A blog category about finding “art” in unexpected places and situations.
“Spider” on a pole along a walk here in Historic District Savannah.
Bad Advice: “Get Well Cards”
Or maybe that’s really good advice.
Neal’s Post from the Past: “G”
A post from back in 2014 about my grandson Gabriel, aka “G.”
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I have FOUR grandchildren. (Yes, you’re right, I’m FAR too young. We all know that. It’s a given. But sometimes Mother Nature has a way of bypassing her laws of when people should have grandchildren–and presents them in, well, early, early middle age.)
Anyway, the second-from-the-oldest-grandchild is Gabriel, 5, a rambunctious bundle of pure little boy-ness. He’s often affectionately referred to simply as “G.” In his most recent pre-K school report, the patient-as-a-saint and give-her-a-raise teacher wrote that Gabriel is “smart, funny, with many friends … and has a touch of naughtiness.”
Here’s G (on the far right) with a few school buddies,
And here he is the other night with older brother Daniel (8).
Today I received this text from my daughter/G’s mom Amy:
The brutal honesty of children.
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Back to 2022. Here’s Gabriel yesterday trying on his new contacts.
And over the weekend playing basketball against a much bigger fellow.
After I finished this post, I shared the old picture of Gabriel and Daniel with Amy. She found an old video of the same night when they were dressed in the oversized jackets…
Neal’s Post from the Past: ”A Savannah Saint Patrick’s Day Celebration”
A post from about a decade ago. What was I thinking with my outfit for the day?!
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Anyone who has been to Savannah on or around March 17 knows that Saint Patrick’s Day is a pretty …
… in this city! From the Greening of the Fountain and Tara Feis onward, Savannah embraces its Irishness, shamrocks growing and showing up everywhere, an already diverse and fesitval-driven city photosynthetically converting excited energy into green Gaelic joy. And since 2013 St. Paddy Day was Sunday, Savannah opted to hold its primary celebration on Saturday with the parade (the nation’s second largest), River Street revelry and other merrymaking events.
Since Yours Truly lives DIRECTLY on the parade route along Abercorn Street, and since some green Irish blood flows through my veins (Saye =”one who lives by the sea”), I decided to host a little parade-viewing party.
Party Prep Notes: For some reason I will never fully grasp, I decided to make Cabbage and Ham in the Crock Pot (or as I call it, Beverly Hillbilly-ishly, “the Slow-Cooking Pot”).
Now cabbage sounds fine, and even a bit Irish, until you understand that my place is a little under 800 square feet, positioned at the front of a beautiful old building completed in the 1800’s. Well, the slow-cooking cabbage produced a Rather Strong Aroma (try not to imagine it), first in my apartment, then wafting across the hall to my next door neighbor and fellow party hostess Audrey’s place, then throughout the entire old building, and probably up and down the parade route and on to the South Carolina border across the river. People were so nice and pretended that the smell made the party more “Irish authentic.” But a bunch of folks had drinks in their hands, so I’m not at all certain their sensory perception was on target. AND I noticed they would get a bowlful of steaming, fragrant cabbage and then quickly run out the door to see the next band or float they “had been waiting on.”
Here’s me helping to set up the area for guests to sit and watch the parade outside my building (my windows have the St. Patty tacky shamrock cutouts and green garlands).
Before the parade started, I made a quick tour of the squares close to me. A few sights:
I met some cool green-clad new friends:
I found this pretty lady pirouetting in front of my apt, so of course I had to get my pic with her:
Here’s across-the-hall stylish neighbor Audrey:
And here’s party guest/good buddy Ellie and her brother encouraging the crowd:
I wish I was brave enough to dance in the street!
Hip green-haired son/father duo Ethan and Kevin:
Former Everyday Creative Writing Student Jaymes stopped by for a while. (He knows what’s rocking in Savannah.)
Buddies Rich and Edward (who brought party-hit basil lemonade):
Cool St. Patty Baby:
Made great new friends with some folks visiting from Maryland and staying in the vacation rentals in my building (so of course they were party guests too)–Kathy and Karen with their husbands. And don’t they look SO Saint Patricky?
Preparing to kiss the parade marching men:
(Public Service Announcement: I think I will rent out my place next year for St. Paddy Day. Is $2000 for the holiday too much? I plan to include a HUGE bowl of frozen-but-on-the-table-in-a-jiffy Authentic Irish Cabbage and Ham.)
New kayaking friend Tom with Edward, Rich and me:
Church buddy Diane with Rich, Edward, Robert, Jaymes and me:
Good friend Zach and brother Josh marching in the parade (marching, that is, before I ran out into the street and made them stop). Their Irish family has been in the parade for something like 1000 years.
What a wonderfully fun Savannah Saint Patrick’s Day Celebration!
But sitting here after the parade, I started to worry: “What if my Crock Pot Cabbage Smell keeps those hundreds of thousands of visitors from coming back to Savannah next year? Can they trace it all back to me?”
NealEnJoy 