A blog category about finding “art” in unexpected places and situations.
“S”
I found my initial “S” (for last name Saye) in a potato chip bag!
I’m just So Special.
(Wait. Do you think they made this bag for everyone whose name starts with “S”?)
1. Remembering my INCREDIBLE Mexican Hot Chocolate last weekend at Cafe Intermezzo in Atlanta.
2. Finding Joy in unexpected places.
3. My Chex Mix!
4. Doctor appointments that go well.
5. Celebrating Miss Virginia, the oldest (and still very active) member of our church, Asbury Memorial here in Savannah.
************
A Weekend of Good to You All!
We’re “shopping” at Phipps Plaza in Atlanta.
Yes or no?
*******************
Yes. Definitely.
For this blog category, “Countdown to Christmas: Our Travel Tree & Georgia State Parks,” each day between December 1 and 25, I take a pic of a state park ornament on our Travel Tree and briefly highlight that park.
Hi there.
Welcome to the 10th day of my “Countdown to Christmas” series. Today we head over to Chattahoochee Bend State Park, near Newnan, Georgia. We visited on a short day trip in early March of 2020 before Spring made much of an appearance.
Chattahoochee Bend gets its name from, well, a bend in the Chattahoochee River.
Lots of hiking on this day.
The color scheme for this post is brown. But Robert found a few bits of color …
Here’s a riveting short, narrative-driven film, entitled, “Stick Gear: Winding Down by the Bend,” written, directed and filmed by Robert John Smith Jr, choreographed by and starring Neal Saye.
Good day to you! I hope things swing your way.
P. S. Robert says “Friday Hi!”
1. Robert’s hasselback potatoes the other night. Yum!
2. Always having enough water. And being aware of always having enough water.
3. The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s holiday concert, Christmas with the ASO last night.
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Choir, the incredible Morehouse Glee Club and the Gwinnett Young Singers joined the Orchestra to get us all in the holiday mood. Beethoven, Bach, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky mixing it up with contemporary composers. And “Hallelujah!” special thanks to Handel.
But that’s not all, Blog Fans, I have some Very Exciting News to share with you about last night. News which, if I know you like I think I know you, will make you even prouder of me than you already are. Are you ready? Maybe you should sit down.
Robert and I were SPECIFICALLY INVITED to sing “The First Nowell” (their spelling, not mine) and to be backed up by the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra! Seriously. Little us from Savannah. Can you imagine how thrilled I was the moment I realized that Robert and I were being asked to sing?!
[I’ll pause and give you a couple of minutes to try.]
I’ve always thought I had a terrible, adequate, good, stellar voice, but I was just so very humbled yet honored to be asked. I am so glad I wore a sports coat and put a little Suave Professionals Styling Gel in my hair. I tell you my my knees were shaking when we stood up to walk up to the stage and sing. And the performance was, in my unbiased view, nothing short of festively spectacular.
P. S. Robert is insisting that I include this minor and inconsequential (if you ask me) “fact” (according to his definition) from the above concert program …
Well, “we” did get an invitation.
4. Visiting Callanwolde Fine Arts Center in Atlanta. The Gothic-Tudor style mansion was built by Coca-Cola president/zillionaire Charles Howard Candler in the 1920’s as a private home. Each Christmas they have a neat beautifully decorated Christmas extravaganza.
Do you see what I saw on the holiday garland to the left of Robert? Pine cones (HUGE) from my favorite tree, the Longleaf Pine!
I could … bearly contain myself with excitement!
5. Hope and expectation.
A Weekend of Wonder to You!
So today is my anniversary! Well, not just mine. It’s Robert’s too … our Fifth Wedding Anniversary … December 9th! (We’ve been together longer, but purist Robert didn’t want to get married until we could legally do so in Georgia— back in 2016.)
We’re in Atlanta to celebrate. The Alliance Theatre’s new adaptation of A Christmas Carol last night. So good, with deeper character development than usual. God blessed us everyone! And heading to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas with the ASO tonight. “Culture” is our middle name.
Here’s the very cool anniversary pop-up (or is it pop-out?) card Robert gave me.
Again, always the purist, he likes to find cards that are made Specifically for Gay Folks. (Whereas I just grab one from the Dollar Tree and use white out to get rid of the woman’s hair and … etc. and use a permanent black magic marker to messily but effectively transform “wife” into “husband.”)
Isn’t it cute? I loved it. It’s so pop-uppy, colorful and GAY — in every sense of the word!
TIB (Truth in Blogging): We’re not both black.
*********
And here’s a little anniversary bouquet we got for our midtown Atlanta rental’s little “dining room” table.
Wait, you need a close-up, don’t you? Let me snap one real quick.
Here you go. Well, Lo and Behold! Look toward the back of the pic above. Santa pants! And we all know from yesterday’s post “Robert and …” #6 EXACTLY what that means: Robert’s nearby!
So I interrupted him fussing around in the kitchen doing who knows what (he’s always throwing it up to me that he went to ”Chef’s School”) and told him to wave at our thousands, hundreds, dozens single-digits of blog fans.
P.S. Google just reminded me that a traditional Fifth Anniversary gift is Wood. (And my phone’s calculator cruelly taunted me that I’ll be 114 on our Fiftieth Diamond Anniversary! I just depowered my phone.) Anyway, on the off chance that you haven’t gotten our Wooden Gift yet, here are a couple of suggestions:
We watched The Queen’s Gambit! And I would like to try that looking-up-at-the-ceiling strategy.
I see nothing.
**********
This wooden nutcracker would SO come in handy. Remember that big bowl of nuts from yesterday’s post?
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!
SERIOUSLY?
A blog category of pics I’ve taken of Hubby Robert and … well, just about anything.
Robert and a Bunch of Stuff
Robert and a big bowl of nuts, as Benny and Boopers vie for prime real estate on his Santa pants lap and edge toward his gay vodka t-shirt, as he balances his iPad in his right hand and shows off his wedding ring on his left, while leaning away from his mounted guitar. (Whew)
For this blog category, “Countdown to Christmas: Our Travel Tree & Georgia State Parks,” each day between December 1 and 25, I take a pic of a state park ornament on our Travel Tree and briefly highlight that park.
Our first pandemic Georgia State Park trip, back in March of 2020, was a simple weekday excursion an hour and a half up the road to Magnolia Springs State Park near Millen. We reasoned that few people would be around during the week, and we were right. We had the park almost to ourselves.
We liked the park (and getting out of the house) so much that this short venture started our recurring overnight pattern of heading to a park on Monday, renting a cabin and returning before the weekend crowd arrived.
TIB (Truth in Blogging): Today’s countdown post is sorta long, so you might want to grab a snack and change into comfortable shoes. I’m incorporating three Magnolia Springs trips into one post.
The park website: “Beautiful Magnolia Springs State Park is known for its crystal clear springs flowing 7,000,000 gallons per day, and a boardwalk spans the cool water, allowing visitors to look for alligators, turtles and other wildlife near the springs.”
“Yeah, right, they’re just saying that about the big bad alligators,” I thought haughtily, standing in the sun by the springs, staring out at the water, daydreaming about our upcoming picnic lunch and my special sandwich.
Oh. My. Goodness …
Jeff Bezos couldn’t pay me enough to fish, feed or approach.
As I I have mentioned before, Robert and I love the Longleaf Pine, which excessive logging has cut to the brink of extinction, but is now making a bit of a comeback. Magnolia Springs has quite a number of majestic, mature specimens. (And so unlike with the alligators, I am simply not afraid of the Longleaf.)
I LOVE hiking through a forest replete with the beauty and aroma of Longleaf Pine.
Oh, here’s my new walking stick. I MEAN HIKING STICK!
Our cabin (and the goings-on inside and out) at Magnolia Springs. Come on in.
And looky here, it’s me leading a little impromptu (and free!) “Everyone is Welcome—Morning Yoga and Mental Cleanse Workshop.”
Even Robert didn’t show. He chose (non-supportingly) to sleep in.
But here he is, gay-ly, pridefully starting a fire.
I need to end this post, don’t I? It’s getting out of hand.
We really do love our nearby Magnolia Springs State Park.
Well, most of it.
NealEnJoy 