Posted in Travel

2023 Escape from St. Patrick’s Day #3

My daily snapshot of Robert’s and my 2023 trip to get away from Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day parade and celebrations.

This morning, after checking out of our cabin at Red Top Mountain State Park in north Georgia, we headed to Atlanta and Emory University to see a couple of exhibits at the Michael Marcos Museum of Art. We visited it before, loved it and have wanted to return.

We never try to go through an entire museum in a single visit, instead spending a bit of time in only one or two areas that peek our interest.

I was especially fascinated by this Chicago street photographer’s black and white paired photos of Chicago’s poorer districts.

Next, Robert seemed to spend an eternity in the Egyptian afterlife exhibit. It really was fascinating. With real mummies!

And here’s HR in the current life interrupting a museum tour on the level below. See him?

I was eavesdropping on a docent-led tour below, and pretended not to know him.

Whew. The things I put up with.

The Egyptians made us hungry, so we headed to Mary Mac’s Tea Room for their southern fried chicken.

Along with sweet potato soufflé, and collard greens with pot liquor.

To burn off some of the calories and to get outside, we rushed over to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens to see the tulips and their new Trolls (!) installation.

I’ll tell you more about the Trolls in other posts.

What a fun third day on our Savannah Saint Patrick’s day escape trip!

Posted in Five Friday Happy Bringers

Five Friday Happy Bringers 3/3/23

1. A beautiful spring (almost) morning walk yesterday around Savannah’s Forsyth Park. Here’s Robert trying to steal the show. But I think the azaleas won.

The azaleas are actually breathtaking for this early in March.

2. The beauty of pine cones.

3. Reaching one thousand (!) meditation sessions this week.

4. Attending the coolest outdoor workshop yesterday evening over on Skidaway Island at the University of Georgia’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.

For two hours approaching sunset, we hiked among the old growth live oaks and the marsh, ending up at the boardwalk on Wilmington River.

The workshop was for photographers (which HR is, as many of you know). I went along for the ride, walking around and pointing my iPhone camera here and there in what I hoped conveyed a confident “Just look at the depth of field I can evoke from that angle, not to mention the aspect ratio and exposure compensation” sensibility.

Like here …

Don’t I look like I’m doing all those words I said above?

Now that’s a tree trunk.

HR and some Spanish Moss

And here he is worrying me by getting too close to the muddy marsh and the lurking alligators that are abundant in the area.

A few of the other photographers.

A fabulous evening!

5. Early Savannah wisteria …

May you have a photograph-worthy weekend ahead!

Posted in Five Friday Happy Bringers

Five Friday Happy Bringers 2/24/23

My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.

1. White roses.

Is anything more beautiful?

2. The excitement when grandson Gabriel’s junior high basketball team wins their region championship this week.

The one longsleeve is supposedly cool now.

3. The incredible beauty of very late winter in Savannah. (It’s still about a month until the official beginning of spring.)

4. The sensation of Touch. What a joy. I thought of this today when I pulled out a thick beach towel from our dryer. Oh my goodness.

5. This incredibly delicious chocolate croissant from a brand new and very cool bakery near us, Sweet Patricia’s. http://www.sweetpatricias.com

May your weekend ahead be delicious.

Posted in Five Friday Happy Bringers

Five Friday Happy Bringers 2/17/23

1. Understanding why someone might decide to become a thief …

2. HR and me — renewing our vows at our church’s annual ceremony.

3. Believing that most people are at their core, good.

4. Back to the first Happy Bringer, the ability to savor chocolate.

(I didn’t steal it.)

5. The expression on grandson Matthew’s face as he was given his certificate announcing that he is now a part of the gifted program at his school.

(And Robert congratulating him.)

May this weekend bring you gifts of peace, health and joy.

Posted in Five Friday Happy Bringers

Five Friday Happy Bringers 2/10/23

1. The squirrel on our dining room table. HR’s nickname is Squirrel (long story), so I love it when I find little squirrel figurines.

2. The mincemeat pie I made with leftover mincemeat (from Christmas). It was delicious!

The only issue I had with it was the potential murder weapon Robert used to serve it.

3. The ability to taste, TASTE! Sweet, sour, bitter, salty, etc. What an incredible blessing!

4. The camellias blooming all over Savannah this February.

And for some reason I find the blossoms that fall on the ground so pretty.

5. The joy of leftovers.

At least, once a week, Robert and I have a meal with only leftovers.

Yesterday

Make your weekend be so good (in whatever way you define good) that you will have leftovers on Monday.

Posted in Five Friday Happy Bringers

Five Friday Happy Bringers 2/3/23

1. Walking out into a Savannah square near us to read. Sending a selfie to Robert.

And getting his response

2. Being able to walk. To put one foot in front of the other, time and time again. What a blessing!

3. HR decorating our little sidewalk tree trunk garden, with some fallen camellia blossoms.

4. Learning about joy from the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

(Our 162nd book we have read together.)

5. Beautiful food.

HR’s Chicken Parmesan

Here’s hoping your weekend is beautifully delicious.

Posted in Five Friday Happy Bringers

Five Friday Happy Bringers 12/30/22

1. Holly.

I think that Christmas can absolutely not be Jolly without Holly.

2. Robert’s little homemade birch Christmas card-hanging thingy.

3. The ability to wake up each morning and see. SEE! I can look on the other side of the bed and see HR sleeping soundly. (Well, more truthfully, actually HEAR HR sleeping soundly. Whew.) I can look out my window and see the ancient Live Oak tree branches swaying in the wind. I can walk out of the bedroom into the hall, kitchen, living room, and see our modest collection of art, family heirlooms and comfortable rugs …

I can see! What an incredible blessing. But I so often take SEEING for granted.

4. My World Famous Hambone Soup, made from the hambone left over from our Christmas ham.

Oh, and with my jalapeño cornbread.

5. The Truth of this quote …

The destination of life is this eternal moment.” Alan Watts

I truthfully hope you have a joyful last weekend of 2022.

Posted in Five Friday Happy Bringers

Five Friday Happy Bringers 12/23/22

1. Walking through our local mall the other day, HR and I came upon our grandson Daniel, fresh from a haircut nearby, aimlessly meandering around, waiting for his mom to pick him up. We confiscated him and took him out to lunch at Chick-fil-A.

Family Joy. Daniel is especially excited because he just got the part of Marius in a local production of Les Mis.

2. Our deliciously sweet tradition of getting a tin of peppermint bark from Williams Sonoma.

3. Having expectations, hopes, dreams, things we still want to accomplish during our short time here.

4. This nutcracker.

In the souvenir area at the Atlanta Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker

5. My early Friday morning view right now from the couch.

May you have an abundance of beautiful holiday views this weekend.