“Robert, please get me a lemon and some fresh thyme,” I said-pled, as we finished up some shopping, and I headed to the car, while he was trekking across the street to one of our favorite little independent grocers.
Back home I delved into magical alchemy …
Homemade simple syrup, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, orange slices and … some THYME.
Slash it all together with some Tito’s and voilà …
Wait, that is not the best shot!
That’s a little better.
But here, look at the lavender blooms of the thyme through the glass …
I’m marveling this Monday morn at the absolutely amazing ability … TO READ! (As I often reiterate whenever I think about gratitude, everyone doesn’t have that for which I’m grateful.)
I love this little whatever-it-is. We saw it in the crafts section at Saturday’s fabulous Forsyth Farmers Market here in Savannah.
A delightful artisan creates beautifully quirky works of art from silver cutlery!
Sidebar: Robert fell in love with the tiny magnetic flower vases made from the hollow bottom sections of silver knives!
This one is now holding court (and dried flowers) on our fridge.
Okay, back to the “Reading” topic of this post. As I have shown before, here are our reading chairs in our study.
And here’s what I’m currently reading …
… a fascinating and “I-can’t-believe-I’ve-never-heard-of-this-before” look at the history of gay life in Brooklyn.
Here’s half of me reading.
Because I’m sure you’re just dying to know, I usually read two books simultaneously: what I call my “short time read” (above) and my “long time read.” (The “long time read” is a book not intended to be read quickly or even from cover to cover.
Here’s my current “long time read”:
“Ohm. Ohm. Ohm. Ohm.”
My “long time reads” are often self-help about physical, mental, emotional or relationship health. Robert often says that one would think I would be in MUCH better physical, mental, emotional and relationship shape, having read “so much of this junk.” (I try to pay little to no attention to HR.)
I hope you find something that fascinates youthis new day and week.
I’m Marveling this Monday Morn remembering our hike the other day at Skidaway Island State Park near us.
We saw our first alligator of the season. He (she?) was a young one. So we didn’t hang out around too long because Mama was probably somewhere close.
“Alligators are common in Savannah, as the area provides a suitable habitat for the species with its mix of freshwater and saltwater environments, as well as abundant prey. Alligators are found in many of the waterways and marshes surrounding Savannah, including the Savannah River and Skidaway Island.” savannahproper.com
Robert and I have learned to respect the large alligator population here in Coastal Georgia. They are not aggressive and will generally leave people alone, as long as we keep our distance (especially while walking a dog) and refrain from feeding them.
I’m Marveling this Monday Morn at last night’s Marvelous Easter Supper.
Chef Robert made a scrumptious dinner of beautiful lamb steaks, chopped asparagus, gnocchi (potato dumplings) and a savory herb gremolata sauce.
I had not heard of gremolata before, but Google came to the rescue. “Gremolata is an herb condiment classically made from parsley, lemon zest and finely chopped garlic.”
Beyond Delicious!
Hot Cross Buns
TIB (Truth in Blogging): Shockingly, HR did not make this MARVEL-ous meal from scratch.
Do you know about these meal kits from The Fresh Market? We have tried half a dozen of them so far and loved them all.
We have also gotten to know the delightful butcher Elise at our Savannah Fresh Market. She puts the meal kits together. When Robert showed her the kit he chose for our Easter Supper, Elise took the kit from his hands and replaced it with larger lamb steaks. (Get to know your butcher!)
I’m marveling this rainy Georgia morning at the mystery, the illusive and changing allure of clouds.
Above the Savannah River near usHR and Columbus GA RiverwalkHigh Falls State Park, Jackson GAD.C. Cummer Museum and Gardens, Jacksonville FLNYC Amerson. river Park, Macon GAI can’t remember where.
And here’s a post HR did about clouds a while back …
Marveling this morning at my grandson Daniel‘s convincing performance as a REALLY messed-up teenager in his latest play, this time at the Tybee Arts Association Black Box Theater on Tybee Island near Savannah.
The play: Marvin’s Room.
Daniel’s character: Seventeen year-old Hank. (D is also seventeen.)
Here’s what Google’s AI says about Hank:
Whew!
Hank, onstage, with his psychiatrist on the right and his emotionally distant mother on the left:
As a grandfather, it was actually (and probably foolishly) somewhat difficult to see the normally exuberantly positive and usually smiling Daniel portraying such a severely damaged young man. (Hank doesn’t smile very much in the play.)
For a moment, I forgot what actors actually do. Act.
Daniel’s now been in over thirty plays, and his specialty seems to be the romantic lead in musical theatre (Prince Topher in Cinderella, Marius in Les Mis), Raoul in Phantom of the Opera.)
Sitting in the audience for Marvin’s Room, I kept having a bit of conflict between watching that mentally challenged CHARACTER I just met and denying to myself that the young ACTOR I knew so well could have ANY of Hank’s negative qualities.
But, uh oh. Maybe we haven’t burned down a house, but haven’t we all pushed a button or two to provoke a reaction from someone else?
Haven’t we all occasionally struggled to express our emotions openly?
Haven’t we all used sarcasm?
And haven’t we all felt (or acted) a little … crazy from time to time?!
The play ends (thankfully) on a positive note with Hank seemingly on his way to a better life.
And here’s Hank — I mean Daniel (!) — smiling his usual smile with HR and me after the performance.
Chatting and joking about his crazy character, we asked Daniel what he was going to be doing after this play ran its course.
“Oh, I’ll probably burn down my high school.”
Daniel, second from the right, chatting with some of his high school buddies who came to support him at the play’s second performance.
Walking through Savannah’s Colonial Park Cemetery this morning with HR, we came across this bench.
There has to be a story somewhere. Is the story’s central character Mary Helen Ray, whose name is on the bench?
Or maybe one of the nearly 700 folks who died during a yellow fever epidemic in Savannah: “The most macabre bit of history involves a subtly tweaked fact on a historical marker about the yellow fever. According to the marker, ‘nearly 700’ victims of the 1820 yellow fever epidemic were buried in a mass grave, but historical records allegedly show that exactly 666 people are buried in the grave. Nearly 700, indeed.” savannahnow.com.
Here’s a link to an interesting story about Colonial Park Cemetery: 
NealEnJoy 