Posted in Five Friday Happy Bringers

Five Friday Happy Bringers 1/23/26

My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.

1. Robert MORE than enjoying his all-you-can-eat crab legs dinner at Tin Fin, a little seafood restaurant we discovered near where we are staying for a few weeks while our Savannah place is being renovated.

2. This old mailbox at our temporary country farmhouse.

See? Old can still be noteworthy and pretty, even with its age spots and creaky hinges.

3. Our amazing bodies, which are always trying to persuade us to appreciate them and to take care of them.

4. A Cute Coincidence …

But first a little background: HR and I agree on many things BUT NOT ABOUT COFFEE. He’s a Starbucks fellow while I love Dunkin Donuts. And here in Rincon GA, fairly close to the farmhouse, there is a Dunkin Donuts a few doors down from a Starbucks.

So here’s what we do when we go out for morning coffee: Pop in to Dunkin Donuts to get mine and then head to Starbucks for Robert’s — and to sit a spell with our iPads.

My blasphemous DD proudly (arrogantly?) holding his own inside a Starbucks.

Oh, and here’s the Cute Coincidence: My barista at DD is named Winter, while Robert’s at Starbucks is Autumn.

5. Yesterday HR and I took a day trip across the Savannah River (yes, we’re still close to the river, an hour away from our home, which is two blocks from the river!) over to the Webb Wildlife Management Area in South Carolina.

The Webb’s entrance … and Robert.
Majestic Pines 

And here’s a little recording of bird sounds at the Webb’s rookery. (LOTS of LOUD birdies but hidden from view in the thick brush.)

TIB (Truth in Blogging): I had to look up the definition of a “rookery.” I was getting it confused with a “bird blind.”

“A rookery is a crowded, communal nesting or breeding colony, most commonly referring to birds like herons, egrets, or rooks.”

Cypress “knees” in Lake Bluff.

May you hike into some joy this weekend.

Posted in Five Friday Happy Bringers

Five Friday Happy Bringers 1/17/26

My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.

1. Outdoor winter lunch at the farmhouse.

Voila! Hambone Soup

And it’s just warm enough to eat outside. It = weather as well as soup.

2. Reading/skimming through this beautifully delightful book about flowers.

And then going outside the farmhouse to practice …

Okay, maybe I won’t win any floral awards. But it was fun.

3. Being able to stay warm in the cold of winter. What a blessing!

Brrr. Savannah!

4. This ceiling light at a local indoor—outdoor restaurant.

5. The neat coincidence of Grandson Gabriel re-entering his recent high school basketball game just as an advertisement for his parents’ medical company flashed on the screen behind him.

http://www.coastalcarepartners.com

May you have some neat coincidences this weekend!

Posted in Joy in Nature

Tuesday Trees

Recently, Robert, and I were in Atlanta for their annual Pride Festival. One morning we ventured over to the always-magnificent Atlanta Botanical Garden.

In addition to over 10,000 pumpkins (!) on display (I’ll block about that a little later), there was a new exhibit, “Enchanted Trees” woven through the garden’s incredible natural landscape.

Here’s one:

Garden Website

Amazing Beauty!

Posted in Bathroom Basking

Bathroom Basking

A blog category about finding “interesting decor” in various bathrooms I’ve come across.

So yesterday, Robert and I drove over to Bluffton, South Carolina to attend my daughter Amy’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for expansion of her Savannah- based medical company, Coastal Care Partners.

Afterwards, we had lunch at our VERY favorite fried chicken restaurant on the planet, Cahill’s Market and Chicken Kitchen. (I love its name.)

Cahill’s is a working farm.

Fall greens

Yum times 100.

At my age, I always pay careful attention to the whereabouts of the nearest restroom.

Restroom? Do you really rest in a restroom?

And here are a few other synonyms for restroom …

merriam-webster.com

Bog?! Jakes?!

Anyway, before leaving Cahill’s and driving back to Savannah, of course I had to visit the, the … garderobe.

And look what I Halloween-y found!

Chicken made out of beer bottle caps. And why wouldn’t you? 

I left the, the … watercloset, relieved and in a bit more of the upcoming holiday spirit.

Posted in Five Friday Happy Bringers

Five Friday Happy Bringers 10/17/25

My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.

1. Fall and chrysanthemums!

2. The ability to smile, even just a little bit, even when we may not feel like smiling.

3. This lone October blossom on a leafless Lily Magnolia tree (aka as Tulip Magnolia or Tulip Tree) that Robert and I saw and marveled at yesterday.

Sometimes you just gotta go it alone.

4. Daughter Amy expanding her Savannah-based medical company across the Savannah River and over into nearby (and beautiful) Bluffton, South Carolina.

HR and I drove over for the ribbon cutting yesterday morn.

Robert and I made it at the very end into the little local news coverage …

The paparazzi will simply not leave me alone.

https://share.google/oQybdqM9iBeJARSbc

5. Robert and some hay.

May you sit in front of a joyful weekend ahead.

Posted in One-Word Wednesday

One-Word Wednesday 10/8/25

“Mooning”

As you probably know, Monday night gave us the beautiful Harvest Moon of 2025. And while I didn’t have any crops that needed to be harvested in the bright moonlight (as was done yesteryear), Robert and I did go on a wonderfully invigorating and insightful “Harvest Moon Hike” with about ten other moon watchers at nearby Skidaway Island State Park here in Savannah.

“The moniker harvest moon indicates that it’s the full moon event closest to the autumnal equinox, or the first day of fall. Historically, the moon’s bright light helped farmers complete their harvests for the year, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.” cnn

I look a little crazed. I’m blaming it on the full moon. 

“This moon will be the first of three back-to-back supermoons this year. A supermoon happens when the moon reaches perigee, or its nearest point to our planet, making it appear larger and fuller.” cnn

One of Robert’s photos:

And some of my sad attempts …

… which I ended up sort of liking and am now calling “artistic.”

“Oh, shine on, shine on harvest moon up in the sky
Shine on, shine on harvest moon”

Posted in Challenges

Staying Alive 🎶

The mid-summer heat is incredible down here in my Savannah, Georgia—as it seems to be in much of our weathered nation.

—————————————————-

Yesterday afternoon here in Savannah 

Real Feel of 114? Seriously?

cnn

On early morning walks (it’s far too hot for me to walk midday), I have noticed one resilient plant that seems to not only survive in this oppressive heat and brutal sunshine, but actually to THRIVE.

Crepe Myrtle

“Some plants perform best when the heat is on; Crape Myrtles revel in the sun and heat. They are summer show-offs.  In full bloom this beautiful shrub/tree radiates color, sporting a full head of crinkled, “crepe” like blooms in various shades.” aldenlane.com

May we follow crepe myrtle’s exemplary leadership in this very hot time in our nation.

It’s dangerously hot, but we will stay alive!

Posted in Five Friday Happy Bringers

Five Friday Happy Bringers 6/27/25

My weekly gratitude journal, of sorts.

1. This visually very pretty (and delicious) box of dried fruit and nuts from Turkey. (A belated Father’s Day gift).

On top of morning oatmeal

2. Looking forward to an end-of-Pride Month gathering tomorrow here in Savannah.

3. The Amazing Ability to doze off every night for Sensational Sleep.

4. Crepe Myrtle (“Lily of the South”) blossoms all over Savannah this hot summer.

5. Clouds.

Miami

Like sleep, I find them so mysterious.

“I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It’s cloud illusions I recall
I really don’t know clouds at all”

Joni Mitchell (and me!)

Tugaloo State Park, Lavonia GA

But I do love them.

Savannah

Have a Jolly last weekend in June.

Posted in Encouragement

World Oceans Day 2025

“World Ocean Day unites and rallies the world to protect and restore our blue planet! 

Since launching global coordination in 2002, World Ocean Day has grown from an idea to thousands of events and millions of people reached each year. The World Ocean Day network includes 2,000+ organizations in 180 countries.

Following a four-year petition  drive with our international network, the United Nations officially recognized the Day in 2008.” unworldoceansday.org

Robert and I are fortunate to live about twenty minutes from the ocean—the Atlantic Ocean. Tybee Island (aka Savannah Beach).