It's Not Spring, But Oh It's Pretty!

We're a little more than 3 weeks away from Spring but the weather has been incredible.  In the 70's most of the week and this weekend up in the 80's.  Oh I know it's going to turn cool again but I still went out and bought a bunch of flowers to plant this week.  My daffodils are blooming, as are the Grape and regular Hyacinths, the Camellias, and a bunch of  bulbs I just planted.  I'm in heaven.  Spring is my favorite season, I can't wait to go out in the yard and see what's blooming.

Movie News

Jim Caviezel

If you like to watch movies being made they're working on one in Savannah.  They started filming a week or so  ago and will be filming for another 3 weeks.  The movie is titled, appropriately enough, Savannah, and it stars Jim Caviezil.  They're filming all over the historic district, at the Roundhouse (think trains) and out at the Effingham County Court House and some roads are blocked off during filming  which explains why part of Abercorn was closed off when we went downtown this last week.
The movie takes place around 1900 and is about the relationship between Jim Caviezil's character and that of a former slave and is based on actual local characters.
Another movie is slated to begin filming in April, haven't heard what i is yet,  and ABC Family just finished a movie made for tv called "Always and Forever".
Many local people are used as extras in these movies but  I'm just too lazy to even go and watch them filming. LOL
This site savannahoffthebeatenpath.com  (click on movies/books)
 has a list of movies made in Savannah through 2010, but does not include the movie James McAvoy The Conspirator made last year or X-Men First Class that just finished filming in Brunswick. about 40 miles from here.

Royal Wedding Invitation

How sad, neither I nor the Obamas have received an invitation to the royal wedding.  I can't understand it.  I visit England frequently, spending lavishly and in my own way supporting the British economy, doesn't that entitle me to an invite?
As for the Obamas, their last visit may have been less than up to royal etiquette standards (doesn't Michelle know you don't lay hands on the Queen?),  but surely people of such importance and so photogenic should have been included.  It's a sad day for the presidency, maybe being on the cover of GQ again will cheer him up, and she can get another $800 pair of boots to garden in.
As for me I'll just have to visit somewhere else from now on, I know when I'm not appreciated.

Savannah

Driving down Abercorn Street to Savannah

Had to go to Savannah for a doctor's appointment yesterday so we decided to visit downtown, and to slip into a couple of antique shops.  Well I'll admit it's been awhile since we'd been to any of the local antique stores and boy did we have sticker shock!  I was looking for some vintage tea cups to make candles in, I'd seen some on etsy and thought I'd make my own.  Well I don't know about you but $22-$28 for a simple cup and saucer seems mighty high to me.  I finally found a couple of "reasonably" priced ones and when I'm in a crafty mood I'll melt the wax and make the candles.  I have a number of cup and saucer sets of my own but I wanted to try the process out before I used my own.

Johnson Square

Wright Square

Julia Gordon Low Founder of Girl Scouts
Birth Place

Did a bit of street walking in Savannah and took some pictures as we walked through the squares.  Savannah is laid out in squares, there were 24 at one time but a couple were "lost".  We walked through Johnson Square, named after a South Carolina governor and has a statue of Nathaniel Greene a Revolutionary War General, Wright Square that has the grave of Tomochichi a Creek Indian chief who helped the early settlers in Savannah and on to Chippiwa Square.  The trees are just starting to bloom, by April the squares will be a riot of color, and even more full of tourists than they were yesterday.  I love Savannah, it is the such a quintessential  southern city, full of old homes, live oaks, Spanish Moss and friendly people, to say nothing of the wonderful food.

Walk along Bay Street

Kite Weather

It's sunny, warm (in the 70's) and breezy so Mac decided it was time to check out the miniature kite he had given me for Christmas.  I love kites, always have.  I love the simplicity and complexity of them.  When I was a teacher I would always teach a unit on the aerodynamics of kite flying and then we'd make kites and go fly them.
Today's kite flight, despite the breezy conditions, wasn't too successful, the kite didn't fly so much as it plummeted.  Don't know if there wasn't enough wind, the tail was too long or the running speed of the operator was the problem, probably the latter.
I gave Mac a pair of miniature helicopters for Christmas so that will our next flying adventure!

Sunday Sunshine

It's Sunday, the sun is shining and I'm feeling very happy.  My younger sister has been in the hospital for more than 2 weeks with pneumonia, but it looks like she's finally going to get to come home.  I've really been worried about her, she's a smoker and her lungs just aren't worth a darn/    So she's had 2 weeks of ICU and I think it has scared her into quitting smoking, at least I hope so.  I know it's not easy, Mac and I quit nearly 30 years ago, and I've bugged both my sisters for years to quit, maybe this will finally do it.
In other Sunday "news" my carrots are planted even though the packet said not to do it till March.  Well the long term forecast is for our weather to stay in the high 60's and low 70's through the beginning of March so I felt pretty safe putting them in.  I would say no rabbits need apply except we don't have any rabbits out here, every other kind of wild life, but no rabbits.
We also transplanted the Hydrangea that Mac gave me for Valentine's Day and the Primula I had put in a window, both were looking rather unhappy.
We caught our cat lounging in the sun this morning and had to take a picture of her.  My Mother-in-Law always said that if she could be reincarnated that she'd like to come back as one of my cats, they always look so contented.  So whenever I catch my cat looking like this I hope that there's a bit of my MOL there too.

Where The Sidewalk Ends

View of our neighborhood, note, no sidewalks!
Also not this time of year!

And I'm not talking about Shel Siverstein's book!  For some reason American builders and developers have decided that we don't need sidewalks to walk on any more. I know Americans drive every where, but we do walk and I'm tired of walking in the street.
Why you ask don't they put in sidewalks, well I don't know, my guess is to save money, it certainly isn't to save lives.
We walk every day through our neighborhood but we walk in the street it's either that or on people's lawn and we don't want to do that, wouldn't want others walking on mine.  And though most cars slow down to the posted speed limit (10 mph) others fly through here risking my life and limb.  And I really love when they fly through puddles splashing water without the least consideration.
The school bus that comes here only stops at the entrance to our neighborhood so children as young as 4 or 5 must walk in the street to get to the bus or home.  Many people drive their kids to the entrance and pick them up for safety's sake, it would save gas if the kids could walk.
I would think that when developers submit their plans to the local planning commission that sidewalks would be considered a necessity, not a luxury, though in some developments that how their marketed.  "New family-orientated neighborhood with front porches and sidewalks. " I grew up with sidewalks, everyone had them but now they're disappearing .  Well I want a sidewalk, but I guess that short of moving I'm probably not going to get any--pooh!

Best of Times

Gotten to garden a bit this week, cleaning out beds, putting in some hardy bedding plants, encouraging the daffodils and hyacinths to bloom.  We've had days in the 60's all week and will be well up in the 70's through the weekend.  I know it's going to get cold again, but this has been wonderful.
I just planted some Hidcote Lavender seeds I'd ordered.  I never have much luck with lavender I don't know if I'm overwatering or it's just too hot here.  My Snowball plant is covered in buds and I hope to see some leaves soon.
My Spanish Bluebells are coming up and so are my Louisiana Iris's, I hope more of them bloom this year.
Mac has started a bunch of seeds in his hothouse, and his broad beans are blooming, next the sugar snap peas should.
The box is something Mac made me for Christmas to store my gardening hat, gloves, tools, it came equipped with an emergency Hershey's Kisses in case I got faint in the garden.  It opens to provide potting space and note the "golden" trowel next to it.

The only trees to show signs of life are the Red Maples and they look so springy!

Gifts From the Heart

My husband is so special!  He really is, thoughtful, loving, funny, you name it he is!  For Valentine's Day he painted me a picture that is now hanging in my kitchen.  I love the colors and I love that he takes the time to paint just for me.

Then today he gave me a love bug with chocolate inside.  Definitely knows the way to my heart!

Valentine's Gift

An early Valentine's gift from the best husband in the world!

Curbside Shopping

Ever since we moved to the south I've been threatening, in a nice way, to drag Mac to High Point, North Carolina.  That's where most of the wood furniture made in the United States is made, tons of factories and showrooms.  They have a huge furniture expo twice a  year that attracts more than 100,000 venders..  Every time I start thinking about a new piece of furniture I tell him we ought to borrow a truck and drive up there because the prices are so much cheaper.
Well for several months I've been muttering that we need a game table to go in the pub upstairs and so I've been pricing them online.  Those I like run from $250-$600, more than I want to pay.
Today while I was grumbling around Mac came and got me and told me there was a huge furniture truck outside from High Point, North Carolina and they were selling furniture.  I went to take a look at their catalogue,  telling the man I was interested in a coffee table and a game table.  I didn't care for the looks of the coffee table they had, but I loved the game table hardly daring to ask the price, and I couldn't believe his answer, $108, that's less than half of any price I'd seen online, so I said yes, ran back inside gave a description of the table and found several examples of it with a list price of $350 and a discounted price of $278.  Oh was I happy.  The table is cherrywood and just gorgeous.  They unpacked it from the truck and I asked if this was their first trip to our area, they said no,  they came fairly regularly, so I said we'd love to see them the next time they come down.  Made my day!