Savannah 20 Year Time Warp

Savannah is a city unlike any other in Georgia. It sits on a significant river, and is only a short drive from Georgia beaches. It enjoys fantastic weather year round. It tends to see far less hurricanes than other eastern seaboard cities due to the shape of Georgia’s coastal geography. It is rich in culture and steeped in history. It has fantastic culinary offerings. It has both palm trees and old oak trees draped with Spanish Moss. It has horse drawn carriages and stately mansions. It has been the backdrop for movies and books. It makes for a great vacation destination since you can stroll the river-front in Savannah or drive to the beaches. You can take a tour of Tybee Island or visit Fort Pulaski. There are plenty of accommodations around the city that are affordable. There are also upscale, trendy hotels inside the city of Savannah. There is plenty of very fresh seafood to be had, but if critters from the ocean aren’t your thing, there are alternative culinary delights. It has unmistakable old-world charm plus Southern hospitality.

I grew up in metro-Atlanta, so vacationing in Savannah was part of my childhood and teenage years. In March of 2014, I had the opportunity to go back to Savannah for the first time in over 20 years. I ate at restaurants I discovered while walking around. I nosed around in cute little boutiques. I even took a look through an art gallery. While there, I purchased an awesome print because it reminded me of my black cat (I couldn’t afford the several thousand dollar price tag of the original painting, but shelling out less than $100 for a reproduction print was certainly doable). The gallery folks were kind enough to ship it home for me since getting it on an itty-bitty commuter jet wasn’t happening.

Neo admires "his" painting that momma purchased in a Savannah art gallery

When I was younger, my family stayed on the outskirts of the city, in the more “suburban” hotels that were affordable. In 2014 I stayed at the Andaz inside the city of Savannah. The Andaz is a nice place….a very nice place indeed. Sadly it wasn’t my flavor. However, I was not about to utter one peep of complaint. My husband was attending a conference and the company hosting the conference was paying for the hotel. And besides, they had some cute vodka:

What cat lover wouldn't appreciate some CatHead Vodka?

Staying at the Andaz also afforded me the opportunity to take pictures of the horse drawn carriages:

Horse drawn carriages are a frequent sight along the avenues in Savannah

This working horse admires his reflection in the window

I am an enormous horse fanatic. Well, I’m not enormous, but my enthusiasm for anything equine is big. When I was a teenager, I took a single picture of a horse drawn carriage. During the 2014 visit, I took lots of horse and carriage pictures (thank you digital photography!). In fact, I took a lot of the same pictures almost 25 years apart. It was almost eerie to compare the photos. Since film was not a worry, I took far more pics in 2014 than I did on my little 110 film camera in 1990. There were several images that bore striking resemblances even though the photos were decades apart. I felt like I’d stumbled back in time which is pretty darn cool. I really wanted my stepdad to see this comparison, but he passed away before I had the chance to share. So I figured what better way to remember him than to share my Savannah time warp photos with the Interwebz. Enjoy!

The bridges over Savannah River in 1990. A new bridge was in under construction.

The bridge over the Savannah River in 2014. The old bridge piers are in the background.

Savannah River front buildings in 1990.

That same building 24 years later with less ivy but more trees in front.

Savannah Government building in 1990

The same building 24 years later

Horse, carriage, and the driver, 1990

A pair of carriage horses in 2014

Riverboat waiting for passengers in 1990

Riverboats waiting patiently by the river walk in 2014

Cancer Is A Thief

My stepdad passed away just the other day. I was shocked and surprised when I heard the news. I’d talked to him a week ago, and he sounded good. But I was also relieved. Relieved? Yes. He was diagnosed with cancer last year and went through some rough treatments. He lost too much weight. His blood pressure was amazingly low. Eating was a miserable experience. After the treatments stopped last fall, he was feeling better and eating better. As is the case too often, the cancer came back this April. I didn’t realize the cancer was stage 4, so he only had a short time left. The doctors told him there was no treatment, and he should get his affairs in order. I sadly assumed I had at least three or four months (maybe more) to get down to visit him. I wasn’t looking forward to the suffering he would endure toward the end. Instead, he lied down for a nap one afternoon and never woke up. This was a blessing. I watched my Mom suffer with cancer twice. I’ve seen two uncles and an aunt suffer. My stepdad didn’t linger in pain for months on end, and when he passed, family members were nearby. This gave me peace of mind twice over.

I only have one regret: I wasn’t able to visit with him one more time, and share some recent photographs of Savannah. I didn't even take the time to send the photographs to him ahead of my visit. Heck, I didn't even think to mention the photos during my last phone call with him (which I never would have known was my last call). I did have an excellent reason for not visiting my stepdad sooner: my husband was recovering from cardiac surgery and a string of cardiac difficulties from the previous two months. Leaving town was never an option until I knew my husband was on the road to improvement. Thankfully, he is doing much better.

Back to the pictures..... As a kid, my family traveled to Savannah and the beaches of Georgia for vacations. Coastal Georgia and Savannah have a magic all their own. During a trip with my stepdad as a teenager, I took several pictures of the Savannah river-front and surrounding areas. Last year, I had an opportunity to go back for the first time in over 20 years. I took lots of pictures without thinking much about it (isn't digital photography great?!). When I got home, I remembered the pictures I’d taken as a teenager. I compared the 1990s pictures with the 2014 pictures and was stunned. I’d taken some of the exact (or nearly exact) same photos. One of my favorites was a bridge. It spanned the Savannah River, and I took nearly identical pictures in 1990 and in 2014. In 1990, the new bridge was only 1/2 completed and the old bridge was still standing. In 2014, the “new” bridge was now the only bridge spanning the river. It was amazing to see how much had changed, and how many things looked much the same. But it also makes me sad that I cannot share this with my stepdad. I kick myself for not sending him the pictures sooner. Why did I wait? Because I thought I had more time.

Bridges over Savannah River (1990). The new bridge isn't finished, and the old bridge stands in its shadow.

 The "new" bridge (photo taken in 2014). Notice the ghosts of the old bridge on the river banks.

You never know how long someone has left when cancer comes to town. Sometimes the patient goes through treatment, the cancer goes into remission, and they live for years. Other times the span between diagnosis and death is mere months or even weeks. It is one disease that seems to have no real cure, and a treatment program that can be more brutal than the disease itself. If someone you love is diagnosed with cancer, try to visit them early and often. You never know when the thief will steal their last moments from you.

Spring…..is that you!?

Warmer weather and plentiful sunshine have arrived in Boston. It appears Spring is finally here, feeling like a warm hug from a favorite aunt. And not a moment too soon, for today is the Red Sox home opener. Thank you Mother Nature for smiling on our baseball team. Trees are showing signs of budding. Flowers are popping out of the ground before our very eyes. Allergy sufferers are reaching for medications and tissues. Spring is really here!

These plants have grown up overnight

Already today, I’ve been more productive than in the past month. Yesterday my husband and I did more yard work than we have in many moons. I was in shorts and a t-shirt for the first time in nearly 6 months (sorry neighbors for the glare from my pale skin). It is amazing what good weather does for the attitude and the soul. When it is gray, rainy, and cold, I want to curl up and hibernate. When it is warm and sunny, strap me to a go-cart because I’m off to the races!

Hello beautiful crocus!

I think the effect is the same on animals. My cats were out and about, wandering around the whole yard this morning. On rainy, yucky days, all they do is sleep. Well, all they really do is sleep on any given day, but on sunny days they have a 10% increase in activity. This is quite a jump for an animal that spends so much time practicing “energy conservation”. 

Neo strolling in the warm sunshine

The birds, the children, and the barbecues are coming out of hibernation. There is an undeniable effect Spring has on us all. But will it stay? Only Mother Nature can answer that. At this point, I’m just happy it isn’t snowing.

Will Boston *ever* see Spring?

I look outside my window and what do I see? That four letter word - snow. It is snowing...AGAIN. Folks around Boston have had enough of the white stuff to last 3 winters. Every time we turn around the meteorologists are predicting more snow. We've had 10 weekends in a row with snowfall. March only had a handful of days that were even close to normal temperature for this time of year. We've been below average all winter (except for the month of December), and we've had a record 110"+ of snowfall for the season. Thankfully all the snow hasn't melted at once (or we'd need our own arks to get around), but enough is enough. Thankfully I've lived in New England during another rough winter (Connecticut in 2010-2011 where they had record snowfall), so I've experienced a long, cold winter in these parts. But this is something else. By now, we should have highs in the upper 40s or mid-50s and some nice rain showers now and then. Instead we're stuck in Old Man Winter's grasp, and snow comes on a regular basis. Thankfully today's episode will turn to rain and by the end of this week the temperatures are supposed to moderate. 

Growing up, snow was a treat. Northern Georgia (around metro-Atlanta) saw more than an inch of snow at a time on a very rare basis. We only had four built-in snow days for the school district I attended. Generally you didn't need any of them, or may just one. But I do remember one winter we had a big storm that dumped 6" of snow. Six inches! The kids were in snow heaven. My mom and I went sledding down our street (and crashed into a holly bush, but that is a different story). There were other winters we did get a few inches, and I'd go to my Dad's condo to sled down the sunken soccer fields on a cookie sheet. And when it snows down south, everything STOPS. Each county might have 1 snow plow and a handful of helpful folks with their own snow plows on their trucks. People also tend to have 4-wheel drive since they like to go off road or get stuck in mud puddles. Snow was fun, and it was a happy occurrence. That's probably because we all knew it wouldn't be around long and Spring would arrive (mostly) on time.

Here in the Boston area, I don't think we can spell Spring anymore. I think it is hiding in the Bahamas somewhere. We keep asking it to come visit, but to no avail. I look at the bare trees in my yard and wonder if I'll ever see anything green again. The whole area is a study of brown, gray, and white. The only color we have are some songbirds that are feasting on the seed we provide. Poor little dears are probably also wondering where Spring is. They have nests to build and babies to raise. But not in this cold. One thing is for sure...when Spring *does* finally show up, everything is going to burst into action. Trees, shrubs, and flowers will bloom and sprout and leaf out all at once. Allergy sufferers, beware. It might be a rough ride.

Since I am not an all-powerful being that can influence the weather, I just sit here inside, sipping my coffee and trying my hardest to wish Spring into existence. Maybe, just maybe, we'll get some warmer weather and NO MORE SNOW during April. Hey, a person can dream, right?

Winter Storm Juno - my first real "blizzard"

I'm from down South where snowfall is cause for utter panic. Growing up in northern Georgia, we once had 6" of snow and it shut school down for 3 days! We had fun though. Now I live in New England, and we just caught the brunt of Winter Storm Juno. I have never stood in the middle of a blizzard, unless you count the time we had a sorta-blizzard back in 2011 when I lived in coastal CT. We currently have about 18-20" of snow, with more falling. Winds were whipping around about 20-30mph. The snow should taper off tonight. I actually took some footage with my trusty Canon PowerShot D10. You can see the video on YouTube: http://youtu.be/zmhp-Pb5oZ4

While shoveling snow, I also had my cell phone with me. I took a few pics of our car and the piles of snow, then put the thing in my outside coat pocket and promptly forgot about it. My husband and I spent about an hour or so outside helping to shovel snow (thank goodness our neighbor had a snow blower!). When I came inside, my poor phone was C-O-L-D and I received an error message: "Let your phone cool down before use". Cool down!? What!? I guess it has a generic one-size-fits-all error when it comes to temperature extremes. I left it alone, and it did finally come around and start working again. Lesson learned...if you take sensitive electronics outside, keep them in a pocket close to your body so they stay warm. 

Otherwise, we have weathered the storm well. We still have our power and we can get our car out of the driveway if we want to go somewhere. They've even plowed the street enough times that we can see the pavement again! My relatives called to check on me (from AL and MS) since they'd seen all the hype in the news. They were quick to point out that it seemed the Boston area didn't have much hype, but received most of the storm while other places made a huge deal out of it and only had a glancing blow. It would seem there is an inverse relationship between the hype of the storm and the impact of the storm. Folks here know what to do and how to handle snow. It ain't no big deal.

If you are somewhere impacted by Storm Juno, I hope you are safe. I am back inside now where it is warm and dry. My cats think I am totally foolish for going outside in the terrible elements. They are lucky...they can't shovel snow so they are exempt from such drudgery.  We are supposed to get a little more snow on Friday, and possibly more next week. I swear, that's the last time I'll ever ask, "so, when do we really get some snow around here?" Oops, guess I have my answer!

The view out my front window. Can't tell sidewalk from yard from street!

Just How Cold is an Arctic Blast?

I live in a region that gets cold in winter; really cold. But not one of those places that goes into the negative on a regular basis. When I woke up this morning, it was -3 outside. Yes negative 3 degrees:

This is our weather station...the HIGH was 3 and low was -3 over previous 12 hours

So, being the curious person I am, I wondered what -3 felt like. (I did a similar thing a couple of summers ago...I wondered what 102 degrees felt like. It felt like an oven. Maybe even a blast furnace. I lasted about 2 minutes outside before I was worried my innards would roast.) 

This morning, I merrily went out to my front stoop and experienced this blinding cold in my t-shirt and sweat pants. The result? Yep, it was cold....nay...FRIGID. My skin started to tingle (not in a good way) and my eyes hurt. The air being drawn into my nostrils was burning and chilling at the same time. After about 30 seconds I figured I'd better get my hiney back inside before I got instant frostbite or caught a cold. Oddly enough, it wasn't all that much different from, say, 10 or 15 degrees. Once you get below about 20 degrees, it is COLD. Mercifully, we were spared from the high winds the meteorologists predicted. Although I was mildly disappointed I couldn't experience a windchill of -20. It would probably feel awesomely frigid too, but with more bite.

As I walked around the house I noticed our windows were sweating and some even had ice on the INSIDE:

Nothing like some ice to keep your window from feeling lonely

This made me curious about other areas of the house; how cold was it around the windows and doors? Our thermostat was set for 67, but our bedroom and living room were only 65; the poor heater was doing its best. Here are some of the readings I took around the house:

This is what the window temp registered in the bedroom 

This is the closet in our living room; it has no insulation and overhangs an indoor stairwell

This was the stairwell leading down to our front door. Brrrr!

This was a reading I took at the bottom of the front door. We need some weather stripping!

All in all, I can say that -3 is a doozie to deal with. You have to let your car warm up more (or in our case, you have to wait for the coil to heat up before trying to turn the diesel engine over), and you certainly don't want to be outside without adequate protection. Bundle up and stay cozy folks! Winter is just getting started.

Happy 2015

The new year has arrived, even if you didn't stay up to usher it in. I stayed up until about an hour before and decided to go to sleep. I figured the new year could figure out how to arrive without my help and revelry. Thankfully no one in my neighborhood shot off fireworks all night long; it was a welcome change of peace and quiet. 

In addition to the stress of remembering to write "2015" on our checks (does anyone even write checks anymore?), we are bombarded with newsies talking about resolutions, tons of "get fit" advertising, and friends/family asking us "what are your New Year's resolutions?" It reminds us of all the things we didn't get done in the previous year. It can be a bit overwhelming.

I have an easy answer for this annual question: none. I have no resolutions. I find the concept a tired, silly idea that doesn't do anyone much good (except all those fitness clubs that get people to sign up and never come back). Let's face it, if you are waiting for an excuse or a reason or a specific holiday to get in shape or quit smoking or eat healthy food, you are kidding yourself. If you haven't done these things already, you aren't likely to stick to the new habits just because the new year has arrived and you made a resolution. To be fair, some people *do* stick to their resolutions and change their lives. Most of us, however, go right back to the lifestyle we've been living.

Why is this? Maybe it's because the human brain is wired for "routine". We like things to be normal, regular, and predictable. When they aren't, our brain has to work harder to sort things out. Or maybe we've become lazy in this day of instant information and smart phone "dumbing-down". If it takes more than 10 minutes to lose weight, we give up on it. I'm guilty of this frustration myself. I've been trying to get into better shape for a few years. I have tried different methods (couch to 5k, elliptical, treadmill, swimming, yoga, horseback riding, and walking), but I always let something knock me off my "game". I say let something knock me off because that is what happens. I'm in control of my life (with a few exceptions like health emergencies), so if I get out of the habit of exercising, it is my issue. I have no one else to blame.

So what is one to do? What do I do? Take small steps; don't try to do a sweeping overhaul of your life. Enlist the support of any friends or family members that want to help you make changes. Want more exercise without hitting the gym? Use the stairs instead of elevators. Park farther from your destination and walk just a few minutes more every day. Do some simple stretching exercises at your desk. Get up and take a coffee or tea break a few more times. Walk over to a co-worker's desk instead of IM'ing or emailing. Eat just a little bit less each meal, and snack on fruit instead of a bag of chips. Treat yourself every so often to keep cravings at bay. For me, I'm a lot less likely to scarf down a bag of potato chips if I've allowed myself to eat a small portion of tortilla chips and some salsa as an afternoon snack. For breakfast, I usually have a bowl of oatmeal with honey, raisins, and dried cranberries. Some mornings I'll mix it up and make a smoothie (frozen fruit, honey Greek yogurt, a banana, and a dash of fruit juice). Variety helps keep "bad food" cravings at bay too. 

This isn't a glamorous method, and it won't get me on the morning news shows, but it has worked for me. I've been able to maintain a consistent weight for the past two years. I'm brainstorming for an exercise (or exercises) I can stick with for more than a week. I'm thinking of doing elliptical in the morning and yoga in the evening. And I always look for that parking spot waaaaay in the back of the lot. Unless it is 16 degrees and snowing. Then I might look for a mid-parking lot space instead. I'm not resolving to do anything exciting. I'm not resolving to "remake" my life. I'm resolving to keep living the life I love and be happy with that. And if friends or family ask about your New Year's resolutions, tell them "resolutions are soooo 2014." Have a Great New Year.