Savannah Breeze

There's something about a girl done wrong, a quaint little beach motel and a scruffy old fisherman (who's actually pretty dang hot under all that scruff) that makes for a great summer read.

I just finished reading Savannah Breeze and I loved it!  I was so happy to find out that there's a previous book, Savannah Blues, that has the same characters.  I just got that one on eBay last night and can't wait to get it and tear into it!! 

Savannah Breeze takes place in two of my very favorite places, beautiful, historic Savannah (duh!) and Tybee Island.  It's about Savannah socialite, BeBe (pronounced BayBay) Loudermilk, a thrice-divorced (twice to the same man) successful businesswoman who falls for a con man who takes everything she owns, her home, her rental properties, even her daddy's gold watch.  I totally saw this coming, though!!  BeBe ain't too bright when it comes to men.  Waaaaaay too trusting.  Anyway, she loses everything except a little rundown 1950's motel out on Tybee, which she is forced to fix up, with the help of cantankerous boat captain, Harry, and her BFF, Weezie.  They whip that place into shape just in time for the St. Patty's Day Savannah crowd.  And then, along with Spencer, BeBe's beloved and funny grandfather, they set out to get back everything that BeBe lost. 


 


I loved it.  I even loved the cover!!  How adorable is that??

This book is hilarious, it's a little suspenseful and it absolutely makes you want to stand up and cheer at the end.

It's the perfect tale of good old southern revenge and why you should never, ever mess with a southern girl's heart OR her faux-leopard mules.

How 'bout some fries with this catch up?

Okay, today I come home to this.

Twelve days after I came home to this.  Dismemberment appears to not only be allowed but also encouraged in this neighborhood.  Poor baby doll.  Eventually, maybe the rest of her will end up in my driveway and I'll put her back together and brush her hair or something.

Life at the condostead has been busy busy busy since last we chatted.  Tabbie Hoffman continues to steal bits and pieces of my heart, even when he scratches the crap out of my leg trying to jump up into my lap.  

 Yes.  My right thigh.  :)

We're doing the ear medicine every other day and he hates it but lets me do it anyway without much of a fight.  We were supposed to do it for two weeks so we've got three more times and then we'll be down to once a week until the bottle's empty.  

And I swear, I bet he's gained a pound since I've had him!  His little belly is SO fat!  See??  Total presh.  :)

I messed up big time this week and twisted my left ankle at work.  I stepped way wrong off the platform and in trying to not fall, twisted it.  It swelled up like a softball immediately.  I went to a doctor on base, got a splint, some x-rays to rule out a hairline crack (and they did, it's just a bad sprain) and some free meds out of the deal.  I'm also having physical therapy three days a week indefinitely until they get me straight.  I had my first session today and felt so much better after just the one!  The therapist used a combo of electric current and ice water on it and it felt absolutely heavenly. I'm on light duty until the 13th, too.  I've never had as much fussing over me as I've had in the past two days, except for maybe my mama and daddy.  Certainly not at any job I've ever had.  They take care of you out there, that's for sure.

One more Tabbie Hoffman pic.  :)  I promise this will not become a kitty blog!  He's just so dang cute!!

And just like that, my life changed

On our last episode, I was wondering what I would come home to on Sunday after finding my fence broken on Friday and a baby doll leg in my driveway on Saturday. It turned out to be not what I would come home to but what I would bring home.

I went to see Larry for a little while after church Sunday and while I was in line waiting to get in, I noticed that a little kitty had jumped down from underneath the truck of someone else who was there to visit. First time the guy had ever been there. I mentioned the kitten and he said he wasn't his, he didn't have any cats, didn't have any idea where it came from.

Must have been a hitchhiker, I said. I watched as the kitty jumped into the border grass near the parking area.

I told Larry about him and I said if that kitty was still out there when I left at 3:00, I was going to get him and take him home with me. I haven't had a pet in 24 years but I was not going to leave that baby there and come home. I really didn't know what I was going to do with him. I thought about taking him to Ami and Brian but I knew I couldn't just leave him.

When I walked outside, my eyes scanned the parking lot and I didn't see him. I walked over to that grass and there he was, buried deep under the grass. I picked him up and loved on him and carried him to my car. He was calm until I opened the door to put him in and then he hissed and scratched me twice, hard. I put him over on the passenger side seat and he immediately jumped to the floorboard and burrowed up behind the glove box.

I called Brian and told him I had this little cat and he put Ami on the phone. I fully intended to take him to them. We decided that I would take him home and get him some water and then they would come down later to help get us set up. If you don't know my sister and brother-in-law, just know that they are kitty angels. They take in little lost and unwanted kitties and feed, love and protect them. They have had a huge feral community of cats take up in their yard and they have caught them, had them spayed or neutered and either found homes for them or made a home for them in theirs. What they do is truly amazing and the sacrifices they make for these cats are incredible. They believe this is their calling from God and I do, too. God knows who to give what to, whether it's good things or not so good things. He knows what we can handle.

Anyway, they came here and brought STUFF!! A litter box, a little bed, a little kitty hangout cube, Kitten Chow and a carrier for when we have to go somewhere. And they have been SO GOOD this week helping us!! They met me at PetSmart last night to see the vet and then they came tonight because my baby has some bacteria in his ears and we'll have to flush them out with medicine for two weeks. They came to show me how to do it. See?? Amazing.

We went to Target Sunday afternoon and got more food and some litter and a few toys and the whole time, we were talking about names for him. I thought he was a girl at first and I was calling her Gracie Sunbeam. :) SHE is definitely a boy! What do I know?? Looked like girly stuff to me.

He absolutely had to have a hippie name and Brian Googled "hippie names" and while we were discussing names, I just blurted out "Tabby Hoffman" and they loved it.

I've only had five people know the significance of his name, or at least only five people have said they know. Most people think I've just given my kitty a weird, stupid name. Ha!

It's not weird OR stupid. And I decided tonight that I'm making a minor change in his name. It's Tabbie Hoffman. With an "ie" just like Abbie spelled it.

If you don't know who Abbie Hoffman was, Wikipedia says he was a political and social activist in the 60's and 70's and co-founder of the Youth International Party.  That's not even doing him justice.  Google him.  You'll be amazed.  He died 23 years ago.  I often wonder what he would think of things today.

I think he was pretty dang awesome.  And so I named my kitty after him.  



This is Tabbie Hoffman Schneider.  Big-eyed pretty boy looking up at the ceiling fan and playing with my badge from work.

And I think he's pretty dang awesome, too.

Yellow truck coming...

I can't even say enough about this book right here!!  Velva Jean Learns To Drive.  It's definitely now one of my favorites.

Velva Jean Hart is ten years old when she gets saved.  Shortly after, her whole little world falls apart and she starts to question the "whole Jesus thing".

Set in pre-World War II gold-mining and moonshining Appalachia, this story is one that will stay with you forever.  Velva Jean's dream is to sing at the Grand Ole Opry and wear a satin and rhinestone dress and play a Hawaiian guitar.  She's a beautiful girl with a phenomenal voice but as it does sometimes, life gets in her way and she finds herself instead marrying Harley Bright, a handsome bad-boy-turned-revival-preacher who adores her but eventually tries to squash her spirit and her dreams.

She inherits an old yellow truck from her brother-in-law Danny and, keeping it a secret, she teaches herself to drive it.  Apparently in the early 1940's, guys didn't want their wives to drive.  They really didn't want them doing much else but laundry, cooking and cleaning.  And they certainly didn't want them dreaming of singing at the Grand Ole Opry.  The Good Lord knew exactly when to let me come into this world.  Just sayin'.

When I was reading this, I tried to remember when I was first learning to drive.  No way could I have taught myself!  I wouldn't have known where to start.  This girl made me so proud of her!!

It's a wonderful coming-of-age story and I absolutely loved it.  Velva Jean writes a song about that old truck, "Yellow Truck Coming, Yellow Truck Going".  A girl named Briana Harley has recorded it.  Squeeeee!!!!

"Yellow Truck Coming, Yellow Truck Going" | Jennifer Niven | Audio | Red Room

I'mma be scared to come home tomorrow...

I came home today after getting the oil changed in my car and getting a brand spankin' new serpentine belt put on and found this in my driveway.

At first, I didn't know what it was.  I was scared.  When I got closer, I half thought, "oh well, it's just a finger" because I saw Final Destination 5 the other night and ever since, I have been going over the ways folks died in that movie so it really didn't even faze me much that there might be a FINGER in my driveway. OMG, what is WRONG with me???

Anyway, I got closer and saw that it is, indeed, a baby doll leg.  In my driveway.  Have no idea.

Yesterday, I come home to find a split rail in my fence was broken and lookin' all stabby and pointy at the culprit (as if to tell me, "HE did it!!") a busted-up limb from my neighbor's tree.

The limb also hit my satellite dish and knocked it OUT.  I had no signal last night but today, that seems to have been corrected because even though I didn't check all 200 channels, the channels I like to watch are coming in clear.  Except for HBO East.  HBO West, loud and clear.  HBO East, the one that shows the new True Bloods on Sunday nights, not so much.  Oh well.

What will I come home to tomorrow???

I can see clearly now...

I called in sick today.  My tooth was pitching a fit for me to so I did.  I fully expected to have that root canal today, although this doesn't feel root canal worthy.  And I've had four root canals so I know what's worthy.  That extremely painful constant throbbing that will only stop when you throw cold water on it.  Yeah, that's worthy.  This is nothing like that.  This is a dull ache with an occasional sharp pain thrown in there just for giggles.

So I stayed home and called my dentist when her office opened and she called me in some meds to Target.  Yay!!  Another reason to go to Target!!!  :)  I'm waiting this thing out.  I don't want to have a root canal if the nerve will just calm the hell down and chill.  You know??

It already feels much, much better.  The 800mg Motrin took care of any inflammation in there and it's just a tiny bit cold sensitive now.  We might just make it!!  I've sure been praying over it.

I had an eye appointment this afternoon so I kept that and got me some new contacts.  A little stronger.  I'd gotten to where I couldn't see anything, especially those itty bitty numbers on those wires at work.  So we upped the RX a little and now I can SEEEEEEE.

And then I came home and cooked that eggplant and those 'maters and okry that I got yesterday from my mama and daddy.

Fried eggplant on pasta with marinara and grated parmesan cheese

This is just about my favorite thing at Olive Garden and mine tonight tasted pretty dang close!  It was delicious!!  Got some for lunch tomorrow, too.

Yummy stewed tomatoes and okra

I even halved and tossed some of those cherry tomatoes in there, too.  It turned out great!!

For a Monday, it wasn't even that bad. 

...and died with a toothache in his heel...but wait, M&M cookies!

My family had a birthday party for my niece, Jessi, today and I didn't get to go because I've been nursing a toothache since last Monday.  I got a pretty deep filling in a tooth Monday afternoon and Doc said I may need a root canal.  Well, that tooth has hurt ever since the shot wore off!!  Shots, actually.  She had to give me two 'cause I'm a whiney-butt cry baby.  I've taken Motrin just about 'round the clock and last night, I took three of my Neurontin pills left over from my trigeminal neuralgia treatment (which I STILL have!  September will be TWO YEARS that the right side of my face has been numb.  I'm so used to it now, I doubt I even notice that it's well IF it ever gets well.  Argh!!!) and was so stoned, I walked into the hearth with all five toes stickin' out.  Yeah, ow.  But the tooth quit hurting and I slept like a log in the woods all night.  I have hope that the nerve in there will settle down eventually and I'll avoid that root canal.

So I didn't go to the party but in Mama's fashion, she hooked me up anyway and Ami and Brian brought me my stuff that she and Daddy sent.

Just LOOK!

Eggplant, figs from their backyard tree, peaches and fresh cherry tomatoes and okra from their garden.  Daddy also made me some deliciously awesome peach ice cream and he sent that, too.  They are just too good to me.

I can't wait to fry that eggplant up and make Eggplant Parmesan and make a big pot of stewed tomatoes and okra.  Yum yum!!

I mentioned last week on Facebook that I was craving some of my mama's M&M cookies.  Guess what??  Yep.  Three bags of 'em.

I truly don't deserve my parents but I am so thankful that God gave me to them!!

Happy 4th!

Didn't you love the things that they stood for?

Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?

And we'll be free some day soon, 
and it's gonna be one day...