Tidy Tidbits: Sheltering at Home

CONNECTING WITH ZOOM

This week I went from never having used Zoom for meetings to having three encounters.  I now consider myself semi-experienced!  Once you have the Zoom app on your phone, iPad or computer, it’s easy to be invited to participate.  The most novel interaction was the birthday party on Monday afternoon that our daughter-in-law organized for our granddaughter who was turning 4.  They are staying north of Manhattan, the other grandparents are in Connecticut, F’s aunt is in Manhattan, and the Chief Penguin and I are hunkering down at home in Florida.  We could all see each other in our respective online boxes. 

Our son had baked a cake with pink frosting and sprinkles; we sang to F., she excitedly blew out the candles, and they ate cake while we all watched.  Then she had presents to open.  Conversation flowed, and topics ranged from the availability of toilet paper to what each of us was planning for dinner!  A successful event and a great way to feel a part of F’s away-from-home celebration.

Later in the week, we had a virtual dinner party with good Philadelphia friends.  We had each done curbside pick-up of our dinners and then enjoyed wine and conversation while showing off our various entrees.  On Friday, I conducted a condo board meeting which had 33 people online.  For this, I practiced, received helpful tutelage from a savvy neighbor, and took a webinar on Zoom basics.  

In these strange and unusual times, there will be more Zooming on my calendar—meet-ups with siblings, for starters.  Hope you too are finding ways to stay connected with friends and family, whether it be by phone, e-mail, Facetime, Zoom or whatever!

BURIED IN A GOOD BOOK

Savannah by Eugenia Price

When I was in Savannah in February (which seems oh, so long ago now), I purchased this historical novel first published in 1977.  I’m sure I read some other novels by Ms. Price years ago, but this one intrigued me, obviously because of its focus on what is sometimes called the “Hostess City.”

The man character, Mark Browning, a young man of 20 who comes to Savannah from Philadelphia in 1812, is fictitious.  But Robert McKay, owner of a shipping company who becomes his mentor and good friend, was a real person as was his wife, Eliza, and their children.  McKay was a leading citizen of the time and actively involved in civic affairs and in a local auxiliary militia.  Mark is attracted to Eliza and to Caroline Cameron, a young lady of his generation, who has been raised mostly by her grandfather in a family with a complicated and contentious history.  The novel is as much about the growth and development of the city of Savannah (its churches, municipal buildings, agriculture and industry, and its beautiful squares) as it is Mark’s coming-of-age story.

Wright Square (youtube.com)

Eugenia Price was born on St. Simon’s Island and died in 1996.  In addition to her fourteen historical novels, she was well known as a Christian writer and speaker.  She penned a number of non-fiction works related to the Bible and Christian living.  Given the time (early 19th century) and place (the South) it’s probably not surprising that religion plays an important role in these characters’ lives.  Even with that, however, some contemporary readers may find the references to God’s wishes and God’s knowledge a bit much.  

It’s long (more than five hundred pages) and slowly unfolds; possibly making it perfect for this strange time when we are so much at home.  I enjoyed it and could picture some of the buildings and squares from my recent visit.  Now, I need to decide if I want to delve into the next book in Price’s Savannah Quartet.   (~JWFarrington)

Experiencing Savannah: Squares & Art

We met friends in Savannah and enjoyed four days of exploring this very walkable city.  It is one of the most pedestrian-friendly small cities I’ve ever visited.  Our hotel in the historic district was centrally located between the river to the north and Forsyth Park to the south.  Neither was more than a 15 to 20-minute walk and we walked everywhere, despite some rainy and then cold weather! There are several trolley firms offering hop on, hop off tours which we considered doing but never did.

Fountain in Forsyth Park

SAVANNAH SQUARES

Founded in 1733 by James Oglethorpe who founded the colony of Georgia, Savannah teems with history and is made beautiful by its many historic squares.  Today there are 22 squares created in the 18th and 19th centuries, and each is an oasis of calm with live oaks dripping with Spanish moss, benches on which to contemplate the world, and usually a monument or a statue of a famous person from Oglethorpe himself in Chippewa Square to John Wesley near the mother church of Methodism.  

James Oglethorpe

In addition, camellia bushes and azaleas, an early blooming flush of pink, provide color.  Dotted around the squares are a number of historic churches, more elegant architecture, including the Independent Presbyterian Church with a layered green spire atop its steeple.

Independent Presbyterian Church

  Savannah’s city hall has a prominent golden dome, a beacon in the sky as one approaches the river.

RIVER WALK

Savannah’s riverfront is crammed with seafood restaurants and small shops and the once important centers of commerce, the Savannah Cotton Exchange and Factors Row.  We found this section somewhat touristy, but enjoyed our saunter along the river promenade where you can catch a ferry across to the convention center or just stop to peruse the panels about Savannah’s maritime history.  

We watched a colorful container ship come into port and then walked almost to the end of the promenade to see The Waving Girl.  Florence Martus waved her handkerchief to each arriving and departing ship for many decades.  

ART MUSEUMS

For us, no visit to a city is complete without checking out a local museum.  Here we visited two art museums.  The Jepson Center is a stunning piece of architecture, very contemporary and not at all like any of the surrounding buildings.  It’s located on Telfair Square and is one of the three Telfair Museums.  

Katniss by Katherine Sandoz

The building has lots of glass and the lobby and skylights make for interesting patterns on the lobby floor and walls.  The hanging installation by artist Katherine Sandoz adds color and whimsy.  Two exhibits, “Machines of Futility:  Unproductive Technologies” and a highly interactive one on nature and art, highlighted communication and climate change.  

The Chief Penguin and I were surprised and then delighted when we put on 3-D goggles and watched “Immerse” to see the very familiar coral reef tank at the California Academy of Sciences.  This was our work venue for seven years and immediately we were transported back in time—and space!  We then learned that Steven High, director of our local Ringling Museum of Art, served there as director for several years.  Small, small world!

We also visited the Telfair Museum of Art, the oldest art museum in the South, which was built in 1818-1819 as the mansion home for members of the Telfair family.  On the docent tour, we learned about the architecture and that this family had several plantations and owned more than 600 slaves.  The surviving member of the family, Mary Telfair, willed the house to the Georgia Historical Society expressly to become a museum. 

The Bird Girl

 It opened in 1886 as the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences and for some years was a teaching institution as well as an exhibitor.  The art collection is small, but there were some interesting pieces including the sculpture, The Bird Girl, related to the novel Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and a special exhibit called “Savannah Faces” by more contemporary artists.

Savannah also has a museum devoted to Prohibition and several house museums including the home of Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of the Girl Scouts. All diversions for another trip.

For details on where we ate on this foray, see my next blog.

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved).