Beach Creatures

I hope everyone is well and happy!  We are good here.  The rains have not been constant and we have had sun time and beach time and golf time.

The tournament started today and Les says "it wasn't bad".  He had some very light rain for a couple holes on the course.

For those of us back here, it really rained just as Garrett was all changed and ready to leave to go down to the beach.  So that got delayed.  A couple hours later the sun was out and we were all out.  Although high noon is not a good time for me to be sitting out.  I got too hot and retreated to the indoor, much cooler pool.  The others soon joined me.

Now Les and I are showered and will be leaving soon for Bimini's for Grouper!  Pam and Garrett are out with the kids doing fun stuff and will meet the rest of us there.

So.... beach creatures.  The other evening Les and I were relaxing and watching some TV when we saw a pigeon come to our balcony.  Remember we are on the twelfth floor.  He was joined by at least ten others.  One took over the balcony light and sat there all night!  He didn't move until I opened the door when I got up.  The others moved around some but judging by what they left, they were here for a while.

Les saw a unique squirrel on the golf course today.  Really cute!  He's was checking to see if any of the guys had snacks along with them!

Pam saw a dolphin doing a flip but we didn't get a picture of that.

As far as our human beach creatures, sorry no pictures right now.  :)

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Just Checking In

Yesterday was a beautiful day.  We enjoyed the sun and water and the guys enjoyed the golf.  The rain held off until the evening around the time we went to dinner.  New place for us, Driftwood Seafood and Steak.  Everyone's meal was good.  I had grouper "bites" and salad.  No bad after effects for me so all is well!  (first time I've tried anything breaded and fried since the surgery; it was very lightly breaded and not at all greasy)

I was awake this morning a little before 5:00.  I wanted to let Les sleep so I came to our living room area and went out on the balcony for a while.  It was nice and not raining then.  These would have been sunrise pictures but it is behind the clouds.  :)

Now, it is raining and we just got a flash flood warning.  Our condos are on the ninth and the twelfth floors, so we are okay up here.  But we have the ocean on one side and the marsh waters on the other side.  We also have plans to go out for lunch.  :)

So, no ocean for the kids today, and no sun, and no golf.  We shall relax!  We have all brought along good books, and the sound of the ocean is encouraging naps.

Life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Lovely Morning

💕

 

Life is good! 

Have a Safe Weekend!

I hope everyone is well, happy, and ready to enjoy Memorial Day Weekend.  Lots of fun has been planned and people are doing and going and on the road.  Be careful and take time to remember the reason for the holiday.

Les and I are getting ready for a week in Myrtle Beach.  This is our annual trip for the Military Retirees Golf Classic.  Hard to believe Les has been playing in this tournament with our friends for twenty years!  It is always a fun week.  Pam, Garrett, and the kids will be there, too!

Yesterday the yard work was done.  Les got the mowing and trimming done and a couple other things.  I helped with clean-up and a few other bits.  It's looking good right now.

Here is one of our largest azaleas, also the last one to bloom in the Spring for some reason.

I took a picture this morning of the hydrangeas by the deck.  This is the best they've ever looked since they were planted!  Just starting to bloom and so far, hints of pink.

Last evening we went to Plaza Azteca to celebrate Little Miss E's second birthday!  Such a sweetie!  Jacquie was on call and at times everyone wanted to talk at once, hectic!  Cutie Girl and Little Miss E were good - and busy.  😊 A good time! 

Today is packing up day and doing all the last minute things to do before leaving.  Jordan will be here taking care of things and I know she will do a good job. The furry boys are cautious.  They always get a little nervous when I get the suitcases out of the closet........... had a break here to go help Les get his things folded and in the bag.  Then we loaded up Kirk.  Everything in and we didn't even have to put the seats down!  And that includes a large box for Pam from all the cleaning out I did!

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Happy Birthday, Little Miss E!

Love you! xo

Strong Women?

I have mentioned in previous posts that I no longer watch the news religiously.  Many things brought me to that decision.  I have had enough of  President Trump being criticized (give the man a chance, he can't fix things overnight), enough of terrorists, bombings, shootings, stabbings, road rage, and on and on.  I do scan the news and see enough so I am not oblivious to what is going on in the world though.  Having said that, I came across two reports recently that caught my attention. 

The first was a report on Project Sanctuary to help military families.  It's in Colorado and is set up as a camp resort for the families.  If you've never had any connection to someone in the military, any branch, you may not know or understand some of the things involved in this life.  The active duty person frequently gets assigned somewhere for a long period of time.  They go to serve and the wife, or husband, stays home and deals with everything else.  And most of the time there are children.  So the person serving our country is doing their job and the spouse is handling everything else and helping the children cope with Dad or Mom being gone.  Some can handle this, and some need help.

What happens is that the one at home - and the children - learn to deal with things in their own way.  Then when the tour of duty is done the military person comes home and often thinks everything will be done in their way or be the same as it was before they left.  That rarely happens. 

Now there are programs to help prepare the person coming home.  And usually things do work out just fine and everyone is happy.  But sometimes a little extra help is needed.  Good luck and thank you to all the people who are running Project Sanctuary!  Les had a couple long assignments; during the first, since we had just been married for six months, I went back home and got a job and saved money for our first new car.  The second time, Jacquie and Pam were in school and doing well and we stayed here in Virginia while he was gone.  That time was harder, but we handled it.

When you are the one at home and responsible for keeping the kids safe, most do what needs to be done.  Speaking from experience, you learn to handle the electrical, plumbing, and heating problems that come up in your home.  You learn to take care of the car.  But you focus on the kids.  Love will get you through it though.

And then I saw a report on The Wing.  This just disgusted me and makes me worry about our future.  According to the report, The Wing has been started with multiple locations of women's workplace clubs.  That is a loose term in my opinion since even though there are desks and computers and work spaces, there are also drinks and parties, and social events.  And no men are allowed.

Here's where I get upset.  If men can't have their clubs and private spaces and have to allow women in,  women should not be allowed to have private clubs where men are not allowed.  And before someone shouts about the #me, too movement, how about we just all consider trying to act like decent human beings and not do anything to hurt each other?  Yes, I know there are creepy men out there who have hurt women.  And yes, they should be punished.  But there have also been women who have hurt men, too.  How many years ago did someone say "Can't we just all get along"?

I was raised by a strong Mom.  She worked hard, she got no support from my father. I always felt loved and never felt deprived of anything.  She taught me that I should work hard, be strong, and be kind.  I like to think that I have done that.  I know that Les and I have raised two wonderful, strong, intelligent, responsible, and kind daughters.  And they are raising our grandchildren well.

So, in a nutshell, stop complaining and picking on each other, get on with things.  To all the super sensitive generation who seem to have to have security spaces and special consideration and have hissy fits if things are not exactly their way, I have to say, suck it up and get on with your lives.  You are not the only person in the world.  Think of others!  Pay attention!  At some point in the far future, if everyone is only concerned with themselves, who do you think is going to take to care of you??

Life is great!  Stay safe and God Bless America! And NO WHINING!

Well, It's Monday

Just in case anyone needs a good smile.....

Little Miss E can help with that.

Stay safe.  Life is good!  God Bless America!

Just Some Random Thoughts

Friday is normally a "golf day", but due to weather and other assorted things going on, it is not happening today.  So we went to breakfast at First Watch.  It was very good.  While we were inside eating there was a short downpour. 

The off and on rain continues.  The sun even made an extremely short appearance.  Right now it is cloudy again and looks like more rain on the way.  There are puddles in the yard.  Les tried to sit on the deck to read.  The humidity is at 74 %; he didn't stay out there too long.

I've done the usual things around the house.  Then went to a hair appointment and Elisha did a good job on the parts that were driving me crazy.  I like that she always asks before she even starts to work or we head to the sinks.  Then I did some errands.

Our new Medicare cards came today.  I laminated them and we are all ready for the next time we need them. 

I scanned through my emails and other things that had been sent to me.  This picture taken by Mario Tama was in a USA Today report about the volcano eruptions in Hawaii.  I've been keeping an eye on those reports because our friends are vacationing on Oahu.  They are fine and having a good time and have not been affected by the volcano or the earthquakes.  Sadly the Big Island isn't so lucky.  But this picture made me smile.  Because I love a man who loves to play golf and I understand, I can totally see how this situation would happen.  The report did say the golf course is now closed and that no one had been in danger.

It's now time to go read.  I need to do some research and see if William Shatner is going to have another Zero G  book.  I am about halfway through the second one and have enjoyed them.

Stay Safe, Life is Good!  God Bless America!

Well...Huh...and Foo!!

Lest I do any spoilers, I will just say Les and I agree, good movie, hated the ending.

But it was a nice afternoon anyway.

In other news, on and off rain is in the forecast for the next week.  Today is cloudy and in upper 70's and looks like it might rain at any time now.  I am sure many people will be complaining about the weather.  The big Air Show is this weekend out on base.  Also, the LPGA tournament at Kingsmill is this weekend.  And I am sure parties have been planned to celebrate college graduates since I've been seeing the reports in the paper about the graduation ceremonies.

I, however, am good.  I got out before the last rainfall and did some yard work that needed attention.  So I don't have to worry about that.  Of course, the rain and nice temperatures are making everything grow so it will all need to be done again soon.  But it is good to keep things under control.

Les played golf yesterday, but won't be playing again until Sunday.  The base course is closed due to the air show, and the fact that all the golf carts are being used for the show.  ???  I guess to haul dignitaries around?  The fact that the flight paths are right over the course wouldn't help anyone's golf swing either I am sure.

On the way home from the movie we drove by an accident right close to our neighborhood.  The speed limit on Kiln Creek Parkway is 35 mph.  Lots of cars were stopped and many folks on their phones so we kept going.  There was a young man sitting on the curb beside his smashed up car.  He was going too fast and ran into a tree.  It's too bad he was not more responsible. Not the first time there has been an accident on the Parkway by speeders.

On a better side of traffic news, on the way to the movie, a bunch of us were stopped on the road to let two families of geese walk across the road!  Lots of baby ones and some a little older going along with the parents.

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Have a Happy Day!

Just sharing a picture of my babies.  Have a happy Mothers' Day!  They are all grown up and Mothers themselves now.  Love you, girls!

Stay safe and God Bless America!  And remember that life is good!

TA-DA!! The Final Piece!

We got a call yesterday afternoon from the furniture people, our table and chairs were ready for delivery.  We love them!   Almost a perfect match with the new cabinets!  And this concludes the kitchen project! 

Solid Oak, Amish built in Ohio

That's Finnigan checking it out.

We put the seats down in Kirk and got the old set loaded up.  I took them up to DAV for donation this morning.  The young man who helps unload said "you're back!".  I've made a few trips over the last couple months. 

We got some yard work done yesterday.  Les mowed and trimmed, I did some clean-up.  Then we put down the polymeric sand on the patio stones.  Terry had cleaned out all the spaces between the stones when he was doing the power washing, and we needed to get it done before anything else started to fill those up!  Looks good.

Les is playing golf today.  I did all the usual morning stuff and those couple errands.  Made the first of the Summer stops at the farmers' market.  😊

We had some strong thunderstorms pass through our area last evening.  This morning it is bright and sunny, going to be 80's today and 90's tomorrow.  The A/C and fans are on.

Time to get some lunch and head to the "Y".  I hope everyone has a good weekend!

Stay safe!  Life is good and God Bless America!

Brrrr!

Virginia Weather!  It cooled off the last couple days to the point where the heat had to be turned on again.  It was dark and cloudy and wet, too.  Today is sunny and bright and supposed to get warm again and then we'll be back into the 80's if the forecasts are correct.

Les got home from the golf trip.  They had a good time and are already looking forward to next year's trip!

Larry was in our area for work and we got to see him for a short visit, that is always nice.

I've been keeping busy with all the usual things around here.  The yard needs attention and we'll be heading out there later today. 

Everything is green and healthy looking.  This azalea at the front corner of the house just bloomed.  You can also see a bit of the cleaned driveway!

We have a family of bunnies living in our yard.  I was washing dishes the other day and looking out the back windows.  There was a little one jumping up and down in front of the back door.  I looked out and there two of them playing and chasing each other.  Adorable!  I never see them all at once so it's hard to tell how many there are but I've seen several different sizes.  They know they are safe in our yard. 

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Fenced In

Things have been extra busy at Jacquie's house.  They decided to have a garden this year and Chris built planting beds and got quality soil put in them.  Cutie Girl and Little Miss E love helping Chris and Jacquie and they love being out in the yard.  But....... Little Miss E hasn't quite grasped that her Daddy really wants the plants to stay in the dirt.  She had been picking them out and returning them to him.  So the last project was building a fence around the garden.  BTW, Cutie Girl is a bit more helpful!

The fence was finished and immediately Little Miss E closed herself inside! 😊😊😊

Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Done!

I am officially declaring Spring Cleaning over and done with!  The young man doing the power washing finished up last evening.  He's been coming the last few evenings after his regular daytime job.  He did a really good job - did all the regular power washing plus cleaned the porch floor, walk, driveway, deck, patio, shed, and even the curbs out front.  Steve also had him do a couple other jobs that were on our list.

I finished cleaning the windows today.  Everything on my list has been checked off and things are looking good.  I've also gotten some errands done and all the usual everyday things that need to be done.

Les is having a good time with his golf group of buddies in Myrtle Beach.  Weather has been good for them and I know they are enjoying themselves. 

I did spend a little time helping Mr. Gnome.  I recently posted a picture of his lovely Summer garden.  That night some large furry creatures visited his garden and pulled up his lovely yellow flowers.  They then hide them under the stove, refrigerator, and china cabinet as well as tearing a few apart and leaving on the kitchen floor.  So I helped clean up the remaining bits and planted some new small pink flowers for him.  Hopefully the creatures will not be attracted to those! 

Life is good!  Gotta' watch the muddy Derby now.  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Have a Stellar Day!

And stay safe!  Life is good and God Bless America!

Summer in the Gnome Garden

We've gone from having the heat on one day to needing the air conditioner the next.  That's pretty much the normal for our area.  Plus, after a slight break in the pollen, it is now worse again.  So the windows can't be open.  Technically, according to the calendar, it is Spring.  But Mr. Gnome and the thermometer say otherwise.  We're heading to 90 degrees today.

Mr. Gnome is still digging away, his flowers are blooming, and he has a new visitor!

Les is on the road with the golf buddies for their trip to Myrtle Beach.  Since I was up so early I've gotten quite a bit done around the house this morning.  Right now I'm waiting for the cleaning cycle on the oven to finish up.  The last of the laundry is in the dryer, and other chores are finished.  It will be time to sit, relax, and try to finish the good book I'm reading.  And have some of my vegetable soup for lunch!

I hope the guys have great rounds of golf.  Life is good!  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Feeling Like Summer

Our weather is beautiful right now.  The forecasters are saying we might even set a heat record today!  I posted a picture recently of our backyard on a cloudy, sort of rainy day, so here is a sunny picture.

Our "new" tree is done blooming and is getting lovely red leaves now.  As you can see if you look closely, our gnome and red bird have come out of Winter hibernation.  Les keeps checking and at the moment we have no new mole activity.  The squirrels, bunnies, and birds have all been busy.  And although I have not seen our resident raccoon, I am pretty sure he has been out there at night, too.   All is well with our nature world.

I've been keeping busy with all the usual stuff as well as some other small chores that have needed to be done.  I got someone lined up to do the power washing on the house.  Don't have a time yet, but Steve said his guy would come soon, maybe this week.

Les is playing golf today and tomorrow he leaves with his golf group for Myrtle Beach for the annual "guys' golf trip".  I think there are about thirty of them going this year.  They  seem to always have a good time and wear themselves out.

I have a couple projects lined up for me, and a pile of books I want to read.  Or I may just go out and sit on the deck.  I have already made a large pot of vegetable soup.  One of my favorites, not one of Les'.  I used to always make it when he went TDY.  Sometimes I made pot roast.  I don't cook when he's on a trip.  😊

As always, life is good.  Stay safe and God Bless America!

Happy May Day!

Does anyone else have memories of May Poles and dancing?  In grade school in Navarre, Ohio, every May Day the teacher would take us out on the playground and there would be a tall pole with ribbons on it.  Then she would tell us about May Day and try to direct us in weaving and dancing around the pole holding onto the ribbons.  For those not familiar, the ribbons connect at the top of the pole and the idea is to weave or braid them around the pole as you dance around it.  When you finish the dance, the pole is decorated.  I remember a few tangled messes, but it was always fun.  It was Spring, the flowers were blooming, and we didn't have to wear our snowsuits and boots any longer.  Life was good.

As a side note, about those snowsuits and boots, a "snow day" was a really big deal back then.  They were few and far between.  Usually when there was snow they just bundled us up with the snowsuits, hats, gloves, boots, etc. and we walked to school.  Here and now, if they even suggest there might be snow in the forecast they start announcing closings.  Wimps!  Of course, here we also have tropical storm closings.

When Les and I lived in Germany, Frau Bargholz taught us their customs for May Day.  You used small baskets, or made one out of heavy paper, and filled it with pretty flowers and then hung it on someone's door knob as a surprise.  I remember her making little colored paper baskets with Jacquie and Nicole.  Nicole was Frau B.'s grand-daughter.  Pam was too young to really participate, but she liked the flowers.  Frau B. would take the girls to hang the baskets on the neighbors' doors.

So, as always, life is good.  Stay safe, dance happily, and God Bless America!