A Cloudy Day at the Beach

Huh, and as I wrote that, it is now pouring down rain and thundering! 

The day started out cloudy and in 70's.  We spent some time at the indoor pool and eventually went outside to soak up some clouds while the kids played in the water and sand.

The guys are not back yet from playing golf.  Bikini's group have gone to an indoor museum and activity center.  I am pretty sure I am the most comfortable of us all sitting here in our condo in a nice recliner looking out the window at the ocean.  And as I said, it is pouring down rain, windy, and there is thunder and lightening.

On the upside, I made dinner reservations for us all at the Conch Café just down the street. 

 Here is some of the morning's activity.

Here's another picture I took yesterday afternoon of the marsh.

Stay safe!  (and try to stay dry)

Good Times, in Spite of the Weather

Tropical Storm Bonnie is a slow mover, and is still bringing rain off and on to the beach area.  We are dealing with it okay so far.  There are still very strong rip currents and everyone needs to be very careful in the ocean, but the pools are good.  They will be even better tomorrow after some more people have gone home!  The temperature is around 80 and very humid so it feels a lot hotter than that.  And it is windy. 

Boxer and Bloomer have been in the water a lot and are having a good time.  It's hard to accept how fast they are growing up.  :) The guys' golf has been good and hasn't been affected too much by the rains.  Bikini and I went out and did a little shopping and some errands this morning.

We're all going to Burro Loco this evening for dinner.  Last night Tommy and Elaine had us all to their house for some of Tommy's great Hawaiian chicken from the grill!

So all is well here.  And here is a view from the other side of our condo, looking out over the marsh waters.

Stay safe!

Tropical Storm Bonnie

Saturday evening..... wind and rain, rough surf, lots and lots of puddles.

Sunday morning....... sunny, heavy rip tides.  More rain to come later.

All is well.  Stay safe!

A Group Selfie We Could Not Resist!

There is nothing as nice and soothing as holding a new baby!  Little Miss Ellie arrived yesterday morning!  Nurse J and baby are doing well.

Hey!

Not really a whole lot going on here.  Golfer got home from his golf trip with the guys and they had a good time.  We spent the past week doing all the usual things and catching up.

It's been cool and has rained what seems like a lot!  Everything is growing and green.  Golfer got the grass mowed between the rain showers.  Our neighbor has not been so lucky.  He may have to get a baler when he mows.  The furry boys have been watching his tall grass waving in the wind.  :)

Just a couple more days of school for Boxer and Bloomer.  Bikini says they are all getting ready for vacation.  Golfer and I are, too, it will be good to see them.

Nurse J is still waiting, but says she is okay.  One way or another we will have a new baby in the family by Tuesday, she says.  BeyB is winding down her school year, too. Can't believe she is finishing high school! Cutie Girl is getting taller and taller and is a busy little girl.

The Kiln Creek pools open next weekend.  All I have to say is with the recent weather, that water is going to be cold!

One of the things we've been catching up on is our recorded shows.  A few of them have had the season or series finales.  Some have been done extremely well and leave us with a happy feeling when we finish watching.  "Mike and Molly" ended the series well; sorry to see it go though.  A couple shows had their season finales ending very nicely.  But we could tell they were still on the "in question" list for renewal.  I like when they don't just chop everything off and leave us wondering what's going on.

You know it's really wet outside when you see slugs crawling up the outside of your window screens.  (he was a baby one)

Stay warm, stay dry, and be safe!

Brrrr!

Huh.  Middle of May and I had to turn the heat back on this morning.  It was 42 when I woke up.  Family in Ohio had to cover their plants and flowers because they were getting frost last night.  I haven't heard how that turned out.  This all reminds me of Colorado.

Golfer is on the road, on the way home; it will be good to have him back!

My previous post mentioned some things I did this past week.  I also cleaned out the box that is kept in our linen closet on a higher shelf and holds our "extra" pill bottles.  Everything that was past its expiration date got thrown out.  I try to do this every couple months.  Wouldn't you think they could print those dates just a little larger so we could read them without a magnifying glass???  And what about the dates that are just pressed into the paper on the box and not even printed???

I also have learned how to make a really good pot of coffee.  Sounds silly, right?  But Golfer is the coffee maker around here.  On the rare times he isn't here I usually have just gone to Starbucks.  I decided at 67 it was finally time to learn to do it right.  Keep in  mind that my Mom's idea of making coffee was to take the pot from the coffee maker and mix up the instant coffee in it and put it back under the maker.  I am pretty sure she did  not fool anyone.  Anyway, I have mastered this, proving it is never too late to learn something!  Bikini will be impressed because it involves math.  :)

I went out in the yard with a large bag and my grabber and cleaned up a couple bags of "stuff " that had come down in the wind the other night.  So that's all done again.  I have the calendar marked that it is time to fertilize the new shrubs, but first it was too windy and now it is too cool for me to be out there messing around with spraying water.  So that project is on hold.

I spent some time with the phone and calendar.  I had to reschedule my eye appointment for next month since I have been selected for Federal jury duty and have to be "on call".  This also "throws a wrench" into road trip planning.  Golfer and I need to discuss our trip when he gets home.  Looking at the calendar I see some of our friends are celebrating their 50th anniversary in Williamsburg and want to get together the first week in August.  So we will be juggling time.

Nurse J is still waiting.  No baby yet.  She is miserable and ready.  Everyone else is okay over there.

Bikini says they are busy in Georgia with the end of school but everyone is fine and looking forward to vacation.

So,stay warm and stay safe!

Routines Change Over the Years but Busy, Busy!

During the years that Golfer was active duty Air Force and then Civil Service, he went TDY fairly often.  That was a fact of our lives.  I love having him around and close, but I am capable and I adapted.  It always annoyed me to hear other wives in that situation whine and carry on and cry about how hard things were and they couldn't cope.  If I was then as I am now, I probably would have upset quite a few of them telling them to buck up and get on with things.  Back then, I was pretty quiet spoken.  I have been told by long time friends that when they first met me they were worried that I didn't like them.  Not the case, I like them a lot.  It's just that back then I didn't talk much.

I was raised by a strong mother and grandmother who just went ahead took care of things that needed to be done.  Golfer and I have tried to raise strong daughters.  I think we did really well with that.

Back to the "going TDY"... When Golfer had to travel, I would save up projects and things to work on.  When the girls were little, they got most of my time.  But later, I would have projects.  I would also cook a huge pot roast and eat leftovers all week or a huge pot of chicken and noodles.  Golfer is not particularly fond of either of those dishes, so it worked out well for both of us.

So now we are both retired and there are no more TDYs.  But he has an annual golf trip to Myrtle Beach with the group of guys he plays golf with on Wednesdays and Fridays.  He really looked forward to it this year because he had to miss last year's trip for medical reasons.  The guys are in MB right now, playing golf, some playing poker, and eating things no one is criticizing them for.  :) There is some beer involved also.   He has texted and called every day and is having a great time.  The weather has been good for them.

All this background leads up to my "me time" and the answers to the couple questions from friends about what was I going to do all by myself.  ????  Well, NOT complain, NOT whine, also NOT cook or do anything I don't feel like doing.

I gave the house a good cleaning. I did some yard work and pulled weeds and had everything all tidy out there.  I groomed the furry boys and did their nails and combed and brushed them.  I've finished one good book and started another.  I watched some shows.  I cleaned out some "stuff".  I took Kirk to the car wash and then detailed him.  I had to do some more yard clean up today because a front with strong wind came through last night and left a mess in the yard.  I did some errands.  So I've kept busy.  The extent of my cooking has been breakfasts.  I do like a good breakfast!  I did make a salad one evening but I don't count that as cooking.  Putting a pot pie in the oven is not cooking either.  I have been to the "Y" a couple times, too.  So, no worries!  Golfer will be home sometime tomorrow.  I will be happy.  The furry boys will be, too, they've been looking for him.  Although I am not sure Finnigan is going to relinquish the recliner.

Stay safe!

Another Flower Picture

After the buds all opened.  So pretty!

A Milestone!

Last weekend BeyB finished driving class and got her license!  Congratulations to her!  Our first grand-child is now a driver.

We have been keeping up with things around here.  Our weather warmed up and was very nice and warm for a couple days.  Only a couple.  Today is cool again, gray and wet.  Golfer got the yard work done yesterday before the rain started again.  The A/C had been turned on and is now off again.  I may have to put on a sweatshirt.

Several of our favorite shows are having their season finales or show finales.  For the most part, the shows have been very good.  But I have to mention one that I thought was the absolute worst finale ever -  "The Good Wife"!  Since the show aired I have read the article by the writers explaining what they were aiming for.  That's fine and dandy.  I would have to say they did what they aimed for.  But judging by the comments, Tweets, and posts I've seen, there are a whole lot of other people just as upset as I was by the ending.  BOOOOOO!

Stay safe!

Feeling Water-logged and Blah

Hello from a very wet Virginia.  The weather forecasts said it was going to rain off and on all week and it has.  The yard is soggy and drippy; areas close to the water are having flooding issues.  It has also cooled off and we had to turn the heat back on.  It's been cloudy and gray all week.  (hence the blah)

One good thing about all the rain ---- I no longer need to go out and scrub the bird poo off the deck and patio furniture.  :)

The yard guys came and put down a fertilizer and weed killer treatment yesterday between showers.  They left a note to be sure to water.  Golfer and I decided that was not a problem, it was wet enough.

So today I did some cleaning, and chores around the house, changed the bed, did the laundry, cleaned the floors, etc.  This afternoon, since neither of us was enthusiastic about going out, we stayed in and caught up on some recorded shows.

You've probably figured out there was no golf today.  The guys are hoping to get out tomorrow.  We'll see.

Have you seen the video online of the alligator ringing someone's doorbell?   That wasn't too far from our friends in South Carolina.  He says it is mating season and they are crawling around everywhere!  I want to know how alligators know about doorbells.

A bright spot in the week are the beautiful flowers that I received from Golfer and the furry boys for Mothers' Day!  I love tulips!

Have a great weekend and stay safe!

Diddly Squat!

Golfer found this posted on Facebook.  I don't know where it originated, but it's cute!

Some Belated May Day Thoughts

I was watching the Today Show yesterday morning when I saw the report of May Day riots in several cities.  I never did hear them say what the riots were actual about or what was being protested.  My first thought about this was "WTH!"

May Day is supposed to be a celebration of Spring and regrowth.  In grade school, on May Day, we would get extra time outside.  We'd hear a story, sing some songs, and do what could only be called rustic folk dancing.  I remember it involved long ribbons and flowers.

Traditionally, people would gather around a tall pole that was adorned with bright long ribbons.  Then the dancers would each grab the end of a ribbon and the dance would begin.  As the dancers moved around the pole, the pole would be wrapped artfully in the ribbons, almost like a huge braid  or a weaving around the pole.

On the first May Day when we lived in Germany, Frau Bargholz taught me their custom of making a small basket that would be filled with flowers - either from the garden or wild flowers.  The custom was for the children to hang these on friends' doors and surprise them.  Nurse J and Bikini seemed to enjoy this, although I don't know if they remember.  Bikini was born in Germany so she was very young and was more a "watcher" when we did these projects.  But every May Day while we lived there we made little baskets.  Sometimes just made out of paper, or if we were really into it we tried weaving.  Usually ours were paper.  :)

So May Day brings nice memories and happy thoughts of Spring, sunshine, birds singing, flowers, and happy music.  NOT protests and riots.

What is the world coming to?  As my Granma would have said, "it's going to heck in a hand basket".

Stay safe, people!

Updates

Hey, all!  I hope everyone is well and happy.  Things are good around here.  The weather has been sort of back and forth.  Right now it's about 60, gray, and raining off and on. 

Golfer is home today.  The last couple days have been cooler with the off and on rain and today he and some of his friends decided they would stay in and not get wet again. 

I have been keeping busy with all the usual things around the house.  And some extra cleaning.  The big news is that the mouse is gone!  He made another appearance and the furry boys chased him around and cornered him on the steps.  I grabbed the broom and whacked at him a few times which only excited him.  He jumped up and ran under the china cabinet and then went into hiding somewhere.  Keep in mind the exterminator was already scheduled for Friday morning.  Thursday afternoon I needed a new roll of paper towels and started to reach into the bottom of the pantry for them and there his little tiny self was, just lounging on the towels.  I closed the door and thought about options, not trusting my abilities to just reach in and grab him.  And I knew if I got the boys involved there would just be more chasing and hiding.  I opted for the "stick the vacuum hose in there and get him" method.  It worked.  Then I threw most of what had been in the bottom of the pantry out.  What could be washed in hot soapy water, was washed.  Then the whole kitchen was scrubbed.  We still have no idea how a mouse can get in.  I keep hoping that when one does get in it sends a message to any others in the area that there are chasing and unfortunate events and they should stay away.

Today I was planning to do a little yard clean-up, but that isn't happening in the wet weather.  Neither are the errands I could do.  So, I'll be catching up on my stack of magazines this afternoon. 

Here is Angus having a rest last evening after the busy last few days.  :)

Stay safe!