A Summary of This Week: Part 4 - Happy Birthday, Daddy Bear!

Tony and I always have fun on our "road trips."  We tune the radio to the music of the '60's and '70's and sing to our favorite old songs.  At some point, we always sing the first line of Willie Nelson's hit, "On the Road Again...."   and off we go, looking at the landscape, making fun of the GPS (his is Wilma, mine is Wanda--Wilma for Wilmington, Wanda because without it or Tony, I would spend a great deal of time wanda-ring around.)

No matter where we go, or what we do, we have fun being together.  We zing each other with bad jokes, hold hands,  point out fun things we see (this trip was Buffalo's and cows) and make fun of the names of small cities that we sail by (Bug Hole, anyone?)

This is the time that Tony and I have been waiting for, for 23 years of marriage.  Our children are grown and on their own and this is our time.  Time for each other, time to do things we have always wanted to do and time to enjoy time.  Our children will get there one day, as we all do.  Time to exhale and unwind. 

This trip was special in another way....Tony turned 65 on Friday.  My "Daddy Bear" is 65.  Now is the time for our children to say, "eewwuuu" because I hope Tony's sons are as "healthy" and "active" when they turn 65 as he is today.   OK, one giant chorus....."EEWWUUUU."   Get over it, you're adults!!!

On Friday, I had another interview.  This time with OMNI Financial Services.  It was interesting to say the least.  Not sure I want it....not sure I'll be offered...but good experience at any rate.  I interviewed for an Office Manager job, but at the end of the interview,  the Operations Manager said that she wanted to go back into sales and thought I would be a great replacement for her.  We shall see.  The CEO, to whom she reports, doesn't know her plan to go back into sales....so it may work out, it may not.  I will keep plugging away at the job boards and see what happens. 

Friday evening, we went to Macgrooder's for Tony's birthday dinner.  He got lots of great cards and gifts and a video from the grandchildren.  I think he enjoyed his birthday. 

Happy Birthday, Daddy Bear!!

A Summary of This Week: Part 3 - Exploring Charlotte

While Tony and Marie were at work (before lunch,) Tony and I got a chance to walk around downtown Charlotte again.  I must say, there are times when I wonder if we should have moved to Charlotte instead of Wilmington.  The city is alive with young business professionals and all kinds of industries.  There are banks everywhere, a downtown mall, museums and cultural events and anything you want in the way of food.

The city of Charlotte has done a wonderful job of blending history with futuristic elements.  It's not uncommon to see an old church next to a tall, shiny, office building with beams jutting out, in the Cleveland Rock And Roll Hall of Fame, I M Pei, fashion. 

Seeing taxi's on every corner reminded me of New York City, but Charlotte is so clean.  The city hums with activity, charm and parks with various themes.   It's a beautiful place, but the longer I was there, I realized that Wilmington fits Tony and I more than Charlotte does.  It hustles and bustles and I know we were looking for a slower pace.  All in all, I think we ended up where we are supposed to be.

Charlotte is 3 hours away, a nice drive for a good visit.  It fits Tony and Marie--it is their city and Charlotte is lucky to have them.

While we were walking around, we found the Wells Fargo Museum.  It's actually the first floor of the Wells Fargo building, but it's free and tells the story of how Wells Fargo came about.  There is an actual Wells Fargo stage coach in the building,  a "strong box" full of "gold,"  examples of old trunks with clothes that people would take on their journey,  examples of gold, silver and other elements, an old telephone and telegraph and pictures from the "old west" showing Wells Fargo stage coach drivers and  various routes in and around Charlotte--for $.06 per mile. 

The museum was the highlight of our downtown exploration...and for free, we couldn't beat the price.

Enjoy some of the sites of the city:

A modern statue stands outside of one of the downtown theatres.

Old meets new--an old restored church next to a geometric office building.

This coach could carry 19 people AND their luggage, not the mention the strong box. 

A stagecoach driver was one of the best things you could be in the old west.

This is an example of the "strong box" filled with gold that the coaches would carry.

This is a real strong box.  Empty, it weighs 24 pounds, filled with gold, it weighs over 100 pounds.

Here's Tony getting ready to board the stage.  Look at how high the wheel is compared to his shoulders. 

Here's me....I'm following the gold!!

This is an example of the precious metals of the day.  You can lift them from below to see what each one weigh.  The gold on the right side weighs the most and is the most difficult to lift.

This is a park in the city, circled with sculptures.  This one has different books from various times in history.  The bottom one is Oedipus Rex. 

Here's Tony with a new date!!

This is directions and distances to all of the "Charlottes" in the world. 

This, unfortunately was what we saw on the way back to Wilmington!!  It was a nice trip.

A Summary of This Week: Part 2 - Big News

Well,  the next part of the story of this week is the fun part.  We drove to IKEA in Charlotte to buy some bookcases and to see Tony and Marie AND since the announcement is out,  we went to see Tony, Marie, Tyson AND OUR NEXT GRAND-BABY!!!!    We have two ultra-sound pictures that show a very pretty little baby.

Tony and Marie told us at Christmas that they were pregnant, but asked us to keep it quiet.  Oh Lord, was that hard to do.  I figured that it was OK to tell people who Tony and Marie don't know, so everyone at NYL knows, all of the wait staff at local restaurants, the Pharmacists at CVS, check out people at the grocery store, our realtor, my dry cleaning lady, my hair stylist, sales people at the mall, every pregnant woman I saw, people in elevators and random strangers who looked interested (and they all did!!)

So, you can imagine how glad I am to be able to tell everyone else I know that we are going to have our 5th grandchild!!!

Marie looks wonderful.  She has that look of anticipation and happiness that is associated with first babies.   Tony looks tired, but he too, has that quick smile that new father's have when talking about their first baby.  "Peanut" is going to have two great parents.

We went to dinner at a very nice place and then to a cozy wine bar.  The next day we met them for lunch and had a really nice time. 

With Tony travelling so much, the plan is that if he is away for several days as the due date approaches, Marie and Tyson will stay with us until he gets back.   After the baby is born, I told Marie that she could drop the baby here on Sunday nights and then pick him/her up the following Friday....but, I don't think that's going to happen!

We had a great time visiting and I can't wait until July!!!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to shop, I go!!

The new "Rents!!"

A Summary of This Week: Part 1 - To Be or Not To Be....

....legal. 

As you may recall, Tony and I were going to get our North Carolina driver's licenses this week. We studied the NC rules of the road and off we went to the DMV.  We passed the eye exam and the road signs test.  From there we were set up on a computer with 25 questions.  In order to pass you had to get 20 correct.

Tony got 20 correct and 5 wrong.   I got 19 correct and six wrong....failed.   ARG.   It was my last question, I had a 50/50 shot at getting it right...and I didn't.  So, I have to go back and retest....or do I?

Many of you may not know that I drove for 2 years without a license.  I was able to buy a car, with no proof of insurance or drivers license.   Go figure.   So, how did that happen?

Well, my father didn't believe in women doing a lot of things--getting a higher education, living by themselves or driving.   When I married Jenna's father, I didn't know how to drive (recall the "cow" story) and he really didn't care as we only had one car. 

After I was widowed, I moved in with my younger sister, Fritz.  She learned how to drive and was the proud owner of a big, beautiful car with "Corinthian leather" as Ricardo Maltaban used to advertise. 

One day, Fritz had a date and I was having a church committee meeting at our house.  I made cookies for the meeting and Jenna, who was almost 4 at the time, wanted one.  When I told her she could have one, she ran to the coffee table, slipped on the carpet and cut her eyelid wide open. 

From the kitchen, I heard this blood curdling scream and ran into the living room to find Jenna on the floor and blood everywhere.  There I was...alone with a bleeding baby.  Well, not totally alone....there was Fritz's car.  And in a split second, I made a decision.   I scooped up Jenna and a towel, grabbed the car keys and my purse and away I went.   I had Jenna's head in my lap...which of course, meant that there was blood all over the Corinthian leather, but I didn't care.  I got her to the hospital and they stitched up her eye.   She was one screaming, crying, scared little girl with a huge patch on her eye when it was over.  (Kind of the same condition that Fritz was in when she found out I had driven her car and didn't have a chance to clean up the blood yet, except she didn't have a patch!) 

It wasn't until I was going back to the Emergency Room parking lot that I started to realize I had driven a car...a large car....and I didn't know how to drive.   But there was something in my brain that said...."you did it.  You drove a car.  You did what you had to do." 

I started to think of all of the things I could do if I had a car.  I wouldn't have to wait until someone was available to take me places, I could just go. 

A few days after that, I put a few hundred dollars down on a 1973 blue Mustang.  God,  I loved that car--and I drove.  I watched other drivers and did what they did.    For the next two years, I felt like I was the best driver on the road.  If the speed limit was 35 mph, I drove 35 mph and not a mile more (or less.)  I came to complete stops (not rolling) at every stop sign and made sure that I was following all of the rules...well, except the one about having a license (at the time, having car insurance was not mandatory.) 

I grew confident in my abilities and also felt free.  I didn't worry about not being able to take care of Jenna anymore, because I proved to myself that I could. 

Eventually, I did get a license.  It seems reckless now that I think back about not having one, but it was a turning point for me.  I breezed through the Ohio  tests because I had been driving for so long.  So, here I am faced with...."to be a licensed North Carolina driver, or not to be (and stay licensed in Ohio.") 

I'll let you know which way I'm leaning after I re-take the test.  Another failure could keep me with that ugly pink Ohio license...but, it's a license. 

High Society!!

Tony was reading the Sunday paper today and found a picture of us taken at the Heart Ball.  I always thought only movers and shakers got their pictures in the paper...not transplanted Clevelanders!

Here we are checking out stuff at the silent auction--wine in hand and ready to bid.   

It was a fun evening.

Our House...Our Home

There are certain things that make a house a  home.   To me, that used to mean having 40 pictures on the fireplace mantle of everyone we loved.  For this home, Tony and I decided that "less is more" so we have left a lot of things that we used to display packed up.  And, we were right.  Our house has that clean and elegant look that I love so much. 

But, as we continue to "home up" the house, we knew that there was something that just had to be displayed.  A piece of art that defines the heart of the house and screams "Swegle" like nothing else does. 

Behold:

Not only a "man with his pans" but a man with his pans AND wine glass.  Now, it's starting to feel like home!

Taking It Easy!!

My new friend, Judy Budd, invited Tony and I to the American Heart Association Gala at the Convention Center in downtown Wilmington.    It was a really nice event.  There was a silent auction, dinner and dancing.  Judy introduced me to a ton of people and told all of them that I am looking for a job.   One of the most important people I met was a head hunter who is supposed to call me next week to go over my resume.   So, I have my fingers crossed that something good will come of this.

There were two little girls at the event, around a year old who both  had heart trouble.  They were featured during the program about the organization.   Imagine, having heart surgery at that young age.  Of course, I had to hold them and get my "grandchild fix." 

On Friday, we had the Chinni's over for appetizers.  As usual, the food that Tony made was great!!  It's nice to make friends with people who know Tony and I as a couple.  So we are slowly expanding our circle of friends and meeting some really nice people.  There is a strong Cleveland/Ohio connection down here.  As soon as people hear we came from the Cleveland area, we find out that either they used to live in Cleveland or have family in Cleveland. 

It's very cold...(yes, cold in North Carolina) and windy here today, but the skies are still a deep blue.   We went next door to see the progress the builders are making on the Zeno's house.  It's fun to see the house take shape but it also feels odd walking around someones house before they do. 

After all of the social activity of Friday and Saturday we are taking it easy today.  I'll be studying the rules of the road so I can get my North Carolina drivers license.  No driving test, thank God, just signs and rules.   I did my first driving solo on Thursday.  I drove myself to Weight Watchers.  I actually found it and then found my way back home!  With my sense of direction that's a real accomplishment. 

We are looking forward to seeing Tony and Marie soon and Donna and Bob should be visiting some time this month.  I can't wait to see Jenna, Jon and the kids, hopefully in September.  We will be back in Cleveland in March, but don't have a date nailed down yet.  Time is flying by as it always does.