Just Us

Sunday, November 2, 2014

More Season Firsts--CLAMBAKE!!!!

Another reason I love fall is having clambakes. Tony's bakes are well known and often requested. We had our first bake of the season last night. The weather didn't cooperate enough for us to have a fire, too, but it was fun regardless.

We sat on the lanai and had clam broth while the bake was still cooking. It was windy and cold but with the lights on and our music going, it was the best place to be.

The clams were great, so was the chicken and one of the best parts was watching Tony put it all together!!

Tony scrubbed each and every one of the clams

Getting the pot ready...

The chef takes a wine break!

No, Tony, it's a clambake, not a clambark!

Much better--the clams go in the pot, not Dixie!

Tony cooks, I lend moral support!!

Ahhh....fresh clam broth...

The wild wind and rain

All set to eat!

Dixie takes a nap after the bake! Personally, I think she's hiding so Tony doesn't put her in the pot again!

Thursday, October 30, 2014

The First and The Last

North Carolina is a funny place. In the summer, it's 90 degrees by 9:00 in the morning. Sometimes it smells. In the early morning when its a bit foggy, it tends to smell like mold. In the evening, it smells like pine. It's a funny place. But we have seasons, similar to Cleveland. Right now, some of our trees are turning colors--from green to red and the leaves are falling. Not in our yard!! But around the neighborhood.

It was cool a few nights ago and we decided to have our first fire. The first fire of the season is big with us. We light the chiminea, have some wine, wrap Dixie up in a blanket and I take pictures of the night and the events. (Wait, that sounds like all of our fires!!) It's chilly. Chilly enough to have a hoodie or a blanket around you and it's nice. The air smells clean and you can see stars. The fire smells fresh and crackles and pops. In the whole world, it seems like it is just the two of you--and Dixie of course.

So, we had the first fire of the season. I was off of work on Wednesday, so Tony suggested we go to the beach for probably the last time of the season. The temperatures are going down to the 60's and for the natives, that's cold!! So off we went and what a good time we had. We met a woman who had a 7 month old Briard--a French herding dog that weighed 75 pounds and could easily over take her. His name was Ben and he was fun. We saw two men fishing and lots of birds. It was a terrific afternoon.

I was off of work again today (Thursday) and even though Tony wanted to go to a movie, I just wanted to stay at home and get something done. The idea of having to be somewhere at a certain time just screamed work and I didn't want that. I wanted to sleep as long as I wanted (10:00 a.m. oh yeah!!) and do what I wanted when I wanted to. And that's what I did. As stupid as it sounds, I took my closet apart and put it back together again. Tony's closet is neat and well defined. Mine is a disaster. I have (or had!!) stuff all over, falling on my shoes and everything just mixed together. There were things in there that were 10 years old and I wanted to get rid of. I had suit jackets and no pants and suit pants and no jackets. So, it took me hours, but I did it. I put everything together in order by color, I got rid of old things and I cleaned up the stuff on the floor (including Dixie, who wanted to lounge on my long dresses and shoes.)

Here are some highlights of our days:

Tony and his soul in front of the fire!!

Dixie was cold, but enjoyed the fire

The fire creeps out of the chiminea

A cool day at the beach

Ben...the wind, the sand and the drool!!

The old man and the sea....

What a fun two days!!

Monday, October 20, 2014

Coastal Living

The furniture that Tony and I bought while we were on our Ocean Isle Beach trip arrived today. It's beautiful!!!!

Ever since we moved down here, we've wanted to make the house more "beach-y." We've put up white picture frames, hung sea/ocean/fish related signs in the lanai and Tony painted small pictures of local fish and framed them in a light sand, neutral color. We thought we made huge progress until we would turn around and see the old Strongsville, Ohio, two story colonial furniture. It was dark and big. It made the room seem small. Well, not anymore.

We have to go back and pick up the second matching chair that is on order. Once we do, the end table will go between them in front of the patio doors.

Take a look at the newly done, "coastal" Swegle living room:

TA DA!!

This is what you see when you come through the front door

This is the view from near the fireplace

From the dining room

From the kitchen bar area. I love the chair, the thin lines of color include the sea foam green in the couch and a rust color that picks up the red in the hassock. I may move that into the office and replace it with the sand color hassock we have in there.

It will be awhile before Tony and I sit on it...and Dixie...well, by that time, she will be so old, we'll have to pick her up, but for now....simply ma-vel-ousssss!

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Dixie Takes A Vacation!

The past few months have been stressful for Dixie--she had to share Tony and I with our new grandbaby, Anthony and she's been traveling quite a bit. Sometimes she does well and other times, she gets car sick, so going somewhere with her is always an adventure. To kick back and relax a bit, she decided to take us to The Winds Resort by the ocean in Ocean Isle Beach.

This is a really fun place. It was created and developed by two artists from New York who were looking for a retirement home big enough to accommodate their extended family during visits.

The home quickly became a peaceful retreat for their family and friends and ultimately became a sea side resort designed right out of the '50's.

On our second day there, it rained so hard that water actually came into our first floor apartment. But, we had a great time, had some great food and found a cute little place to eat called the Chubby Buddha Bar and Grill. Not only was it cute, but it didn't discriminate--their sign said that bikers were allowed in, but they couldn't wear their colors! We sat in the back room, called the Jets Fan Cave, where pennants of all of the New York teams were hanging. There was a juke box that offered songs like, "Old Boots, New Dirt," and other country gems. Would we normally go to a place like this??? Nope, but we were on vacation! The food was pretty good and they even had name brand wines--go figure!

During the rain storm, we drove around looking for something to do inside. Tony surprised me by suggesting that we should "LOOK" for new living room furniture. Our living room set is years old and just screams, "I belong in a two story colonial in an Ohio suburb." We wanted something more casual and that had a lighter feel. "Cool," I responded, "let's look."

OK, you know the rest of the story--we didn't just look.....we found a great deal on a couch and two chairs. I couldn't believe that we went out for a ride and ended up buying furniture. I was so excited.

Early this morning, Tony went in the hot tub at The Winds, and at 11:00 this morning, we went to the Tiki Bar. You just can't go to an ocean side resort that has an outside bar and not stop. Actually, we stopped there in May when we went to scope out The Winds. It's a cute little hut with great customer service. Drinking at 11:00 in the morning??? Well, it's not a habit, but we were on vacation! Tony had a tropical Pina Colada--I just stuck to white wine.

Dixie relaxed quite a bit. She walked on the beach, played in the sand, drank at the Tiki Bar, charmed dozens of guests and staff and chased birds. She really enjoyed this trip.

And so did we. Thanks, Dixie, for taking us with you.