First Beach Picnic; A Hitchcock Tribute

Tony felt the same way I did in terms of our last post.  Life has been flashing by us, so we decided to slow it down a bit and we headed to the beach for our first beach picnic.  It was a chilly day, with bits of sun.  The wind made it one of those, "why did I bother fixing my hair" days--it was breezy and even with my heavy poncho on, I was cold.  But, we had lots of fun and laughed a lot.  We saw a school of dolphins, shrimp boats in the distance and all kinds of birds

 

Oh boy, were there birds. 

 

Birds are like ants at a picnic.  When you are on the ground, the ants invade your space to get your food....when you are on the beach....it's the birds.  

 

We had croissants, cheese and grapes and a lot of hungry birds.  As soon as they saw the food, they started to walk toward the blanket, in a "circling the wagons" kind of way. 

 

After the beach, it was time for our first cornhole championship.  I think playing golf has given Tony some sort of cornhole edge, because he beat me in all three games.  But, I will rebound another day. 

 

Ah, you can't have a picnic without wine...and plastic wine glasses!

Hmmm...a few birds scope out our food.

A few  more get closer....

Tony takes "the bait" and starts to feed them.

 

Let the dive bombing begin...they started coming in fast and low.

Really low!

A mid air collision over a grape

 

Tony chats with one of our picnic dinner guests

INCOMING.....see that croissant on my plate....guess who ate it?  Hint, it wasn't me.

Now there's a man who has no fear of bird poop

Catching treats in mid air!

 

Tony Swegle....a friend to man, dogs and now birds...

 

And this is how they repay him!  On my chair,  no less!

 

 

 

And so, we head home, to a new view.  See the leaning tree and green box?  One of the construction drivers backed into both.   The green box is electrical, the area lost power for awhile!

 

And now....the cornhole game...my home court--the family tree

Tony's home court....outer space and Star Trek

Yes, Tony...you won all three games...

and really spanked me in the process!!

 

What a fun day we had!

 

 

 

 

 

Catching Up On Stuff

 

 

It feels like life has been running past us lately.  Donna and Bob went back to Cleveland in early March, our system conversion at the hospital finally happened on March 15, Tony's friend, Milt,  stopped by on his way to a golf outing in Myrtle Beach where Tony will join him and other friends on Wednesday and then, Tony will be going to see David at the end of the month in Tampa.

 

Dixie has been totally entertaining as always, but recently sick.  She had a urinary tract infection at the end of February and into March and recently ate some red berries from a bush we have in the yard that may have poisoned her a bit.  She threw up 7 times on Tuesday and once today.  She has been sleeping all day and isn't interested in food.  She certainly has been seeing the inside of the vet's office a lot lately.

 

The weather has turned warm and beautiful.  A few days ago when I went into work very early, there were sea gulls flying around the hospital entrance and they were calling to me. They were stark white against the dark blue sky and it was a very pretty site.  The midnight shift was getting off of work as I was going in and some of them saw me just standing there looking up into the sky.  I guess the warmth and the blue sky attracted them too, because 4 or 5 of them stopped near me to take it all in.

 

I like this time of the year because we will be going to the nursery soon to pick out flowers for our small islands and pots that are around the yard.  Tony takes care of it all, but I enjoy working with a color scheme and picking flowers and plants that really attract your attention.  I hope we can put in something that will extend the surface area of the patio outside this year.  To me, it feels cramped--if you are trying to sit out there your knees are almost touching the grill and you are so close to the chiminea, you singe your eyebrows.  I know...I see extra space, Tony sees dollar signs. 

 

I haven't tried putting pictures into the blog yet, so I may still have the same problems I did last time.  At any rate...time marches on and I am running to keep up.

 

Our new view--new construction across the street

 

Spring....A time to spread our wings...

 

First Flowers

 

 

Poison berries???

 

 

Always on guard

A birthday present from the grandkids

Another birthday gift from the other grandkids!!

 

My Guy

My new look, thanks to Donna--hippie chic!

 

Here's Donna, just before they left for Cleveland...I think she's telling us

 how she feels about snow!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

       

Happy Birthday to You! Part 1

The best thing about February is that we celebrate Tony's birthday.   It's usually a low key celebration, but Tony gets birthday cards, messages and good wishes from all over.  We "Skyped" with Coleton and Anthony, hearing a rendition of not only "Happy Birthday," but also "Peter Cottontail."  God daughter, Emma,  sent a phone video saying "Happy Birthday" and throwing Tony a big kiss.  Ben, Sam, Ellie and Zach called Tony and had a nice long talk about school, Charlie, their dog, the snow and their new "smart TV."

This year, we got to celebrate with Donna and Bob.  The cold, rainy weather stopped us from  going out on Tony's actual birthday, but we did get out the next day. We went to the City Club for a glass of great red wine called "F"  and then on to a favorite French Bistro called, "Caprice."   The food was good and we had a great time.

After that, we came back to the house for cake and coffee. 

Happy Birthday, Daddy Bear, and I hope you have many, many more.


I had trouble posting pictures to the blog so I had to cut and paste. And the captions are all over the place, but you get the idea!!

A drink at the City Club before dinner.

Mrs. Swegle and the Old Guy!

Sibling Love!

Tony and his favorite girl!

         Our favorite guys!

Happy Birthday To Tony, With Love, Cleveland

OK, we moved to North Carolina why???  TO GET AWAY FROM THE SNOW.

 

I know that Cleveland and parts East are really suffering in the cold weather, but, hey, did you have to send it down here?

 

Tony woke up on his 68th birthday to find a yard that was snow coated and the sidewalk to our door covered in ice.    YUCK.

 

We are going to Wilmington to have dinner out for his birthday.  Unlike native North Carolinians, we aren't afraid to drive in this!!  We just hope the restaurant isn't closed due to weather! 

 

I know that when it's July and 100 degrees here, we will remember the snow and laugh about it, but for right now.....take it back, Cleveland!!

Our views:

An ice covered walkway

Snow in the front yard

Ice on the driveway across the street

 

Snow on a palm tree....so wrong, so, so wrong on so many levels

The backyard....same as the front...snow

 

Another Leaf On The Family Tree

We went to Charlotte today to attend Anthony James' baptism.  We went to St. Anne's Church, the same place where Coleton was baptized.  I was so glad.  Father Reed is a very nice man and a wonderful representative of his faith. 

 

There were two baby boys being baptized today...and they were both so good.  Anthony seemed to enjoy the water, just like Coleton did  a few years ago.  Today, however, big brother was in a sports jacket with "Father Knows Best" flannel patches on his sleeves and a conservative blue tie.  Every time I see him, I see more of Tony (Jr.) in that small face and body language. 

 

After the service, we went back to Tony and Marie's house for a small party with great food.  Mona contributed some, but it was catered and I hope Tony and Marie got some rest since they didn't have to cook.  They both looked good, but tired.

 

Anthony did great  at church, being accepted into the Catholic faith and posing for pictures and then went right down for a nap after his big baptism debut.  Coleton was all about playing with his cousins.  Marie's sister, Michelle and her husband, Rob, were the God parents and her brother, John, flew in from Kansas.  Some of Tony and Marie's friends also  came to the party and it was good to see the "village" together again.

 

Donna and Bob were very gracious and left their Ohio company at their condo in Sunset Beach to come to the baptism and party with us.  We had fun making the 3 hour drive  both ways and the conversation in the car never lagged.

 

Donna and Bob only have two weeks left of their "southern visit" so we have to fit in another shopping trip.  The "guys" got us a day at a local spa for Valentine's Day so we want to do that soon. I'm thinking a massage and having my nails done...heaven...truly heaven. From there, we will hit the boutiques one more time to ensure there isn't anything we missed in terms of bargains or things we absolutely can't live without.  I'm sure we will find many things that we just have to buy!!! 

 

Please share the highlights of the baptism of Master Anthony James Swegle.

 

Father Reed very kindly re-enacted this for us....I told him I didn't get any good pictures of the actual event.  He is a kind man. 

Anthony enjoyed the water! 

Anthony James...."it's all about me!!"

The Swegle's and Father Reed after the baptism

Seriously, this guy would have made a great "father...."

 

Mommy Marie, "Daddy,"  Pops with namesake, Anthony, "MoMo" Donna and Bob

New hair color...Cleopatra with the cutest guy at the party

Big brother, Coleton with cousin, Leah

Aviana "Avi" Kall, we knew her parents when they were in high school!!

Anthony laughing at Great Aunt, Donna

Now, he's really laughing!!!

OK, now he's just flirting!!

"I have to get used to this...women loving me...alas, it will happen my whole life!!"

The "Love Wall," the Phillips and Swegle family...each side and several families!

 

 

 

Going For Therapy

What do you do when the weather is crappy and your husbands are playing golf????   I'll tell you what you do....YOU GO SHOPPING!!!!

 

Donna and I went out again and attacked the mall, outlet stores and boutiques in the area yesterday.  We had a blast.  And....it isn't our fault if everything we tried on looked great and we had to buy it.  

 

We started at a small coffee shop with crumb cake and black coffee.  It was sunny and brisk, so we sat outside.    The music of our generation was playing in the background and a cool breeze circled around us.  It felt like we didn't have a care in the world.  We talked and laughed and planned our day. 

 

Pretty soon, we ended up at Belk....a department store that we both just love.  It's better than Macy's and Dillards,  has great clothes and I don't think I've ever bought anything there that wasn't on sale.   We love Belk!!  We spent hours trying on clothes, examining how we looked and buying what looked best on us. 

 

After that, it was on to the outlet mall in South Carolina and then to some trendy boutiques for more shopping.  We were out for 5 hours and it was fun. At the outlet mall, we stopped at Kate Spade, New York.  Neither of us had been there before.  It was really nice...we loved their outfits and colorful handbags.  Since the "plus size clothes" in the store were sizes 4 and 6, I was checking out a small change purse when Donna came over and said to me, "the coat on that mannequin is over $400.00."  "No way," I thought...then I checked out the price of a really, really small change purse....$110.00.  I don't know who Kate Spade is, but she has really expensive stuff! 

 

We checked in with our guys after they finished playing golf and then Donna and I went to a cute little neighborhood type bar called "McGhees."   They had great sandwiches and tons of atmosphere.  Donna and I picked up two guys at the bar....well, when you are in your '60's and they are even older, it wasn't like "picking them up...." it was more like smiling and small talk so they had something to concentrate on after they went home and took their Viagra.  Never let it be said that Donna and I don't do for others!!!

 

Donna and Bob are down for another three weeks...their time here went really fast.   I have to work a ton of hours in the coming weeks, but hopefully, we can fit in one more shopping trip...I want to get back to Bleu and get some more heavy leggings and maybe a scarf or two...shopping--the best therapy there is

 

 

 

 

Movies

Now that we are feeling better, we have ventured out to see some movies.  I would love to see all of the movies nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, but I'll settle for seeing some that look interesting to us.    I should say interesting to me, since Tony has been great about seeing things that I want to see that he may not be interesting in seeing.   

 

So far, we have seen "Unbroken' and "Selma."  How odd it was that while each picture was set in different times and places;  they were strangely similar.

 

Unbroken is the story of an Olympic athlete held in a Japanese prison camp during World War II.  It is a story of perseverance and mental strength.  Selma is the story of the Civil Rights Movement in the '60's.  It too, is a story of perseverance and mental strength. 

 

I enjoyed both movies--they were very well done,  but, I liked Selma more because I lived during that time period.  Let me clarify, I lived during that time, but I didn't know what was going on.   I was shielded from most of it by my parents (my mother would destroy the newspaper if she didn't want us to read about the controversy going on in the world,) so it was interesting to me to see real footage of the march on Montgomery and witness the lack of compassion and, in my opinion, lack common sense and disregard for human life and the law depicted in Selma.

 

I remember a teacher of mine saying, when Martin Luther King Jr., was shot, that "the white people have lost their best friend.  MLK was a minority fighting for civil and human rights freedom in a non-violent way."  I remember my father telling me that if they had only obeyed the law, they wouldn't have gotten hurt.  He said the same thing about the Kent State riots.  If only "they" had followed "the law--the rules."

 

Maybe that's why the "rules" are so important to me.  My father approved of people who followed "the rules."  But, maybe that's also why I sometimes rage against the machine...some "rules" just don't make sense to me. 

 

Both movies made me think...and I guess that is the mark of a good movie.  I thought about people in power during "Unbroken,"  and how power corrupts.  I thought about people without a voice against corruption and how they suffer  in "Selma." 

 

Another teacher of mine said that we study history so we don't make the same mistakes...I don't think we have learned that yet, as we continue to make the same types mistakes over and over.  Go see each movie, they are really good. 

 

Next up, "Black or White,"  a Kevin Costner film that appears to walk the fine line between love and social mores.