Just Us

Saturday, November 4, 2017

A Nice Way To Spend The Day...

One of the nice things about North Carolina is the plant life. There are so many different kinds of things that grow and thrive here...some grew in Cleveland, too, so it is a nice reminder of home while other plants are just new and pretty.

We have wanted to go to the Arboretum for quite a while and today, we did. It is tranquil, beautiful and a place to enjoy. Tony said that he was sure our blood pressure went down just from walking around. It offers a variety of plants, beautiful gardens and information.

We walked around various gardens and promised to come back with a picnic lunch.

From there, we went to the Holiday Inn in Wrightsville Beach, a favorite place because the restaurant there faces the ocean. We saw a kite surfer and lots of dogs on the beach. On this clean and crisp November day, it was 80 degrees and beautiful day to be out.

Enjoy our day...and of course, pictures of Dixie!!

Sleeping on the blanket with Mommy

Me and My Chew Stick

Bed Head!!

A fun start to the day...a Fiat with eyelashes!

We are here....

...a place where time stands still...

A creative walkway...

Flags of Service....

...and stonework too...

Beautiful trees....

...a tree with "old skin"....

Tony and the banana trees....

A tea house...

Ready for tea

The dragon...

A turtle and "fake" flower

Diva in Doric

Tony on the bridge

In the pumpkin patch....

...with Tony...

Lunch at Holiday Inn where we watched a kite surfer

A beautiful day on the beach

Gabby the parrot, at Holiday Inn

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Seinfeld--A Blog About Nothing

I think I have lived for approximately 23,725 days--give or take a few. Sometimes it feels like 230,725, but I guess everyone feels that way at some point or another. Some days have been great and some have been really, really bad. But most are just days...they come, they go--with nothing monumental in between. Just time. This is a blog about nothing, just life in general.

Go figure, it's the end of October already. Our weather has been holding steady at mid 70's to low 80's during the day and in the 60's at night. This is the time of year that I really enjoy. Seasons are changing! Sometimes it's hard to believe we have been down here for six years. Before we know it, Donna and Bob will be down again and we can start shopping!

And, there's also football...we joined the Wilmington Browns Backers club again this year, but with all of the traveling to Charlotte and Lakeland, we have only been to one game. The last few minutes of the 4th quarter of the Cleveland/Tennessee game came on today after we watched the Carolina Panthers lose to the Bears. Cleveland actually went into overtime with a game full of field goals (on both sides) and we still lost...to a field goal. It's just not our year...again. But, Tony made chicken wings so the day wasn't a total loss.

Tony and I did property walk yesterday. It's nice to just walk around the yard and see what new things are coming up and what has started to go dormant.

We took Dixie to the beach again yesterday. She dug a hole in the sand and buried herself in it, even though she had a perfectly good towel to lay on. The sun on the water was really pretty and we watched fishing boats being followed by birds. People were fishing on the beach but didn't seem to catch much. It was the kind of day you see in a picture of people playing by the ocean.

My work time is ticking away and I'm actively thinking of things I want to accomplish. So far, I have investigated what it takes to be a contributor to AARP Magazine and some other "senior" writing opportunities. I also want to further develop my photography skills. I have advanced to the level where I don't have trees or chimneys coming out of the top of Tony's head anymore, but I still need to work on my content.

We will be on the road again soon and look forward to seeing how big Alex is.

And so this is the end of a blog about nothing...just life.

Here's property walk:

Plants at the back of the property

Trees that Tony planted

Flowers by the deck

Fall Sky

The Princess and her Daddy

A big smile

Beach

Beach Birds

Dixie didn't appreciate the tide coming toward her...

It didn't seem to bother this character!

And back...

Back Home....Tony was taller than these trees when he planted them a few years ago...notice that I don't have the trees growing out of his head!

Monday, October 16, 2017

Introducing Alex!

The wait is finally over!! Alexandra Lucia Swegle was born on September 26 at noon; weighing in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce! Brenda is going to have a story to tell her when she is older--Brenda was induced on the previous Saturday and didn't give birth until Tuesday. Wow.

Tony and I went to Lakeland last Sunday and believe me, Alex was worth the wait. She is beautiful and has so many expressions! Alex likes to move! She rolled over from her tummy to her back at least 10 times while we were there. She's also very alert. Most new babies aren't looking around and reaching for things, but Alex does. She watches you as you speak to her and absolutely hates wet diapers!

She is also a social butterfly. She went with us to lunch, an outdoor concert at a local college and a winery. Needless to say, people had to stop and look at how cute she is.

I heard a long time ago, that when you are introducing someone, the more important they are, the less you have to say. So, without further ado....introducing Alex...