More Waiting

We continue to watch the weather channel for updates.  They are saying that 2.6 million people will be affected by the storm, which is now a category 2 with 105 mph sustained winds.  Florence is 145 miles ESE of Wilmington.  The ocean is churning and the sky moves from blue to gray.

Florence is approximately 150 miles wide so inland flooding is a given.  

My cousin, Dale Diane and her husband, live right on the water in Beauford, South Carolina and I am certain that they are still there.  

A few people from Compass Pointe gave in and evacuated, Dixie's Godparents among them and our next door neighbors.  

Tony, ever the good neighbor, checked the sprinkler systems of one of our vacated neighbors to ensure that their system was turned off.  No need to sprinkle with Florence in the area!  We are also keeping medication for people without generators and offering the freezer in the garage to store frozen food.  

The rain started at 12:51 today.  It came down hard and then lightened up.  This will probably be the pattern for days to come now.  

I took a few pictures today:

This was taken early afternoon.  Check out the blue sky

This is taken from our front porch at 12:45, looking across the street

The clouds at 12:45 

The Calm Before The Storm

We are still in wait mode.  Weather predictions are saying that Florence has taken a left turn and they are now looking seriously at Myrtle Beach and Charleston, South Carolina as the "target." We are hopeful, but cautious.  

That does not mean that Wilmington won't get hit, but winds are down to 115 mph and the eye of the storm seems to be turning.  That is good news for us, but we are still bracing for a wild ride. 

There is an eerie quiet in the neighborhood.  No birds are singing or even flying from tree to tree, the breeze is noticeably absent and there is no traffic in the development.  

We have filled our tub with water, just in case and are getting ready to sit on our lanai, just to enjoy the last bit of peace.

Florence is 335 miles southeast of Wilmington and I hope she doesn't do too much damage to a city we have come to love so much.

I am off to get our safe room (my closet) ready for bed and hope Dixie is calm with her medication. 

More later.  

It's Almost Too Much

We are in wait mode and waiting is something I don't do well.  

We are as prepared as we could possibly be.  On the inside, pictures that Tony has painted and hung are down in case the wind rattles the house, laundry is up to date, my closet is set up for our "safe" space, with blankets, towels, bedding, a sleeping bag, Dixie stuff and our meds.   We have water in containers for flushing and tarps are ready just in case we lose windows. 

On the outside,  trash cans are weighted down with bricks, each car has a full tank of gas, we have stocked up on bottled water and have signed on the owner's website hurricane page, set up to keep track of those staying here.  

I have watched the Weather Channel so long, I'm starting to understand "weather speak."   

We have seen the wind speed drop from 140 mph, to 130.  That's still a category 4 storm, but encouraging, none the less.  

We have received calls and texts from many friends and family wishing us well and we appreciate the time and prayers that people are investing in us. 

But now, it's just a matter of when, not what. We know that this could be the worst hurricane in Carolina history, we know that it's going to be "life threatening," and we know that power could be out for awhile.  The Weather Channel coverage is almost too much.   But, we continue to watch, just in case something new comes along.  

We will try to communicate with everyone as best we can.  Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers.  

Our Trip to the Outer Banks! Or, Along Came Florence!

You know, we've been in North Carolina for about 7 years now.  Tony is a master at getting around the state and I'm pretty good at getting from point A to point B.  We enjoy the change of seasons and are getting used to the oppressive heat of the summer.  

This year, we forgot a very important "change of season--  Hurricane Season."  

With all of the family activities we have had this year (the wedding, baptism, birthdays, etc.,) and the health crap we have both experienced, we decided  once the activities were over, we were going to "get away" to the beautiful Outer Banks in North Carolina for a few days of total relaxation.

We were gifted with a night at a B&B  in New Bern, North Carolina and decided to spend our first night away from home  there.   New Bern is a cute little Neuse River town that has  large statues of bears all over that are painted in different colors and patterns (Bern is German for Bear.)  It's fun to walk around and enjoy the water and the local eateries. 

We arranged for Dixie's Godparents to keep her for the four days we would be gone.  Everything was lining up perfectly.  And then, along came Florence.  

We started watching the weather channel Sunday night as we were packing.  We heard that landfall was going to be on Thursday, so we decided to come back on Wednesday instead so we would miss the rain and ugly stuff.  Everything seemed so vague.  The hurricane could land anywhere from South Carolina to Virginia.  It was a category 2, then 3, then possibly a 4, but who knew what it was going to do or go?  Certainly not the weather people with their "Euro" models that looked like criss-crossed cooked spaghetti on a map of the Atlantic coast.  

We listened to the opinions of the talking heads and the weather channel  and decided to make the trip.

Monday morning dawned bright and beautiful.  Dixie's Godparents were a bit surprised that we were still going and warned us that tourists and visitors would be evacuated from the Outer Banks first, but again, landfall was expected on Thursday and this was a beautiful Monday?  Why not?

About an hour into our trip, we got a text from the Godparents telling us that a mandatory evacuation of the Outer Banks was just announced.  

So, here we are, half way to New Bern.  Turn back?  Naw, Tony contacted the B&B and got the green light that they were indeed open, but we would be the only guests, as everyone else cancelled.  Cool, we would have the place all to ourselves.  Onward to New Bern!

We got to New Bern and stopped at a cute little pub for Crab bisque and raw oysters (Tony, not me) and met some of the locals.  We sat at the bar and watched the weather channel on TV and talked about the Browns game, the weather, past hurricanes and in general stuff and non-sense. I could feel relaxation taking over already. 

After a nice lunch, we left the pub and headed over to the B&B.  What a cute place!  It was built in 1882 and had 9 bedrooms that rented out.  How perfect!  And,  they do a "wine hour" in the living room area for the guests in the early evening hours.  

We met Kathy, our hostess,  at the door.  Sadly, she didn't have good news.  She said, they were closing and evacuating too.  The storm grew in intensity quickly and the decision was made to close the B&B.  

So, long story (sort of ) short.  We drove 2 hours to New Bern for lunch and then turned around and came back!  

So far, we think we are staying but will have more and better information tomorrow.  Our "safe place" is in Charlotte with Tony, Marie and the kids.   

Today is Tuesday and landfall maps are suggesting that Florence will make landfall near Camp Lejeune,  the area that we were in yesterday.  I guess it was a good idea to turn around!

The hospital is on lock down from 5:00 p.m. today until Sunday--so if you are working, you are staying.  I don't go in until Sunday at 3:00.  That is, of course, if I can get on the highway.  

So, here's where we are...in pictures....

We took the new windows off of the lanai and left the screens up.  

Tony moved all of the furniture close to the house

He turned the rocking chairs over on the front porch and

 I put our address on the legs in case they floated away

The Nuese River in New Bern, North Carolina

 on Monday.  What a beautiful day. 

Beautiful skies in New Bern

Tony talking to a transplanted local originally from Cleveland (check out his shirt)

Back home on Tuesday--getting the generator ready

Clouds moving in over Compass Pointe on Tuesday

The rain is coming.....way different clouds from Monday

On To The Baptism

What better way to end a trip to Cleveland and heading home, than by stopping in Charlotte for Owen's baptism.   

I really enjoyed the way the priest did the service.  There were 5 babies being baptized and rather than having the ceremony in the midst of a regular mass,  he did the baptisms as a separate service.  

Even better,  he focused on one child at a time so proud parents and grandparents could get pictures that didn't have a bunch of strangers in their photos who were blocking their view of the event.  

Owen was in a great mood--all smiles and cheerful.  Alex--not so much.  She was napping and when I tried to take her from David, she was having no part of it.  She was comfortable where she was and didn't want anyone messing with her.  

And so, with drops of holy water and Godparents, Aunt Brenda and Uncle John,  firmly in place, Owen was baptized.  It was time to get the party started.

As always, Tony and Marie were great hosts and all of the kids had a blast.  Alex was up by this time and was enjoying her cousins and their toys.  

All too soon it was time to come home and see Dixie.  Reunions with Dixie are always happy, funny and wet.  Her tail wags, she makes throaty, gurgly noises and she's flat on her back, kissing your hands, arms, legs--anything she can reach!  She follows us around for awhile to make sure we're not going anywhere else without her and she plants herself right in the middle of us if we sit on the couch.  She  is glad to have her family and routine back.  

Our next outing is next week when we go to the Outer Banks.  This is a true, "down time" trip.  No schedules, no appointments, no agendas.  Just going, relaxing and enjoying.

After that, it's more doctor's appointments in October, more test and more waiting.   For now, that seems far off on the horizon and I'm going to keep it there for as long as I can. 

Owen says, "It's all about me today!"

Godmother, Brenda and Owen

So young to be dedicated to God...the priest, not Owen!!

Parents and Godparents--Tony, Brenda, Owen, John and Marie

Look!! No strangers blocking our shot!!

A blessed baby!

Back to normal--home and hangin' with Dixie!

It's Grand To Have Grandchildren - Cleveland Trip, Part 2

The wedding was nice, it was fun to see everyone and try new restaurants while we were in Cleveland, but the absolute best part of the trip for me was seeing Ben, Sam, Ellie and Zach (thank you, Jon!!)  After not seeing them for 2 years, I swear, they all grew 4 feet!

We saw Sam riding around the neighborhood on his bike, first.  He raced home, shouting, "They're here!!!"  And so we were.  Ben and Zach came out to the car, but Ellie escaped to the garage.  It wasn't long, however, before she was right in the middle of hugs and kisses and happily telling us about school and her "boyfriend"  He liked Ellie and another girl in their class, but he only held hands with Ellie.  She was very proud of that!

Jon told us that Jenna tried home schooling with Ellie, but it was not successful.  He said that when El started regular school, she was behind most of the other kids, but has worked hard and is now right where she should be in terms of language, math and reading.  

The boys were all about sports--swim team, baseball and Tai Kwan Do.  Ben told us all about his mission trip and what he worked on.  He is looking forward to going again.  

The visit was noisy, wild, fun and goofy!  We were never sure what the kids were going to do or say next--from, "Hey, Momo, wanna see my butt?"  To, "Why don't you visit us more?"  Ellie wanted to have a sleep over with her friends at our house.  We're not sure how we would transport a bunch of six year-olds from Cleveland to Leland, but we all agreed it would be fun.  

We brought new games to play with and had a great time just watching the kids bounce off of the walls.  

We did get a few pictures but they don't do justice to the memories we made.

Enjoy:

Elizabeth, The Diva

Ben asking why we don't visit more often

Ben and Sam photo-bombing Zach

Zach and his killer smile!

All of us...

Ben, Sam, Tony, Zach, Me and Ellie

The Big Guys!  Sam and Ben 

Tony and I recovering from the visit at a local bar!!

A Wedding, Grandchildren, A Baptism and A Wonderful Time - Part 1, The Wedding

How crazy it is that we haven't been in Cleveland since 2016.  It's like letting go of a familiar place in order to raise the curtain on a new play in  your life.  We raised that curtain 7 years ago, and with each passing  year, it is easier not to go home to Cleveland.  We are older, the drive is harder, it takes us longer to recover when we get back.  Sad, but true.

But we did go home.  We went home for Sarah and Steve's wedding and to see family. Our Cleveland grandchildren are huge and tons of fun!  After Cleveland, we went to Charlotte for Owen's baptism.  This was the first time since they have been born that we have seen all of our grandchildren within the space of a week.  It was wonderful.

The first event was the wedding...or, the rehearsal dinner.  We met Steven's parents and family and had a great time at a restaurant in Strongsville that we had not frequented before.  It was a nice event.

The wedding itself was fantastic.  I'm sorry to say that my sister, Fritz (Donna), was almost more beautiful than  the bride.  I know, it's hard to imagine, but there she was, in a brocade, fitted dress, looking (as her husband said....) "like a million bucks."  It was the Fritz I used to know.  The one who could knock me down from, "good looking contender," to "an also ran."  She was glowing and I was glad.  

The wedding was meaningful, elegant and thoughtful.  I did a reading from Corinthians and Lynn told me I "talked funny."  Apparently, I didn't say the word, "sister," in the nasal, mid-western way.  But, Sarah and Steven liked the reading and their opinion was the only thing that mattered to me. 

So this chapter of the blog will highlight the wedding; a beautiful event for a beautiful couple.

Dad, Steve, walking Sarah down the aisle.  We weren't sure he was

 going to let go of her when he got to the altar!

Mr. and Mrs. Steven White

In their own little world

Happy Together...

  

This is a picture of the bride's family, but all I can see is

 how wonderful my sister looks.  

Uncle Tony, Aunt Jan and the Whites!

The Mom, The Reader and The Aunt

Here I am, talking "funny"

Dancing with "Baby" Joe, Sarah's brother

Next chapter....the grandchildren!!