Warmer Weather

I know I shouldn't complain about weather because I get pictures from Cleveland showing a foot of snow and huge ice chunks hanging from windows and trees.  We have had a ton of rain this year so far and it has been unusually cold.   But all of that is changing and we are starting to enjoy warmer weather again.  It was 79 degrees yesterday and again today.  We went to the beach yesterday and it was wonderful.  There were dozens of people out, many with dogs.   We didn't take Dixie with us, she isn't a beach kind of dog.  She tends to stay under our chairs and watch the water instead of playing in it.  

So we had our wine and cheese and watched sky divers land on the beach, dogs parading by, kids face planting in the sand and lots of women who should have worn suits that covered more!

We have been social butterflies of late.  We got our first Covid shot February 20 and go back for the second on March 13.  We went out for Tony's birthday to Joseph's, a favorite Italian restaurant, we had Donna and Bob over for a last dinner on Friday since they are going back to Cleveland on Monday and yesterday we went to the Palm Pointe Social, our neighborhood get together.  We always have a good time there, meeting new people and hearing about what everyone is doing. 

Our newest baby will be born sometime in March and we are getting more and more excited.  I can't wait to go to Florida to see Alex and the new baby.  Oh, I guess David and Brenda will be there too!!

I am still working with Cape Fear Voices and enjoying the creative outlet it gives me.  They are having a writer's award dinner in April and I have been nominated in three categories for best story.  Stay tuned for the results!

So, that's our story.  Busy, but enjoying things.  Hopefully, I'll be posting pictures of the new baby soon.

Here are some beach pictures:

If you look real close, you'll see an orange dot

near the two clouds in the middle of the page.

That's a sky diver!  

Tony checks out the water temperature

Lots of dogs enjoying the day!

I thought this was a hyena.  Turns out it was just a 

dog who loves the beach!

What a beautiful day.

Alex, Dixie and Brenda

Well, one thing you can say about Alex, Dixie and  Brenda is that they are all strong females!  

David sent us a video the other day showing Alex helping him put together a bookcase for her "apartment"  (her new room!)  There she was in Florida wearing just her unders with a drill in her little hand, applying the drill to a screw to join one section to another.   At 3 years old, she's helping to make furniture!!  OK, Daddy was there to lend a hand, but it was fun to hear her laugh because the drill was vibrating in her hand.  She did pretty well, telling Daddy once, "I need a little bit of help."  She was trying to put in the screw on the bottom of the bookcase and she turned the drill upside down.  Smart, I thought!

As far as Dixie is concerned, she and Tony had a tough time last night.  We were at Donna and Bob's condo in Sunset Beach watching the Super Bowl and Dixie had to go out.  Tony took her out front and it seemed like a long time before they came back.  It turns out that Dixie was mugged by two larger dogs--one on a leash and one who had flipped his lead.    Tony stepped in and picked her up during the fray and got roughed up a bit himself, but they both came through like troupers.  The owner was  extremely apologetic, but the larger dog just got away from him when the dog saw Dixie.   Dixie was a bit traumatized after the event.  After it was all over, she did a large poop.  We guessed that the dogs scared the shit right out of her!   She was quiet and hid the rest of the night.  Today she is fine.  When I took her out this morning, she wanted to go in the direction of where the dogs were last night.  It was like she was saying, "let me at 'em.  Now that I know how they roll, I can take them."  We didn't go that way!  Tony is fine--more worried about Dixie and his leather jacket than himself. 

And then, there is Brenda.  Strong, smart, beautiful, wise, Brenda.  She will give us (probably) our last grandbaby in March--just around the corner.  Tony and I don't know the sex of the baby.  I'm on the fence--both Brenda and David are such great "girl" parents, it would be nice to have another one.  And, we are "boy heavy" in terms of grandsons.  Still, it would be nice to have a Lakeland Swegle boy.  We'll just have to wait and see.  I know when the time comes, Brenda will have everything in good order at home and at work and then she will put her mind to giving us a beautiful new baby.  

So, there are the "women" that we love.  I can see Alex putting furniture together in her dorm room on Freshman move in day with her own drill and tools.  Dixie will not be fooled again by dogs she thinks are coming to play her and Brenda will, as always, be a wonderful mom, wife, attorney and person in general.  

We are lucky to have all of them in our lives. 

New

And so we begin a new administration.  I saw on Facebook that one of Biden's top aides said that the Trump administration left a bigger mess than they anticipated.  I think the translation to that is that the Democrats will need more than 4 years to fix everything.  

I'm not sure how I feel about that.   In 2016, I was one of the people who were saying we didn't need another politician in office--we needed a business person who would move away from status quo and lean toward monetary equality through Wall Street.  Well, that didn't seem to work out.   But, I don't think it's the political party who makes the country "great again."  I think it's how the administration inspires the people of America to be great.  

We can't let Covid be our "new normal."  We have to fix it.  We can't work in silo's--we have to work together.  We can't ask for someone's voter registration card before we decide to be friendly or not.  We have to have faith that we will have more in common with people than ideas that will keep us apart.  

That won't be easy.  I, for one, can hold a grudge until hell freezes over, but that has not translated to good things in my life for me.  If anything, it has made me have to work harder to maintain and grow relationships.  

I have faith in this administration, in part, because of the diversity in cabinet selections.  Some people equate the word, "diversity," to mean, "different from me."  And, they translate that into reasons why they are being shorted, financially or in terms of opportunity.  But I think it could mean that different people will bring different experiences and will have a voice to say, "hey, wait....you're not making things fair for all."   At least, I hope so.

I give credit to all political parties who have people willing to put themselves out there to get a job done.  My life could not take the scrutiny of examination required for these jobs.  

I hope that the days ahead bring peace to all and help us find our way through disease,  unrest and division.  I hope the new administration is strong on many fronts and peaceful when it needs to be. 

Riots

 

I have been reading about the Capitol riots for days now.  It happened, it was covered on the news, people were shocked, rioters went home and now people are being arrested.  

I have seen on Facebook that people on both sides are outraged and each are pointing fingers at the other.  

I have seen people comparing the riots to the BLM marches and insisting that the marches were worse than the riots.  

The latest is that the guy I call, "Horned Guy," has been arrested but won't eat jail food because he has certain food restrictions.  His mother appealed to the judge that heard his case that he needs to be fed the type of foods he eats.  This is not medical stuff, this is preference.  

I have read all of this stuff and I still feel that those who died in this mess have been lost in the media frenzy.  A policeman was beaten to death with a fire extinguisher.  A demonstrator was shot.  What will it take to make people stop?  To make people say, this is not worth it?  What will it take to make people pause and say, "really, this is how I was raised by my mother?"  

And now there is talk of assassinations at the inauguration.   Why?  Do the people who are rioting think that if President elect Biden is killed as well as the Democratic Vice President,  that Trump will be put back in office?  You can't kill democracy.  Maybe they have tried, but you can't.

Grow up.  Stand down.  Be proud in another way.  Stop the madness. 

I feel like things are getting back to some level of normalcy.  We are getting requests from people who want to come down visit us (Covid permitting) and so our calendar preparations begin.   

Donna and Bob arrive tomorrow for their 2 month stay so we will kick off the activities with the Brown/Steelers game.  Can't wait.  Go Baker!!

The past few days have been mild, but rainy.     We took down the Christmas decorations yesterday and finished up today.  It was a good opportunity to go through my desk and toss away lots of old stuff. I used to pride myself on begin organized, but now I'm finding that I'm saving silly things that I won't ever use but have a nice memory attached to it.  I guess it's one of the downfalls of being retired. 

Dixie's birthday is coming up next week.  No party plans so far, but I'm guessing she'll be getting plenty of extra treats.  New Years Day, I found her laying half in and half out of her bed.  It looked like she had one of her paws across her eyes, shielding them from the light.  I know we didn't give her any Asti, but I wondered if she was out partying after we went to bed. 

Dixie continues to be a source of joy for us.  I heard through Facebook that one of my friends just lost her dog.  It took me back to when we lost Jack.  The house was so empty when he died.  I hope my friend finds peace in the memories that her dog, Shelly, gave her. 

It's time to sit on the lanai and go over the events of the day with Tony so I will close this blog until another day. 

Happy New Year to all. 

 Here's Tony opening up the Asti!~

And Here It Is, Christmas Again!

            

                Wow, will I  be glad to see this year end.  I know, stand in line!

And now, it's Christmas time again.  Well, I'm good.  I got the gift I wait for every year--the Purdum calendar!!!  12 pictures of my beautiful and big grand babies.  It's the best gift I ever get. 

Like last year, it will be a quiet holiday for us.  Just Tony, Dixie and me.  We are go to Charlotte for a day trip.  It will be fun to see the kids again.  Personally, I wonder if Tony is going just to see the golf trophy!!

I am still knee deep working on the paper and Covid 19 book.  It's fun, but as I have said before, I end up sitting in front of the computer all day packing on tonage!   I am working on the National section of the Covid 19  book now and meeting several new people.  

I am also working on the Cape Fear voices website.  Check it out at:  www.capefearvoices.allforyou.biz/wp.com.  If that doesn't work, type in:  www.capefearvoices.com and look for the entry that says Cape Fear Voices Board of Directors.  That's the sloppy way of doing it.  You will go to our Board of Directors page and you can click back to the home page from there.  It will be going live on January 1, 2021.  

I am going into my third year of retirement and I finally feel like I am doing something with myself.  It's a good feeling.  

Tony and I hope that everyone has a  nice, safe Christmas.  Raise a glass to 2021!!

Here are most of our beautiful family.  I have to work on getting a Jenna and Jon photo!

Zach and Sam, black belts

Brenda, Alex and David on their 2020 Xmas card  

(Oh, baby Swegle, due in March is in the photo too!!)

The Charlotte Swegle's!  In the back, Marie and Tony,

in front, from left Anthony, Owen and Coleton!

Our first grandbaby--Ben with sister, Ellie.

  Ben is growing like a weed!!

   

Winding Down and Gearing Up

 

There's lots of little things going on with us as we come to the end of the year and start 2021.  Tony Jr., and David will be in next week to play golf with Tony.  That's always a fun time to see them banter back and forth and joke around with each other.  Hopefully, the trophy will stay with us again this time. 

I'm afraid I won't get to spend much time with them, however, as our efforts getting the Covid 19 book published are in high gear.  Cape Fear Voices received two grants this week, one for $3,000 and one for $3,100 from educational outlets.  We hope to publish in January, but some of the authors are having trouble with their sections.  I have been invited to participate in a Zoom call today regarding assisting with the National section.  As you may recall, I was the researcher on the International section.  

I'm also helping to roll out the website, Capefearvoices.com, in January and I'm the Quality Control person for both the website and the paper.   I'm getting a little concerned that my writing is getting pushed back because of all of the other things I'm doing for the paper.  But, so far,  I am enjoying my various roles and love assisting and learning.  

Our newest grandbaby from David and Brenda will be born in late March or early April.  I've been shopping and having a good time finding cute clothes.  Ellie will be 10 in December. I still have the calendar that Jenna makes every year, showing Ellie's arrival in the family.  She was small, round and had the cutest hair and eyes.  Her eyes were big and questioning, like she was trying to decide how we fit into her world.  We are getting her a balance beam so she can continue with her gymnastics.

Donna and Bob will be down in January for 2 months again.  Can't wait to massage the economy with Donna.  We are definitely ladies who "do" lunch!!!    Dixie will be 8 in January.  No big party, just a new toy for her to bring to us to throw.  Tony will be 74 in February and he's still going strong.  He still works at the golf course one day a week and joined the Veteran's Club.  Last week, he replaced all of my white and blue twinkle lights on the lanai and it looks great.  

We try to spend a few hours a day on the lanai, just to talk.  I love it out there.  We have learned a great deal about each other, and we have listened to our music (although, being 5 years older than I, his music is sometimes different from mine!)  We share appetizers, wine and sometimes even dinner out there. 

We are hoping to get to the driving range on Friday.  I really want to get back to golfing and Compass Pointe has a short course that I can probably do.  I just need to take it one step at a time.  

My health is stable.  I am still short of breath, my skin is still a mess and I am still on medication, but I can deal with all of this and more doctor's appointments are not an option.  I can't go and have tests and find out nothing again. 

Dixie's spa day was yesterday.  Here she is with her Christmas bandana and Daddy.  Tony's sister said they looked like twins...hmmm, must be the goatee!