Cleveland and Birthday's

It's always fun to go back to Cleveland.  We drive by the old house, see friends and have quality time with family.  Unfortunately, it was heavy on my heart that we couldn't see Jenna and Jon's kids this time.    As they get older they have more "stuff" to do, so with Ben's band camp, Ellie's summer school and activities in general we had to put off our visit with them to another time.   I hope it is sooner rather than later. 

I got to see Joyce, my golfing buddie and friend.  We went to a nice restaurant for lunch and Tony joined us later for drinks after having lunch with Dave from Parker Hannifin.    We all had fun. 

I didn't get to see my friend, Debbie.  Cleveland was full of rain and since she had to drive us, she was a bit hesitant to go out.  We'll get together next time.

One of the highlights again this year was Neighbor Lunch.  We had the first one last year and everyone enjoyed it.  Peggy and Alex Szabo hosted this year in their beautiful home in North Royalton.  I'm sure this will become a yearly event. 

We also did the August Birthday's dinner; as Bob, Donna and I were all born in August.  That was a lot of fun, but it was really, really hot.  As always, Donna and I found time to do some shopping and have our nails done.  Might as well massage the Cleveland economy too!

I finally got to see my sister, Fritz, bowl.  Our father bowled and played golf, so it's almost fitting that she bowls and I attempt to play golf.  She has been playing for years but I never got to watch her.  I enjoyed our time together and I can see why she goes to tournaments.   

We were able to see our nieces and nephews and spent some quality time with them.   Lucky for us, most of them enjoy wine as much as we do.  

The ride back was uneventful and then, David and Tony Jr., came down to take Tony to a concert and play some golf.  We went to dinner for my birthday at a nice Italian restaurant and ate way too much.   The guys played golf before the concert and the "3 Men and a Bond" trophy will be going back home with Tony Jr. 

All in all, it was a good trip and good to be home. 

This year's Neighbor lunch...from left:  Ralph Quarando, Gordon Hathaway, Peggy Szabo, Me, Dee Judy, Gail Doane O'Dell, Lynn Viancour.  My sister, Fritz is in front of me.  Earl was not in the picture, but attended. 

Last year's Neighbor lunch...from left:  Lynn, Earl Melvin, Fritz, Peggy Szabo, Ralph Quarando, I am in front of Fritz, Gail Doane O'Dell is in front of Peggy

I got a "sister" pillow from Fritz for my birthday 

 

Almost in Cleveland

Where in the world did July go?  Or better yet....where in the world has this year gone?    I saw a post on FB the other day saying there were only 5 months until Christmas.  Oh boy.  

In just a week or so, we will be in Cleveland.  Sadly, we won't get to see Ben, Sam, Ellie and Zack.  They have so much going on with school events (band camp,  refresher classes, etc.) and sports that we will have to push our visit with them back to September or October when we are in Cleveland again. 

In other news....after a delay, our hardwood floors are being installed tomorrow.  I guess I'll believe it when I see the floor in the office instead of in boxes. It seems like you just can't rely on vendors once they have your money.  Personally, I'm so tired of the house being cluttered with the stuff we had to move out of the office.  The guest room and dining room have become our "storage" areas.  You can barely get in the guest room and the dining room is full of my desk drawers, meds, my glass figurines and my mother's dolls.  Putting the stuff back in the office is going to be a huge chore, but I welcome some order in the house again. 

Our grandbaby came through surgery with flying colors and we are all breathing a bit easier.  

I went to a Chamber of Commerce event a few days ago, representing the newspaper.  It was fun.  I met a ton of nice people, both business owners and people from the community.  We picked up a new advertiser and I met one of our writers that does poetry.  I continue to work on planning the Writer's Award Banquet in March, 2022.  I had no idea how much work it was going to be, but hopefully, it will be a success. 

Like many other places, we have had record breaking rain.  The grass looks good, but there are days when the yard is like a mud puddle.  This week the temperatures are going to be in the mid 90's.  I'm not looking forward to that.  I hope Cleveland is much cooler.  

I have been toying with the idea of getting a part time job and applied for a medical receptionist position very recently.  The paper takes up a great deal of my time, but I find myself sitting in front of the computer more and more.  It has taken it's toll on my eyesight and my weight.  Of course, eating fat food and drinking wine doesn't help.  I need to be active so I am looking for a happy medium between sitting in front of the computer all day and working 12 hour shifts like I did at the hospital.  I keep hearing that employer can't find people to work for them.  Well, here I am, hire me!!

I joined a trivia team--The Dixie Chicks!!  Named, of course, for our Dixie!  We play twice a month on Tuesdays, so that should be fun.  Tonight is our first challenge.  

So, other than all of that, not much is new!  I can't wait to see everyone in Cleveland.

Stay cool. 

Stuff Going On

 

Much has been going on since my last post in May.  Birdie's surgery is schedule for later this month and we are all hopeful that it will be quick and easy for her. 

Alex is getting bigger and bigger.  She is on a soccer team and plays very well.  In one game, she scored 3 goals--2 for her team and 1 for the other team.  She got turned around when she was running down field and kicked the ball into the other team's net. People laughed, but I thought it was very generous of her. 

Tony is a member of the Veteran's Club and took part in the Memorial Day celebration.  It was a beautiful day and a nice event.  We continue to gather with our neighbors once a month.  Another family is building in the Cottages so we will have new people to get to know in the next few months. 

It's gotten 'North Carolina Hot" since May.  Temperatures in the high '80's that feel like 100 degrees.   We're still enjoying the lanai, but we open the sliding glass door to the living room and one of the windows in the dining area and turn down the thermostat--that way it cools the lanai so we can still use it in the summer. 

We're getting ready to have the carpet taken out of the office and put hardwood floors down.  I'm really looking forward to that, but I'm not looking forward to taking all of my books out of the shelving unit and my cars and figurines out of the glass cabinet.  It will be a good excuse to purge stuff, but lots of work. 

The paper still keeps me busy.  This month I wrote about the storm in Cleveland in 1969 that killed 42 people and knocked down a bunch of trees.  The topic for August is, "The Moment It Became Crystal Clear....."  There are lots of ways I can go with that so we'll see what happens.   We are having a Writing Academy for students in the 7th grade and up  in August and so far have raised $2,400 to get it going.  The school systems in this area are graded "D" so this is really something that is needed.  

Fritz and her family are supposed to come to visit next week, but we have Hurricane Elsa also coming to visit, so we are on watch to see where it is headed and will it rain out their visit.  So far, it's going to be here on the second day they are here and who knows how long the rain will be in the area.   

We will be in Cleveland in August.  I've been planning the visit for so long and now it's right around the corner.  It will be good to catch up with everyone.  And now that there is a break in Covid stuff, I'll be able to hug the grandchildren.  OH BOY!!!

Here's a few pictures from us to you:

Soccer Champ!

Tony, unrolling the flag

A beautiful day!

The Grand Lanai

Little Birdie

This is the time of year when everything starts to move fast.   The weather starts to climb into the low '80's and the days are longer.  We have events coming up and are looking forward to seeing family very soon. 

We just got back from Lakeland, where we met our 9th and last grandchild, Elizabeth (Birdie) and boy is she cute.  David and Brenda asked me not to post pictures, but I took plenty of them. 

She has wispy hair that stands up like a Mohawk.  Her hair is black and so are her eyes at this point. She weighs 12 pounds now and is a great eater.  We had so much fun with her and Alex.  

Alex and I were in the lanai playing around one day and we started to talk like what we thought her dog, Bernie (bull dog) would sound like.  We came up with, "I'm a dawg," in a deep voice.  We did the same thing for Dixie, but Alex said it in a really high voice and then waved her hands up and down like Dixie does when she wants something.   So we heard, "I'm a dawg," a lot during our visit.  I also taught her to say, "Dad, don't harsh my mellow."  I'm sure David is pleased with me!

We went to some nice restaurants and Tony went to Alex's soccer practice and game.  She scored 3 goals--2 for her team and one for the other team, when she got turned around and ran the wrong way.  That's my granddaughter!!

Next up is Hilton Head with Donna and Bob and their family.  After that, my sister, Fritz is coming to visit and all of a sudden, it will be time to go to Cleveland.

I'm still writing for Cape Fear Voices (www.capefearvoices.org) and having a great time.  We are building a writing academy for teens that many of the schools in the area are supporting.  I helped to design our first marketing brochure and we will be looking for corporate sponsorship in the next few weeks.  

This is a fun time in my life. 

This Time of Year

This time of year is always a happy time for me.    Tony spends a great deal of time working in the yard and making it look nice.  Although we have landscapers doing the mowing and trimming stuff for us, he still likes to buy annuals of all colors and put them throughout the  yard.  

We also had our taxes done the other day and were pleased to find out that we get refunds this year.  Usually, we have to pay either the federal or state and sometimes both, but this time, they are paying us.  Whoopee!!

We have a trip to Charlotte coming up.  Coleton and Anthony are on the same little league baseball team and they are playing this weekend.  Marie is out of town, so we can help Tony Jr., out a bit, as he is a coach on their team.  Tony and I will take care of Owen which will be a blast.  

Tony and I went to the Cape Fear Voices Writer's Award Dinner on the 10th.  I won an honorable mention for my article about 9-11.  It was called, "Another Day That Will Live in Infamy."  It was nice to be recognized.  I am still writing for the paper and doing some support work.  Check out the website at www.capefearvoices.org.  It's still being developed, but we like it. 

I'm having lunch with one of the editors tomorrow as well as a candidate for a sales position we have.  The editor said he wasn't great at interviewing so he asked me to go along.  I'm looking forward to it.  Interviewing people was one of my favorite things to do when I was working.  It's fun seeing if the skills people have fit the type of work associated with the opening.  

May will mark out 32 anniversary as well as the first time we will see Elizabeth in Florida.  

So, today was a good day.  Hope yours was too. 

This is what you do when your tax lady says, "Refund!!!!"

You go to one of your favorite restaurants for lunch!

The backyard with flowers and plants

A beautiful day for planting

Tony vacates one of his pots so I can plant my flowers

Yellow flowers--they are supposed to appeal to the hummingbirds!

Our Last Grandbaby

 

Yesterday at 11:23, our last grandbaby was born.  We got a message from David saying, "Mom and baby doing fine."   Wonderful, happy to hear it, but is it a boy or a girl?  

A few hours later, he told us that Elizabeth Claire Swegle, 8 pounds, 11 ounces was doing well.  

We don't have pictures to post yet, but she has dark hair and eyes and we're sure she is beautiful.

Thanks to Brenda for evening up the boy/girl mix a little bit!!

Shot Reaction

 

Tony and I got our second shot on Saturday.  Immediately after, we felt fine and went shopping.   Later that evening and going into the next day, we didn't feel 100%.  Both of us had low grade fevers and were really, really tired.  Today we feel better.  I'm still tired and achy, but Tony is up and moving!  

Not much is going on.  We see the effects of the decline in the virus down here.  Masks are still required everywhere, but it feels like we are moving in the right direction.  

It's good to see Dr. Faucci smiling on TV now even if he is delivering another warning about spiking.  

We bought a new office chair a few weeks ago that was supposed to be delivered today, but has been pushed back for the 3rd time until Thursday.   I think the excitement about getting a new chair is giving way to frustration.  Promise me the truth in delivery and I will be happy.  One more delay and I will be looking to cancel the order.   

The C section Brenda is supposed to have is now on for Tuesday, March 23.  Another delay!   OK, I admit it, I hate waiting.   I'm not a "pace" person.  I want it and I want it now.  

Dixie is well.  She goes with Tony to resupply the dog poop bag stations and really loves it.  She sits in the front seat in her car seat and barks as people going by and enjoys the sights and smells of the dog park.  She is quite a character and people just love her.   Dixie is convinced that she is human.  If Tony and I are sitting on the lanai with snacks, Dixie has to be there with us.   If it's 6:00 a.m. and we're still sleeping, she will jump up her doggie steps and settle right in.   We rarely call her a dog, she gets offended. 

Warmer weather is creeping up on us and it isn't a day too soon.  The landscapers are preparing new pine straw for our yard and trimming trees for spring.  All in all, it's really pretty down here. 

And so, I better get back to cleaning.  That never changes no matter what the temperature is!

I hope the worst of Covid is behind us and people all over the world are safe. 

Another beautiful day

Dixie chillin'

I love the beach!