Back to Cleveland

 

Well, here we go again!  Back to Cleveland.  3 times in 3 months!  This time it's for my 50th high school reunion.  But, the best part of the trip for me will be seeing Jenna's kids.  I can't wait.  I'm sure they will all be taller, even though I have told them every year not to grow.  Ben is in high school.  Wow, time flies quickly by.  

After this visit, we won't be traveling for a bit.  David and Brenda are coming for Thanksgiving and we will probably go to Charlotte after Christmas.  I can't believe that Alex is 4 years old already.  After that, Donna and Bob are back in town.  We've gone full circle again. 

My writing is going well.  My first article appeared in Leland Magazine on Tuesday and I am ready to submit my second piece which will run in November.  I'm getting to meet some very nice people and have tried some "interesting" wine.

I'm loving the weather--it's getting cooler and the humidity is on the decline.  Thank goodness.  We have change of seasons down here, so it's nice to see the leaves changing to gold and red. 

We are still "covid tired."  I hate wearing a mask, but I understand the reasons that I should.  I find that I don't spend as much time in a store when I'm wearing my mask.  Maybe that's a good thing--saving money.   Stores down here seem to be divided--some have a sign on the door saying you have to wear a mask and others don't seem to care. 

Well, it's time to iron and pack up for Cleveland. 

Hopefully, I'll have a ton of pictures after this visit that I can post. 

50 Years

We spent some time in Cleveland celebrating Tony's sister and her husband's 50th  wedding anniversary.   We had lots of fun and good food, but I think we all walked away appreciating our respective spouses a little bit more.

Another brother-in-law made them a tape for their 20th wedding anniversary and I think he is going to use the pictures I took at this event as like a Part 2...The Last 30 Years.  He had pictures from their wedding in 1971, right up until year 20 of their marriage.  There were so many happy memories on that tape--for them and for all of us.  We all know that being married is hard and you have to work at it, but seeing the tape made us all realize that the person who is beside you every day is worth the work and effort. 

It is indeed good to be home.  This trip was tough on my legs and knees.  I'm still on the fence about going back to Cleveland for my 50th high school reunion on October 2, but if we get to see the kids, I will go, knees or not. 

I am doing part 2 of my 3 part series on wineries in the area for Leland Magazine.  We're going to a winery called Duplin in Rock Hill.  It's one that we haven't been to before, so I will be writing it from a new perspective.  

I had coffee with one of the editor's from Cape Fear Voices today.  He said my writing is missed and asked me to take a few months to decide if I want to write for them again.  I did truly enjoy writing for them, it was the politics that got in the way.  He even said he would double my old salary....um, I wasn't getting paid there, so ha ha ha.   We will see.  

Tony is encouraging me to look into the North Carolina Writer's Network and the editor said I should look into writing contests to get my name out there more.  Again, no decisions yet, but I'm thinking about doing both.  The NCWN has some really great events where I could learn and contribute.

Dixie is not enjoying the thunderstorms we have been having of late.  Even her doggie marijuana isn't helping.  

As it draws closer to 4:00, it's time to sit on the lanai with Tony, have a glass of wine and listen to music.   It's a part of the day we both look forward to.  Dixie too!

Here are some event photos:

Tony and "the bride," Donna

Tony with sisters, Rose and Donna

The happy couple--50 years!

 

A New Opportunity

It's finally September!  We will still get some hot days, but not like July and August where it was hard to breathe when you were outside.  

Tony took me to Oliver's in Southport for my birthday.  It's one of my favorite places.  The restaurant sits right on the Cape Fear river.  We watched boats go by and plenty of birds looking for food.  It was a perfect evening. 

I have stopped writing for Cape Fear Voices.  I'm not sure how long I have stopped, but in the meantime, I started writing for Leland Magazine.  Unlike Cape Fear Voices, this is a paid job.  My first assignment is to write a 3 part series on wineries in the Brunswick County area. 

I will be going to Silver Coast Winery on Tuesday to meet with the owner to get some information and pictures for the article.  

Leland Magazine has a totally different feel from Cape Fear Voices.  I have done all of my correspondence with the Leland Magazine editor via email or text messages.  It feels kind of impersonal.  Maybe the longer I write for them, the better I will feel. 

David and Alex are coming to visit on Thursday.  Brenda is visiting her sister with Birdie, so I will get to have Alex all to myself (Oh, OK, I will share with Tony!)  I can't wait to see them.   We bought a small wading pool for Alex and are going to put up our canopy in our backyard so I can sit with her.  

We will be in Cleveland next week for Donna and Bob's 50th wedding anniversary dinner.  That will be nice.  I will be taking  pictures and helping Donna get ready for the event.  

Not much else is going on, but I feel like we're doing a lot.  Maybe because I'm getting older, some activity seems like major effort.

Am I the only one who feels that way?

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.