Hilton Head, 2020

June was time to go to Hilton Head again to visit with Donna and Bob.  The house they rented was really nice.  It had 4 bedrooms and 4 baths plus a pool, a laundry room/computer room, a big living room and a dining room with a glass table that seated 8 people.  It also had a screened in porch that was a relief from the heat, especially since I'm supposed to stay out of the sun.   And it was hot.   I'm talking 98 degrees and a heat index of 104, with massive humidity.    

Donna and I shopped at Harbor Town and Caligne and had to wear masks.  Wearing a mask in the heat is not fun.  I passed on a pair of shoes for $235.00 and a blouse for $160.00, but we still managed to have a good time. Who buys stuff that pricey?

Chris and Shannon were in Hilton Head with Emma.  As always, she loved the pool and showed off her model moves!

Dixie was happy looking out of windows and pooping in Chris' bedroom.  She got loose once and headed toward the street in front of the house.  She is so little, she could have fallen victim to cars or alligators, luckily, Tony caught her.  

After Hilton Head, Donna and Bob came back to Leland and stayed with us for a few days.  Things are still slowly opening up here but again, we had to wear masks where ever we went.  

As I have said before, and like everyone else, I can't wait until we are out of this virus mess.  To me, 2020 is the year of nothing.  Everything that usually happens, didn't.  Kids didn't go to school, go to prom, graduate or get to leave home for college.  Communions were cancelled and so were  birthday parties.  Vacations turned into stay-cations and right now, the world is a very serious place. 

I am so tired of waiting for the next day, when things might be back to normal.  But, still, I wait. 

Fritz and Joe are coming down in July and we will be in Cleveland in August.  That will be a diversion among the monotony.

Here's a summary of our visit:

Donna and Tony enjoying the pool

Our 8  year old beauty queen, Emma

Emma being sassy!

She loves the pool!!

Showing the moves!!

Emma is a glow of color

Tony by the pool

Shannon, the birthday woman!

Chris, smoking with Uncle Tony

Dixie enjoying messing up clean clothes!

Taking a rest

Crazy World

Just when I think the world is getting back to normal, it goes crazy again.  The second wave of the virus is upon us, cities are burning in protest and Trump has hit a new level of stupidity in his tweets and comments.  

I keep telling Tony that Trump won't run for re-election, he will drop out due to "health reasons," and save face.  That way he can say if he did run, he would have won.  

But there are so many things going on that are more important than Trump.  So many things that have to be fixed in this world.  The fires that burn in the many cities across the country is proof of that.  I think that every day people are just tired of not being heard.

I didn't know George Floyd, but his passing saddens me as if he was a part of my own family.    He didn't have to die.  He had so much of his life yet to live.  He had a daughter, he had a life.   And yet, one man took it all away in 9 minutes.  

I have read articles in Time Magazine, Facebook,  AOL, and in the newspaper and all of those words, all strung together still doesn't answer the question--why?  Why did it have to happen?  With all of the bystanders recording and telling the policeman that George couldn't breathe, it still happened--he died at the hands of a policeman.  There wasn't a quick break so George could take a breath, there wasn't a small re-positioning of the policeman's knee.  With the other police personnel there to make sure he didn't escape, George wasn't even given the opportunity to sit up.  Why?  

I've read that the incident was fueled by racial bias and prejudice.  I've read that it was a hate crime.  I've read that the Minnesota police force is known for this type of behavior and that it's been going on for years.   Why?

Maybe I'm asking a question that is a moot point.  Why won't bring George back.  It won't rebuild the stores that were looted and burned.  It won't change the small minds of small minded, arrogant people.  It won't change the minds of those who protest.  

But I'm guessing throughout her life, and as she reaches milestones, his daughter will ask why.  She said on television, "my daddy changed the world."   Yes, he did, but why did it have to happen the way it did?  

Just when I think the world is getting back to normal, it goes crazy again.

Back At The Beach

With all of the unrest in the country and the virus still swirling around the world, it's hard to find a place of peace.  But, as always, we found it in the beach.  There is something so calming and restful sitting in front of the water and deep blue sky, watching birds splash down in the water searching for food. 

We kept our "social" distance but did interact with a very nice family.  The father was a marine and he was there with his brothers and all of their children--mostly girls.  They were playing football, throwing a baseball and trying to skim across the waves on one of those slippery round things.  

We saw long haired German Shepherds, short haired mutts and young ladies with barely covered butts.  A good day at the beach!    

After that, we stopped at a wine bar called, "The Office."  We shared a hot pretzel and a few glasses of wine.  What a nice day. 

On Friday, the 5th, there is a Palm Pointe Party at the mailboxes for everyone who lives on our street.  We're taking our new Browns chairs and looking forward to some lively conversation with our neighbors.  

Little by little things are opening up and I'm so glad.  Bridgewater Wines has in-house seating now, so we had an "in-house" lunch.  My hair appointments are scheduled and now all I need is a manicure.  

Dixie is doing better.  She had her follow-up visit with the Vet and is back to playing, barking and loving.  She has to be wherever we are and is content to just sit with us and listen to soft music.  I swear she can tell time, because every evening around 7:00 p.m., she barks at Tony until he gets up and gives her a chew stick.  Once she finishes it, she is happy to go into Tony's closet and take a nap.  She is always a happy note in our lives. 

I saw footage on the news about peaceful demonstrations in Lakewood, Ohio and I was so happy to see that no one got hurt.  We had a very small demonstration in Wilmington, but again, it was peaceful.  I'm seeing  more and more political signs on Facebook, regarding the 2020 Presidential election that say, "I'm a Republican, but I'm not stupid, I'm voting for Biden."   Poor Joe, what a mess he will inherit.  

I have started to plan our Cleveland visit in August and look forward to seeing everyone again.  I'm planning a neighborhood lunch with people we grew up with on West 100 Street, and that should be fun.  

Here's a few pictures to enjoy:

Tony having a nice lunch at Bridgewater Wines

A Tree Frog hanging on one of the 

glass panels of our front door

Wind and blue skies at the beach

Tony doing his ceremonial first step in the ocean for the season

Social distancing and a barely covered butt!

A kite against the blue sky

Only in North Carolina would you see a giant bug as a kite!

Dixie feeling better

Dixie checking out her brothers and sister

Nature Reserve

Thankfully, Tony hasn't had to wrangle any more snakes.  He plugged up a hole in the foundation near the lanai that he thinks is the way the snake got in, so we are pretty much snakeless at this point.  I'm happy about that!

But, Monday when we picked up Dixie from the vet after her oral surgery, she was laying on the back of Tony's chair like she does in the morning and all of a sudden, she started to bark her head off.  It was a different bark from the typical, "hey get off of my sidewalk," kind of bark that she does when people walk by.   This was a "don't worry, Daddy, I'll protect you," kind of bark. 

Sure enough, I looked out of the window where she was and I saw the biggest turtle I have ever seen down here, just sitting on the front porch in the sun, under the windows.   The claws on it looked like it could really do some damage if it got annoyed. 

Tony, ever the animal wrangler, went outside and moved it to the back yard where it was closer to the wetlands.  We haven't seen it since. 

So, with the tree frogs, anoles, rabbits, birds, snakes and turtles, I swear we have moved into a nature reserve.  Most of the time, that's nice--sometimes it's not. 

Dixie is recovering well from her oral surgery.  It was more complicated than originally thought, as it involved two roots and a cyst that had grown up under her left eye.  Tony was trying to give her medicine the other day and must have hurt her, as she bit him and drew blood--something I never thought I'd see.   She is eating better and today she retrieved her chew toy when I threw it.   We take her back in 10 days for a check up.

We are dealing with being self quarantined, but cheated a bit last week.  A neighbor of ours was having open heart surgery so we had his wife over for appetizers and wine the day after his surgery since she could not be in the hospital with him.  We face timed with him and he looked really good.  On Tuesday, when he was released, Tony went over to help him get out of the car and into the house.  

As summer approaches, we have plans to be with family.  I hope the virus situation allows us to do that. 

Here's a few pictures of "Tommy!"

Here's Tommy looking at Tony.  Check out the claws!

He pulled his head in, so Tony couldn't see him

Tony put an old sandal next to Tommy to measure him

The Snake Wrangler and Special Day

There are so many advantages to living in North Carolina.  We don't have to deal with mounds of snow in the winter, it's a slower life style, our favorite ocean beach is just 30 minutes away, it's just a nice place to live.

Of course, as with all "nice" places, there are some issues.  Yesterday, when Tony was grilling hot dogs, he opened the grill to turn on the propane tank and found a snake curled up the bottom of it.  

We have a bird's nest in the large bush near the grill and we think that the snake had discovered a potential food source.  It left the grill and climbed up into the bush to attack the baby Thrushes in the nest.  Well, Mother and Papa bird weren't having any of that--the snake suddenly dropped to the ground and was chased back to the wetlands by 3 adult Thrushes and a Cardinal.  They pecked at it and harassed it until was out of sight.  I didn't realize that birds would challenge a snake, but parenthood is parenthood and they were serious about protecting the nest.  

And so, it all ended well.   Until this morning.

My phone woke me up and as I was speaking to a doctor's office, Tony came in and seemed rather agitated.  I hung up and he told me to get dressed and come to the lanai.

That's not the usual greeting I get from Tony when I get up.

When I got there, Tony said, "the snake is back.  He's on the lanai."  OMG!   I looked out of the door from the house to the lanai and there it was...up near the ceiling, resting on my twinkle lights.   That's just rude!

Tony moved the lanai furniture around and got a broom.  The snake just stayed quiet and not moving; tangled in the lights.  Tony brushed it with the broom and it seemed to wake up.  As Tony poked it, the snake started to move forward, still hanging onto the lights.  It curled up and faced Tony as if to say, "hey, I'm sleeping here."  

Tony continued to poke it with the broom handle until it fell with a thud onto the floor.  Tony literally swept it out on to the patio and stayed with it until it reached the grass.  The last time we saw it, the snake was headed toward the Zeno's house, next door,  which is fine with me.

We checked our "snake guide" and found it was a non  poisonous kind, but just the sight of it invading our space was enough to freak me out.  

Tony has dubbed himself, "The Snake Wrangler."   I know there are people out there who like snakes, I, however, am not one of them.  Tony is also the "Kindness" Wrangler--he refuses to kill the damn thing if it comes back.  My plan is, if the snake returns and Tony is not home, I'm going next door to the ex-Policeman who has a gun.   I'm guessing that will fix the snake problem.  I've always said Tony is nicer than I am!!

There are many animals here that I would love to have as visitors--little brown bunnies, Cardinals, the Thrushes, Humming birds, Mocking birds--all kinds of pretty things.  Snakes is where I draw the line.  There are over 1,000 homes in this community--they can visit someone else!

In other news, and this is so much better than the snake,  this is our 31st wedding anniversary.  We will be celebrating with a nice steak dinner and spending time together.  The "kids" got us some memories from many years ago when we went on vacation--circa 1991 or 1992, not sure.

Enjoy the photos:

There it is, just hanging around

David made us a poster from vacation--he named Tony, "Mr. February!"

Was I ever that young?

Picnic and Puppy News

Tony and I have been trying to have a weekly picnic just to get out of the house and enjoy the beautiful weather. 

On Friday, we went to a park close to Compass Pointe where we could see water and dramatic skies.  Like last time, we ordered food from our favorite wine place and spent the next hour, watching birds looking for a handout and a group of people sitting in lawn chairs in the park parking lot, practicing social distancing but enjoying the company. 

Tony and I feel like we are nearing the end of this virus mess and hope to get back to normal soon.  We have been staying connected to Tony Jr., and David via portal, but we don't have any information on Jenna, Jon and the kids.  We hope they are well. 

Dixie has been under the weather and has a vet appointment for Monday.  This morning, I was semi-sleeping when I felt her use her "doggie steps" to climb up on the foot of the bed.  I let her lay there for a few minutes and then decided to get up.  When I sat up in bed, I saw blood all over the bottom of the bedspread.  I tried to see where she was bleeding from, but she just growled at me and put her head back down.   

She let Tony wash her face and look in her mouth.  It looks like she had some sort of abscess in her mouth that must have broken open.  That would explain her lack of appetite and energy of late.  We can't wait to take her to the vet, but we will be unable to go in with her, so I hope she lets the staff examine and treat her.  

Other than that bit of excitement, we wait like the rest of the world for doctors and scientists to find a cure to the corona virus.  We also wait for November so we can tell the Donald to take a hike. 

Here are some picnic pictures:

Although it's dead, this tree is still beautiful.  Not sure why I can't center this one.  

Tony called this stand of trees, "Four Sisters"

Look at the sky

I saw this "hole" in the greenery and knew

 it would be a great picture

The view from the bridge

Alarm Clock

I don't think I've ever met a dog owner who didn't think that their dog was the cutest or the smartest. That being said, Dixie is, of course, the cutest and the smartest dog ever!

Early this morning, and I mean dark kind of early, she went to Tony's side of the bed and made her "harump" noise, indicating that she was finished sleeping on the floor and wanted to come up and sleep on the bed.  As always, Tony picked her up and she immediately found a comfortable spot and went to sleep.  

At around 7:00 a.m., Dixie decided that she had slept enough and was ready to challenge the day, so she walked up to Tony and put her face in his back and started to scratch at the covers. Her message was clear....it was time to rock and roll, get her "day" treat, have breakfast,  bark at things and get a belly rub.   Tony, being the excellent dog owner that he is, got up and got things ready for her. 

In no time at all, she had her treat and her breakfast, barked at people walking on her sidewalk and got her belly rub.  After that, she ran up to the top of Tony's chair, curled herself around his head, took over his pillow and promptly fell asleep.  

Dixie's real name is Dixie Arian Sing Sierra.  I think we should have named her Alarm Clock (Pain In The Ass was already taken!)

Sleeping on Daddy's Chair....at least she isn't barking!