August 27, 2009

A special day today ... Claudia's 60th birthday. We celebrated in at Rob's house in St. Charles, IL with a special SURPRISE appearance by Susan who flew in from LA. It was very emotional having the entire family together again and meeting Ceci for the first time. Another celebration was held the next night on the 28th at the home of Dave and Janet Christein. Dave's birthday was earlier in the month. Dave and Sue Lushin drove in from Kalamazoo; Sue's birthday is the 28th. Dave and Kathy Roberts were in town from Cincinnati, and Bill and Pat Albu came with their grandson Marlon.

July and August, 2009

WOW! Just checked the blog and found it's been six weeks since I've made an entry. That tells you just how busy we've been.

The biggest news is the arrival of our second grandchild ... Cecilia Anne Grace Hale, born July 28, 2009, 8 lbs. 13 oz., 19 inches long. You can see what a beautiful baby she is. We are anxious to meet her and see Zander, Rob and Mandy soon.

The past 10 days were spent at our condo in North Myrtle Beach's Tidewater Golf and Plantation. The days were hot and steamy, making the pool and ocean waters that much more enjoyable. We are thinking about moving to Tidewater permanently so, in preparation, we have filled out the paperwork to list the condo. But, coming back home to Greensboro gives me second thoughts.

Summer Update

Months have flown by, summer is in full fource, and we continue to travel. We've gone to bridge tournaments in Raleigh, Richmond VA (where Claudia earned Bronze Life Master) and Greenville SC. We made a quick trip to Cleveland in May visiting family and Bob and Karen Pekkanen. Our 38th anniversary was celebrated at Stonewall Resort in Roanoke WV on the way home. Visited Bob and Wanda Cummins in Greenville in June and saw brother Joe, Debbie, Anna, Maureen and Louise Green who coincidentally happened to be in Greenville at the same time. Also visiting Sue and Dave Lushin in Kalamazoo and JD and Kathy Roberts in June.

The Beach

We are back from our condo at Myrtle Beach which included a visit from Bob and Karen Pekkanen. Although we had a wonderful visit with Bob and Karen, we wish the rain would have held off a couple days. The four of us played a lot of bridge. Bob and I played duplicate Saturday afternoon and came in first ... 2.3 points! We met a lovely Canadian couple, Margie and Paul Wilson and exchanged emails. A new summer drink I brought back is the Firefly made with sweet tea vodka and lemonade. Yum!

Johnny Winter in Concert

Tonight we saw Johnny Winter in concert ... 3rd row center! You could feel the bass in your chest. Great concert. Johnny was hunched over (like his back was out) and helped onto the stage. He took a seat in front of the mike and played for about an hour 15 minutes.

March Madness

March "came in like a lion" here in Greensboro. Sunday it poured rain then, overnight, snowed about 4 inches ... a lot ... for this part of the south! Usually it melts by noon but a day later and it's still on the ground. It's quite beautiful, as you can see in the picture. Too bad we were cooped up inside all day. Bob was trying to salvage what's left of our investments and Claudia is down with a cold.

February Happenings

It's mid-February and still drizzly and cold outside, but signs of spring are beginning to appear in flowering fruit trees and daffodils. Yippee!

This is the 11th day of Claud's sprained ankle and the first day for wearing shoes since the accident.

Bob worked on income taxes today while Claudia went to see "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

Return to North Carolina

We returned today after 10 days visiting Rob, Mandy and Zander (his 2nd birthday) and friends in Florida. We stayed with Bob and Karen Pekkanen while they are spending 3 months at The Villages in Florida. Ken and Pat Koza are also there, so we got together for dinner after the guys played golf. Just like old times ... it was great reuniting with them.

Movie Time

We are trying to see all of the 5 Oscar-nominated films for Best Picture but, so far, haven't seen any! Bob was doing consulting work in Austin TX for a week and just returned last night. While he was gone, I saw "Doubt," "Rachel Getting Married," and "The Reader." I liked "The Reader" the best of the three, although they were all good in their own way. I'm really ready for a light-hearted comedy after these three and may have to see "Bride Wars" just to reboot my brain.

Panic in the South

There was a "winter advisory" posted last night thru noon today. Of course, everyone in the South panics at the threat of snow, so schools were closed today and businesses opened late. I woke up, albeit late, to a dusting of snow on the ground ... too little to capture on film. The picture is the most snow we've had in 4.5 years in Greensboro and was taken last Valentine's Day. After living in Cleveland and Milwaukee for more than half my life, I find 40-degrees quite balmy.

How Many Candles?

Today is Rob's 34th birthday! Happy Birthday!

Musical Ghost

We were watching TV in the bedroom tonight and Bob kept complaining of hearing "banjo music" which I, of course, couldn't hear. He said it's been waking him up the past 4 days and has been driving him crazy. We walked all over the house and couldn't find it. I finally "heard" something when I put my ear to the wall in the hall outside our bedroom. I continued to watch TV as he searched the house. He came back to the bedroom with the culprit ... a toy train we bought for Zander to play with when he was here in March ... and had stored it in the attic when he went home!

Bridge vs Golf

We spent Saturday and Sunday playing in a bridge tournament in Pinehurst NC. Unfortunately, the weather was perfect for golf. Fortunately, we did well at the tournament.

Doctor Visit

I now know I have a torn rotator cuff. Hope the injection helps. Bob will be raking leaves by himself from now on.

Happy New Year

We will be grandparents again around July 24. Rob and Mandy are expecting baby number 2!

We are back from spending Christmas in Myrtle Beach at our condo and a week in Charleston SC where we attended a regional bridge tournament. Surprise ... we came across Mark and Elaine Estes (from Grapevine TX) at the tournament and enjoyed playing bridge, dining, sightseeing and revisiting old times with them.

Bob became a Bronze Life Master (500 points) after placing in tonight's local game.

Claudia suspects she has bursitis or fibromyalgia and goes to the doctor Friday afternoon.