Just a little loud........

Joe and went to a small holiday gathering up at our little golf club. We stopped by the bar for a drink and we could not even hear each other talk. There was a group of eight, who had just taken over the place. They were mostly 50 plus years old, men and women. The women were fairly screeching and the men were almost yelling. Yes, of course there was alcohol involved. The women though,  were the ones throwing down the long necks and they were by far the most obnoxious. They were far more than just a little loud. Like fingernails scratching a chalkboard. Ugh. I hope I am not that way....I will have to ask my kids!

I will do better, I promise!!

OMG!! I cannot believe I have not written in so long! My Lab, Ivy is so much better at maintaining her blog! I will do better, I promise.
We have been in our new home since June, and we are loving it. Joe is easing back into golf and I am back on a walking program. We took a quick trip down to Tampa to bring our 1990 Miata back to Virginia on the AmTrack AutoTrain. In October, we spent a week at Pawleys Island with good friends, Bob and Mary Kay. The weather was not all that great, but we made our own fun anyway and prepared some awesome dinners! We have been doing a good amount of babysitting for Brayden and Kennedy and I must say, I love doing that! We have had a couple of overnights and we all actually slept! I love being "Gram!"

Moved!!

The banker and I have moved. We bought a lovely home on the golf course in West Neck in Virginia Beach. It's in a 55 and over community and about a mile from our youngest grandkids. which is awesome. We have been walking and going to the fitness center some. Walking on the golf course after it has closed for the day is so very enjoyable. Lots of wildlife, especially deer. Ivy, the Lab, finds these walks especially pleasant, because she gets to go off leash a bit.
I was a bit skeptical about buying in a 55 and over community from the resale perspective. But the house is on the golf course with a million dollar view. There are no teenagers gathering on the street corner to smoke or whatever. No loud parties and when there are parties, we are invited!! The people are so very nice and everyone is sort of looking out for everyone else. There is a lot of caring. It is a beautiful thing.
We are still a year or so away from trying to sell the house in Tampa, to "stop the bleeding" as Joe says. Then maybe we can try "RVing." Just a small RV, big enough for the two of us, the dog, and the grandkids. Sounds like fun, right? RIGHT!!

Packing Up

We have been packing up for our move from the condo to VA Beach for 3 very intense days now. I am feeling my age. I used to think that moving was not so bad, but that was back in the day that the Bank would move us and supply the packing/moving manpower. At 58 years young, I am whipped by 4:30. We open our bar for cocktails around that time and by 5 pm I need a nap!! We did have something go our way; the owners of our house in West Neck are allowing us to move in before the actual closing..... so we are moving in 2 days...can't wait!

The wild horses of Corolla are in trouble

There are a few things in the world that I am passionate about, and here is one of them. There are these horses that run wild on the Outer Banks, mainly in the Corolla/Carova area. They are descended from Spanish mustangs and have been around for over 500 years. I have actually encountered them when we vacationed in the area in 2004. I photographed the horse pictured above. These animals are ruggedly beautiful. You see them walking the beach and grazing in the yards of beach homes. They have endured hurricanes and vicious Nor'easters. These horses are worshipped by hundreds of vacationers who flock here just to see them! So, why on earth would someone want to injure them? The past 2 months, 2 of these animals were victims of hit and run drivers on the beach, possibly ATVs. Both had to be euthanized. Well, ATVs are not one of my favorite modes of transportation to begin with. They are just a land version of Jet Skis, another mode of getting around that I despise, boater that I am. Anyway, it now seems that these tragedies are deliberate. People that deliberately harm an animal are inhuman. Their next step is to injure another human being, possibly a defenseless child. I hope these scum bags are found soon and brough to justice. Let's just break their legs and leave them abandoned on the beach for hours. That seems fair to me. These horse deaths are just cruel and senseless and need to stop.

Encounter with a Great Blue Heron

Good morning, Mr. Great Blue Heron! You are one very big bird! I can see you stalking something in the water as you move ever so slowly down the river's shoreline. There! You take a stab at it and missed! You are shaking your head in disbelief! Now, you are cocking your head. What do you hear? A fish? A crab maybe? It is a crab! And you have in fact, stabbed it! How did you do that? Crabs are very, very hard! Oh wait, it must be a softshell, a peeler crab. You are a very smart bird, Mr. Great Blue Heron! And you have great taste!

Letter to my mom on Mother's Day

Dear Mom;
This is your 5th Mother's Day in Heaven. How are things there?
It still feels weird for me not buying you a Mother Day card or having you over for a special Mother's Day lunch or dinner. I am still envious of all my friends and relatives who can still do this with their moms. I remember that you really enjoyed reading your cards and you would always cry, even when they were funny cards. I do that too......thanks, Mom!
Since you are up there with the "powers that be," I need some favors. Mindy still has cancer and it is really time to get that cured. As if that is not enough for her family, Tony has some heart problems and he needs two knee replacements. Let's just try to get that fixed. Joe's sister, Anne has some kind of rare brain tumor, needs surgery, and the folks in her insurance company are assholes. Maybe you can figure out how to turn that around. I am sure you have run into Jesus by now, so if you could give Him a gentle reminder, that would be great.
Joe and I are well. We are living the retirement life you wanted, I think. We took that trip to Europe a while back and do a good deal of traveling. We are moving to a house on the golf course in a few weeks. Be sure to tell Dad about that. I will be needing some help from him for my golf game. Oh, and I am growing out my gray hair. I can see you cringing but I am hopeful that it will be attractive. Please send down some angel dust (the real stuff, not the drug)!!
I miss you, Mom. Please keep watching over me.
Love,
Pam

Changes

Changes are coming to my family. Joe and I have sold the condo!!!! And, we have successfully negotiated a contract on a little house on a golf course in Virginia Beach. The new place is very, very close to Pete's family. We will be able to spend a lot more time with Brayden and Kennedy as we will be helping out with babysitting. This seems to be such the right thing to do at this stage in our lives. Who knows how much times we have remaining...not to be morbid or anything...but we want to live life to the fullest. That means being in Virginia most of the time and making the journey to Blacksburg to spend time with Liam and Carter and Joanie and Eddie more than just occasionally. And, I will maybe bite the bullet and play golf!! This all happens in just 4 short weeks!!! June 5th we will be in our new home!!

Nesting or just enjoying the view...?

I don't know what this bird is doing. I think it is a female purple martin as there a loads of them around the condo right now. It is fixated on a sprinkler head on our balcony. The sprinkler has got mud on it. I am afraid of trying to clean it up lest I damage it or even worse, cause it to flood the units. That has happened to my neighbors below us. Their kid "caught" one of the indoor sprinkler heads with a fishing rod and it flooded their condo and also the one below them. They were out for over three months while the damage was repaired. What a nightmare. Anyway, the mystery continues. Maybe it is building a nest even though I have read that they nest almost exclusively in those gourds or purple martin houses. Time will tell. Perhaps it just likes the view, as I do.....

Stations of the Cross

I am a "not always practicing" Catholic. As a convert to the faith, I am blessed, I suppose, to not suffer from " Catholic guilt." So, if I miss Mass, which I confess, I have done a lot recently, I do not dwell on whether or not I am on the way to Hell. I sincerely hope NOT! But, I digress. My youngest, Joey, reminded me earlier this week that Good Friday is his favorite "Church day." And, it is mine also. So, although I did not attend a Good Friday service, I did take the time to read the Stations and came away renewed. No lighting bolts or anything like that, but a definite sense of peace and well being. Our God is an awesome God and I am so thankful for His Son! He is truly risen!

A walk in the park

Pete brought the grandkids over for a short visit this weekend. We drove to a park and we all had fun on the playground. Then we took a short walk on a nature trail and we did get them to sit still for 20 seconds while I took this picture at my favorite spot there. Grandkids are just awesome, a true gift from God.

Bling!

I got a wonderful bling today! What started as a simple resizing of my diamond engagement ring has culminated in the above ring gracing my left hand! The larger diamond had been damaged over the years by my rough and tumble lifestyle and needed to be recut, to smooth out a gash. I ended up with an awesome "big girl ring!" My Joe is such a great guy! I love you, Joe!!

Let the gray begin!!

Ok....so after 18 years of coloring my hair (yes ONLY 18 years!) I have decided to go gray! This is a major challenge for me. I started in February when my beloved SIL, Anne, said she was doing it! She had her hair highlighted to take attention away from the roots and she looks great! I went to see my hairdresser (Lucy) today, and she put in some lowlights and some highlights and trimmed it super short. I had about 2 inches of white roots showing, so it was a major improvement. Ummm, no pics, but they will be coming soon!

Spring Training

After years of promising ourselves to do this, Joe and I FINALLY got involved in Spring Training in Florida. It is called, appropriately, the "Grapefruit League." There are a bunch of major league teams that come to different venues in Florida and play each other. We went to four games in four different locations. We saw the Atlanta Braves vs the New York Yankees at Disney Wide World of Sports in Orlando, the Yankees vs the Toronto Blue Jays in Tampa, The Tampa Bay Rays vs the Pittsburgh Pirates in Port Charlotte, and the Blue Jays vs the Rays in Dunedin. The stadium at Disney is beautiful and clean, as you would expect from Disney. George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa is, by my guess, a miniature Yankees Stadium. This stadium had all the atmosphere of a major league ball park, complete with the beer vendors in the stands, hawking "cold beer here," at the top of their voices. The Rays new stadium in Port Charlotte was a bit of a drive for us (about an hour and a half), but it was nice and intimate even though it got our vote for the worst hothogs! The drive to Dunedin, which is considered to be in the Tampa metro area, was horrible. We just should have gone to Port Charlotte again, to see our Rays. Not to mention, we were hot as hell and left in the fifth inning.
But, we did Spring Training and hope to do more games next Spring. It's a wonderful way to spend the month of March in Florida!

A Day at Tampa Bay Downs

The Thoroughbred is an awesome animal. Please enjoy my pictures of these race horses taken at Tampa Bay Downs.

17 random things about me

Here are a few things about me to start of the New Year....

1. I am basically a shy person. I have become more self-assured as I have aged, though. But, maybe that is part of getting old….

2. I enjoy being at home. This is a good thing considering that I own two of them! I hate crowds and love curling up with my laptop or a good book at home. I love just being home with my husband, Joe.

3. I love cooking, especially baking cookies and cakes. A 20-pound weight gain since 1999 attests to this!

4. I love hiking or walking outside with my husband, Joe and dog, Ivy. I never listen to the I pod outside as I would miss hearing the enchanting sounds of nature.

5. I am a keen animal lover, especially dogs, most especially my own beautiful Lab, Ivy. Horses are a close second and I am warming up to cats.

6. I am fascinated by digital photography. I use my digital camera just about every day. I especially enjoy taking pictures of Ivy and I am proud to say I have over 1000 pictures of her!

7. I am an optimist and rarely see the dark side of anything. I believe in the inherent goodness of people.

8. I love to sing but cannot read a note of music. And while I may not have a beautiful voice, I can make a joyful noise unto the Lord! And I do!

9. I believe in God. I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church (yes, the Roman Catholic one although I still have a lot of questions about it, but I love the bells and smells), the Communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. I believe in Hope. And I believe that dogs go to Heaven.

10. I don’t understand what the fuss is all about regarding Gay marriage. Why can’t Gays/Lesbians get married? Two people who love each other should be able to get married and have a family with all the rights and benefits that come with it. Why all the hate? It’s time to stop hating and focus on loving.

11. Wine, wine, wine. I have it every night. I want it, need it. White is preferred, but red will work.

12. The gym. I need to go more. I hate the treadmill. Thank you, Mac, for the I pod! I will go more this year, I promise.

13. The computer. I am an addict. No cure in sight! I have online friends that I know personally and many more that I have never met (Cheri). I have actually met one of those: Chelise, a dog lover like me. I have found old friends that I thought I had lost (Kristie, Don, and Patty). I have gotten to know some friends better (Wendy, my Lexulous buddy), and I keep in touch with my family, extended family and old friends on Facebook (Mary Kay, Lucy, Pete, Joey, Joanie, Jack, Madonna, etc.).

14. I have 2 stepchildren, Joanie and Drew. They came with the Joe Monahan package that I received in 1974. We raised them together and equally with our own two children, Pete and Joey. I refer to them as stepchildren purely for identification purposes. Growing up, we never used the word “stepchild” with Joanie and Drew. I am blessed to have 4 wonderful children and I adore them. They have all matured into educated, successful, loving, sensitive adults.

15. I am a mother lioness when it comes to my children and my grandchildren. I am fiercely protective and would give my life to save theirs. I brag about them incessantly and to anyone who will listen. Hear me roar!

16. The Chesapeake Bay and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed captivate me. I have been fortunate to have lived within minutes of this treasure most of my adult life. I have walked miles of her shoreline, fished her waters, tanned on her beaches, and yes, even participated in a bit of skinny-dipping. I have watched a parade of Tall Ships, a pod of dolphins, and the Fourth of July fireworks ….ooooo….ahhh. And I have thrown tennis balls into the surf for more than a few Retrievers. I belong to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and I am committed to saving the Bay. I guess that makes me somewhat of a “tree hugger.”

17. I love Joe Monahan. He makes my life complete. He is the most intelligent person I have ever met. But more importantly, he is caring, loving, sensitive, passionate, and generous. He mixes me a cocktail every evening and opens my wine. He shares in all the things I love. He has a great sense of humor and makes me laugh. He is my friend, teacher, and confidant. Joe is my partner and soul mate…he is the love of my life.