Our little cottage is great, quite compact but has what we need--air conditioning is very important as the temperature in usually in the 30s. (that's Canadian) A bonus is an outdoor shower which is great to wash the sand off after being at the beach. We have a pact to go to the beach everyday when the weather is fine. We usually go after Brienne goes home and after 17:00.
We are here to take care of our darling grandone while Claire studies and Noah teaches. So we have her every day from about 8:30. Our routine is a walk that includes Claire--Brienne usually sleeps for the hour we are walking. Then back to our place to play. Did I mention how much energy it takes to care for a 7 month old!!! She is crawling and gliding around furniture. Our place is baby proofed so she goes everywhere. We are protecting the wires of the TV, etc with pillows and suitcases. George usually gives her some food at lunch time and then she has a long nap. Claire goes to the University on Tuesday and Thursdays and the other days she studies at home. She is taking 3 courses--2 are online.
Brienne has figured out how to clap. It is so delightful to watch her learn--she has great concentration. She will also bounce up and down if you say dance to her. I have been trying to remember little rhymes from our children's babyhoods. She does like "PattiCakes, PattiCakes, Bakers' Man.)
We went to church for the last two Sundays looking for friends to have dinner with. Everyone is very friendly and different that we wonder if, in fact, this is really a Lutheran Church. It is called St. Peter, there are two services, two choirs and it is full of geysers like us and older. There is also a nice coffee hour but no Sunday school. And we lost our keenness and found no friends. We did meet our neighbours across the street and spent the turtle vigil with them and chat when we see each other.
Last evening, Brienne, George and I met Claire and Noah for a fundraiser at Brunswick College. It was many restaurateurs serving morsels and we got to sample them Yum--some delicious southern dishes!
This was our second trip to Myrtle Beach. We went on Labour Day Sunday and were amazed at the amount of traffic compared to March when we are usually there. We had a Sunday to Monday, sleep-over there and stayed at a hotel by Barefoot Landing. Did some chair swimming. This was the night of the big moon and the eclipse but it was too cloudy to see anything.
Well, I have become a coughing Snuffleupagus--haven't had a cold in forever but it has me now. I am doing everything to get it under control before Linda and Larry come for Thanksgiving. I can't tell you how often I wash my hands! The germs have me! Yes, I ended up going to see a doctor and I have acute Bronchitis which is a drag. After a week if antibiotics, my lungs are clearer but I will have the cough for a few more weeks. Being sick sucks!
So another trip to MB to pick up the L's. We had a little walk on the beach as they have not been there before--also a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Hey, Sheryl said there will be a KK in Jo'burg. What about that. We had an amazing Thanksgiving feast--Claire and Linda did the cooking and we all enjoyed. While they were here we had a tour of Southport via a golfcart. Southport is a quaint town nearby where many movies and TV shows have been filmed. George and Linda and Larry and Claire enjoyed touring the Battle Ship in Wilmington while Brienne and I rested at home. The week sped by and there was more to do but alas another trip to MB and they were flying on home. So this weekend we took it easy, went chair swimming and walked on the beach.
Oh, yeah, we had a gecko invasion, well, one came into our cottage. Linda and Larry were here to help hunt him down. I am not a hunter so I joined an advisory committee of one while the others chased him around the kitchen. They all had plastic bags on their hand so they wouldn’t actually have to touch it. He came toward Linda but she lost her confidence and missed him. Then he sped under the fridge. I had visions of seeing him crawl up the wall and onto the ceiling. Linda saved the day by using the broom to encourage him to come out from under the fridge. And he did. George was the hero and snatched him up and put him outside where he might be living happily ever after. It is hard to know as the chase may have put a damper on his joie de vivre! Now George says he is an international gecko hunter as he saved us from one in Pretoria, too.
We are enjoying chair swimming again, (October 24th)--nothing like sitting in the waves and watching them crash into shore. The water is very salty and of course, wet! George celebrated his birthday with a lovely dinner at Claire and Noah's. One of our friends summed us up like this: "Cathy and I want to wish you a Happy Birthday. I don't know what the number is (year of birth) and it does not matter. The essential thing is that you and Pat have filled the past year with amazing adventures. You are not a year older, you are a year richer for the experiences you have had. We definitely miss your presence. Nevertheless we are truly delighted that you are going places, meeting people, and doing things that we think are wonderful. When you tell us about your travels, we get to share in your experiences vicariously. So - keep on moving! We look forward to seeing you again in Ottawa, when the time comes."
Brienne is trying to walk. She is delightful--she will take a few steps and then realize that she doesn't actually quite have the balance to walk so she plops down and giggles. We are so fortunate to have this opportunity to watch her grow. Starting in November we will have her everyday again. Noah's Mom was here and took charge on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She will return to NC in December.
Well, Halloween has come and gone. Lots of neighbours decorate but nary a child appeared for candy. Brienne turned into green baby while eating mashed up avocado with her hands. It was even in her eyebrows and her face had a green tinge. Her costume when she visited Noah's school was Batman. Sunday we went go to Southport to see "Blythe Spirit"--very well done, excellent actors.
November is here already--my health is still not back to normal. I am still coughing but improving--although I have sore coughing muscles. Brienne has definitely become a toddler. She rises from the floor and steps out and around--still a tad wobbly but she is only 9 1/2 months old. She is such a treasure. We spend our days caring for her and then we visit, do chair swimming and do the errands that keep life going. Time is flying but it has been great.
The arts group I joined has a show in the middle of November. I have been puzzling over what I would paint for it with no inspiration. The first Friday of the month, there is a Gallery Walk in Southport a lovely little town nearby that is Clear Lake times 10. We wondered around from gallery to gallery, drinking wine and enjoying appetizers and looking for a turtle souvenir of the hatchlings. Then a light came on and I decided to paint one myself. So that is what I did--finished it the day before the hanging deadline. I volunteered at the Show and discovered that my painting got an honourable mention. Pretty cool, eh? The coordinator and I were working together a couple of times and she told me she was starting to talk "Canadian" eh?
We spent a delightful weekend in Myrtle Beach--saw two Christmas shows and walked on the beach. We have great memories of being there near the ocean as we have stayed there for the month of March for the past 6 years. Krista and I walked there together many times. We shopped a bit and had doughnuts at KK and headed back to OKI. Brienne is definitely a walker. She loves to be read to as well. She brings a book, waits to be picked up and helps turn the pages. What a joy.
November 30 has arrived and that means "pack up and move on". It was definitely difficult to leave that darling baby and of course, her parents. We spent most of Monday sorting--we will leave our car and lots of stuff here until we are back in September. Since our first year of being Meaderthals, we have slept in 44 beds, been in 8 countries and delighted in the adventures we have had. Life is good.
Well, Halloween has come and gone. Lots of neighbours decorate but nary a child appeared for candy. Brienne turned into green baby while eating mashed up avocado with her hands. It was even in her eyebrows and her face had a green tinge. Her costume when she visited Noah's school was Batman. Sunday we went go to Southport to see "Blythe Spirit"--very well done, excellent actors.
November is here already--my health is still not back to normal. I am still coughing but improving--although I have sore coughing muscles. Brienne has definitely become a toddler. She rises from the floor and steps out and around--still a tad wobbly but she is only 9 1/2 months old. She is such a treasure. We spend our days caring for her and then we visit, do chair swimming and do the errands that keep life going. Time is flying but it has been great.
The arts group I joined has a show in the middle of November. I have been puzzling over what I would paint for it with no inspiration. The first Friday of the month, there is a Gallery Walk in Southport a lovely little town nearby that is Clear Lake times 10. We wondered around from gallery to gallery, drinking wine and enjoying appetizers and looking for a turtle souvenir of the hatchlings. Then a light came on and I decided to paint one myself. So that is what I did--finished it the day before the hanging deadline. I volunteered at the Show and discovered that my painting got an honourable mention. Pretty cool, eh? The coordinator and I were working together a couple of times and she told me she was starting to talk "Canadian" eh?
We spent a delightful weekend in Myrtle Beach--saw two Christmas shows and walked on the beach. We have great memories of being there near the ocean as we have stayed there for the month of March for the past 6 years. Krista and I walked there together many times. We shopped a bit and had doughnuts at KK and headed back to OKI. Brienne is definitely a walker. She loves to be read to as well. She brings a book, waits to be picked up and helps turn the pages. What a joy.
November 30 has arrived and that means "pack up and move on". It was definitely difficult to leave that darling baby and of course, her parents. We spent most of Monday sorting--we will leave our car and lots of stuff here until we are back in September. Since our first year of being Meaderthals, we have slept in 44 beds, been in 8 countries and delighted in the adventures we have had. Life is good.
No comments:
Post a Comment