Leaving Portugal was difficult but alas, one last wave at the ocean and we were off with "the Yellow Fish Co." driver to Faro. Then Faro to London, Gatwick where we were met by Karen's family. Her Grandsons are lovely. After a chat with them, we took the coach to Heathrow and then a bus to our hotel nearby. We enjoyed a light dinner which included "Sticky Toffee Pudding" with custard. Yum.
At 6:15, we were off to Heathrow where we had our breakfast. After overhearing a woman at the next table tell the waitress, she just came from Johannesburg and her next flight to BC was delayed, I invited her to join us and tell us about her adventures. Her name was Brenda and she was returning from West Africa after spending three months volunteering on a ship called Mercy Ship which does medical procedures in those countries. She is a former teacher and working in the kitchen on this ship. She has also travelled in Madagascar which sounded intriguing. Time just flew and we had to go to board our flight to the USA. There was a computer cliche so we had to wait until it was repaired which left us 2 1/2 hours late.
After 19 hours of flying, we were in Wilmington to be greeted by a little girl carrying a stuffed dog, making the sign for dog and saying dog, dog, dog. What a sweetie--her Mama was also there. What a joy to see them and then to be in our cottage in OKI. Yay. We slept well and wakened to a bright sunny day, got settled and spent the day with Claire and Brienne and then a lovely dinner brought by Lynne and Noah joined us too. Grandma Lynne is off to Mill Valley for a couple of months. Temperature is 17 degrees.
Next day was our first walk on the beach by the Atlantic on this side of the world. It is as wonderful as we remembered. Brienne came to play and Claire to study. Our place is great, lots of room and laundry facilities. Amazing how much one appreciates things we generally take for granted. The dryer we used in Portugal was a clothes rack so things were dry but scratchy. Our cupboards have food, our clothes are clean and we are ready for anything. Our next walk on the beach showed us an angry ocean and a cloudy evening--many waves rolling in. Our first Saturday walk was lovely although a tad chilly (temp 2 degrees.) This evening we had Brienne staying while Noah was at a workshop and Claire was having dinner with her mummy friends. Brienne is fun and loves to move her stuffed toys from one place to another. At dinner when I offered her milk in a glass that usually has water in it, she said "l'eau" and only wanted water.
George is busy planning our next holiday to SA and beyond--for May and June. I spent Sunday binge watching season 5 of "Bones". Somehow I missed seeing these. Also downloaded and started to read Harper Lee's new book. Our temps have been a tad chilly--we still walk on the beach most days and got our "chair swimming" chairs over here. No sign of chair swimming weather but we must be ready when the time comes.
Spent Valentines Day with my Valentine at Myrtle Beach. We thought we would walk on the beach but it was so cold that we only lasted about 10 minutes. We did have a good day--did some shopping in preparation for our company that will arrive on Saturday. I bought a fold able easel so on Monday I will use acrylic paint. I am excited. We also had KK donuts and coffee. They make great donuts but terrible coffee. Had dinner at "Five Guys" and then headed home. Saw a deer in the ditch along the way. I also knitted 1/2 of a slipper for Sheryl. Life is good.
Had a painting day on Monday. Yay. I am working on trying to get the cliffs in Portugal to look right. Painting with wc has helped me think more about shading and colour blending. George has sorted photos and prepared a flash stick so now we can watch our trips on TV any time we want to. I used it as an example for my current picture.
Had a grand afternoon at the beach with Brienne. Claire is so keen about her studies. We are preparing for company--getting food, preparing beds and general tidy. Yay. Faye and Glen and Ken and Karen are driving here from Florida--long drive. We had a wonderful 5 days together. Lots of visiting and laughs and fun. Had a trip to MB for KK donuts and to celebrate Ken and my March birthdays. What a treat to have them here--all great at pitching in and cooking, dishwasher work and ready for anything. A special treat was many O Henry Easter eggs brought by Karen--our fav. We will enjoy them. We watched a Netflix series called "Grace and Frankie"--somewhat irreverent and profane but extremely funny. Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda are the stars. I was sad to see them drive away.
While reading "The Little Paris Bookshop" by Nina George, I encountered the following quote on page 301-- "Do you know that there's a halfway world between each ending and each new beginning?". I was delighted to think about this halfway world because as we travel and change where we are living, we often have a feeling of being in between "worlds" and this idea helps me to enjoy the transition between farewell and new departure.
My birthday is getting close so Claire bought a yummy chocolate cake. We would have had lit candles but we had no matches. So Claire and George sang, Brienne smiled and then we three ate cake. Had two long chats with Sheryl and Grant. What a joy they are. Tom and Betty arrived on Monday, Leap Day. We always have a grand time with them. So now there are four of us to play with Brienne when she is here. We had our regular mini golf game at Myrtle Beach with the winner (Tom) buying KK donuts. They made a delicious pancake lunch for us and Claire today as it is my birthday. We went to Southport for the Gallery Walk this afternoon and stayed for a spectacular dinner at "Port of Call". We had a room to ourselves and the food was great. Birthdays are the best. I had lots of greetings and phone calls. Betty is on Brienne's favourite list. They had so much fun together. We watched the first part of "Road to Fury" which is Mad Max. I am not sure why I wanted to see this but it was filmed in Namibia. (Discussed this movie with Grant later and was impressed with his take on the action.) Saturday was Claire's Science Olympiad so we drove to Wilmington to see some of the events. Her team managed to do well enough to go to the next competition in Raleigh. The four of us went to see "London Has Fallen". I could hardly stand to see so much violent killing. (I am turning into George's Aunt!) We had many great walks on the beach and even did some chair swimming on March 8. The ocean was cold and the hot bath when we got home was great. We watched a Netflix series and laughed and laughed.
My cousin and her husband joined us for dinner on Monday. We had a lovely visit and a walk on the beach. My date cake was a hit--even put candles on it. Brienne was the star--what a joy she is.
George and I had a few quiet days. We walked on the beach, did some chair swimming, played with Brienne and did some preparation for our next company. Had a trip to Leland to shop for food. Noah went to a Trump rally which was somewhat violent. George and I went to the musical "Thoroughly Modern Millie" which was done by highschool students. I saw the movie in highschool but hadn't realize how racist it is and also funny. The Texans arrived on Monday and Tuesday. Yay. I finally managed to get a beach pizza party happening--I have wanted to do it since we had one with the Turtle hatching people. Lovely to have some time together. Claire was delighted to talk about engineering with her Uncle.
I had a mini-melt down on Tuesday during the dinner preparation time. Claire was at a meeting and Brienne was missing her and hungry and I was trying to cook. Oh yeah, Brienne only wanted me so I was holding her and stirring and fretting a bit. George and my niece were helping. Anyway, I finally popped Brienne into her highchair and she ate a little and played with the "Frozen' people. Then her Mama arrived, Yay. Maybe this is why at my birthday, I decided to start to wear red lipstick and never to cook again!
We have had a wonderful beach week--spent most of the days there. We did some chair swimming, had some great meals and walks on the beach. One highlight to me was finding a sea star--I have been looking for one for ever and there it was. (March 19, 2015) The next day on the beach, I found an intact sand dollar--there are always pieces of them but never a whole one. Yay.
Now we are in our last week. Brienne is feeling some what better but she has had a hard few days. George and I walked on the beach every morning and took Brienne and Claire there too. Had a trip to Wilmington to have the oil changed. A birthday celebration to mark Noah and Claire's coming bds. We won't be here so we had porcupine meatballs and a key lime pie.
On Good Friday, Brienne was here most of the day. She is feeling well and played and played with us. Up until yesterday, she would only sit of Claire's lap and sleep. Claire wrote a test today--had quite a time finding a proctor and a place to write. We, three, went to see "Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 while Noah took charge of Brienne. Very funny.
I got a new book about water colours and I look forward to starting it. I also did some acrylics while we were here. I prefer it. I will try to have a day a week to paint over the next five months. Good habit to start, I think.
Lately we say, when we have figured out which switches turn on which lights, it is time to move on so on Saturday, March 26, we are off to Ottawa.
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