February 28, Toronto. After 18 hours in the air, George saw the CN Tower first and we had arrived. We stayed at the airport at the Alt hotel. There is a train from the airport to it so that was a bonus. We had a relaxing afternoon. Next morning Spring had arrived, we took the UP Express downtown to do many errands, including breakfast at Marche, a blood test for me, buy Coaguchek strips, O Henry Easter eggs, have Tim's coffee. A bit of a hiccup getting the strips but George ironed it out. We walked and walked. By the time Frank and Brenda arrived for dinner, winter had returned--windy, windy. Fun dinner.
Arrived in Mrytle Beach after a lengthy buzz at the US customs in TO. Probably checked passports and boarding passes about 10 times before we were cleared to board. We heard Brienne at the airport before we saw her--she calls us Granny-Grandad when referring to both of us. What a delight as is her Mama, of course. We saw Noah later that day. Our place is different--a bit closer to the ocean and farther from C & N but it is well equipped and has two swings and two rocking chairs.
Listening to Celine was the beginning of my birthday day. Yay. It was slated to be a quiet day as Claire and Brienne were at the Robocon and Noah was busy with school stuff. However, around noon we had an SOS from Claire and the result was that Lynne went to get Brienne and then she spent the rest of the day, night and next day with us. Having Brienne at the event was too much! Anyway, we had a lovely time and Brienne's first sleep over ever was successful. Claire didn't return until around 22h00 and as B had had a long nap, we didn't even think about putting her to bed. The reunion between mother and daughter was a delight to watch. I am not sure who missed who more.
Our next two days were full of Brienne including a bd celebration for me with candles and cake. Also coffee at Southport. On Thursday, George and I drove B. to Wilmington to stay with Lynne. We did a bit of shopping and went to see "Logan" which is part of the Wolverine movies. I had not seen any of the previous ones and found this one very violent. I was glad to be at the back of a sparsely populated theatre as I found I could hardly watch some parts of it and had to stand for others. Grant will be surprised when he hears that I went to that movie.
We are having daily walks on the beach and sometimes get there twice in one day. Next week we will do some chair swimming. Our routines are beginning. One of which is Wednesday night ribs at a hole-in-the-wall place.
The Texans have arrived. What fun to have them visit. The weather didn't co-operate very well but we did have many walks on the beach, plays in the sand, lots of yummy food, a couple of movies and fun. Brienne thought Violet (almost 8) was the best--she was like a little shadow and Violet was very sweet with her. It was fun to watch the greeting hugs. We, four, had an afternoon in Southport with lovely coffee. A great week.
Robotics is taking Claire to Raleigh on Thursday so we drove there with Brienne. We had a delightful time at a nearby playground and then went to IHop for pancakes. (B's current fav.) Next day we stopped in at the Robotics competition but Brienne found it too noisy so we drove home to OKI during her nap. Even the next day, she would say "Robotics make sound". In the evening we went to B's other Grandma's art show. B was a hit in her new dress and shiny, purple shoes. Lynne has a lovely studio and lots of lovely paintings.
Today Sunday, March 26, I set up one of the bedrooms for painting. I want to get doing some acrylics and started a painting of meerkats which are in the mongoose family and we saw them in SA. Watercolours usually leave me frustrated. Although I discovered a way to paint little people so have been working on painting Brienne and George on the beach.
Our week has been full of beach time--saw dolphins again. One was swimming in the middle of a wave and another one breached the water--very cool. We have been chair swimming. Yesterday we got caught in a rain storm with B. It just poured--luckily we weren't far from home when it pelted down but we were all soaked in no time. We stood on the concrete pad under our house and Brienne jumped in puddles with her Lady Bug Girl boots. (I really must buy some rubber boots for me. I think that I have always wanted some and these days they are cool even for adults.)
After last Fall's hurricane, the dunes were washed on to the street and under many houses that are on stilts. They gathered some of the sand and it is in piles along the beach--looks a bit like piles of snow after a storm at home. So starting April 10, they will replace all the dunes--six feet high and forty feet wide. Two truck loads of sand per linear foot. They must either stop or complete the six miles of dunes before the mother turtles come to lay their eggs for this year. Should be an interested event to watch.
The beginning of April weekend is a quiet one to get ready for company. We played with Brienne, cleaned, tidied, did some errands and spent lots of time at the beach. Unfortunately, the tops of George's feet got burned and they are as red as a cooked lobster. We are usually so careful about sun screen but sometimes these things happen. Good news today--we have the apartment reserved in the Lamplighter in Ottawa--the very building we wanted to live in when we return there. Georges main criteria for location was that it be within walking distance of 4 or 5 coffee shops. Yay. We are excited and delighted and I guess, our days of being Meaderthals will cease at least for a while starting July 1, 2017. Sad or glad? Who knows!
Tom and Betty arrived on Tuesday evening and we immediately had a walk on the beach. It was windy. Lovely to see them. Wednesday was our day at Myrtle Beach to mini-golf, have KK donuts and walk on the beach by the Atlantic Breeze which is our old stomping grounds. The day was overcast and finally rained as we finished our walk and then it poured with lots of rain and thunder and lightning while we were having dinner. George got 3 hole-in-ones but Tom had to buy the donuts. It was a fun day.
Brienne was over. It was too windy to stay at the beach--little needles of sand were blowing at us. So she had her LadyBug Boots and we walked around the block and Brienne jumped in the puddles. A friend of Claire's and her daughter joined us for dinner. We enjoyed a video of our golf game, other movies and saw a movie in Shalotte, had coffee and a tour of Southport. Betty and I had many walks on the beach and Tom and George played crib. Monday was Passover and Lynne hosted a Seder meal which was yummy and interesting--lots of special foods and traditions. We all read parts of the ceremony called Haggadah and Noah and Rebekah read in Hebrew.
Brienne thought Miss Betty was the best--which she is as she loves to play and she and Brienne had some elaborate games. One day they were talking about nests and Betty asked her if she had seen a nest. Well, the week before, I had discovered a bird's nest in a closed up beach chair and showed it to Brienne. So when Brienne thought about the idea of a nest she told Betty she saw a nest in "chair". In the South, well brought up children call adults Miss or Mr and then their first name.
We were sad to see Tom and Betty leave on Tuesday. We always have a great time with them. Some of the world's problems could be solved by Betty and I during our beach walks. Until next time
George and I have been walking on the beach in the mornings before breakfast. One day we stopped to sit. We were wearing red tops and our "twin" hats that we bought at Walgreens which is at the corner of Happy and Healthy near Southport. A woman stopped and said, "You look so cute, I would like to take your picture". We have become "cute geezers". The weather indicated much chair swimming so that is what we did all week. One evening we saw about fifty pelicans flying overhead. They moved like they were playing "crack the whip". Very cool. On Good Friday we spent the whole afternoon with our feet in the ocean and then went back to watch the sunset.
On Thursday, we took the car to Toyota in Wilmington to have the oil changed. Had a pleasant time wandering at a shopping centre while we were waiting. Suddenly, we heard calling "George, Pat" and there were Noah and Brienne who were going to buy shoes for Brienne. Imagine seeing someone we know on the sidewalk in Wilmington.
Our days seem to be: walk on the beach and chair swim, care for Brienne, Repeat, have a day off, Repeat again. She is learning so much so quickly. We feel fortunate to get to play with her. There are always lots of pelicans flying over when we are at the beach., Haven't seem any dolphins lately. The end of this time is looming. Claire's exams will be done by May 8 and her job search will be started and who knows what will be next for them.
George has been working on a trip for us to Atlantic Canada for June. It is shaping up nicely. I completed a painting of the story of creation as depicted in the Freedom Park Museum, in Pretoria, SA. I am quite delighted with the results. It began with nothing, then, rock. fire and water. After the animals, the people walked out of the reeds. I put five people to represent we five, here in OKI.
Our landlord brought two more rocking chairs for our front deck. He has a very loud voice (110 decibels according to George). There was a lot of rain on Monday so we went puddle jumping. George bought rain boots so he could jump with Brienne. I refused to buy any because they only had black ones with green soles and I wanted some more like Brienne's ladybug boots. ( The old cut off your nose to spite your face!) It was really fun to watch them jump and the puddles were big. Brienne fell down and that was that.
We have been doing lots of chair swimming--usually for a couple of hours before a late dinner. We read while we sit. I must always be careful not to let my book get wet. Here is a lovely thought that says it all. "The ocean, stirs the heart, inspires the imagination and brings joy to the soul." Love that. I would also add that pelicans flying overhead make my heart soar. On May 3, we were chair swimming, the tide was coming in and as usual I was more in the water and George was at the edge of the where the water rolled over the sand. A large wave bumped me over and I fell into the ocean. I got up with no difficulty--just swallowed a bit of water.
We encountered a man gathering rocks along the beach today. He was putting them into his car. He told us he was using them for landscaping. Rocks on the beach are a problem because there are so many. The dune restoration is complete as far as it can be until after the turtles lay their eggs. We noted that an ATV drives along in front of the dunes every morning looking for evidence of laying of the nests.
It was a full moon so George and I went to the beach to view the beauty. The glow of the moon reminded me of the poem by Walter de la Mare called "Silver", Indeed the water and around had a silver glow. We laid on the sand and enjoyed the evening. Enjoying time on the beach has been a special part of this time.
May 12, 2017--we told Brienne that we were on an adventure and we were. This was convocation weekend in Raleigh--Claire had completed the course work for her Master of Engineering at North Carolina State University and we were there. First there were photos, Claire looked great in her cap and robe and hood. Then, ice cream at the Howling Cow on campus. Then a family dinner with the Klein clan at a yummy Korean Restaurant and that was Friday. Dennis had flown in from California to be part of the celebration. Here is a Claire Engineering joke: George had ironed her robe and couldn't seem to get the ironing board to fold up. Claire said,"Let me, I am an Engineer." Early Saturday, Brienne wakened still suffering from teething pain, so Noah stayed home to care for her while the other five went to the big graduation ceremony which was held in the hockey arena and it was packed. We were in the nose-bleed area but we had binoculars. The ceremony was to honour all the graduates (Phd, Masters, and Bachelors). It was so exciting to see Claire in her regalia. Unfortunately, the speaker didn't seem to know her audience and wasn't a tad inspiring.
We stopped at the "Cook Out" for a quick lunch. It is the restaurant of choice of students of NCState--the best thing I could say is it was fast and cheap. We then went to the smaller more intimate graduation for Masters degrees for Engineers. Claire's name was called and we enjoyed seeing her walk to the front of the room to receive her degree. Yay. She did very well and we all felt a part of this celebration because we had helped to care for Brienne over the past 2 years. The day finished with a lovely meal at the home of a friend of Claire's. What a day!
On Sunday, we had breakfast with all to celebrate Mother's Day. Brienne had cards for her Grandma and Granny. Noah and Claire took Brienne swimming--she is like a little fish. We drove on back to OKI and went chair swimming. A wave surprised me but didn't knock me over this time. We had face time sessions with Sheryl and Grant and that was Mother's Day 2017. Yay.
So on our last day, we had a fun morning at the beach with Claire and Brienne. Noah will join us for dinner after work. George and I are packing up to leave tomorrow, May 16, 2017. And so it goes.
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