okay so I got tagged by jenny

Not sure I am doing this right but here goes...
6 quirky things about me:
I rarely if ever wear tennis shoes... I think they are clunky and hot and look totally unfeminine.
I have a pet peeve about having a garage on the front of a house.I think they are ugly and take away from the house.
I am a stickler for proper grammar. I think every American should know how to use the English language.
I think everyone should learn to write a proper thank you note and do it often.
I am never really happy with my haircut.
I love being alone. I am a people person most of the time but my alone time is important to me.

So there they are... now I am tagging: Kelly @ www.reserfam.blogspot.com , Amy @ www.amygrace77@blogspot.com , Karen @ www.leaderboys.blogspot.com , MaryBeth @ www.espann.com , Dita @ www.therosefactor.com and Jim @ www.landofbiggs.blogspot.com
so now I guess each of you are tagged and you have to :
write on your blog six quirky or odd things about you, then tag 6 people to do the same. There are no prizes or curses involved !!!!! Just fun to learn about each other. Dixie

My German Adventure

My latest real adventure happened rather out of the blue ! Jim and I were in IHOP with my sister when we noticed a family eating near us were speaking German. Jim, who claims he can speak German now feels challenged to talk with them. His German is really limited to ordering stuff in a bakery so I thought , "this will be interesting". He proceeds to ask them what city they are from in Germany. The wife of this group of 5 does speak English fairly well so she tells him they are from Stuttgardt... I think that is the right spelling. Anyway for the next 15 minutes , Jim and Barbara, the wife, try to converse with each other...mostly in English...well all in English. They were a husband and wife, two teen daughters and the wife's sister, Isolde. Bruno, the husband spoke no English but they all were very interested as Barbara translated for them.
We found out that they had just flown into Charleston that Evening.... 30 minutes prior to our meeting them. They got a rental car and checked into the Best Western near the IHOP on 17. They were tired and hungry. As the conversation went on, we learned they were on a tour of several cities in the USA ...planning to spend one day in each of them. They had just come from
Niagara Falls !!! They only had one day in Charleston.
NOW !!!! the next thing that happened is that I am sitting there thinking how much of a hassle it is going to be for them trying to see anything that would truly give them a picture of Charleston, in just one day ! I am thinking of the downtown traffic, the one way streets, the things they will miss... Soooooo I offer to take them on a tour then next day...fully thinking they will say no because who would trust a complete stranger to be in charge of their day ? First the mother and Dad talk it over and they say thank you but we will do okay. We continue on eating and the mom says.... the children like the idea of having you show us the town. So I did.
The next morning I met them at 9 and got into the rental van with them. We took off.... the waterfront park, King Street, Meeting and Broad, Church Street, The Battery, Rainbow Row, The Market,The Visitors Center, The Citadel Campus and gift shop. We did the whole downtown thing for about 3 hours then off to Ravenel Bridge and Shem Creek, over to Isle of Palms , Sullivans Island...where we parked and they walked in the Ocean for a bit. Finally , it was 3 o'clock. We went to Bessingers for lunch...they loved the BBQ and then I got my car and led them out to Middleton Plantation. They wanted to spend time there for the afternoon. I gave them a map to get to 17 as they were already packed and planning to leave for Florida after the plantation.
It was a wonderful day. I loved meeting this lovely family and establishing friends in a far away place. Since then, I have received an email from them. They are back in Germany and considered Charleston the highlight of their travels.
I love living in a city that has so much to see and do. I have no plan to move from here ever again... God willing.
I hope the family spreads the word, that we are friendly and love our home city. Surprised as I was that they took me up on the offer, I am thankful that Jim speaks enough German that he was able to start up the conversation that led me to that fun adventure. Barbara is going to email pictures to me soon. I will post them for you to see.

Last night, Jim and I went to a birthday bash for my sister, Harriett. It was at her club... JB Pivots Beach and Shag Club. She booked the fabulous Coastline Band. Jim Quick and his band are really southern soul and beach music. They were better than ever and I guess have become very popular and are booked way in advance. They have won many Carolina Beach Music awards. You can look at them at their site..
www.coastlineband.com
Amy and Peter joined us there and it was a lot of fun watching the showband and watching Amy and Peter Shag. For those of you who are not from the South... Shag is our state dance here in SC. The movie " Austin Powers" has raised some eyebrows when we speak of the shag in places other than the south. Peter and Amy have been dancing together for a couple of years now and have really honed their skills. The club offers free lessons but quite honestly, Jim and I have tried that route. Trying to confine Jim into a framework for dancing is impossible. He learns the steps and then about 5 steps into the dance, he breaks out into the JIMSHAG ! Yes folks, you are in for a new type of dance. The Jimshag is great ...just not to be confused with the state dance shag.
Check out the website for all the activities planned at PIVOTS. You can find their link on the sidebar.
Summer is underway , we have already lost use of the boat for a short time. Jim ran the boat into an oyster bed and the propeller had to be fixed. We would have used our backup propeller but it is also in the shop. This is only one small chapter of our boat stories. It would take a blog dedicated to just that to tell you all of them. Suffices to say, if you do not have about 500.00 a month to throw away, do not buy a boat.That is a conservative estimate which includes payment, insurance, repairs, gas,and storage.Did I mention that also if you drop the engine cover on nearby cars..it is expensive... that did happen to my Z.
Summer Calendar is filling up ! I am still looking for the days when we can just sit back and relax and enjoy being retired. Right now , I forcibly plan them.
Check the sidebar for a few new links to blogs that are fun to read.

why the photo

just so you know , I posted this photo of the skink in reference to the episode I told you about in the blog post entitled...Life is just too busy.... this type is not poisonous but a black one with blue stripes is so be on the lookout.

skink lizard

thought you all might like to see a skink lizard.... here he is !

Life is just too Busy

At some point, I am hoping that life is going to allow me to do all the things I have put on the back burner. In my little fantasy world, I am a painter, a crafter, I have learned to use a jigsaw and created all the little gifts I see in the shops, I am a wonderful cook and have many dinners at my house for everyone to just pop in and eat ( like mom's house was). I could make you a long list of all the lists I have that are reminders of the things I need to do. Here is the problem. The days come and go and they get so filled up with paperwork, phone calls, household issues and calendar postings, weddings, funerals, celebrations ...all good stuff but taking all the time that I was going to write a book, get in shape at the gym, spend time with old friends...... The older I get the more I see that time is not on our side...life has way more to offer than we could ever make time for ...so I will just be thankful that every day is full and that Jim and I are healthy enough to enjoy them.
We are in the middle of choosing a financial plan for buying the new house. I never knew there were so many options for a loan or so many little ways they can charge you for the loans, there are PMI and closing costs, and required insurances and lawyers fees and interest rates and
termite bonds and house warranties and on and on and on..... I am about at the place where I want to sell it all and buy a small 2 bedroom condo with someone else doing the yard and having an amenities center . For what it costs to keep up a beach house ...even one that is paid for....I could rent the nicest house on the ocean for several weeks a year and still come out on top.
Now the windows they ordered for the beach house are inches too small so the top of the window area is open for all Skink lizards etc. to get inside. Of course, this has to be fixed....did I mention I got bitten by a skink lizard. Until that day, I had never heard of a skink lizard. They do bite if you step on them... I think I stepped on his tail.. I am sure the people 3 blocks away heard me scream. In that 2 seconds before I realized what was happening, I thought of the following.
A snake has bitten me... I am going to die...thank God I am saved...my grands won't remember me... Jim does not know anything about passwords, user id, or account numbers, who will clean my house before the big wake... then I realized it was not a snake but a one foot lizard who looked all slimy and nasty. Okay enough about that. UNPLEASANT TO SAY THE LEAST. So then came the other bad part.... the reactions to my announcement that I ahd been terrorized by a reptile...
Jim.... in comparison to my news of today.... my friend lost a grandchild....okay, Jim , you win hands down. kind of an unfair response in that not only does it take away any right of mine to get some sympathy and concern but I have to say, this is just totally unfair and uncalled for.
Amy... Oh my gosh, I am glad it was not me...because I would have died of fright.... I would have, I I I I I I
Kelly, What is a skank? Was she ugly? ( My first understanding from the guys present at the biting was that it was called a skank)
Cindy, after much laughter, where were you????
Okay, maybe this was not life threatening but I thought someone would understand the gravity of the situation...
Oh Bo......... lizards do not bite.... OH yes they do OKay???
Clary was the only one with an appropriate response, She texted me this..
Are you ok... do you need to go to the hospital... did it hurt?
I know who to call the next time I have a big deal happen to me.
So tomorrow is Saturday. We have a wedding and a retirement party and Sunday I am doing some stuff after church for my sister...so I will not be painting my original or creating any great craft or writing a best seller that day but Monday maybe........ OH Wait... Monday, I have to go wait on the electic guy again...still has not come..... and sign loan papers and call the orkin guy and the insurance people and drop my car at the shop...did I mention my car???
OKAY... my car issue...
Jim is washing the boat on the one trip we took out in the boat that did not require we buy a part or take it to the shop..Not free mind you since we pay a payment each month, and insurance and gas... but normal stuff.....he comes home happy in his great boat adventure and is washing the boat and puts the engine cover on the side of the boat ...it slides off onto the passenger door of my car and puts a $1000.00 dent in it. Add that to the cost of the boat. As I type , both propellers are at the shop from a run in with an oyster bed so the boat is OOO... which means out of order... the state it is in 3 /4 of the time. The one fourth is fun so I guess this is just what having a boat is about.
Okay enough of my musing. I will let you know when the electric job is actually done. Hopefully, I will be able to post that before summer is over.

Still waiting for the Electric guy !

So here I am still waiting for SCEG ! Now only to find out that all of my calls ( about 20 ) and all of the appts. were wasted on the wrong people. I finally get to the right department and am given red tape from here to Columbia for this removal of the box from the house..for a few hours by the way !!!!! Today I am heading back to the beach to continue my quest for service.
Mother's day was wonderful We spent the day at Cindy's house with family. Mom is doing well, she is having her birthday next week.....86 th.
Jim is on a bike trip with air force friends...yes for those of you who do not know... Biggs got a bike. Kawasaki 1500 classic cruiser. It is army green and black and he is having fun with it. I am never getting on it but I am glad he is enjoying it. So now he has a bike and a boat.... that should suffice for a mid-life crisis quencher , right?
We are planning for an October family reunion. Last year it was so good to see all the cousins and play music and picnic at Givhans Park. I am hoping this year all of my kids can come.
Short post today, I am late getting ready for my jaunt to the beach house. Kelly and Caleb are coming with me so that is fun. Hopefully, the electric guy thinks so.

I hate Monopolies

So for the last 2 days I have been stuck at the beach....oh wow you say what fun...no not fun. I could not leave the house because I had to wait there for a SCEG (electric company)to arrive to move the electric box off the house for 1 day to a temporary pole. This is so that our construction crew can finish the hardy plank siding on that side of the house. Seems simple but NO... there is a lock on the meter so only they can remove it. After 5 times of scheduling and no one showing up, they tell me the order was put in wrong . A supervisor then took over and set it up for Thurs. Of course , they do not give you any time frame, just the day.... they did not show. Several calls and complaints later they rescheduled for Friday.Same situation...did not show. I finally had to leave for other plans and now it is scheduled for Monday. I have not confidence that they will show on Monday but what choice is there??????????? The only electric company in SC sooooo I wait.

The workers at the beach are about 2/3 done on each project so none of it is finished and the old house looks worse than ever as it is all torn up during this process. I have faith though that when it is all done, it will be the best it has been since we owned it. I am anxious to get some downstairs cleanup done and get allllllllllll unwanted junk on the garbage pile. It is unbelievable how much stuff accumulates there !!!

We close on our new house May 23rd. Seems so fast !!!! The move is daunting but I know once we get there and settled in , I will enjoy it. We will have an overlap of buying and selling so that we can move one room at a time.

Our trip to NY was so much fun. We went up there for a wedding. The groom is a friend of Amy's from Clemson and the bride is the daughter of my dear friend, Judy in NY. The two met just as we were moving away from NY to return to SC. This past year has been a whirlwind romance for them and the wedding was wonderful.

It was good to see all of our friends and our NY adopted family while we were there. We stayed with the mother of the bride, Judy.

We do not have any travel plans for summer. In July Jim and Bo will be going to Guatemala with a mission team from our church. My big trips will consist of the 6 miles between the old house and new one and back and forth jaunts to the beach ( about an hour each way).

I just have too much to do for traveling right now. Hopefully, in the fall, I can get away to see my friend, Faye, in Austin , Texas.

Faye was here for a few days in April. We always savor each moment together.

Today, I am catching up on housework and laundry and will take out some time to spend with Sophie and Caleb...my little darlings. Jim is working today. Tomorrow we will all go to my sisters for a mother's day celebration. Hope you all have a wonderful Mother's day whether it is spending time with your kids, your mom or your memories.

Here is a photo of Faye and me a couple of years ago when she visited me in Niagara Falls.

Seems like a couple of years ago that we were stringing the streets of Folly Beach !!!

Here she is ... Stella Bird ! This is from a tea we had at my sister, Cindy's house. I hope when I am her age, I can feel and look half this good. She was about 84 here....will be 86 this month.

Those are some good genes !

Mother's Day

Sunday is Mother's Day. Thought you all might like to see a photo of Mom. She will be 86 in a couple of weeks. I think she is amazing. Her health is perfect. She only takes calcium and a vitamin each day. She can still shop, garden , cook and enjoy spending her money. Charles, her husband does most of the cooking and she does most of the money spending. This photo is a couple of years old but she still looks the same.
I have loved and still enjoying being a mom and now a grandmother. It is the single most rewarding job in the world. It is a real joy that all of my children are thriving and enjoying life.
Family remains the most treasured asset we have.
Today as we enjoyed lunch together, Kelly , Caleb, Amy and Bo and his 3 friends, I felt like the richest woman in the world. Having all my kids with me at once and one of my grands..... Bo and his friends left lunch and hit the road back to St. Petersburg to get to their summer jobs and I am heading to the beach to see what needs to be done to get the house back together and ready for the next big visitors... never know who that might be.
We are blessed beyond measure and cannot contain all the life that comes our way.
Next week, we start packing for a move... let's hope our backs don't decide to go out or some unwanted unexpected something does not show itself !!! Life is full of surprises.