Merry Christmas To All!

Merry Christmas to all of our family and friends. This is our first holiday in our new home on Daniel Island. We've been here since September enjoying the marsh views, watching the wildlife on the lakes and trails and visiting the neighborhood parks. Our new neighbors have been very friendly and welcoming.

For the first time we put up the tree without rearranging the living room. There is plenty of space for Maggie, Jay, Mac and Riley (grand-dog) when they arrive. Too bad we have to share them with other grandparents.

We hope everyone wherever you are has a blessed and wonderful Christmas! Have a Happy New Year too!

Winter Wonderland

The groundhog was right. Winter continues. Snow fell on Hanahan, SC ending a twenty year span without the white stuff. Our yards looked beautiful under their snowy coverings.

Here's our house early on Saturday morning. This is just before the sun started warming things up. Families were out building snowmen of all sizes.

Snow doesn't usually last very long in the South. The rest of the day brought the sounds of dripping and falling snow. This snow is all gone today but it was an amazing sight while it lasted. I'm ready for spring!

Long Time No Blog

We just returned from our third annual Thanksgiving camping trip. The camping site this year was at R. Shaefer Heard Campground on West Point Lake in West Point, GA. Most of the sites are lakefront with peaceful views. Here's our early morning look across the lake.

Of course, the main reason for our trek across Georgia including being stuck in Atlanta traffic was to spend the holiday with the Dickinsons. Maggie was sick for Thanksgiving but she had started dinner so I finished cooking. Everyone was able to enjoy a good meal together.

On Friday, we visited the Fantasy of Lights at Callaway Gardens. Mac made that a lot of fun. He shared his toy helicopter with us while we waited to keep us entertained. Hearing and seeing his reactions to the light displays was the best part of the evening. Mac also gave us instructions on clapping to the music and checked with us individually to make sure we were doing it. "Mama clap, Charlie clap, Dada clap, Nana clap.

THE game for South Carolinians was on Saturday at noon. The Clemson and Carolina fans watched together. Charlie was very happy at the end of the game. Maggie and Jay not so much.

It was a busy and fun weekend.

Good News Bad News

Charlie and I had a great time yesterday. We went to Myrtle Beach to visit the Dickinsons. They are staying at an oceanfront home in Surfside. We had a chance for a long visit as we sunned on the beach. There was time to play with Mac who had his own wading pool to keep cool. Mac changes and grows so much every time we see him which isn't enough. We ended our day at the Maverick Hammock on Pawleys Island with dinner on the deck. The bad news was my camera had a dead battery so no pictures. Some are promised from Maggie.

While we were in Surfside, Shoney spent her day at the Bed and Biscuit. They take good care of her on each visit. I decided to have her grooming done there before I picked her up today. The disadvantage was that it would not be her regular groomer. I had left instructions with the attendant on Wednesday. Her ears needed to be trimmed shorter because she gets them in her water and then drips on the floor. Her back legs needed to trimmed around her little behind. I was shocked at the results when I picked her up. Here are some photos of her two hairdos.

Here is Shoney today. Almost all of her leg and body hair was clipped very short.

This is the way Shoney usually looks. She has lots of long silky hair.

This and That

Mary Alice says I need to do a blog entry. I will just catch up with a few pictures from this summer. First, from early May, we went to Kershaw to help celebrate Lori and Donny's 25th wedding anniversary. This was set up as a surprise, and amazingly, those planning this were good at keeping the secret since Lori and Donny seemed to be genuinely surprised! Anyway, it was good to catch up with the family and getting to eat some good food. Also in May, we did a camping trip to Huntington Beach State Park but the weather didn't cooperate. It was cold and often wet. We did spend some quality time at Brookgreen Gardens looking at sculptures and I took about a hundred pictures. I need to get MA back for the pose of me below. Here she is reenacting the "Diana of the Hunt" sculpture. Even though she is wearing clothes, I can tell you the physical resemblance is amazing ;-). In June, we were invited to Clemson to visit with the Dickinson's (Maggie, Jay, and Mac). We had a relaxing weekend of boating on Lake Hartwell and eating out. Mac is starting to walk around and as you can see, he is quite an armload for Nana.

For Father's Day, we went to Kershaw and had a nice dinner with Daddy and the Faulkenberry's (Donny, Lori, Jennifer, and Daniel). The food was excellent and then we all went out to David's house for a pool party. It's a very nice pool and very refreshing on a hot summer day. July around here has been hot but pretty quiet. We've spent a lot of time getting sun around the pool and eating out. We went out for a nice meal at the Fulton Five restaurant in downtown Charleston for our anniversary on July 17th. The Northern Italian selections were excellent. I just got back from a business trip to San Diego (where its cool) and we are planning a five-day camping trip to Asheville, North Carolina on the 23th of August.

Scandal in South Carolina

June was a month which brought some shocking news for South Carolinians along with the excessive heat. Governor Sanford admitted his affair with his "soulmate" from Argentina . Yes, he should have really gone hiking. No, he shouldn't have done so much talking at his news conference and interviews. It was way too much information. It's not good to cringe when your governor is speaking. Why didn't his spiritual advisor give him the cut sign?

Shoney ponders the implications of the news in the Wall Street Journal article.

It's a Dog's Life

Shoney, our 15 year old cocker spaniel,  has quite the pampered life style. She has her own personal attendant, nurse, walker, chef, chauffeur and groomer.  That would be me.  When she needs to go upstairs, she needs to be carried.  We definitely wish we had a one story house now and so does she.  Here she is enjoying a warm compress while she naps.  (It helps with eye gunk removal.)  It's a good thing I'm retired or Shoney would have to hire someone.