Fabulous Friends: 8 '19

Julie, Joe, Bruce, CC

We had a great time this afternoon having lunch with our friends Joe and Julie. Joe loves Bruce's sense of humor. He laughed in Bruce's face when Bruce told him he was disappointed to find ou ( after all the grief he went through) that he isn't going to die because the immunotherapy is saving his life.

Getting reacquainted 6 '15

CC, April, Laura

Laura has stayed in contact with April Mansfield (now April Mansfield Brooks), who used to live next door to us in OC, California. April now resides in Arizona. When Laura told , April we would all be in Sedona, April volunteered to meet us.   It was great catching up with each other and what are family members are doing.  All of our lives have changed for the better.

Birthday dinner with Damores 4 '15

In celebration of Cheryl's birthday, we had dinner this evening at J Peters

 with our friends Mike and Cheryl Damore.
 

Day Ten of Golf Marathon 1 '15

BJ, Gary, Mike

BJ's  has been taking advantage of his golf buddies, Gary and Mike being  in town for the past two weeks by  attempting to play a different course in the area every day.  They must be having a good time because they  all come home looking like this every afternoon.

SAG hosts MB Chamber of Commerce 6'14

On Thursday, the Seacoast Artists Guild hosted  a reception for the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce. Nearly 150 people came to the reception  which was in our gallery at The Market Common.

Bruce and I had a great time,  There was lots of good music   food ,and friends

and ,of  course,  lots of good artwork.

My wall  displayed some of t my "Buy local " series

My friend, Rose 6 '14

I  had breakfast with my friend Rose on Sunday morning.  I met Rose, in graduate school and we have been close friends ever since.  Even though welive on opposite sides of the continent and  don't get together very often, every time we do it is like we picked up just where we left off the last time we met.  Friendships like this are hard to find.

Golf and Good Eats with the neighbors 4 ' 28

Had a lovely afternoon playing golf at Tupelo Bay ( Par 3 nine hole) with all the neighbor couples, followed by a lovely dinner at a local fish house in Murrells Inlet.

Atlanta GA: Aquarium 3 '14

Sunday morning  we woke to rain and temperatures that we 20 degrees cooler than the day before.  Time to look for an indoor activity.  We all decided on the Atlanta Georgia Aquarium.

Polar penguins

This is one of the best aquariums in the country with many specialized exhibits of sea creatures both small  and large

Beluga whales also like frigid waters

Dragon fish seen at a distance

Two of my favorite exhibits were of the tropical dragon fish that look like floating twigs

Dragon Fish close up

and the kelpl forest exhibit because it reminded me of diving off of the Channel Islands, CA

Kelp forest

The aquarium has a lot of nice exhibit features like this glass tunnel

 which allows viewers to get a much closer view of some really big fish like

The manta ray above or the  shovel nose shark below

But the  exhibit which startled  us the most

 were the four fully grown whale sharks

whose size dwarfed even the large rays and sharks in the tank with them.    I didn't know we could keep creatures that large in captivity. At first I didn't believe they were real. 

 

 But they are real, and they are definitely the stars attrations of the aquarium.

We couldn't take our eyes off of them.

Atlanta, GA: Orchid Show 3 ' 14

By far my favorite part of the whole day  was the visit to the Atlanta Botanic Garden's Orchid Show.

Held amidst their  massive epiphytic plant collection in their enormous hothouse it was the most spectacular orchid display of orchids and tropical epiphytes I have ever seen.

All the plants were in pristine condition and at their peak of bloom.

There were many species I had never seen before

It was exhausting trying to see it all

But I was certainly happy to try.

Atlanta, Georgia: Lunch at Mary Mac's Tea Room, 3 '14

Exterior

While Bruce and Mike were off playing golf for the day, Cheryl and I decided we wanted to visit a tea room. (we both like tea).  Cheryl's daughters recommended Mary Mac's Tea Room which is a well established landmark  in the heart of mid downtown, Atlanta.  When we arrived at 1:30 pm, the place was and people were waiting in line to be seated in one of the many spacious rooms.  The wait is worth it

 For over 70 years Mary Mac’s has been setting the standard for Southern cooking in Atlanta. While we were waiting pink limos pulled up to let out beautifully dressed women in high heels and large floppy hats.  Familys with kids in levis were in line, as well as business people, celebrities, families and world travelers were all waiting to dine at Mary Mac’s and all were made to  feel right at home. In fact, in March of 2011 The Georgia House of Representatives created Resolution 477, in which Mary Mac’s was officially declared to be Atlanta’s Dining Room.

 While we were waiting  took a peek at their menu.... SURPRISE.   There wasn't one mention of  TEA

Instead the Tea in Tearoom was referring to  the Southern Classic SWEET TEA which was being served with their classic Southern Food.

But oh was that food worth the wait.  YUMMY!  It was so food that Cheryl bought their cookbook just so that she could cook some of  their menu items at home.

Weekend getaway to Atlanta GA 3 '14

Atlanta, GA: Skyline

We're here in beautiful Atlanta Georgia visiting with our good friends Cheryl and Mike Damore

Mike ( Center) Cheryl ( right) Daughter Ashley ( left)

Peach tree in blossom

The weather is great.

The restaurants are fabulous

Cheryl and CC

And we are really enjoying our friends'company.

Annual Quilt Show Adventure 3 '14

It's becoming a tradition for my friend, Janet, and I to attend the annual local quilt shows. 

Janet by and African Motif quilt

 This one was in Mt Pleasant. 

Janet by a quilt that looks a bit like her dog, Sally

I wish I had as much imagination  as some of these quilters

I especially loved the the Toucan Dance Party

Two Can Dance and Party quilt ( by Sandie Duerksen),

 There were a lot of nice quilts at the show.  For example. Check out this yo-yo quilt.

Golfers Goodbye 2 '24

Mark, Cece, Cheryl, Mike, Bruce, Gary

Bruce has been having a great time this week playing golf with our neigbor Mike D'Amore and Mike's friends Mark and Gary.  Sadly, the golf get away will soon be ending.  We had a farewell dinner for Mark and Gary at Hansa House last night. 

Hull Reunion Dinner at Eileens' House 1 "14

Dennis and Nina Fox, Eileen Lolin Wolfard, BJ, CC

Thursday evening, Eileen Molin Wolfard, another Hull, Mass. emigrant hosted a delicious vegan reunion dinner for the Nina, Dennis, BJ and I. 

Dennis Fox, Eileen Molin Wolfard. BJ

 Talk about party time... I had met Eileen a couple of years ago, and BJ's class reunion, but with the smaller group, we had so much more time to talk. It was so much fun. We all laughed 'til we cried.

Dennis Fox, Eileen Molin Wolfard, BJ

 I wish we all lived closer.

Visiting with Nina and Dennis Fox 1 '14

BJ, Nina, and Dennis Fox

We made time to visited Bruce's childhood friends, Nina and Dennis Fox. Nina lived next door to Bruce in Hull, Mass. while they were growing up, and Dennis and Bruce played together in their high school's band. I hadn't had a chance to meet them before, but it like I had known them all my life. Hopefully we will be able to stay in touch.

BJ, Nina, and Dennis Fox