I was warned

Wednesday, 13 September, 2006 by Beachbums1

I was warned by my sister how easy it is to get “addicted” to golf and I just laughed.  Thankfully, I don’t have an addictive personality ~ everything in moderation is my motto ~ BUT I sure am having fun with golf. 

 

After taking 3 lessons and a summer at the driving range, I finally made it out on the course yesterday for a round of 9 holes. It felt wonderful to spend a couple of hours with a cool breeze off the ocean and no one behind us pressuring us to play fast. We took our time and enjoyed the views. I had ‘par’ on only one hole, had to fight off several bumble bees and I certainly wouldn’t put my score in print but, all in all, it was great fun! So much so my new golf partner, T.S. and I set up a standing tee time every Tuesday for the next few months. We’ll keep the first scorecard to compare with our last one when we leave Guam in 3 years. We even dared to talk about entering a tournament once our scores improve a little and when we’re able to play faster.

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Remembering 11 September 2001

Monday, 11 September, 2006 by Beachbums1

Remembering and Honoring those who perished in the terrorist attacks on 9-11. Our freedoms prevail and our nation’s principles endure!

We are proud Americans - Go USA!

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Where Wile E. Coyote shops…

Sunday, 10 September, 2006 by Beachbums1

Who knew Wile E. got his anvils here in Guam:

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Saturday Morning Choices

Saturday, 9 September, 2006 by Beachbums1

What to do on a Saturday morning?

FG’s choice: Sleep in and have a “homebody” day. FM’s choice: Whatever! He’s usually game for anything  My choice: Charity 5K at 6 am

We decided to run/walk in the 1st Annual Marianas Classic which started at the Governor’s Complex. So, for the second consecutive Saturday morning, we dragged FG out of bed at 4:30 am so we could make the start time at 6 am.  We got there RIGHT before the race/walk started and we couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful morning. The moon was full and low in the sky ~ gorgeous way to start the day.

The 5K was a charity run for “Operation Christmas Drop” which is an Air Force program that was started in 1952 and distributes toys throughout the Pacific Islands at Christmastime. The entry fee for the 5K was a new toy.

FM ran the race and ended up getting third place in his division. His division is now the “masters” since today is his birthday and he turned the big 4-0.   

FG did great until we hit the “turn” then she decided she was tired of walking. That’s when I hit my stride so I was double timing it and trying to pass a few people 🙂 It was a fun event.  The Governor of Guam handed out the awards and the raffle prizes included flights on Northwest Airlines. Too bad we didn’t win anything.

We’ll let FG sleep in until 8 am tomorrow since I already know we have more early plans for next Saturday!

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Flashback Friday: An Even Dozen ~ Sept 1999

Friday, 8 September, 2006 by Beachbums1

In 1999, when we lived in North Carolina, I spent a lot of time volunteering at The Haven, a no-kill animal shelter in Raeford. It was hard work but I loved it and felt I was making a difference to the abandoned dogs and cats.  We lived in a house which we were renovating and we had a large, fenced yard so I was able to bring home “foster” dogs.  The foster dogs needed special attention to make them ‘adoptable’ ~ some were ill and needed medication, some were unsocialized, and then there was “mama dog.”  She was found pregnant, in a ditch, with a belly so big they could barely get her out.  The owner of the shelter asked me to foster her. I was very reluctant because I had never been a midwife to an animal before and was more than a little nervous that I would do something to hurt her or the puppies.  But the alternative was so bad for Mama Dog because the shelter didn’t have enough room for her and she was being ‘crated’ ~ how miserable to be stuck in a crate when you’re pregnant.

Off to the house we went and thankfully my FM is very tolerant of my animal passion. For the next three weeks or so, Mama Dog was on a high nutrition diet. I pampered her as much as I could and kept her away from FG and my other dogs. FM even built her a whelping crate for her and we kept her in our ‘demolished’ kitchen.

 BEFORE:

Mama Dog went into labor at 3 am in early September ~ isn’t that always the way?  As FM and FG slept through the night, I helped (OK ~ watched) as she birthed TWELVE puppies.  It was crazy. They just kept coming. I think I woke FM up after #8 because I was freaking out. All were healthy, sweet looking and different. Poor dog must have had 12 different encounters because every puppy looked different from the other.

AFTER:

 

I kept all the puppies until they were ready for adoption at 9 weeks and, as you can imagine, I interviewed each prospective family myself. Many didn’t pass the test. But, because the puppies were so cute and healthy, we had no problem finding suitable homes.

The entire experience was wonderful except that I would like to have kept Mama Dog BUT she didn’t get along at all with my two other dogs and she was very skittish around FG. One thing I did make sure of is that she was spayed before she went back to The Haven.

Sidenote: The weekend the puppies were born there happened to be a “Planet of the Apes” movie marathon on TBS and so there is a dog named “Dr. Zaius” out there.

Posted in Flashback Fridays | 4 Comments »

Double Time at the Beach

Monday, 4 September, 2006 by Beachbums1

We went to the beach not once, but twice today. We woke up at 6:30 am so we could sneak the dog to the beach without anyone around. Uh, not quite…there were many campers at the beach and they were already up when we got there.  The dogs enjoyed their swim anyway.  Whenever Bennett goes swimming, I think of him as a young puppy ~ he loves the water so much.

FM was busy laboring over a shelving unit: repairing and painting it and I went out to give him a coke when I realized it was an absolutely gorgeous Guam day. It didn’t take much for me to talk FM into going back to the beach but FG was another story ~ she was happy as could be just hanging out. You would have thought we were dragging her to the dentist rather then the beach! Once we got there and saw a ton a fish while snorkeling, she forgave us for forcing her to have some fun. My favorite fish is the trigger fish. I followed one for awhile and he kept swimming up to my mask to check me out.

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My favorite Guam Blog

Monday, 4 September, 2006 by Beachbums1

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I finally got to meet my “blog hero”, Josie from Latitude 13, on Saturday. We went to an Art Show at a club named Live House where a couple of Josie’s photographs were being exhibited. The local artwork was great and we had a small world experience when we walked in and saw a Bayern flag, some Oktoberfest items and other German things on the wall. We spoke with the owner who turns out to be a German woman from Baden-Baden. So not what we were expecting. It looked like a fun joint to ‘hang out’ so we’ll go back with friends when we have a sitter for FG 😉

It was a thrill to finally meet Josie. I’ve been reading her blog since we found out last September we were moving to Guam. She provided a lot of positive and pertinent information which I couldn’t find on other Guam websites. If you’re moving to Guam or are just interested in Guam, Latitude 13 is the site to read. It’s professional, positive and has gorgeous photos.

Posted in Blogging, Travel | 1 Comment »

Remembering V-J Day – 61st Anniversary

Sunday, 3 September, 2006 by Beachbums1

 

On 2 Sept 1945, the Japanese officially surrendered on the deck of the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, bringing an end to World War II. 1,365 days earlier was the beginning of the U.S. entrance into WWII when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. It’s fitting the USS Missouri is now a floating Naval Museum at Pearl Harbor.

We had the opportunity to visit the USS Missouri in May during a stopover in Hawaii on our way to Guam. FM is standing at the location where the surrender was signed. If you’re ever in Hawaii, the USS Missouri is well worth a visit. Very interesting history on board.

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Mission: Declutter!

Saturday, 2 September, 2006 by Beachbums1

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Now that we’ve unpacked our boxes and watched one too many episodes of Clean Sweep, we’ve decided to sell, give or throw away our excess items. Our neighbor advised us of a good “sell” location just up the road where you pull up and sell out of the back of your vehicle but the catch is you have to get there EARLY. We got up at 4:30 and headed out by 5:30. While FM was packing the car, he was stopped twice by people trolling for tag sales on base. I didn’t think anyone else would be up at 5 am on a Saturday. When we got to the location at about 5:40, we were mobbed and some people even helped us “unload” the car so they could get first dibs. We got rid of a lot of things but we have more that wouldn’t fit into the car ~ if it doesn’t fit in the suburban, you know it’s a lot of stuff. FM is thinking about going again tomorrow but FG has put her foot down and refuses to go again ~ she wants one day to sleep in and I don’t blame her a bit.

Since FG is a huge pack-rat like her Daddy, I was proud of both of them for making an effort to declutter. We told FG she could keep the money for any of her items that sold and she had a say on picking out what we would sell that belonged to her. We noticed quite a few things from her “sell” box were disappearing throughout the morning.  I thought FM sold them and he thought I sold them. So when we got in the car to leave, we were surprised to find these items had mysteriously migrated into the backseat of the car! Our tricky girl decided at the last minute that she wasn’t so keen on selling those things 😉 I have to say, she was pretty stealth about the whole thing since FM, nor I, had a clue what she was doing. 

Posted in Travel, TV | 7 Comments »

Flashback Friday Vienna, Austria Sept 2001

Friday, 1 September, 2006 by Beachbums1

When ever I think of our trip to Vienna over the Labor Day weekend in 2001, I think of it as the last “age of innocence” trip we took. The week after we returned was the attack on NY and Washington and we all know what it’s like to travel now. Not that it stopped us one bit ~ we liked Vienna so much and, since we weren’t about to let some murderous group of terrorist scare us into not traveling, we did a return trip to Vienna for the Thanksgiving weekend in 2001. And FM ended up running the Vienna Marathon in May 2002.

Vienna is so seeped in history and culture which I couldn’t get enough of: the elaborate palaces, churches, the famous choirboys, the Ringstrasse, coffee houses, the Danube river, museums and, of course, the famous music.  Below is a photo of FG sitting on a kangaroo which is Austrian humor for the geographically challenged tourists who think they’re in Australia. REALLY! There were t-shirts in the shop which said “You’re in Austria.”

Vienna’s history is fascinating and I prefer the late 1800’s and early 1900’s ~ the time of Empress Elisabeth.  She was such a romantic yet mysterious figure.  If you’re going to visit Vienna or just want to know more about it, I recommend watching The Third Man and reading The Reluctant Empress and, my favorite, A Nervous Splendor.  A Nervous Splendor covers the years of 1888/1889 and talks about some of Vienna’s more famous sons including Crown Prince Rudolf, Sigmund Freud, Gustav Klimt, Gustav Mahler and chillingly ends with the birth of Adolf Hitler.

The photo below is the Reisenrad (Ferris Wheel) located in The Prater which is a large amusement park. The ferris wheel was built in 1897 and is about a 10 minute ride. Talk about a nervous splendor. Actually, the real fun started when we caught the U-bahn (subway) back to our hotel.  FM likes to race for the trains, not realizing after all our travels, that I HATE running for a train. I’d rather wait for the next one. Anyway, he and FG jumped on the U-bahn and, as I tried to get on, the door closed on my arm. I was able to get my arm out but the doors wouldn’t open. All I could do was wave as they pulled away. Poor FG, who was only three, was so worried about me.  Thankfully, I paid attention when FM talked about the train schedule and I knew what stop to hop off once I caught the next train (which was only 7 minutes later).  

Posted in Flashback Fridays, Travels | 1 Comment »

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