" EVERY DAY IS A SATURDAY" !!!

Yes, it is true-you can have seven days of Saturdays.  Yes, it is true you can fill an entire day with fun.  Yes it is true that after almost 40 years of marriage, Duncan and I can survive a 24/7 lifestyle.  Hard to believe but when first married we spent very little of our time together due to work, travel, etc. which continued throughout most of the forty years.  Now "we have time" is literally true and yes we can survive that much time together.  Duncan has a day devoted mostly to some golf activity and I have my usual household routine plus golf and then there is the social life that free time affords.  It is hard to believe that one can host or be hosted every night of the week-this mountain is very social.  I am loving it! 

 

 

*Finished renovations on the mountain home...

*Duncan and I competed in "The Quatro Cup" hosted by Audi in Pinehurst, NC

*The ladies from Winston came for a Member Guest tournament...

*Duncan won the first annual "Watermelon Seed Spittin'" contest hosted by Pat and Dave Green...

*Celebrating July 4th on the mountain...

*I spent time with the ladies hosted by Nan in Elk River...

*We hosted the Feltens for a couples event that was so much fun-the theme of "Golfing with the Stars" gave us the opportunity to indulge in "dress up" as The Flintstones... 

*Celebrating with June Widdoes  on her 80th birthday-dancing the night away...

 

Check out the events in a photo gallery with this link:

http://gsmackeen.smugmug.com/Friends/2013/Summer-in-the-Mountains/31134883_xJQnhT#!i=2693594432&k=BFQjH9F

 

Looking ahead there is a wedding in the spring-Leslie and Bill will be married May 17, 2014 in Asheville, NC.  We plan to spend a bit of time in Florida in February to include a trip to Panama with the Widdoes and friends and before we can turn around the 2013 holidays will be here! 

 

The blog has taken a back seat in my daily activities.  I am considering joining the ranks of FACEBOOK as a way to continue my blog.  I am hesitant-do I really want to maintain another social media site?  Every friend request causes angst that you might think I am refusing to "like you" when truthfully I do not participate.  I am concerned that I might be "left behind" in the technology trends so am still considering.....Would enjoy feedback with your thoughts?  I know many of you are quite the FACEBOOK fans-let me know what you think. 

 

Until then I remain a Blogger...enjoy the rest of your summer.  I plan to make today "another Saturday on the mountain" !



IT'S A NEW DAY !!!

It is official!  Duncan has retired-and they said it would never happen...well "they" were wrong.  We stopped and said-why not?  So now each day is literally a blank page waiting to be filled.

We begin by reevaluating residences;  keep the downtown condo but expand storage in the mountains to accommodate more "stuff" has been a priority.  There were retirement parties and celebrations along with the frenzy of reorganization, adapting to 24/7 with each other (so far so good) and a new life regime that includes exercising and walking (new to one of us) . 

Included in the last month of activities we celebrated with Elton John and attended  the River Run Film Festival (attending morning-afternoon-night) yes "we have time"- Duncan's new favorite saying!   For all "The Voice" fans, we saw a great documentary "Twenty Feet From Stardom" which featured Judith Hill-she was grand !  It was a great story about backup singers and strangely included Tata Vega which we also saw at the Elton concert-one of his back up singers.  Stream it or rent it - great story !

With new beginnings are also endings......we "closed up" at the beach condo.  What a great ride!  A favorite memory?  Watching the Oscars with Bonnie, Lynne and Donna at a pajama party no less and a special event with Bonnie - crowns, sparkly earrings and mimosas for the  wedding of Katherine and William - just a royal good time !  We packed up the flamingo memorabilia (Betty and I will continue the MAC-MAR Invitational tradition at newer venues), beach worthy glassware that recalled a great "beach party" (boccie ball anyone?) with Gail and Jim Bland and the Yates - speaking of which we carried with us the magnetic bridge game which Prudy and Tom  Yates found (who knows how?) and we so enjoyed with them and Linda and  Travis Jackson-what great times !  It was a great last week at the beach.  Our friends, Amy & Vince Marconi from Rye, New York joined us for two great "last rounds of golf"  at The Surf as members.  We will return with the "Witches and Warlocks" contingent in the fall and look forward to more good times...but now we are the guests !  George-do you still treasure your "Blackjack" trophy ? 

Friends and family,  we are beginning again...almost forty years together and this is the first time we have had so much time - what a treasure to have this opportunity while we are still able to enjoy it!  Life is unpredictable - enjoy it NOW !!! 

Come see us...." We have time ! " 

Follow the above adventures by photo-check out the Smug Mug account 
http://gsmackeen.smugmug.com/ and select
Family 2013-Retirement
Events 2013-Elton John
Friends 2013-MAC-MAR Invitational








OFF TO PANAMA !!!

We avoided the winter blahs by escaping to Panama in late February.  A brief aside, in the few days before we left..... Leslie and her fiance, Bill, (newly engaged) and Blake and his girlfriend, Kim,  joined us in the mountains for a few days - it was a great start to our vacation.  Getting together is always a challenge with Leslie abroad until October of this year so this was truly a celebration! 

 

We arrived in Orlando and joined the group of 36 headed to Hotel Coronado in Panama.  The resort is located approximately 1 1/2 hours outside of the city.  June and Bud Widdoes were our hosts along with their friends Ann and George Downing whose cousin Bobby owned the resort.  What a treat to be included with the Widdoes and another ten of us from the High Meadows community;  we enjoyed the expanded group that included Widdoes family and friends from the Florida area as well as the Michigan area.  Needless to say we were treated like royalty-we became part of the family and staff became our friends as well.  Language with the staff was often an issue but pointing and pantomime were a huge help. 

 

The week was filled with lots of golf and morning-noon-and night meals that were delicious.  There were pool parties, parties in the halls outside our suites, parties on the bus rides to the various activities-it was a fun group.  Each evening we were entertained with music, dancing, karaoke, etc.  We fell right into Panama time - "no hurries-no worries"....I loved it all ! 

 

A few highlights:  Many members of the Downing family grew up in the zone and are now living in the Florida area. They shared great stories of life in Panama.  We went to the Canal zone which consists of several lock systems.  Panama is currently building another set of locks to be complete in 2014 that will accommodate the larger vessels.  We were viewing the locks which access from the Pacific Ocean into the Atlantic for the cargo ships.  Another day we drove into the Chargres National Forest to visit the Embera Indians, one of a group of six tribes that live in the island area.  The tribes total 800 peoples and basically subsist as much as possible on the land and waters around their village areas.  More recently some of the younger tribe members attend schools in the city but often return to the tribe to live and raise their families.  Another day we drove into the mountain range to El Valle-beautiful scenery-into a town with a craft and farmer's market.  Otherwise there was as much golf as you wanted to play. (Duncan never lacked for playing partners-my knee replacement kept me off the course except for chipping and putting).  The resort had a gym as well as spa facilities which I enjoyed.  Bright sunshine with breezes kept the daytime temperatures of 95 bearable.  Evenings were pleasant in the 70's - because we were visiting during he dry season, many areas were not in full green and bloom but lovely none the less. 

 

Panama is a beautiful country with very inviting peoples-but be prepared-with just a bit of Spanish you can make the trip an easier go.   Our many thanks to the Widdoes and the Downings for a wonderful week-this photo link gives you a great  overview....ALMOST like being there !!! Enjoy...

http://gsmackeen.smugmug.com/Travel/2013/PANAMA/28297123_HLD7BR#!i=2394730472&k=dpjX5zS

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

 

Could it be that we are already almost a month into 2013?  Time continues to zip by-each year disappearing quicker than the last.  I hope this finds each of you and your families doing well. 

Duncan and I settled into city and mountain life without missing a beat.  The one hour drive to the mountain home is heaven-we are really enjoying the best of both worlds.  Yes, we finally sold the Coventry home in August so for many who need to update our address file?

1 Park Vista Lane, Ste 440

Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27101

 

Due to unexpected medical issues with a knee replacement over the holidays, there are no holiday festivities or photos to post-on the mend (literally) and hoping to be back to a normal schedule come spring....but in  the meantime....

The rest of the family is also on the move.  Blake decided to move from uptown Charlotte to a home in Charlotte and had great success quickly selling his condo and finding a new home in the Plaza Midwood area of Charlotte.  Two months selling, buying, packing and moving-all completed over the holidays…Not enough change?  Blake began a new job in early January as a Corporate Accounting Manager with Campus Crest Communities, Inc.;  he is responsible for closing and reporting the consolidated financial results of Campus Crest  and its operating subsidiaries to both the SEC and management.  He will also oversee the day to day corporate accounting activities and assist in special projects or transactions as they arise.  It is a new year and a new beginning!  

  Blake ran the Thunder Road Marathon (his first) in November and under 4 hours-CONGRATULATIONS!

In July 2012, Leslie completed her 2.5 year tour as a Health Officer at the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission in Jordan. After a nice break home with her family and friends she moved on to her second USAID tour as the Deputy Health Office Director at the USAID Mission in South Sudan; she is based at the US Embassy in Juba, South Sudan. Her duties including managing the water, sanitation and hygiene portfolio; managing a service delivery project which supports the provision of primary health care services in the two most populous states in South Sudan; as well as managing a health systems strengthening project that partners with the Government of South Sudan Ministry of Health to develop their human resource and financial management systems. She resides on the US Embassy Compound a short walk from the US Embassy and tries to get out into the field to visit projects as often as possible, you can view her photos here: http://leslieann.smugmug.com/SouthSudan-3.

Leslie and Blake as well as Leslie and Grandmama at Shelton Vineyards late summer.

                                                

 

Thank you for staying in touch via my limited social media.   (FYI: I do not Facebook so am not ignoring your Friend request-nothing personal-just not interested at this time.)   Take care and have a prosperous and happy 2013 !!!



SEASONS CHANGE..AND SO DO WE !

 

Can it be ?  The summer is gone, fall is here and
I have been absorbed in family, home and  hearth-so to speak ! 

 

All good but time has flown during these last few months.  Leslie arrived home from Amman, Jordan-leaving her USAID post after 2 1/2 years there.  Two months of  "R and R"  went too quickly and now she is settling into her new post in Juba, South Sudan.  As a critical post, she will be away for one year-but one year is still a long time !!  While home it was great to spend time with family and friends....Winston-Salem, NC beach, NC mountains and then a special time on the west coast with Hopkins' friends in Napa Valley. 

 

Duncan and I had lots of other summer events-mostly golf related-but still fun. The photo gallery walks you through our summer (mostly in the mountains) with guests, events and more guests.  We have arrived to fall and  the holidays-all too quickly!  Most of the leaves have fallen and the High Meadows mountain takes on a whole new personality.  Since this is our first winter with a mountain get away I am sure we will continue to commute to the mountains as the weather permits.



No excuses but many of you have sent wonderful updates that I have enjoyed.  So sorry for not responding but once again I seem to have taken on too many projects-I made it through another Rally event (this a combo for the Rally and Arnie's Army)...."Rumble on the Mountain"  and it was a huge success; I did enjoy working  on the Silent Auction for this event.  The Pinnacle partners met at the High Meadows home for a great retreat (although weather was terrible!!).  Another  "Witches & Warlocks" at the beach  and in the mix several weeks of landscaping and also several months of an addition in the mountains.  Next spring we will surely be settled !!!

Is one ever settled?  Life is what keeps us busy and  going-that I love.  Hope you are enjoying 2012 as we head into the holiday season.  My best to you and yours......

http://gsmackeen.smugmug.com/ 

(Check out 2012 Galleries- FAMILY, EVENTS, FRIENDS for the latest photo uploads)



 

 

 

SHARING OUR NEW HOME AT HIGH MEADOWS

Short and sweet-a much too busy spring and summer.  We are in the mountains for much of our week then in Winston as well.  Could not wait to share the mountain photos as soon as we did have our sofa-arrived on a very slow boat from wherever-but was worth the wait!  Will catch up soon with more specific events but enjoy this "street scene" at High Meadows.  Happy summer !!!
Click http://gsmackeen.smugmug.com/Street-Scenes/320-MEADOWVIEW

WELCOME TO OZ....DOWN UNDER !!!

Australia is actually known as OZ - an apt name for a "magical" place.  Arriving May 4 after a 36 hour trip - yes, that is 36 hours - we were thrilled to be in a country where you share a common language.  Mutual of Omaha once again hosted a grand time for all.  We were wined and dined in Sydney, Australia and beyond.  The photo gallery is amazing and will whet your appetite to make the trek to this beautiful country.  Highlights included a wonderful stay at the Four Seasons overlooking the Sydney Opera House, a tour of the Opera House, Botanical Gardens, Maritime Museum, The Rocks, The Museum of Contemporary Art and the list goes on. 

We sailed on the Harbor, walked on Bondi Beach (home of the SPEEDO), toured outside the city to the Blue Mountains to include a koala and kangaroo habitat and generally enjoyed the splendor of Sydney and the countryside. 

Link to www.sydney.com , www.sydneyoperahouse.com , www.bondivillage.com , www.bluemts.com.au , and then check out YOU TUBE to enjoy the "String Divas".  

The final pictures in the gallery (yes there are 164) include the Mutual farewell dinner overlooking the Opera House with a grand fireworks send off-these particular pictures do not do justice to the display but believe me-it was wonderful !  I hope you enjoy.....

http://gsmackeen.smugmug.com/Travel/2012 click on Sydney, Australia