My New Sport

As you may know,Myron and I took up target shooting at the Wake County Range. I have joined the Ladies League and enjoy shooting with the ladies! I have decided to get competitive about it and so Myron bought me for my birthday a .22 Browning Buck Mark pistol. I had tried out a variety of pistols and found the action and accuracy of the Browning to be the best for me.  We also purchased  a pink gun case and pink range bag to have the appropriate feminine accoutrements.  Here is a picture of my new pistol all ready for taking to the range. I also puchased a few targets and will keep you all apprised of my sharpshooter skills. Myron likes the Berretta 9mm so that will be his target pistol of choice. I might let him use my .22 if he lets me at least try the 9mm once he gets it.

Love you guys!!
Anna and Myron

We are Certified and Certifiable Open Water SCUBA Divers!!!

Have we had quite the adventure!!! We drove to Florida, Gainesville area to get our open water Scuba certification. It was a whole lot more than we expected.

We passed our certification but it was a whole lot more than just that!!!
We arrived on Friday after driving the 9 hours to get there. On Saturday morning we left for the Ichetucknee River for a drift snorkel to pass our snorkel requirement. It was 32 degrees air temp and we had to change from our warm clothes into our 3mm wetsuits in an open air dressing room. BRRRRRRRRRRR ...I thought this was Florida! -- Anyway we got into the water which was 72 degrees ( supposedly) , we drifted for 1 hour in the river, and saw lots of fish, turtles and gar fish .Now came the tough part. We had to hike back to the cars in wet wetsuits for about 25 minutes. I was really shivering when we got back to the car but the temperature had risen to 50 degrees or thereabouts.
We dried off and then drove to Ginnie Springs for our first dive. It had warmed up to around 58-62 thank goodness and we got into our SCUBA gear. We did our required safety things at 15 feet, mask clears, mask off, out of air octo share, and regulator out. Then we went into a cave with the instructor down to 40 feet. The water was 72 degrees and the cave was really neat. We took 2 dives there and then headed back to the hotel for dinner and sleep!
The next morning we left at 7:30 am and there was a frost everywhere and 30 degrees! Major frost warnings for the citrus growers. Of course when we go to Florida for our check out dives!!! GRRRRRRRRRR, BRRRRRRRRRRR. Anyway we arrived at Devil's Den at 8:15am. Here is a video I found of it on YouTube you might like.  It was a great dive there again to 40 feet. The water was 72 degees. We worked on buoyancy, safety stops and hovering. We practiced BC removal and donning in the water. We practiced gentle fin kicks and simply dove around to practice various skills. It was wonderful.
After our dive we drove a piece to Crystal River to snorkel with the Manatees who overwinter there because of the warm springs. that feed the river and keep it a toasty 72! The afternoon had warmed up to 65 and we were enjoying the sunshine big time. Even though it was cooler than expected for Florida, the sunshine was tremendous all weekend.
Here is a video I found on youtube that shows exactly what we did with the manatees.We petted them, stroked them and simply enjoyed swimming with them. We took a boat out past their sanctuary and they would come out to hang with you . They have many propeller injuries on their backs and the coast guard monitors all our activity with them. The fines are heavy if we even swim after them. They are to come to you and they do because they are so gentle. They are endangered due to the need for so much of a certain type of seagrass.
It was an amazing adventure.
We returned to the hotel, ate and collapsed!!!!
The final morning in Florida we went to dive at Blue Grotto Again cold in the morning but warming up fine. Here is a video I found on you tube of exactly what we did.

However the actual depth is 87 feet in the cave because unless you are skinny you can't get down to those last 13 feet!!! It was amazing and a bit scary when all you have is a tiny tunnel to go through with a rope for a reference. I got my octo hooked on a rock ledge and got stuck and had to back up to get loose! A bit scary for sure.
The Blue Grotto dive site also had a compressed air bell at 20 feet where you could hang and talk to your buddies . That was a real plus. You could also do your safety stop there for your 3 minutes of decompression.
We left Florida around noon and got back to Durham at 10:20 pm . We stopped for a picnic lunch and dinner along the way.


We are now certified and certifiable!!! Pictures of us will be coming soon. We didn't have a waterproof or underwater camera so we are relying on our instructors to provide some of theirs.
Love
Anna and Myron

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May peace, happiness, adventures and love be your constant companions.

Oma and Opa came over for our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day feasts. We had a joyous time. We talked to our sons on the phone and enjoyed the tree, the laughter, a fondue dinner on Christmas Eve and duck and latkes on Christmas!

OBX and Sean's Birthday

We are at the beach house in OBX just for an overnight to clean and prepare for 2 weekends of renters.

It is around 60 degrees and bit blustery but not cold at all. The beach is wide and the house is now clean.

It is Sean's birthday today and he is 29!!  I wish we were celebrating with him but we certainly will when we go to Grand Cayman in March.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Scuba and Polish Deli???

HI Everyone,

Yesterday we had our last SCUBA pool practice before we head to Florida for our open water certification test. We purchased our personal gear. I decided pink is powerful and Myron chose red!  So underwater we will be visible and distinguisable!

Next door to the SCUBA shop is a Polish deli! What a treat we purchased some kielbasa and pierogi as well as blintzes and crisp cookies. We were the only people in the place speaking English. I think the area has a few ethnic neighborhoods because last week we enjoyed a yummy Jamaican meal in the same strip.

I love America... SCUBA and great food all within 200 feet!!!

Hope you like the pics.

Loves
Anna and Myron

Holiday Prep Weekend

 This past weekend was pretty darn busy. I started decorating for Christmas and had some major sewing to finish. I made a duvet cover for a feather bed my German Grandmother had purchased for me many many years ago.  My grandmother died in 1957 but she had purchased a feather bed for me prior to her death ... of course I was only 5 years old at the time. The last time I was in Germany ( 2005) my Aunt gave it to me, she had been saving it for many years and remembered to give it to me.  Since our bedroom motif is Japanese, I had purchased Japanese style fabric the last time I was in Japan. Well, I finally finished the Duvet cover for the feather bed. It is so cozy and I now can think of my grandmother when I am warmed by those wonderful German goose feathers! Here are some pictures.

I also put up my Christmas Charles Dickens Christmas Houses by the fireplace.

Senior Seal Team #6!

Friends and Family,

Yesterday was a most interesting day! I had my Ladies League Pistol Shooting 3 hour practice at the range.  I target shot with a Ruger, a Walther, a Smith and Wesson, a Sig Sauer and a Taurus. I loved the Smith and Wesson as it had the best sights and the best feel in my hand. It was reliable and comfortable. I have yet to try out the Browning and the Berretta before I make my decision. My group shots were good at 30 feet! I also shot a magazine out of a 22 Winchester Rifle with sights at 150 feet. I hit all 5 shots through the same hole in the bullseye.  Target shooting is enjoyable and I plan on practicing more in order to try my hand at competition! Myron went to the range as well and did some fancy shooting with very good groupings at 50 feet! All in all we are getting pretty good!!!
Of course right after the range we headed to the Carolina Dive shop to get geared up for our SCUBA class at the pool.  We practiced a variety of SCUBA techniques in the deep pool and did very well underwater. After 2 hours of underwater practice, we emerged wet and cold but very pleased with our SEAL activity. Ren and Myron have dubbed us the Senior Seal Team #6!!!
We will keep you all posted as to our continued trials... maybe the Navy will give us call !!! LOL

Anna and Myron