Sick

I have my annual spring cold. (I get two - one in the spring and one in the fall. My poor body just eventually can't handle the yo-yo-ing temperatures.)

Being sick on Ocracoke is a bit different than in larger towns. First, because of our size, illness travels fast and many people therefore make an extra effort not to "share". In that vein, I skipped several group activities today: exercise class (of course, the fact that I felt awful this morning made missing the workout a simple choice), reading to the first graders, and one of my favorite annual events - Homecoming.

Another way that illness is different here is in cases of acute or emergency health issues. People often ask me about health care on the island. I answer that there are three tiers.
- If you're just sick or mildly hurt, the Health Center is a great resource and can take care of most minor illnesses or injuries (Dr. Moore there stitched me up when I cut my finger last summer).
- If you break a leg (or something else), the EMTs and Paramedics on the island can get you stabilized and then you get a long ambulance ride up the beach to the hospital in Nag's Head.
- If you have an immediately life threatening issue, like a heart attack or stroke, you get an expensive ride in a helicopter to get you to a larger hospital (Pitt County Memorial in Greenville is one option) as quickly as possible. For this reason, any time I hear a helicopter, I pray that it's not coming in response to a health emergency.

I'm heading to bed now (cold medicine is a marvelous thing). Stay healthy, wherever you are...

Friends, flowers and ... finally!

I spent part of this evening with friends, listening, talking and planning for the Ocrafolk Festival. At the end of the "official" discussion, we chatted and laughed about a variety of things. After everyone left, I lingered and talked more...so now it's late and I'm tired, but I am so blessed to have friends like these that it's all worth it. (I'll remember that tomorrow morning when I'm yawning my head off while trying to work!)

Marcy gave me a gift of flowers from her garden. Now I know for sure that spring is coming: the daffodils are blooming! The weather, however, doesn't feel like spring yet, unfortunately. It's quite cold tonight. Hopefully the daffodils outside will be okay!



It seems that the road closure is almost over...finally! I received an email tonight which said that NC12 on the island will reopen at 5 PM on March 5th. It's from a good source and a press release will be going out tomorrow, so I think that's probably an accurate date.

So - as they say on The Price Is Right - "come on down"! The off season is a great time to visit Ocracoke ~ it's wonderfully quiet.

Hope your life is full of friends and flowers, wherever you are...

Signs of spring

Yesterday, I wrote about the changeable weather on the island as a sure sign of spring. The other indicator of spring around here is businesses reopening. I adore Jason's, but I am ready for a few more restaurant options. I'm in luck (and so are you, if you live here or are planning a visit), because some of my favorites will be reopening soon!

Here are the reopen dates for some of the restaurants on the island (sorry, I don't have them all).

Cafe Atlantic - opening March 14 (dinner 5-9 only, no Sunday brunch; closed Tuesdays as usual)
Capt. Ben's - opening Easter weekend
Fig Tree Bakery & Deli - opening mid April
Flying Melon - opening March 19 (for dinner Wednesday through Saturday, brunch Friday through Sunday)
Howard's Pub - opening March 13 (yes, that sounds odd - but the Pub was, indeed, closed this winter!)
Pony Island Restaurant - opening this weekend. I'm already planning a breakfast trip for Pony potatoes!

And here's one that's the opposite: Jason's will be closed for a well-deserved break from March 24 - April 23. I'll miss Tuesday sushi, but they have definitely earned some time off!

Wishing you good eatin', wherever you are...

Lots of lightning

This morning was bright and sunny. Then, it was overcast most of the afternoon. Starting at about 3PM, there was a lot of lightning. Shortly after that, a downpour and a windstorm. Tonight, the clouds have blown out, they sky is completely clear and millions of stars are easily visible. That's spring on the Outer Banks for you - the only predictable thing about it is that it will change.

One of the cool things that sometimes happens when there is lightning in coastal areas is the creation of fulgurites. I hope to find one someday, but so far haven't been that lucky.

Another potential consequence of lightning - this one neither figuratively nor literally cool - is fire. On Ocracoke, fire is more of a concern than in other places (not that fire is not serious everywhere, of course). There are a few primary reasons: the close proximity of the structures in the village, the fact that our fire department is small and volunteer, and the difficulty (nay, impossibility) of receiving assistance from neighboring fire departments. (As an aside, if you want to support the fire department, you can send them a donation (Box 332 Ocracoke NC 27960) or play bingo during the summer).

Today, there was a fire at the Ocracoke Preservation Society museum which may (or may not) have been caused by the lightning. (The actual cause is, as of now, unknown.) My friend DeAnna was working in the museum when the fire started. Luckily, a group of Ocracokers nearby called 911 and yelled to her to get out of the building (which she quickly did, and she is fine). She told me that the fire department responders made every effort to protect the artifacts in the museum (the way she described it was "for every one person working to put out the fire, there were two working to move the artifacts out of the way to protect them"). The fire damage is limited, but water damage may be more of a problem. Hopefully the museum will get cleaned up in time for the planned reopening for the season in early March. If you ever had the inkling to support their efforts by making a donation, now would be a good time. You can learn more about OPS and the museum on their website.

Hope your Spring days are significantly less changeable and eventful than ours was on the island today, wherever you are...

Driving on the beach

Another short blog day...I worked late today and am about out of gas. The latest gossip on the bridge replacement project is that the road will reopen very soon. The official update on the NCDOT website shows the project at 93% complete, so the rumors may actually be true. When the road reopens, there will be no more required driving on the beach.

Many people, of course, like driving on the beach and choose to do so even when it's not required. That privilege has often been debated and is currently threatened again. Here's the latest info. I have on this topic, from an email I received a couple of days ago.

"Southern Environmental Law Center, Defenders of Wildlife and the Audubon Society announced today (2/20/08) that they had filed suit in the Federal Court of Eastern North Carolina over the NPS management of beach driving on Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area. They contend that the Negotiated Rule making process is too slow and immediate action to restrict ORV access is needed to protect endangered species and migratory birds. They want a new beach driving plan in place for the 2008 breeding season. What will happen next is anybody's guess. We will have to see how the NPS reacts to the suit."(copied from the Outer Banks Preservation Association)

In the suit, the plaintiff is requesting that Bodie Island Spit, Cape Point, South Beach, Hatteras Spit, North Ocracoke, and South Ocracoke be closed to all ORV traffic (except essential vehicles) 24h/day year round. Also mentioned for closures are specific areas from ramp 59 to ramp 72 for colonial waterbirds until a final regulation on ORV use is in place or until the ongoing litigation is done. Pedestrian use will not be limited during this time, but with this much of Ocracoke closed and both points closed, I do not think, many folks are going to carry their surf boards and fishing gear too far out or have much space to fish or surf since they will be only located by the parking lots.

Please email, call, and write your congress and representatives and let them know what ORV beach access means to you, your family, your economy, and your enjoyment here on Ocracoke.
Please see the following links for more information and copies of the injunction.

NCBBA at http://www.ncbba.org/
OBPA at http://www.obpa.org/
Island Free Press at http://www.islandfreepress.org/


Drive safely, wherever you are...

Counterful

This will be a quick blog because I have work I need to do tonight. John and I were blessed by several friends who stopped by the open house today, bringing their well wishes and hopes for a joyful life in our new home. I took several pictures of the gathering, but many people would not be overly excited by seeing themselves here, so I selected a couple of different shots.

These two made me laugh, because you can see how much I had to clean off my kitchen counter (it was well beyond full!), just to fill it up again with goodies to share.





Mmmmm....the fruit dipped in the chocolate fountain (you can see it at the left of the picture, although the chocolate was not yet flowing when I took the photo) was the favorite of most of the visitors. It was my favorite too!

Wishing you sweetness and the blessing of friends, wherever you are...

Grocery shopping

I went to the Variety Store today, which got me started musing about the ways that shopping for groceries is different on Ocracoke from how it most likely is in your hometown (unless, of course, you live on a small island - this one or another one!)

The name of the store notwithstanding, there is less variety in our store than in your average large chain grocery store like Food Lion, Kroger, etc. This is for obvious reasons of space, but I actually appreciate it. I find having to choose from only 10 - 15 kinds of cereal less overwhelming than having options of 80-100 types. (The cereal aisle in large grocery stores amazes me...) One thing that I bet the Variety Store has more of than your local store, though, is canning jars. There are three shelves of them! (I'll add a picture to this post later, I didn't have my camera with me today.) This is because so many people on Ocracoke grow - and then can - their own fruits and vegetables. It has always been that way, and is a part of the unique history of this place. I have an aerial photograph of Ocracoke Village in the 20s, and it shows many large gardens, one next to almost every house.

The grocery shopping experience is different here too. Mostly, it's much more personal. The staff knows almost everyone by name, talking and good natured kidding can be heard, and people often stop and chat in the aisles. The personal touch even extends to the carts, which say "Thank you for shopping with Hutch". Hutch was what everyone called Mr. Hutcherson who started the store (his son Tommy owns and manages it now). And speaking of your cart: you don't take it out to the parking lot when you leave, since the store is raised about 6 steps off the ground. This has the excellent side benefit of ensuring that there is never an issue with carts rolling around the parking lot! If you have too much to carry out easily by yourself, the cashier will call a member of the staff to come help you. While we're on the cashiers: they are some smart folks, who have memorized the prices of most of the products in the store. There is no scanner to be found, and all prices are punched in on the register (those cashiers have some fast fingers, too!) Many of the items have traditional price stickers on them, but I don't think the cashiers read them most of the time, they just know what things cost.

People shop differently here, too. They usually buy small quantities, sometimes only what they need for dinner that evening. (The only time I see an Ocracoker with an overflowing cart is in a grocery store off the island - that's where we go to stock up on the basics, and of course it makes sense to get lots of them after you've spent at least an hour and a half riding a ferry and driving to get to the large store!) I suspect this smaller-load shopping is because islanders make stopping at the store part of their daily routine - it's near the Post Office, and many people go there almost every day too. I often see people in the Post Office and then again a few minutes later in the Variety Store, or vice versa.

I was at the Variety Store today buying supplies for my "bless this mess/come see our work in progress" open house at the new house, which is tomorrow (Sun. 2/24) from 2 - 5 PM. If you're reading this, you're invited!

2/24 Update
Okay, here's a picture of the canning jars. I realized when I looked closer to take the picture that there are actually a total of four shelves dedicated to canning. The top shelf holds lids, wax, pectin and other canning-related supplies.



And across the aisle, there's something else you don't see in most grocery stores. Unless you live here, I bet there isn't a cooler with this sign on it where you shop for food!



Happy shopping. Or fishing!

Old and new

Something that I find unique about Ocracoke is that, for the most part, the old and the new are found alongside one another. There aren't "planned neighborhoods" where every house looks just like the one next door. Well, there aren't any yet, anyway. People who love this place do whatever they can to get to live here, and some are able to do so in style, in large lovely homes, while others live in older ones, trailers, and some even live in campers (sometimes temporarily, while building a house). While many people would disagree, I actually like this quallity of Ocracoke. It feels organic and real - rather than planned and plastic - to me.

Here's an example. This fishing shack is right next door to a house which is currently listed on the market for sale at $949,000. (They dropped the asking price from $1,000,000 a while back.) I like this one because it is an example of old and new just by itself. The brand new screen door and recently-added flagstones next to this old place make me smile. Check out the modern PVC pipe plumbing and the window AC unit too!



Don't get me wrong; I'm not making fun of it at all. I would love to own this piece of property. It has a terrific view of Pamlico Sound, and is one of the best spots to watch the sunset. (Now you know why the house next door is so pricey.)

Off road

I love to walk around Ocracoke. I especially like getting off the roads (or at least off the paved ones), and walking through lesser known spots, small neighborhoods, and wooded areas. Today I noticed a small opening in the trees along a side street near where I live. I had never noticed that opening before, even though I've walked and biked past this spot many times. It's good to keep your eyes open for new things, especially when in familiar territory.

Anyway, of course I had to follow the trail to see where it led. I found a small family cemetery (Austin and Ballance were the two names on all the headstones). There are more than 80 such cemeteries on Ocracoke, tucked into many different areas. I walked past four - that I know of - on my short walk this morning! Some are in wooded areas like the one I saw today, others are in the back and side yards of houses. There are several on Howard Street. The most famous cemetery on the island, of course, is the British Cemetery, but there is at least one other on British Cemetery Road (you can read about it here). My new house is on Cemetery Road, so named because the Community Cemetery (the largest one on the island) is at the end of it.

Here's a picture of the one I saw today.



Keep your eyes open, around here or wherever you are. You never know what interesting things you might find!

Cinnamon moon

I just came back inside after standing on the balcony to look at the lunar eclipse. I wish I could have taken a picture to share, but my camera was not cooperative in that attempt. There are some great pictures of previous eclipses here.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes into the shadow of the earth. The light of the moon is not completely blocked out, though, as some indirect sunlight filters around the earth and partially illuminates the moon after passing through earth's atmosphere. Because the blue colors in the light spectrum are filtered out by the atmosphere, the moon appears reddish brown. It was a pretty cool sight to see!

Wishing you a good night's sleep under the full moon, wherever you are...

The center of things

I suppose most towns (small ones especially) have a place that is the center of things (in terms of activities, announcements, etc. - not necessarily geographically). On Ocracoke, that place is the Post Office. I have commented here before about how the bulletin board at the Post Office is the place to find out everything: what's for sale; upcoming events; who is having a baby, getting married, or celebrating something else; sad news like death and funeral announcements; minutes of community organization and committee meetings; etc, etc, etc. There's also often a good bit of social commentary on the bulletin board, as some people will take a pen and add their thoughts regarding the items posted there (directly on the item itself). Sometimes these comments are funny, and other times they are rude or full of (generally negative) attitude, but they are always interesting.

What I learned today is that you can also learn a lot by listening and talking to the people who come in to the Post Office. I learned this by spending just under an hour in there, listening and chatting to almost everyone who came in the door (not everyone had something to say, of course). In case you think I've finally lost it and have decided to move into the Post Office, I was actually there that long because I was working on a mailing of 132 postcards for the Ocrafolk Festival, and I had to stick return address labels and stamps on all of them. Anyway, while standing there doing that, I learned the latest status of the work being done on Macky's house, the current update on health issues being faced by multiple islanders, how much pork is going to be cooked for this Sunday's United Methodist Women sponsored after church lunch (and who will be doing most of the cooking), and the fact that Mackenzie (one of the first graders) loves ranch dressing and will eat it on anything (a child after my own heart, that girl is).

I love this chatting with and getting to know my neighbors. I think of everyone on Ocracoke as my neighbors. Although obviously some of them live in much closer physical/geographic proximity to me than others, the whole village isn't that large, so I think of it as one large neighborhood. This sharing of daily struggles, triumphs, and even trivia is what makes neighbors into friends.

It was a beautiful, interesting day in my neighborhood. Hope your neighbors are your friends too, wherever you are...

Wild weather

A string of storms came through here this morning, drenching the island and bringing loud thunder and howling wind along with them. For a while it was raining sideways, something which usually doesn't start happening until March. There was a tornado watch or warning (I'm not sure which) until about 11 AM. Luckily, there wasn't any major damage around the village, just the usual road flooding in the standard low areas. (No, the island is not sinking!) I did see a few small tree branches which had been blown down, but nothing large enough to cause real problems.

That's just one of the potential risks associated with having so many gorgeous live oak and cedar trees around here. Another impact of all these wonderful trees is itchy eyes and/or sneezing, for those of us with allergies. (I get the itchy eyes but luckily not the sneezing.) This time of year, the cedar pollen is out in force, so a rainy day is actually a bit of a blessing, washing it all away and giving me a day off from eye rubbing. (Yes, I know I shouldn't rub my eyes...guess I'll have to take an antihistamine instead.) It's a small price to pay as far as I'm concerned, because the trees on Ocracoke are one of my favorite things.



The weatherman just told me (and everyone else watching the newscast, of course!) that there will be a total lunar eclipse on Wednesday night, which we should be able to see well from here if it isn't too cloudy. I'll check it out and let you know how it is.

Hope you're not rubbing your eyes or sneezing, wherever you are...

Interrupted by... quiet

I have the bad habit of having nearly constant background noise. I think I got it from my Dad, who always turns on the TV as soon as he walks in a room, and leaves it on for the entire time he is there. More often than I would like to admit, I do the same. In the car, I have the radio on all the time (unless I'm driving with someone else, in which case the air is filled by chatting instead). To make matters worse, I often multitask. I'm watching TV right now and blogging at the same time. No wonder I have a mild headache.

The odd thing is, I really love quiet. When I have a moment where nothing is playing in the background, I enjoy the stillness and the sense of peace it brings to my mind. The silence on the water is one of the reasons I love kayaking. I adore the first few minutes I'm awake (on the days I have the opportunity to sleep in and wake up naturally rather than having to hear an alarm), when all is hushed.

A couple of days ago, I was watching TV when the channel suddenly went quiet. I looked up (I was multitasking, of course!) and saw this:



Things like that happen a bit more often here than in most areas, I suspect, but I don't mind. It's just one of the aspects of life on an island. This particular outage lasted for about half an hour, and I actually enjoyed the forced silence. It's a pity that it needed to be forced. I really need to get into the habit of taking a few moments for stillness and peace on my own accord.

Hope your world is not too loud, wherever you are...

Yard salin'

Before I lived on Ocracoke, I was not a person who went to yard sales. There was so much I didn't like about the whole concept: getting up early in the morning, having to dig through people's stuff to see if you happened to find something you liked, and possibly haggling with someone over what they wanted to sell it for.

I had several yard sales, mostly out of neccessity when we decided to move to Ocracoke and had to downsize, and I didn't enjoy being on that side of the process either. No matter what time I advertised as the starting hour for the sale (and it was never earlier than 7 AM), there was always someone banging on my door at 6 AM (not to mention the people who showed up the day before). I had people tell me that I must price my items, insist on buying things after I explained that they were not for sale and I had not known they were brought outside, attempt to buy entire knife sets (worth $250 new) for 50 cents, and respond quite rudely when I explained that the price on the tag was 50 DOLLARS, and walk right into my house even after I told them that there was nothing for sale inside. Some - not all, but enough to be annoying - people who go to yard sales are just plain rude.

And then there's yard saling on Ocracoke. I actually enjoy it here, and try to go to every yard sale that I hear about. First of all, they usually start a bit later (8 AM is an early one; the one today started at 10), so I can sleep in before shopping! Generally, I know everyone at the sale (the seller and the other shoppers), so there's no unfriendly haggling. Often, there's no haggling at all, as most shoppers just pay what the sellers are asking. Usually, there's friendly non-yard-sale-related conversation and gossip instead. And the prices go down as the sale goes on, since people want to get rid of their stuff more than they want to make a buck. It's just a kinder, gentler yard sale all around. I like it!

Fairly often, there are large community yard sales on the island. Multiple people will get together at a single large site (frequently the lawn of the Pony Island Motel), each bringing his or her own table and things to sell. We had one of those today. I arrived a bit late, and didn't sell much (I think I came out just slightly ahead of even, in that I netted 50 cents after making my own purchases from the other tables), but still enjoyed it. I got to sit around and chat with friends, and also eat a meal of fried chicken (John went to pick it up for us and a couple of other people, from the fundraiser lunch at the Assembly of God Church). The fact that there was a yard sale going on was really incidental. The only bad thing about it was the cold wind which blew in gusts every few minutes, sending sale items flying and rolling around, and freezing ears and hands. Maybe the cold was the reason I didn't sell much stuff. No, it's probably because it was odd random stuff, and on this particular day my trash just wasn't anyone else's treasure.

A jazzy evening

I spent part of this evening enjoying the Valentine's Gala event at DeepWater theater, featuring the Ocracoke Jazz Society. It was, as the flyer promised, a lovely evening of delightful music, art and witty conversation. I saw several beautiful women and handsome men in attendance, and there were PLENTY of delectable treats.

I took a chocolate fondue fountain, with marshmallows, bananas, and pound cake for dipping. It was well received, but a bit of a pain to prepare (and even more effort to clean up!), so I'm not sure I'll do that again. (At the very least I won't take a fondue fountain to a party; I may set it up at a party at my house, so the challenge of transporting it is out of the equation.)

The Jazz Society was excellent, and entertained the crowd for nearly 2 hours with old favorites and new songs as well. I never cease to be amazed at the large amount of talent in this small town.

All you need is...

...well, food, clothing, shelter, AND love. Seriously, there have been studies done on babies who are fed well and provided with warm clothes and safe housing but who are not hugged and cuddled, and they do not thrive as well as babies who receive love in addition to the basics.

So on this Valentine's Day, I enjoyed some delicious food (Jason's restaurant had a couples meal including filet mignon, lobster tails, garlic bread, salads, and baked potatoes) while wearing red clothing. I experienced this romantic meal in my new shelter (aka house). It was our first meal in the new digs! Unfortunately, most future meals will not live up to this standard!


Our romantic table...note the unfinished paint job on the wall behind it - partially pink and partially tan.

Earlier in the day, I attended the first grade Valentine's Day party. It was fun spoiling the kids and watching their faces as they opened all of their gifts. Kids are easy to love, and give love so easily. I have learned much from them.

Changes

There are several new things in my life lately. The new house is the major one, of course! But here are a couple of others...

A new truck (so now I don't have to move everything in the convertible!) It's not really new, but it's new to me. My Dad loaned it to us to help with moving. It will definitely come in handy when it's time to move large pieces of furniture like beds, couches, and other bulky things.

A new cat. This is Jakes, and he is actually my sister's cat. He has come to live with us now, though. He's not sure yet what he thinks of not being an "only cat" any more, but I think he'll get used to it.



This time of year on Ocracoke, I start noticing and hearing about plans for new businesses and other changes for the upcoming season. I know this isn't anything like a comprehensive list, but here are a couple of changes I've observed or heard about:
- There will be a new antique store in the (former) Styron house, across from Albert Styron's Store. I say former because it is no longer owned by the Styron family; the house was recently purchased by two retired ladies who will be running the shop and living there as well. I'm told that this house has previously held a couple of other businesses, including an ice cream shop for a while, although that was before I started visiting the island.
- Something new will be in the former Dolphin Cove shop on Highway 12. The building has recently been painted red in preparation for whatever will be there. I am not sure what that will be; one of the things I've heard is that it will be a restaurant related to Smac Nally's (Smac Too or Smac Two?).

The only thing constant in life is change, that's for sure...

Fauna

Since I recently wrote about some of the flora of the island, I thought I should follow up with some thoughts about the fauna, too. There are, of course, many varieties of animals to be found on the island - some which live here year round, and some which come just for wintering or nesting seasons. (Sounds like the humans!) Anyway, this blog is hardly supposed to be an encyclopedia of Ocracoke, so my thoughts here are related to only two of the many creatures around here, both of which I saw recently.

I found a horseshoe crab shell near my favorite soundside beach the other day. It had not been dead for long and its body was still in the shell.





Did you know that horseshoe crabs are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than to other crabs? They also are used for medical research. You can learn more about these fascinating arthropods here.

-------------------------------------

I see ducks in my neighborhood often. I see geese every now and then, but usually on the other side of the village. I usually don't see them together, but one morning this interloper was hanging out with the local mallards.

Sorry the picture is a bit blurry; I took it through the windshield of my car.



I would draw a meaningful life lesson conclusion from the fact that the geese and ducks were walking together and getting along, but it's late and I'm tired.

Calling all artisans!

I spent a couple of hours at the OPS museum today, making postcards to send to artisans who might be interested in having a booth at the 2008 Ocrafolk Festival. Since it was on my mind, I thought I'd share the opportunity this way too!

The Ocrafolk Festival is now taking applications for artisans who want to participate in this year's event, scheduled for June 6 - 8. If you would like to apply for an artisan booth, or you just want to get more information about the Festival, check out the official website.

Here's a picture from the 2007 Festival.



That's Molasses Creek in the middle (Fiddler Dave, Gary and Kitty) with Gerald Hampton on the left and Lou Castro on the right.

If you have never attended the Ocrafolk Festival, make plans to come this year. It's 2 days of music, storytelling, art, crafts, and fun. See you there!

How to deal

I was thinking earlier this afternoon about some things happening in my life which are, well, difficult. And I burst into tears. There's no need for gory details here; sometimes life is just hard, and I know anyone reading this can relate.

So I was having a moment where I was really upset and focusing on the things that upset me, and I started thinking "this is ridiculous; I have so much to be grateful for, I just need to think about that instead".

So I went to the beach for a few minutes. Then I went over to the house and played worship music really loud (singing along of course) while scraping the remaining painted-on-flowers off the tiles above the kitchen sink. Then I called my friend Jamie and suggested a girls movie night (John is still off the island). We're going to watch a Chonda Pierce DVD (in case you haven't heard of Chonda, she is a Christian comedian, hilarious and inspiring).

So here's what I learned today about how to deal when life is overwhelming.

1. Reconnect. For me, this was two fold:
- reconnecting with God - this is why I touch salt water; it keeps me grounded, reminding me that my problems are small in God's huge beautiful world, but that He loves me and will help me with them anyway
- reconnecting with people - I had spent the day (until about 5 PM) mostly by myself; although there's nothing wrong with being alone (and I actually enjoyed the quiet time), it's generally not good to be alone when you are feeling sad, mad or overwhelmed at life

2. Worship. Loudly, with music, if you'd like. Or quietly, with prayer. Or however works for you, but stop and remember that God is good and worthy of all worship and praise.

3. Count your blessings.

Dusk was falling as I sat on the deck at my house reflecting on the many blessings in my life and listening to the 6 PM church bells. I enjoyed watching the blue of the sky deepen as night began to draw near. The tiny sliver of moon was luminescent and lovely. I sat for a while, waiting to see the first star appear. After several minutes, I still hadn't seen one and was beginning to get antsy. Then, I tilted my head further back and saw that there had been one shining above me all along. So that was my final lesson in how to deal:

4. Look up.

Hope your life isn't too much to deal with, wherever you are...

Sunrise, sunset

I saw both from the ferry today.





This is the third time in as many weeks that I've ridden the ferry to the mainland and back in the same day. First, to close on the house. Then, to go to the Chocolate Festival, and finally today to take John to the airport in New Bern so he could fly to Ohio. Here's something that's funny but true, and unique to living on Ocracoke: he got all the way to Ohio before I got back to the island! It is not a quick trip to here from anywhere. (Unless you have your own plane, in which case it only takes 15 minutes to get here from Beaufort NC.) But the fact that getting to Ocracoke requires a time commitment is part of what makes it wonderful. The people who visit here have chosen to come, investing the time required to do so. The ones who live here, even more so.

Random thoughts and photos

I don't have a particular topic in mind today, so I'm just sharing a couple of random thoughts (with matching photographs). This will be a somewhat short blog, too, as I have a full day ahead of me tomorrow. I'll be on the 7 AM ferry to Cedar Island, so my day will start early. After arriving on the mainland, I'll visit a friend in the hospital, do some shopping, drive to New Bern to take John to the airport (he's flying to Ohio to pick up a truck), do some more shopping, drive back to Cedar Island and ride the 5:00 ferry home. And then go to sleep!

Random thought number one: Ocracoke, as we all know, is a very unique place. One of the ways it is different is that there are no chain restaurants on the island, no huge advertising billboards, and many fewer bright lights and neon signs than you would see elsewhere. I love this visual peace, with less clutter and glare. It also makes it possible to see many more stars, even from within the village, than you can in most other towns in the United States. But lest you think this is paradise and there is NO neon, I offer this photo which proves we do have some:



Random thought number two: I wonder why it is that human beings desire to "leave their marks" to show that they have been in a particular place. At the lowest end of the spectrum (creatively speaking), people have been etching, carving, or just writing their names on furniture, doors, and pretty much anything else in public places in the form of graffiti for years. But even once we outgrow the need to do that, there's still a desire to leave something behind that shows we were here on earth and expresses a bit of who we are. It manifests itself in creative art, original music, lovingly tended gardens, thoughtfully decorated houses and many other forms. Aren't people fascinating? They are to me. Guess I should have been a sociologist.

Luke left his mark on a chair at Jason's restaurant:



I personally prefer the marks left by artist Kitty Mitchell and musicians Marcy and Lou (along with several other artists and musicians who call Ocracoke home; these are just two of my many favorites).

Hope you have found a creative, positive way to "leave your mark", wherever you are...

Community resource

Whether you live or vacation on Ocracoke, you may not know about an excellent, free resource for the community. Or you may know and just decide not to participate! I'm talking about the exercise classes held at the Community Center on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

If you have never chosen to join one of the sessions, you may think that they are just a bunch of folks jumping around pretending to do aerobics, and therefore not as intense, effective, or varied as you would get at a gym in a large city. You would be wrong. The classes are challenging, results-producing, and rotate through several different exercise types. Equipment is available, including dumbells in a variety of weights, mats for floor work, steps for increased aerobic intensity, and exercise balls. These are purchased using funds donated by class participants and are stored in the closet to the left of the stage in the Community Center. I had often wondered what was behind that door! Now I have a personal - and somewhat painful, but good for me and already producing results - experience with the gear stashed there.



Classes meet at 8 AM during the winter, and change to a 7:30 AM start time as the season approaches and everyone starts getting busier. So, if you're trying to keep a New Year's resolution to lose some weight, or just want to build muscle and make your heart healthier, show up one morning and join! (If you don't live on the island full time, no problem: visitors are welcome, too.)

Valentine's Day celebrations

There will be plenty happening here on the island around Valentine's Day.

On Thursday the 14th, Jason's Restaurant is offering a Valentine's Dinner for two featuring filet mignon, lobster tails, baked potatoes, salad, and a choice of a bottle of red wine or champagne. The cost is around $55 for a couple.

On Friday the 15th, there will be a Valentine's gala event at DeepWater Theater, with music provided by The Ocracoke Jazz Society, and food provided by... well, you, if you attend (admission is by a treat to share).

Here's a picture of the poster, which I found amusing. Hopefully the event itself will be as fun as the advertising!



Multiple events are planned for Saturday the 16th: a large community yard sale (I think on the Pony Island lawn), and a fried chicken dinner at the Assembly of God church.

If you don't have plans for your Valentine's celebrations yet, think about a trip to the island!

Eerie day

It was a strange, foggy day. I have seen thick fog before, but this was unique in that it danced around in the wind. It alternated between looking like fog and looking like blowing rain. It definitely wasn't raining, though (there was no downward fall of the water, just millions of tiny droplets hanging and swaying in the air). The ferries stopped running, but every now and then we heard a ferry horn (I am not sure why). In the fog, sounds were strangely muted and elongated. When I stopped by Silver Lake after dinner, there was an eerie low hum echoing over the water.

It is difficult to take pictures of fog, but I did manage to get this good one:



For a good sense of how foggy it is, compare that picture to the one on my Jan. 28 blog, which is a view of the same area (Springer's Point) taken from about the same spot, only on a sunny day.

As I write this, it is 9PM and the fog does not appear to be lifting. If anything, it seems a bit worse now that it is dark and cool (driving to Jason's for sushi dinner was a slow process).

I'm wishing for clear sunny skies tomorrow. Hope the weather is not too strange where you are...

The duck scatterer

You've heard of the horse whisperer? I'm the duck scatterer. Recently, I've been touching salt water late at night, and I've been going to the edge of Silver Lake to do so. There's a small group of ducks which sometimes hangs out around there, and when they see and hear me coming, they begin quacking and swimming away. So I'm the duck scatterer.

Ducks and geese thrive on Ocracoke. There's plenty of water (the ducks I see most often especially love the puddles in the street after a good rain, but they also seem to enjoy swimming in Pamlico Sound), friendly people feed them (although many would argue that this isn't all that healthy for the ducks), and traffic stops for them when they cross the road (yes, really).

Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the ducks to post here. I scattered them, remember?

Peeling and painting

It was a quiet, sunny Sunday here on the island, a good day to work on projects around the house. Probably a good day to walk on the beach, too, but I don't that know from experience. I napped and worked on projects!

John and I spent several hours at our new house today. We painted most of one of the hallway walls, primarily to get a good look (bigger than the little tiny swatch they give you at the hardware store) at the color I bought yesterday. Now we have to let it dry before making a final decision on whether we like it. I think it will be fine; it's a very neutral tan color which should match anything. It beats the pink which we are covering! (No offense if you like pink, I just don't like it enough to have it covering as many of the walls of my house as it is currently covering!)



The other task we took on today was peeling the numerous hideous flower stickers off the sink in one of the bathrooms. Seriously, they were bad. Here's a "before" shot, and this was actually after I had peeled several off!



Okay, so "hideous" might be slightly too strong a word, and I like flowers as much as the next person, I just prefer the actual growing kind, and I prefer them outside. It took a while (some of the stickers had gotten somewhat dry and brittle and therefore came off in many small pieces), but all the flowers are now gone! Here's the "after" photo:



That's more like it! Hope your house looks just like you like it, wherever you are...

Chocolate!

My friend Jamie and I went to the Carolina Chocolate Festival in Morehead City today. This involved riding the 7 AM ferry to Cedar Island, and the 5 PM ferry back to the island, making for a very long day. Chocolate, of course, is worth it!

We enjoyed visiting the booths of the vendors, eating samples of their chocolate confections. There were chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate Oreo smoothies, chocolate covered Twinkies, chocolate crepes, chocolate cakes, chocolate bars, chocolate dipped fruit kebabs...well, you get the idea! Suffice it to say that there was so much chocolate in the room that the entire place smelled wonderful. No we didn't sample all of the items listed above! We did sample plenty, though...enough that we got quite full and almost to the point of feeling ill; we cut ourselves off before getting to that point, though, even though it meant missing out on the chocolate crepes. (The fact that there was a REALLY long line for the crepes didn't help, either!)

Here are some pictures, so you can enjoy all the chocolate goodness vicariously.

The kids pudding eating contest, before:



...and after:



Table full of chocolate goodies:



Chocolate covered strawberries in progress:



Mmmmmm....that looks delicious. I think I'll go eat one now!

Hope your life is sweet, wherever you are...

Flora

Ocracoke is home to many plants which don't grow as well in other areas. Fig trees thrive here, and many Ocracokers make fig preserves, fig cake, fig syrup (terrific on pancakes!) and other fig concoctions. If your only experience with figs is Newtons, you should definitely try them fresh off a tree (fruit comes out in late summer, starting in about July). You can eat the entire fig, skin and all, although some people prefer to peel them using a knife. Another tree which does very well out here is the oleander, but you definitely do not want to eat anything from it!

My favorite plant which grows beautifully on Ocracoke is the hydrangea. I adore the clusters of small flowers which form blue, purple and pink "flower snowballs". When I was a child, there was a huge purple hydrangea bush in my yard. I loved to sit under it and watch the sunlight filter through the leaves, turning everything a pale shade of lilac. Something you might not know about hydrangeas is that Ocracokers call them hygeraniums. No, I don't know why.

And then there's this plant:



Let me know if you know what it is. (I have no clue...)