My favorite meals

I got a couple of comments today asking for recommendations on local restaurants and favorite dishes. Well, there are few things I enjoy more than food, so I thought a whole blog on the topic would be fun!

I like and frequent nearly all of the restaurants on the island. Here are some thoughts about each, including my personal favorite menu items.

Cafe Atlantic - anything they put on a plate is terrific! I love everything they do, including the bread (warm and crusty but not overly hard) and salads (with delicious dressings like cucumber dill and sweet poppyseed). The appetizer I order on almost every trip to the Cafe is the herbed chevre cheese with fig preserves; I know it sounds like an odd combination, but trust me and give it a try - it's delicious. It is difficult to select the "best" entree, because they are all superb, but two I enjoy frequently are the lemon pasta and pesto scallops. Mmmm...if I hadn't just eaten dinner, I would be hungry now. Finally, definitely save room for dessert (or, if you didn't save room, get one anyway and take it home or to your hotel/B&B/rental cottage with you to eat later)...their desserts are homemade and decadent. In fact, the dessert course is so popular at the Cafe that if you see one you like in the case near the front door on your way in, it's not a bad idea to request your server save a portion for you...they sometimes run out of the really good ones. The dessert menu varies, with different choices every day, but my favorite is Toll House Pie. I've also heard wonderful things about their banana cream pie - a friend of mine likes it so well that she is on a "call list" to be notified when they are serving it!

(Yikes - if I write that much about every place, this is going to be a LOOOONG blog...)

Flying Melon - the menu here has a somewhat Cajun inspiration (the chef, Michael, used to have a restaurant in New Orleans), but the dishes are not overwhelmingly spicy (unless you like your food with authentic Cajun heat, in which case just ask...) Another thing I appreciate about the Melon is the fact that their fried seafood items are not overly breaded - I can't stand it when places serve items which are more-batter-than-fish/shrimp/oyster/whatever. Favorite items - crabcakes (the remoulade sauce is lick your plate good), crab and corn chowder, and any of the special omelettes at brunch. The Melon also serves a great burger, includes vegetarian and vegan choices, and offers delectable homemade desserts, including a fantastic tiramisu.

The Back Porch - I love the quiet ambiance here, with candles on the tables making for a romantic meal setting. The best appetizer in my opinion is the crab beignets, and a favorite entree is the filet of fish with Vietnamese lime sauce (another plate-licking-good one). And yes, these guys also have lovely desserts. Are you beginning to notice a theme here? :)

Jason's - excellent food in a casual atmosphere. To start, I like the spinach and artichoke dip, although the chicken wings are good too. Or sushi (served Tuesday nights only) is always a great starter if you want something different. The Sayrah Safari sandwich (on a wrap rather than a roll) is what I order almost every time I eat at Jason's, and I like to finish up with one of their (you guessed it) yummy desserts, which change daily.

Those are my four personal favorites, but here are some other places I enjoy:
- Thai Moon - be aware that this is a takeout only, cash only place, and there's sometimes a bit of a wait to get your food, but it's well worth it! I love the Tom Yum Goong soup and Moon's Special crabmeat fried rice (which is served with either 2 spring rolls, or 2 skewers of satay...I usually have trouble deciding between them!)

- Ocracoke Coffee Company - I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but they have terrific smoothies (I adore the Strawberries and Cream with Chocolate, but the Skinny Monkey is also good if you want or need to be less decadent), and if I'm in the mood for a snack when I'm there, the bagel with cream cheese and smoked salmon is marvelous.

- Howard's Pub - not my favorite for atmosphere (a bit "pubby" for my taste), but it's fun and open late. If you like beer (which I don't particularly), it's not to be missed, as they have around 200 kinds to choose from, including microbrews and imports. I like the grilled teriyaki tuna sandwich, which comes with a unique key lime mustard sauce, and pub fries are excellent.

- Pony Island - great for down to earth, good food, simply prepared and presented. The fish is fresh caught, or they will prepare and cook your own catch if you would like. Their hush puppies are sweet and wonderful, and I would eat "pony potatoes" (hash browns with cheese, salsa and sour cream) at any time of day if they would let me (unfortunately, they only serve them at breakfast).

- Jolly Roger - super for outside dining on warm days, and offers the best sunset view of all the eateries, as it is right on the harbor. I love their french fries, and the Mexican options are tasty, too. If you go on the right nights, you can enjoy live music by talented local musicians along with your meal.

This is not an exhaustive list of all the restaurants on the island, but it does cover my most frequently visited locations. Hope you find something you like. Here's to good eatin'!

Portsmouth Homecoming

The semi-annual Portsmouth Island Homecoming is scheduled for April 19th this year. Here's a list of the planned activities:

Boats to Portsmouth leave Ocracoke: 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 AM

Post Office open: 8:00 AM - 10:15 AM

Storytelling on the Visitor Center Porch: 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM

Hymn Singing in the Methodist Church: 9:30 AM - 10:00 AM

Homecoming Program at Lifesaving Station: 10:30 AM - 11:15 AM

Dinner on the Grounds: 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM (immediately following program). Bring food and beverage to share; ice, paper products, and tables will be provided.

Coast Guard Drill at Lifesaving Station: 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Boats begin going back to Ocracoke at 2:00 PM

Visit the Friends of Portsmouth website for more info.

A host of angels and other moving experiences

I collect angels. I display them on high (above the windows) shelves, which is great for many practical reasons (the cats can't get to them, they never need dusting, etc.). But my favorite thing about the angels being "up there" is that I always feel like there are angels watching over me.

John and I took the angels down on Friday night, so I could pack them carefully to move them to the house. I enjoyed the image of a host of angels, when they were all clustered together on the coffee table. Unfortunately, I didn't think to snap a picture until I had already packed most of them, so this shot is of only a portion of my collection.


Yes, they are standing on a puzzle which includes angels in it. :)

We moved several items over to the house today, including a loveseat. It was a really windy day so I decided to ride on the furniture in the back of the truck, to hold down the cushions so they wouldn't blow out and down the street. It was definitely the most comfortable I'll ever be while riding in the back of a truck (although it was a little chilly!)



Here's to a life filled with moving experiences, wherever you are...

It's the least wonderful time of the year...

...with the tax man cha-chinging
and everyone wringing
their hands in great fear
It's the least wonderful time of the year...

I'm talkin' about tax time. I hate it. (Yes, I know that puts me in plenty of company.) I have been staring at Turbo Tax all evening, and I'm about ready to throw up now. But hey, all I have to do to get my tax rebate (aka "economic stimulus payment") is to get the darn forms filed, so I guess I have some more motivation than usual.

Okay, 'nuff whining. Hope doing your taxes wasn't (or isn't, or won't be, depending on how much of a procrastinator you are) too terrible, wherever you are...

Catalogs

I swear, catalog companies have a red flag for addresses of people who live on islands, or at the top of mountains, or out in the middle of the country, or anywhere else which is just generally far away from large stores. I get at least one catalog per day in the mail. It's insane! (Of course, for all I know, everyone gets this many catalogs in the mail...I haven't done a scientific study on the subject.)

There are three tall trash cans at the Post Office, and they are filled up on an almost daily basis with catalogs, credit card offers, and other "junk mail". Of course, one person's junk is another person's treasure, and I have seen some people take catalogs out of a trash can after someone else threw them away.

I am somewhat of a catalog and internet shopper. I enjoy researching online to see where I can get the best price for an item, factoring in shipping and handling charges and tax (if applicable) to make sure I truly do get a good deal. Come to think of it, maybe that's why I get so many dang catalogs. My name is probably on a list entitled "this is a live one" which the catalog companies sell to one another. Sheesh. Guess I'll keep doing my part to fill the Post Office trash cans (at least with the catalogs I don't want to take home to order that "I-had-never-even-thought-of-before-but-now-am-fully-convinced-I-need" item I just saw on page 12). As long as I'm bringing the onslaught of catalogs on myself, I might as well make something out of at least some of them!

Happy shopping, wherever you are...

High tech

Continuing on my musings from yesterday about how the internet has changed information access, I have been thinking this evening about slick high tech gadgets. I have a wireless LAN, so I can blog (and surf and shop and look up information) without cables. But that's nothing compared to the cool high tech toys I see on TV. My personal favorites are wall-sized screens, especially ones that have dynamically changing information which responds to voice commands, or can be moved around with just the touch of a fingertip. Then there are the entire computer systems which can be controlled to do highly complex processing with only an arrow key, escape button, or six seconds of typing on a keyboard.

The only thing wrong with these slick high tech gadgets is...they only exist on TV.

Okay, so I have officially been spending WAY too much time indoors, staring at computer screens. I need to go out to the beach and reconnect with the world. I won't take any of my gadgets with me, I promise.

Spring? ...and access to information

It is Spring, right? It felt like Spring on Saturday. It was a beautiful, sunny day with temperatures in the high 60s. On Saturday night, a cold wind started blowing. All day yesterday and into this morning, it felt like Winter again. Brrr.

The TV ad with the weather guy just said that he would be telling us about "a warm up" during his forecast on the 11 o'clock news. I'm not sure I'll be awake at 11, though, so I guess I'll check online for the info.

Having immediate access to online resources for shopping and all sorts of information (weather and otherwise) has become an important part of my daily life. I often sit and watch TV with my laptop in my lap. That's usually because I'm blogging, or engaging in some other form of multitasking, but I also frequently find myself looking things up online.
- Wonder what other movie that actress was in recently? Try the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com). Incidentally, even if you're curious about movies that haven't yet been released - like Nights in Rodanthe, which was filmed partially on the Outer Banks and may include some of my friends in it - you can get that kind of info. there too ("Nights" was originally slated for release in June this year, but has now been delayed until October).
- Want to check out the website for that show or get more info. about that commercial you just saw? You can find the show online by searching the official site for the channel it's on, and usually the ads include the URL at the end, although you do have to read quickly to catch them.
- Wonder what else is on TV, because you don't like that show you're watching? That's easy to find on any search engine.
- Want to know just about anything else? Look it up on Wikipedia, my personal favorite, or of course you could always just google it.

It's pretty amazing to me how quickly information is available now, no matter where you are. Even here on a small island 25 miles off the coast, where people used to wait weeks or months for information, the world is at my fingertips.

Hope you have all the info you need, wherever you are...

Dark

One of the things I love about living on Ocracoke is how dark it is at night. You can sit in the middle of the village and still see many, many stars (more than can be seen from the center of almost any other town, I'll wager). Although I adore the area where I live right now, I love the spot where my new house is even more, because there's a streetlamp right near my current residence, and nothing of the sort near my new home. That means it is pitch dark outside: not terrific when you need to walk in with an armload of groceries or something, but marvelous when you want to sit on the deck and stargaze.

In four days, 23 hours and approximately 20 minutes (from the time of the post of this blog), there will be a global event which seeks to make large cities darker than they would usually be at night (although I daresay they won't come anywhere close to the inky blackness around my house). It's called Earth Hour, and started in 2007 in Sydney Australia. The idea is this: for an hour on Saturday March 29, people are encouraged to turn off their lights "to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming".

You can learn more about Earth Hour on their website. It loads slowly (at least it does for me), but once it's up and running there's a lot of information there.

Hope it's dark enough to see the stars, wherever you are...

Egg hunters

I went to the kids Easter Egg Hunt at the Methodist Church yesterday morning. It was great fun to see all the children with their colorful baskets, dressed up and ready for the hunt. The area around the church had been divided into several sections, so the kids could search for eggs with others in the same general age range, increasing the odds of success. The eggs were also significantly easier to find in the spot for toddlers (ages 1 - 3). Claire Senseney explained to the kids where there areas were, and, after her final "go!", they scattered quickly. Eggs were scooped up very quickly, and the whole thing was over in just a few minutes! The kids got a lesson in recycling and good earth stewardship, as well, as they were asked to empty the candy into their baskets and return the eggs to a large plastic bin, so they can be reused next year. Here are a few of the cutest pictures I took of the event:

Are there any eggs in here?


Lachlan hamming it up for a photo:


Jacob was excited about finding the golden egg!



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On another note: for those of you who are either a) wondering what the "big news" is or b) counting and think I finally missed a day of blogging this year, the rest of this blog is for you. I did blog yesterday...on my other blog. It's called ABC - All 'Bout Connor, and its topic is my nephew, who will be born on or about April 25th. But the news is even bigger ~ John and I will be caring for Connor for the first three or so years of his life, so his mommy (my wonderful sister Jocelyn) can complete her education at the US Air Force Academy. You can check out Connor's blog here.

Radio station

Did you know that there's a group planning to start a community radio station for the island? Now you do! They were recently granted a permit to establish a non-commercial, educational station at 90.1 FM. If you would like to learn more about this project, check out their website.

If you are on the island for the weekend, don't forget the Ocrafolk Festival Fundraiser Concert tomorrow night at the Community Center. Doors open at 7 and the show begins at 7:30. Enjoy!

New things

I finally went to Cafe Atlantic for dinner tonight. They reopened last Friday. It is pretty rare that it takes me almost a week to get there after their first night. Anyway, it was delicious, of course, and I am pleasantly full. There is at least one new menu item (there may be others, but this is the one that caught my eye): honey-lime chicken. Sounds yummy to me. I didn't try it tonight - the special (grilled mahi over a bed of spinach with hollandaise sauce) was calling my name far too loudly - but I did hear the lady at the next table oohing and aahing over the new entree. Of course, you know it will be good. Everything they put on a plate at the Cafe Atlantic is wonderful!

The other new thing is a website to educate people about the effort to close specific areas of the beaches to driving, and possibly to all human activity. Yes, that means you would not even be able to walk in these spots! Please learn more about this issue, and make your voice heard on the issue (write to your Congressperson, to President Bush, and to anyone else you can think of!) Here's the link. It's quite new at this point and therefore doesn't include huge amounts of info, but it does provide links to other resources with more details.

Delivery!

If you haven't yet heard the latest food news, here it is: there will be a new restaurant on the island soon, and they will offer pizza delivery! So now on those days when I don't make it out of the house due to busy-ness or just sheer laziness, food can come to me! I love pizza, so I'm looking forward to trying it. The Ocracoke Pizza Company will also offer pickup from their location on Highway 12, in the building where Dolphin Cove used to be. They will be starting simply, offering only pizza and drinks, but are planning to add other items later. Next time you are on the island, check them out!

Already?

Jamie, DeAnna, John and I went to Jason's for sushi tonight, as it will be our last opportunity to eat sushi for a while since the restaurant will be closed for a month starting on April 23rd. After stuffing myself completely, I stood outside in the parking lot chatting with DeAnna for a few minutes and am annoyed to report that there are already MOSQUITOS out (several of whom enjoyed biting me). It's pretty rare that the bloodsucking creatures are here quite so soon. Of course the good news corollary is that it was pleasantly warm on the island today. I guess we'll just have to take the bad with the good.

Hope the bugs aren't bugging you yet, wherever you are...

Easter activities

In case you were wondering what's planned to celebrate Easter on the island, here's a partial list.

Maundy Thursday Service - March 20, 7PM, Ocracoke United Methodist Church
Easter Sunrise Service - March 23, 6:45 AM, Lifeguard Beach
Easter performance "Victory" - March 23, 6:30 PM, Ocracoke Assembly of God Church

There should be an Easter egg hunt for kids at some point too, but I haven't seen anything posted with details for it yet. I'll update you once I know any more about that.

In the meantime, happy Monday!

Prevailing winds

It has been windy here for the last couple of days (not too surprising for March). I went for a short walk on the beach yesterday (short because it was a chilly wind...) and was struck by several examples of the prevailing wind direction around here. The pictures below will give you a sense of what I mean.

The dune grasses and sea oats bend gracefully together


Yes, there are stairs under there...


...and seats under there!


Hope your life isn't too wind-blown, wherever you are...

Thunder and lightning

As I type this, I am seeing frequent flashes of very bright lightning and hearing the thunder rolls as they follow. The power has blinked 3 times, but is on for the moment. Looks like a good spring storm will be blowing through overnight...which is much more typical of March than the gorgeous weather we have been blessed with for the past week. Going to post this now, before the power goes out again!

I love snoozing to the sounds of a thunderstorm, and I am very tired so I am sure there's a good night's sleep in my near future. Hope there is for you, too!

More choices

As of tonight, if you visit the island, you have more choices for places to eat than you would have had two days ago. Howard's Pub has reopened, and Cafe Atlantic opened tonight. No, I didn't go eat there yet, but it won't be long before I do!

Here's info. on planned opening dates for more of the wonderful eateries on the island:

Back Porch Restaurant - will open April 17, serving dinner daily from 5-9 pm.
Cafe Atlantic - opened March 14 for dinner 5 – 9pm. Closed Tuesdays. No Sunday brunch.
Capt. Ben's Restaurant - will open Easter weekend. Open 11:30 am – 9 pm.
Creekside Cafe - opening March 21.
Fig Tree Bakery & Deli - will open mid-April.
Flying Melon Cafe - will open March 19. Dinner served Wednesday through Saturday. Brunch served Friday – Sunday.
Howard's Pub/Raw Bar Restaurant - opened March 13th, serving 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Jason's Restaurant - open now serving lunch and dinner. Closed March 24 – April 23.
Jolly Roger Pub & Marina - will open April 17.
Mango Loco - will open on April 18, serving dinner daily at 6 pm. Closed Mondays.
Ocracoke Coffee Co. & Island Smoothie- will open around Easter weekend, open daily at 7 am.
Ocracoke Station Deli - open daily.
Pony Island Restaurant - open daily. Serving breakfast 7 – 11 am and lunch 11 am – 2 pm.
Sweet Tooth - opening around Easter weekend until March 29, will reopen second week of April with Fig Tree Deli.
Thai Moon - TBA.

I am ready for Thai Moon to move from TBA status to an actual date. I have missed their terrific authentic Thai food. If you haven't tried Thai Moon on a visit to the island, you definitely should. It's a small place, and there's no seating (take out only, and cash only), but it is excellent.

Now I'm hungry...

Load of lumber

John, Billy and I went up the beach today, and returned with a second load of lumber to finish the home improvement projects at the house (the screened porch and a few other things). We started this trip after working at the house for a few hours this morning on installing new baseboards. That means we started the trip in the late afternoon (we were on the 3PM ferry to Hatteras). Which means we got back late. Which means I'm really tired. Which means this is nearly the end of this blog.

:) More tomorrow!

I'd rather be laughing...

Sometimes in life you have to do something you are obligated to do, rather than doing what you would enjoy more. Tonight, I was faced with just such a dilemma. I wanted to go to "The Viola Question". Who wouldn't want to go see "Yale University's most attractive improv comedy group"? It sounded like an evening of laughter, which is always a good thing. I was obligated, however, to go to the Civic and Business Association meeting because I am the secretary of that organization.

It actually was a highly informative meeting. One item discussed, which I know some of my regular blog readers will be interested to hear about, was the current status of the Berkeley Manor property. The developer who co-owns the property recently approached first Hyde County and then the National Park Service about moving the two structures (the ranch house and the main manor building) which are currently on the lot. The offer was that the developer would give the structures to the County or to NPS, if they would move the buildings to their own land. Unfortunately, both the County and NPS had to turn the developer down (the NPS decision was made today). I am not sure what the County's reasoning was, but I do know that for NPS it was a lack of available funds, as it would cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.5M to move the buildings. (I suspect the reason was the same for the County, but don't know that for sure.)

Kenny Ballance, the NPS Head Ranger for Ocracoke who attends the Civic and Business Association meetings said that the park may be able to work with the community by providing land on which the buildings could be placed, if the community can raise the funds to move the buildings. So if you know anyone with a spare one or two million dollars who would like to give it to save a couple of lovely historic structures on the island, send them our way please!

I'll keep you posted as I hear more about whether and how this proceeds. In the meantime, here's wishing you opportunities for laughter...which don't conflict with scheduled meetings!

Improv comedy

I thought I should make this a separate post, so it didn't get lost in the house update. If you are going to be on the island tomorrow night (Wed. 3/12), you might want to head to DeepWater Theater, especially if you feel like a laugh.

Here's the poster with more details. Sounds like fun to me...enjoy it if you attend! (I have a meeting and probably will not make it, unfortunately.)

A firm foundation, and a major improvement

We spent all day at the new house today, working with a friend on improvements, one needed and one wanted. The needed one was the cutting of vents in our foundation. If you are considering purchasing a home on Ocracoke, this is something you need to know: if you buy an older home which is not raised on pilings, you will need to ensure that it has enough "flood vents" to allow the foundation to breathe (and to allow flood waters to flow into and back out of the crawlspace, in the event of a major storm). There are two reasons you want this: to ensure that there isn't too much moisture under your house which may lead to fungal/mold growth, and to get more-reasonably-priced flood insurance. I say "more-reasonably" because you cannot expect cheap flood insurance around here...it's going to be costly, but you can control the expense somewhat if you have enough flood vents ("enough", according to insurance companies is 1 square inch of flood vent for every 1 square foot of enclosed space).

In attempting to cut holes in the foundation blocks, we discovered that the foundation on our house is amazing. It's made with real concrete (not cinder or ash based) blocks, AND then cement was poured into the holes in the blocks to make them even stronger! These are some seriously thick, hard foundation blocks. A 20 pound sledgehammer did not budge them. Billy (our handyman friend) was able to cut one opening:



...and then we quit and went to lunch! Don't worry, we'll finish the process at another time - with heftier tools now that we know what to expect. (And yes, we will put a screened cover over the one pictured above.)

The wanted improvement was this.
Before:


(I think I've posted this picture in the blog before, but it's a good one of the awful (in my opinion) cabinets above the kitchen counter, which cut off all visibility into the kitchen and just made the space feel very closed. Those cabinets are now...well, gone.



There, now isn't that better?

So now I'm feeling like waxing philosophical again. It is important to have a firm foundation in life (God, family, home, etc.); and it's also important to be open (minded, to new ideas, with friends and family). Here's wishing you both...

Take a load off...

We took a drive up to Kitty Hawk today, to go shopping at Home Depot, with stops on the way in Manteo and Nag's Head to look at furniture. (I'm looking for an additional chair/rocker/recliner to match our living room set.) This was the first time we had left the island going North since October! We didn't need to go up the beach in November or December, and then of course the road was closed on Ocracoke starting January 2nd, and we don't have a 4WD vehicle, so any off-island trips after that had to be via Cedar Island or Swan Quarter. This morning was my first drive up and therefore my first look at the new bridges. Here's a view of one:



We came back from Home Depot with a load: lots of wood and three types of inside moulding. Good thing we now have a truck!



We learned a valuable lesson today too: even when rushing to catch the ferry, it is not a good idea to pull away quickly when you have a truck bed full of stuff which is hanging off the back. Yes, we "took a load off"...literally. It landed in the middle of Highway 12 in Hatteras Village. Whoops. No, I didn't take a picture. I was too ticked off at the time to think of that! A friendly gentleman stopped to help us put the heavy pieces (4x4x8 posts) back in the truck, before continuing on his way. (A great example of the neighborliness of 'Bankers.) And, yes, of course we missed the ferry we were rushing to catch.

Which turned out to be a good thing, because the fact that we were on the next ferry enabled me to take this sunset picture:



So that was the second lesson of the day: sometimes unplanned events or accidents lead to lovely discoveries, if we take the time to slow down and look around. Hope you get the chance to slow down and relax, wherever you are...

Photo shoot

I spent just under an hour today with some of my favorite musicians. Gary of Molasses Creek had called to ask me to take some photos of them with Gerald Hampton and Coyote. We met at the Community Square docks to have a recognizable Ocracoke background. They posed for a while, and then played for a while, and I took nearly 150 shots to make sure we would get enough good ones. It was a lot of fun, as I got to experience not only the zany humor and silliness of the group, but also a private mini concert!

During the shoot, several pelicans flew in and landed on the water of Silver Lake behind the musicians. I took several photos of them, too, including this one which is my favorite of all the pictures I took today.



Speaking of Molasses Creek and my other favorite musicians, they will be performing in the annual Spring Ocrafolk Fundraiser concert on Saturday March 22 at 7:30 PM in the Community Center. (So yes, Jenni, Easter weekend would be a good time to visit!)

And now, speaking of the Community Square: if you haven't heard the good news, the Community Store will be reopening soon! Much work has been done over there recently, including new siding and new paint (don't worry, it's still white and green and I'm told that all the signs which were on the side of the store, advertising other Ocracoke businesses in the square like the Schooner Windfall and Austin Boat Trips to Portsmouth, will be replaced as well. It's looking good, and I am looking forward to being able to shop in there again. (And to having a certain momentous event announced on the Community Store chalkboard...)

Finally, speaking of local businesses: if you have heard that John and I are taking over and/or buying a particular one, that is a rumor which is most assuredly not true. I'm not sure where that one got started, but three people have asked me about it in the last 24 hours. Trust me on this one: my life is full enough, and will soon be fuller, so I will not be adding anything as major as running an island shop.

Hope you can come visit the island soon to see the updated Community Store, pelicans on Silver Lake, and a terrific concert!

Memories of Muze

I attended the reception held today at the OPS Museum to celebrate the opening of an exhibit about Muzel Bryant, who - at 103 years of age - was Ocracoke's oldest resident until her recent death, just a few weeks shy of her 104th birthday.

Muzel was well loved by everyone who knew her, and many islanders liked to visit her, sometimes bringing gifts of stuffed animals, which she treasured, and always leaving blessed from their time spent with this quiet, dignified lady. In 2004, the community celebrated her 100th birthday with a party at the school which was attended by around 300 people.

The reception today was also well attended, and everyone seemed to really enjoy the displays and photographs. I saw a handful of red eyes, and shed a few tears myself in memory of a lovely lady.


(The picture on the table was taken at Tommy and Kathy's wedding last year, for which Muzel was the matron of honor. Ever her graceful, strong self, she stood through most of the ceremony before allowing other members of the wedding party to help her sit down in her wheelchair.)

Friends

...are the chocolate chips in the cookies of life. How's that for an overused phrase? But who doesn't love chocolate chips?

Seriously, though, I am incredibly blessed by my friends. Two have left me lovely voicemails in the last two days (if you're reading this, yes, I will call you back...as soon as I have a free moment at a reasonable hour!)

Friends are the antidote to being stuck inside all day and therefore in a not-so-marvelous mood. Sometimes when I am really bogged down by work, I start to feel isolated (and I am, sort of, by the fact that being so busy working keeps me inside rather than out interacting with people). It's at these times that having friends reach towards me is such an incredible blessing.

I have friends of all ages. This morning, I finally got out of my house and went to the school to read to the first graders. It did my heart good to hear them say they had missed me (it had been several weeks since I had been in the classroom, because I was sick last Friday and there was no school the Friday before). I also enjoyed catching up with Mary Ellen, their teacher, who is my friend as well. Talking to her got me caught up not only on her but also on the other things that have been happening on the island while I've been buried under work and staying inside.

One of those things is a minor outbreak of some kind of bug which causes a fever. This morning, nearly half of the first graders were out of school sick. That's one thing about living in a small community: when there's something going around, you're probably going to get it. Unless, of course, you are stuck at home working and haven't been outside much in a week. Hey, maybe that was a blessing.

Or maybe not. My friends, however, certainly are a blessing. So if you are one (and hey, if you're reading this blog, I count you as a friend): thank you! As Anne Haley more eloquently puts it:

And I'd thank you, my friends.
We've crossed a thousand paths
and found ourselves together in the end.
And if ever I could have the chance
to do it all again,
I'd take the long road
with you my friends.

(To hear a clip of the song, including the lines above (the chorus), go to Anne's website, click "the goods" (bottom right tab), then select "Friends" from the "It's a Beautiful Life" CD.)

Wishing you a life blessed with friendship, wherever you are...

Some days...

...are better than others. Today was not a happy day for me. No reason, really, other than being inside all day (literally, all day) on a gorgeous spring Thursday.

It's bad enough not getting outside as a general concept, but it's truly awful when:
- it's the fourth (fifth? I've lost count) day in a row...
- the weather is terrific and it would be a super day to walk on the beach
- you would really like to blog about something more interesting (say, what's happening or planned to be happening on the island), but you haven't been to the Post Office in so long, you have no clue what's happening!
- you would love to put a photo on said blog, but strongly suspect that your blog readers really would not be all that interested in a photo of your living room

When I was a little girl, if I woke up grouchy, my Mom would say "you need to go back to bed and get out on the other side". I'm sure that's a trite phrase that may have been said hundreds of times in the past, but as a kid I really thought it would work, so I would literally (yes, really...) crawl back in my bed, and get out on the opposite side from the one that I got out on previously. Funny, huh? Anyway, I think since I've had a cranky day, I just need to go TO bed, and hope I feel better (not to mention get to go outside!) tomorrow, regardless of which side I use to get out of bed.

Hope you are in a good mood, wherever you are...

A potluck is a great time to...

1. Eat! (Duh...) My favorite items that I look forward to at every potluck are Philip's deviled eggs, Kitty's lima beans, Sundae's pineapple casserole, Marcy's sausage rolls, and ANYTHING Merle brings.


(Mmmm...all that food just lined up on the counter smelling delicious and waiting to be devoured....)

2. See people you haven't seen in a while (possibly months for some folks). I love seeing the smiling faces of my friends, and when there are a whole bunch of those faces in one room at the same time, it's a real treat! (And when there's food involved, too, it's even better!)

3. Catch up on what's going on in the lives of those people you haven't seen in a while.

4. Make an announcement. (No, not necessarily from a stage or anything.) A big decision was recently made which will greatly affect my life (in a wonderful, joy-filled way, so don't worry. And don't be undyingly curious either...you know I'll eventually blog about it here!) Anyway, tonight at the potluck I told many of my closest friends about the decision, and we talked about the upcoming changes and impacts to my life. It was nice to be in this group setting where I could let several people know at the same time.

5. Be understood and get support. This big decision has been a long time coming, and I have talked with a handful of people about it. Many of them were very cautious about the idea, and some even said I was crazy for considering it. Tonight, the people I talked with indicated that they understood my decision by saying things like "of course you would do that for your family". One put it in a very Ocracoke way by saying "it's for kin". Almost everyone I talked with also offered his or her support and assistance with this new thing in my life. That's one of my favorite things about Ocracoke: you don't have to "go it alone" around here.

6. Celebrate and say thanks! This potluck was to celebrate the road reopening, and to thank the many people and groups who made the process go as well as possible. There was a giant card on a table for people to sign as another expression of the community's gratitude as well.


(That's County Manager Carl Classen making some opening remarks and thanking everyone who worked so hard to complete the bridge replacement project successfully and ahead of schedule.)

7. Listen to some good music. Molasses Creek played a slightly-updated version of "Seven Bridges Road" which gave the crowd a chuckle. At the end of the song, when the phrase "seven bridges road" repeats, they harmonized "six bridges and a culvert" instead. In case you don't know, there were previously seven bridges on the island, causing some to wonder if the song was written about Ocracoke (it wasn't). One of the bridges was converted to a culvert during the project, so Hwy 12 on the island is not a seven bridges road any longer!



After Molasses Creek, The Ocracoke Jazz Society performed as well.



All in all, it was a lovely way to spend an evening. Hope you get to "break bread" with your friends too, wherever you are...

Everyone loves the brown...SUV?

I received a package yesterday, which was delivered by my friendly UPS man. I'm not just using that as a trite phrase, either. The UPS guy who comes to Ocracoke, whose name is Grant, really is very friendly and helpful. He always brings packages into the screened porch, and will offer to bring the really heavy ones into the house for me, too. (I always open the door when I see him coming, to say hello and thanks.) I can relate to those ads that say "everyone loves the brown truck" (or something to that effect), because I do enjoy seeing it when it pulls up, both because Grant is so personable and also because it is always fun to get a package of course!

Yesterday, there was no brown truck. It was an SUV. This is the only time I've received a package since the road has been closed, so it was my first opportunity to see how UPS had arranged to continue deliveries during the bridge replacement project. Anyway, it made me smile to see this example of service providers working to ensure that life flowed as smoothly and un-interruptedly as possible for this time. It really has gone quite well, and I hardly noticed the closure at all. That's partially because, with the exception of the vacation in January, I have been a home body and not really gone - or needed to go - anywhere (at least not "up the beach", aka north) so the fact of the beach detour wasn't a reality in my world. But I certainly recognize and appreciate all the efforts that went on in the background to ensure that I could say that. The road will open tomorrow at 5 PM and these changes will become a thing of the past. I'm glad we made it through without any major issues.

It's a stormy evening here in North Carolina, and there have been several tornado watches and warnings issued in areas west of here. Hopefully the storm system will go through here quickly overnight and not cause any major problems. Speaking of overnight, I'm - yawn - headed to bed now. Sleep well, wherever you are...

Beautiful days

It was a lovely, sunny day today with a high in the 60s. Even better weather is predicted for tomorrow (high of 72!). Unfortunately after that, a rain/wind storm will come through tomorrow night and into Wednesday morning. I'm going to have to try to get outside and enjoy it tomorrow before the rain starts. Recently, I've been spending most of my days indoors, either working or painting. I don't mind the painting, since every little bit makes our new house look better, but the fact that the working keeps me from enjoying the sunshine is a bit annoying. (Gotta pay the bills, though...) Anyway, that's the reason for the lack of photographs (and interesting news) on recent blogs. No photos since I'm not outside enough to take any, and no news since I'm not out enough to hear any!

Hope you are not stuck inside, wherever you are...

Hungry?

A good potluck is always a great way to fill up, on both food and fellowship. On Ocracoke, potlucks are held for all sorts of reasons: to get people to come to a meeting, to celebrate birthdays, holidays (Jimmy's Garage party during the Christmas season is the biggest), and other days (summer solstice, for example), and sometimes for no reason at all other than wanting to get together and eat. This winter there were a handful more potluck and other food get-togethers than usual, since everything was so quiet while the road was closed. According to the email I received today, the next potluck is to celebrate the fact that the road is reopening:

BRIDGE OPENING CELEBRATION

PLEASE JOIN THE
OCRACOKE CIVIC AND BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
FOR A POT LUCK SUPPER

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 2008 AT 6 PM
AT THE OCRACOKE COMMUNITY CENTER
DRINKS AND MAIN COURSE PROVIDED
SPONSORED BY OCBA

EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

On Ocracoke, everyone really means everyone. John and I went to a potluck once before we lived here, and we took a pizza from Jason's (since we were staying in a B&B and therefore didn't have a kitchen, tools and/or ingredients to prepare something homemade). The pizza was well received (especially by the kids) and we enjoyed an evening with the community. So if you happen to be here on Wednesday, join us to celebrate winter coming to a close, and the road becoming open.

Walking

Ocracoke Village is a great place to walk, run, or even bike for exercise. It's flat, safe (especially this time of year when there is very little traffic), and picturesque. I took a long walk today and enjoyed views of Silver Lake harbor, lovely old live oak trees, historic homes, old family cemeteries, and the Lighthouse.

One of my favorite things about walking around Ocracoke is the off-the-road pathways that cut through from one area to another in some parts of the Village. I walked on three of these today, and am quite sure there are more that I don't know about yet. If anyone wants to go walking with me and show me - or discover with me - more paths like these, I'm game!

The next time you visit Ocracoke (or the next time you have some free time, if you live here!), I highly recommend a walk around the Village. It's good for the heart, literally and figuratively.

Hope you are actively enjoying your home town, wherever you are...