Re-opening

Things are starting to reopen for the season around here.

Here are a handful of dates I've heard about when some of my favorites will be open again.

Cafe Atlantic - 4/1

Flying Melon - 4/7

Ocracoke Coffee Company - 4/8

Sloppy lunch

I have several blogs in draft about the rest of my vacation, and I'll get them posted once I've had some time to upload the photos.

In the meantime, here's some info. that you'll like if you're hungry for lunch and on the island on Thursday. (Assuming, of course, that you like either hot dogs or Sloppy Joes. I happen to love Sloppy Joes and can't remember the last time I had one, so I like this info. very much.)

OUMC Lunch
Hot dogs and Stella's homemade Sloppy Joes, plus baked goods and drinks
Thursday March 31 at 11 AM
Methodist Church Rec Hall

Yum. I'm officially craving a big ol' sloppy Sloppy Joe now...

What season is it?

Just when it seems like spring has sprung, today was gray and downright cold. I am really ready for spring to come and stay, rather than this back and forth between warm and chilly weather.

Glass...beads and otherwise

Today's craft adventures involved glass. First, we made watches using glass beads. (I was too busy obsessing about what color beads to use on my watch to take any pictures.)

Then, we made glass etchings. Several of them. Seven, to be exact. What can I say? I liked the designs, the etching process itself was fun and easy to do, and I thought why not have one in nearly every room in the house?

Here we are prepping the glass.



A couple of the designs in progress.

Jewelry, cooking, and mystery

We had a very full day today at Massanutten! In the morning, we made jewelry (matching bracelet and earring sets). I can't wear anything other than gold in my ears, unfortunately, but I still had fun making a set for my sister! Here's a picture of my Mom working to get her beads in just the order she wants them.



After jewelry class, Mom and I went back to the condo to get John and the three of us attended a cooking demonstration, and enjoyed a wonderful lunch to boot. (We got to eat what was demonstrated - a delicious fruit salad, veal marsala, and bananas foster. Yum.)

Here's our chef flambeeing the bananas foster.



I didn't know until this demo that chef toques have holes in the tops. It makes sense, of course, to keep cool heads in the kitchen...it was just something I hadn't known until I saw the top of the chef's hat in the demo mirror.



Finally, tonight, Jocelyn and Mom and I went to the Murder Mystery Dinner. (Yes, it was a major eating day!) The food was good and the show was really fun. We didn't win the prize, unfortunately, as we over-thought the question of whodunit.

Pretty ladies, wearing their new jewelry sets.



The murder mystery play cast. Don't ask what a goth, a lady detective, a cheerleader, a guy pretending to be a detective, a woman with a dog in her purse and a funky steam punk girl have in common...it would take too long to explain!

Glass and balloons

Today, we acted quite glassy. :) We went to glass etching class, and etched to our hearts' content. Between Mom, John and me, we made 7 items! Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures of the final product, but here are a few of the work in progress.



The train is for Connor. Yes, the Princess one is for me, of course!



As if that wasn't enough fun for one day, the evening show was a blast. It was a magician/comedian/balloon artist. And just in case you think that sounds corny, it wasn't. This guy made some seriously amazing balloons, and made his show hilarious and engaging from start to finish. I took loads of photos, but I'll just share a few that give a sense for how amazing the balloons were.





Sir Connor, Knight of the Balloon Brotherhood.

Basket cases

In our ongoing quest to become complete craft-nuts, today my mom and I made baskets.

This is our teacher Janet getting the materials ready.



The "before" shot - Mom with her base, soon to become the bottom of a napkin basket.



And "after" - aren't we cute little basket cases?

Crafty

I mentioned in yesterday's blog that Massanutten has many activities to choose from. Lots of those activities are craft classes...and learning to do new craft activities is one of my favorite things to do. (Yes, I know...I don't need another hobby! But anyway...)

Today's class was "Handmade Greeting Cards", and it was a good one. I had thought we might be doing something a bit goofy, like stamping, but it actually was different, and much better than expected. We used decorative paper and designs created by the class leader Nancy (an art teacher and very creative person) to make some lovely cards. I'm planning to start giving them away soon!

Here's a photo of my mom working on one of her cards, under Nancy's helpful eye.



And this photo gives a better sense of the cards themselves.

Off island, maybe still daily

I will be out of town for the next week, enjoying a family vacation at Massanutten Resort, in the mountains of Virginia. So the blog for the next few days won't be island related. It may or may not still be daily. (Depends how busy I am with all my vacation fun. This resort has many, many activities, and I'm planning to stay pretty busy.)

Here are a couple of pictures of the view from our condo.

The mountains (and other parts of the resort) in the distance.



The ski slopes (closed now for the season).

Why...

am I so disorganized when it comes to packing to go on vacation? It's really pretty ridiculous, since I need to leave at a particular time of morning to make the ferry...so it's not like I have the luxury of dawdling. But I do this to myself every time. At least I'm consistent!

Firemen's Ball

Story time

Donald Davis has written a new book, called "Stories from a Free Range Childhood", and he'll be sharing stories from it on Friday April 1st at Deep Water Theater. I always love to hear Donald tell stories, but will unfortunately have to miss this particular event as I'll be off the island that day. Darn!

Meeting tomorrow

If you want to make your voice heard about the potential ferry fees, there is a meeting tomorrow night (Wed. 3/16) at the Community Center. Hyde County Manager Mazie Smith is planning to be at the meeting.

I, however, am not. I have to go to Virginia Beach tomorrow for a follow up appointment and will not be back on time.

Someone go for me and tell them that I think a moderate fee for visitors is appropriate, but that there should not be fees for full time permanent residents. I'm afraid if we try to go with a "guns blazing" NO FEES approach, it will backfire. Obviously the state needs the ferry system to generate some revenue, so a reasonable, meet in the middle solution will be better received. That's my two cents, anyway. Wish I could go to the meeting to share it!

Kittens

I have recently volunteered to foster and tame Ocracats kittens who might be candidates for adoption. Apparently, I'm reasonably good at it, as the two I've had so far have become wonderful loving pets. The only downside? I got attached to and adopted them, so they are my pets. That's not a bad thing at this point, but it does mean that I need a new strategy if I'm going to continue doing this for Ocracats. (Either that, or I'm going to get started early on working toward my retirement goal of becoming the crazy cat lady of Ocracoke!) I have four cats at the moment, which is enough for now. I think that, going forward, I should only foster and tame cats who already have a person identified who plans to adopt them.

Working with feral kittens is an interesting experience, and provides several life lessons about things like patience, how slowly trust builds, and unconditional love. I find it rewarding and don't want to stop doing it...but need to figure out how to do so in a way that doesn't end with me keeping all of them!

Turtles

We went to Gaffer's tonight for dinner (it has become Connor's favorite place). The next time we go we're going to have to a) sit at the same table and b) take the camera, because there are a bunch of turtles who live in the marshland/pond area next to the restaurant (which you can see through the windows of the tables along the wall which is furthest from the entrance door). Connor had a blast watching them swim around and pop their heads up out of the water. The staff at Gaffer's is feeding them chicken, meaning the turtles will definitely stick around in that area. So you can be pretty sure to see one if you look!

Baby boys

I went to a baby shower today for a young lady who is having a baby boy in April. His due date is one day before Connor's third birthday, so I'm hoping he'll be a day late so he can have a great birthday! (Yes, of course, I know that whatever day he is born will be perfect as long as he is healthy.)

Anyway, at the shower, a lady realized that she had been misinformed about the due date for the baby (someone had told her he was due in May). She was mildy embarrased because she had written a cute poem in the card about being born in May. Of course the mommy-to-be didn't mind at all and was very gracious about it.

The lady then realized that when she asked the person who told her the baby was due in May, that person was thinking of another lady on the island who is also having a baby boy, who IS due in May. It sure seems like recently most (more than 50%) of the new babies on the island have been boys. Something in the water?

Almost....

...time for Daylight Savings Time! I love the longer days and warmer air that indicate spring is on the way. I am more of a "daylight later in the day" person than a "daylight first thing in the morning" person, though, so I'm really ready for the switch to DST this weekend.

Hope you're enjoying the last bit of winter and the fade into spring, wherever you are!

Ferry fees?

The island is abuzz today with news of potential fees for the Hatteras Inlet ferry, after the fact that the NC legislature is discussing the possibility was presented during the Civic and Business Association meeting last night.

From the conversations I've had with folks about it, there seems to be some disagreement regarding whether charging visitors to ride the ferry will be a problem. Some feel that a moderate charge ($5, no more than $10) would be fine. I personally have had many visitors tell me they would be happy to pay to ride the ferry, and that they fully expected there to be a charge and were quite surprised when they arrived to find there wasn't. Some others on the island feel that charging visitors to ride the Hatteras ferry will reduce the number of people who come to the island. What do you think?

The other part of the potential fee announcement, however, seems to have very few supporters (quite possibly none). There is a proposal to charge residents $100 per month for a commuter pass! Yes, you read that right! That would be $1,200 per year. That, in just about everyone's opinion, is beyond ridiculous.

There's an article in the Island Free Press about it, which you can read here, and an editorial in the Star News Online, here.

Wrecks and reefs

National Park Service News Release

For Immediate Release:: March 7, 2011
Contact: Cyndy Holda, Public Affairs Specialist, 252- 473-2111, ext. 148

Know Your Park: Wrecks and Reefs of the Battle of the Atlantic
Presentations to be held at the Fessenden Center in Buxton and the Ocracoke
Community Center.

The National Park Service Outer Banks Group Know Your Park citizen science
program series continues with presentations from nautical archeologist Dr.
Nathan Richards on Monday, March 14th at the Fessenden Center in Buxton at
7:30 p.m.; and education specialist/researcher John McCord on Tuesday,
March 15th at the Ocracoke Community Center at 7:30 p.m. These programs
are free and will last approximately 1 hour.

The presentations will focus on recent the recent research and filming of
German U-boats and Allied and merchant vessels sunk during WWII off of the
Outer Banks. In addition to locating and documenting these shipwrecks, the
Battle of the Atlantic research team has been collecting data on the fish
and other marine life that live on the reefs now growing on the sunken
vessels. Using a super high-resolution video camera, the research team
shot digital video of a variety of these shipwreck sites ton dives ranging
from 80 to 250 feet. The video was recorded in 4096x2048-pixel
resolution—about four times better than the best high definition television
picture—giving the researchers an incredibly clear view of the details of
the shipwrecks and the abundant marine inhabitants.

Dr. Nathan Richards, an assistant professor of Maritime Studies at East
Carolina, is also head of the University of North Carolina (UNC) Coastal
Studies Institute's Maritime Heritage Program. Dr. Richards specializes in
maritime history and nautical archaeology. He has an interest in
non-traditional subjects in maritime archaeology focusing on non-shipwreck
sites such as ship graveyards, the archaeology of harbor infrastructure,
and maritime terrestrial sites.

John McCord is the Education Programs Coordinator for the UNC Coastal
Studies Institute. As part of Battle of the Atlantic expedition team,
McCord filmed much of the high-resolution video.

For the last three years Richards, McCord, and other researchers from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, East Carolina University,
and the UNC Coastal Studies Institute have worked with the Minerals
Management Service, the National Park Service, and the state of North
Carolina to document the Battle of the Atlantic. The multi-year project
will result in detailed site plans of the shipwreck sites, documentation of
the diverse marine life that live on and near the wrecks, and documentation
of the degradation of the vessels caused by humans and the environment.

In 1942, the Germans aimed to sink U.S. merchant ships that were carrying
supplies to England. U.S. and Royal Navy ships patrolled the coast to
protect them and, when necessary, take on the Germans. One of the most
overlooked engagements of World War II, this battle claimed 80 ships and
hundreds of lives.

The Know Your Park citizen science program series is designed to further
connect the Outer Banks communities and residents with the rich natural
world and cultural heritage of their neighboring national park sites; Cape
Hatteras National Seashore, Wright Brothers National Memorial, and Fort
Raleigh National Historic Site. “These presentations offer park visitors
as well as local residents an opportunity to learn more about, and better
enjoy, the coastal environment and their National Parks” stated Mike
Murray, Superintendent, Outer Banks Group.

Fire and Vine

If you're ever in Virginia Beach, and you find yourself hungry for a terrific meal, I seriously recommend Fire and Vine. I ate there tonight with friends Marcy and Kathleen, and everything about the place was wonderful. The food was delicious, dessert was decadent, the salad bar looked amazing (we didn't try it, since Marcy and I had enjoyed large salads for lunch on our way up to VA Beach), the service was outstanding, and even the bathroom was lovely! Seriously, go eat there if you have a chance. It's not cheap, but it's well worth it.

Timely

Spring is on the way, and as is usually the case this time of year, my yard and "flower bed" (I use that term very loosely...it really would be more accurate to call it a "weed bed") both look terrible. In case you've ever walked past my house and wondered if I just don't care, that's not the case. I really do care, but I have no clue how to garden. I've tried a couple of different things and am going to try again this year, but this growing stuff activity is hard. Maybe (well, definitely) I need this:

GARDENING CLASS
Friday, March 11 @1:30pm
at the Ocracoke Community Center
The indoor portion of the class should last around 1 1/2 hr.

Topics to be covered in the class:
 Soil sampling
 Soil amendments(fertilize, compost, etc)
 Vegetable planting dates
 Starting plants early
 Tools for gardening
 Container gardening
 Rose Care

After the indoor portion of the class, we will move to several spots on the island for demonstrations of what we have learned.

This is a free class brought to you by the N.C. Agricultural Extension Agency. Mac Gibbs, the Extension Agent for Hyde County, will be teaching the class and will be available for questions or visits after the class.


After the indoor portion of the class, they could move to my yard for abundant examples of what NOT to do.

Pancakes and ashes

This week, the United Methodist Church is doing a couple of activities to prepare for the season of Lent. First, there's a Fat Tuesday Pancake supper on...well, Tuesday, obviously. (It's at 6 PM at the Rec Hall - pancakes by Ruth Toth, so you know they're going to be good!) And then the Ash Wednesday service is at 7 PM (on Wednesday, obviously).

I may have to miss both, unfortunately, as I'm going to Norfolk tomorrow, and not sure when I'll be back (Tuesday or Wednesday). If you go to either or both events and don't see me there, enjoy the pancakes on Tuesday and reflect on Wednesday. I'll enjoy and reflect vicariously through you!

Upcoming book signing

If you've ever had the pleasure of listening to Donald Davis tell a story (live or on CD), or to read any of his previous books, I bet you will like this event. And for once, I'm posting about something that is happening not only on Ocracoke, so even if you aren't here, you may be able to enjoy this at another location in NC. (You may need to click on the second picture in order to view it in a larger size, so you can read the details.)

Poetry

Winter sunsets and clear nights

One of the things I love about winter on the island is the clear skies. They make for lovely sunsets, like this one...



...and wonderful star gazing (which, of course, is not as easy to photograph). I spent all day today going up the beach for a the dental appointment (Buxton) and an eye exam (Nag's Head). It was a long, tiring day...I left on the 8 AM ferry and returned on the 9 PM. But the night sky during that 9 PM ride was star-filled and lovely, making it all worth it.

New signs

I noticed several new signs around the community square recently.

An improved sign for an existing shop.



And a new sign for a new shop.



And coming soon to this building - a new shop (along with, I have to assume, a sign). Rob and Sundae are working to open a nautical shop and sailing school here. I'll post updates and more pictures later.

Jazz it up!

Here's something you might enjoy tomorrow night. I plan to enjoy it myself.