Christmas challenges

I usually try to keep my blogs very positive (or at least informative, when they are about controversial or difficult topics). I'm not Pollyanna, I just have a really blessed life, with friends and family I love (and who love and support me), and a beautiful place (my favorite on earth) that I am lucky enough to call home. That said, I do of course sometimes have more difficult experiences and thoughts. If you read this blog to be uplifted and don't want to hear anything about life challenges, that might be construed as "negative", stop reading this one now and come back tomorrow. :)

I think our culture has completely missed the point of Christmas. Yes, I know I'm not the first person to express this, but my recent experience with that holy holiday really is making it hit home. Why am I suddenly blogging about this now? My sister Jocelyn just called me to tell me that Mom was complaining about the gifts Dad bought her for Christmas, and one of the things she said (to my sister, remember) was "that glass church he got me is so kitsch". My sister's response? "I got you that, Mom." Whoops. (For those of you not familiar with Yiddish, "kitsch" essentially means "tacky".)

Now for the record, I thought that the glass church my sister got my Mom was quite pretty, and it even reminded me of the United Methodist Church here on the island (it had the same simple, classic structure and shape). But that's not the point. What I started thinking about after talking with Jocelyn was how it can sometimes be difficult to shop for people, especially if they haven't mentioned something specific they would like. I literally have a spreadsheet on which I keep thoughts about potential future gifts, so that if someone oohs and aahs over an item, or mentions in conversation that they could use a particular something, I can save that thought until the next gift giving opportunity. Failing that, I often fall back on buying items that "fit" with something the person collects or enjoys, which is easier the more things that are in that category. My Dad, for example, loves the Three Stooges, is a drummer, likes to play pool, and writes left-handed, so I can usually find a gift related to one of these things which hopefully he will like. (Even that strategy is not foolproof, though...I remember one year overhearing my Dad say that he was tired of receiving golf themed items from me. I don't buy those any more.) I often joke that I should be incredibly easy to shop for because I collect angels, sunflower and seashell themed items, decorative cow things for my kitchen, gold or brass Christmas ornaments, and pitchers, plus I have multiple hobbies which can lead to gifts (scrapbooking, knitting, cross stitching). Some of my favorite gifts ever are the ones which combine two of the above: I love the creativity and thoughtfulness of the people who have given me cow-angels, seashell-angels, and other combinations; this year I even got a seashell-angel-Christmas ornament!

I also love to eat, so any gift of food will be deeply enjoyed (most of my friends gave me munchies this year...I got delicious roasted peanuts, a mug full of chocolates, a plateful of assorted Christmas cookies, and a delightful looking home baked bread which I haven't tasted yet but I know will be fantastic). The great thing about gifts of food is that they are neutral enough to give to almost anyone, but personal enough (whether the giver made them him- or herself, or just put them together in or on a decorative mug, bowl, tray, plate, etc.) to seem thoughtful.

Which brings me to where I'm going with all this musing. When people are difficult to shop for (which can happen with people we hardly know and people we have known all our lives), another option is to fall back on the "neutral" or "generic" types of gifts. I received several of these this year, and I've already put them in my re-gifting box. (If you gave me a gift this year and you want to know whether it's in the re-gift box, forget it...I'm not going to tell you!) I actually appreciate re-gift-able gifts, because, remember, I live on an island! When I need a gift for a last minute event, I am thrilled to be able to find one quickly (no muss, no fuss, no shopping). I also put some thought into my re-gift giving and try to choose one (from my reasonably wide selection) which "fits" either the person or the occasion (I have some gifts which are perfect housewarming gifts, others which would be great to give to a couple together and therefore could be used for a wedding or anniversary gift, etc.) Now I know that some of you are just horrified by the concept of re-gifting, and think it's the tackiest (should I say "kitsch-est"?) thing anyone could ever do. I'm okay with that, I just disagree with you.

So here's my actual point: the fact that we are so pressed to give something (or possibly multiple somethings) to everyone at Christmas that we end up falling back on generic gifts even for our closest loved ones indicates we're really missing the point. Every year, there is a large pile of gifts under our tree. I know, I should be grateful and feel blessed by that (and I do). But I also feel overwhelmed and acquisitive and materialistic. Even before I'm finished unwrapping, I'm thinking either "where am I going to put this?" or "great re-gift". The fact is, I have everything I need, and all the rest is really just STUFF. And I've got more than enough STUFF too! Also, remember the thing that started this whole musing was my Mom's "open mouth, insert foot" comment to my sister. The fact that Mom didn't even remember who the gift she was maligning came from speaks volumes about getting too many gifts.

There are five people in my close family who get together for Christmas (our extended family members are spread out all over the world), so each of us should only have four gifts under the dang tree! Why don't we each just give each other ONE gift, which we've either picked out especially for that person based on our knowledge and love of him/her, or made by hand especially for him/her? (One of my favorite gifts this year is a picture of lilies which my sister hand painted for me.) The point of Christmas is to remember Christ's birth and celebrate God's amazing gift to the world. Even if you don't believe in that, then the point for you can be to celebrate life, love, and togetherness with your friends and family. Either way, mounds of gifts aren't necessary, and perhaps create more challenges than they are worth.

Okay, I think I'm done ranting now. I hope that any gifts you received this year for whatever you celebrate made you feel loved, appreciated, and known. And any that didn't, or that you just didn't need or have room for, re-gift those babies! :)

A fabulous day

I enjoyed a completely decadent, splurging, pampering kind of day today. First, I went to Deep Blue Day Spa to enjoy a wonderful package, which included a body scrub, a wrap, a hot stone massage, and a facial with lymph drainage therapy (which is incredibly relaxing). What made this even better was that it was a gift! I received a gift certificate for this lovely experience. Lucky me!

If that wasn't fabulous enough, I left the spa and went straight to the Second Annual Ocracoke Working Watermen's Association Oyster Roast. I munched on steamed shrimp and oysters until it got cool, started getting dark, and the event ended! I heard they had 22 bushels of oysters, and all of them were eaten and enjoyed. There was a large crowd at the event, and I hope it raised plenty of money for OWWA.

There are multiple events planned to ring in 2008 here on the island:
- the annual New Year's Eve party will be held at the Community Center, with music by the Ocracoke Rockers as usual
- the Assembly of God church is hosting a get together and showing a movie
- my friend Amy is having a party at her house, which will include...more oysters! If John has any say in the matter (which of course he does), we'll be going to that one, because that's where the oysters are. That man loves oysters.

Hope you enjoy your new year's celebrations, with or without oysters!

Open-ish

Jocelyn and I went shopping today. We went into several stores, although not everything is open. The sign on one of the stores spoke volumes about living in a small town. It said "We are open Monday through Saturday from 10ish to 4 or 5ish. If we are not here and you need something, call Leslie at ... "

Another small town moment which I really enjoyed today happened when I realized that my wallet with cash and credit cards was in my car at the garage. I was not at all concerned about that fact, but did want to go get the money (paper and plastic) to go shopping. I went into Jimmy's garage, where they greeted me by name, asked how Christmas had been, and told me to go ahead and grab whatever I needed from the car.

In every store, we chatted with the staff about how Christmas had been, and life in general. On the way home from shopping, we stopped to visit DeAnna. We traded stories and laughed together for a couple of hours. Later in the evening, Sundae stopped by to deliver Christmas gifts for us. She passed on a request from her kids that I go outside to say goodbye to them, as they will be leaving tomorrow on the 7 AM ferry to spend the winter in Florida. We chatted for a few minutes, then traded hugs and goodbyes. I'll miss them and look forward to seeing them when they get back again.

Just another day of loving life in my favorite town, where I enjoy being known, being of use, and being home. (With credit to Sundae.)

Puzzling...weather

John and Jocelyn (my sister) and I started working on the traditional holiday puzzle today. Usually, someone will buy one for the family for Christmas, and we'll put it together over the following few days. This year, there were actually two as gifts: one is a painting of the nativity scene, the other is about 18 years of Mardi Gras posters. We're working on the nativity one, partially because it seems more fitting, but mostly because it has only 500 pieces, while the Mardi Gras one has 2000! I am not that great at putting puzzles together, although I do enjoy working on them. John and Jocelyn are both really good at puzzles (we call Jocelyn "the puzzle master") so luckily I have them around to help me, or the darn things would never get done! I'm hoping to glue and possibly frame this one, and use it when decorating for Christmas over the coming years.

The weather was quite odd today. It started out very warm (I estimated the temperature was in the mid 60s, but my Dad said he thought it was as high as the low 70s). By the afternoon, it had gotten windy and rainy...and downright cold! The temperature must have dropped a good 30 degrees. It was a good day to stay inside and do a puzzle.

To catch you up...

...on what I've been up to lately, here are several mini blogs in one.

Friday Dec. 21 - an early morning ferry ride, a long drive, and a BIG meal

I got up before the crack of dawn this morning, to take the 6:30 ferry to Swan Quarter. After arriving there, I drove all the way to Asheville, on the other side of the wide north state! I went to meet my Mom and my sister Jocelyn there for our annual girls' weekend (they drove from Ohio, an only-slightly shorter trip). This year, we stayed at the Grove Park Inn. We booked a weekend package which included dinner on Friday night. Dinner turned out to be a seafood buffet, and we ate enough for dinner, and the next couple days worth of breakfast and lunch too! Okay, it wasn't quite that bad, but we certainly ate and enjoyed plenty! After our meal, we settled down in our room for a good night's sleep, because we needed to be well rested for Saturday. We had big plans to fill Saturday with...relaxation.

Saturday Dec. 22 - Spaaaah, Christmas tour, and a bit of an adventure

The Spa at the Grove Park Inn Resort is the best spa in the state of North Carolina. I say this with some authority, having personally experienced the spas at most of the other high-end/upscale resorts in the state (Ballantyne in Charlotte, Grandover in Greensboro, The Spa at Pinehurst, The Sanderling in Duck, and a handful of others); yes, I like to spa (and yes, I do believe "spa" should be a verb). Mom, Jocelyn and I spent most of Saturday in the spa at (or should I say under?) the Grove Park Inn. The spa, like the Inn, is built into the side of the mountain, and is partially underground. It has been designed to take advantage of this fact, and is built out of natural rock, giving it an underground "grotto" feeling. It has multiple pools, whirlpools (indoors and out), saunas, steam rooms, calming inhalation rooms, and cozy dark rooms with fireplaces for total relaxation. This was my second time at the spa, and I enjoyed it even more than the first. I am already planning for the next time (I want to go back with several friends to celebrate my 40th birthday, in just under 5 years). I will also start SAVING for that next visit too, since the best spa in the state is also by far the priciest. It is, however, more than worth every penny!

After our spa day, the girls headed for Biltmore Estate, where we had a wonderful 4 course meal in the Stable Cafe followed by a tour of the house to see the myriad beautiful Christmas decorations. If you haven't experienced Biltmore yet, I highly recommend it. If you've been but not at Christmas, go back during the yuletide season ~ the yards and yards of garland, lovely (and enormous) wreaths, and multiple trees (including a HUGE one in the Great Hall) are a visual feast.

After touring the house, we rode the shuttle bus back to the car to head back to the Grove Park. I unlocked the car with the remote lock control, and we all hopped in. That's when I noticed that I did not have the car key. Now I have to say that you really should attempt not to lose your car key anywhere, but the absolute worst possible place to lose it has got to be a chateau with 250 rooms! Jocelyn and I rode the shutle bus back up to the house, where we worked with the wonderful staff, who checked their "lost and found" area (to no avail, as no keys had been turned in), then helped us call a locksmith (who wasn't sure whether he could help and suggested we work with another local guy - a specialist in car keys - in the morning to assist, as it was nearly midnight at this point), and even arranged a ride for us back to the Grove Park (with shuttle-driver Tom). Tom took us back to the car in the shuttle, then went to get his car to chauffeur us. As Jocelyn climbed into the back seat to wait for Tom's return, what to my wondering eyes should appear if not the key, partially under the car where I assume it fell as I slipped into the driver's seat the first time we tried to leave! We waited for Tom to come back, to let him know we had found the key and could be safely on our way without his help, then drove back to the Inn. We got in at shortly after 1 AM and were all quite tired and grouchy, but I suppose that all's well that ends well. I was happy that we would not have to continue dealing with the situation on Sunday morning, when we really needed to be enjoying our last big meal before heading home to Ocracoke.

Sunday Dec. 23 - another BIG meal, and a REALLY long drive

Before leaving the Grove Park, we enjoyed the last item included in our girls' weekend package: Sunday Brunch in the Blue Ridge Dining Room. We had a corner table with windows on two sides which provided a fabulous view of the lovely mountains for which the room is named. Brunch was marvelous; we feasted on Eggs Benedict, cheese blintzes with fruit compote, lobster with drawn butter, chilled strawberry bisque, and many other delicious choices. I was a bit concerned we would all be drowsy for the long drive to the island, but we made it back here with no mishaps or falling asleep behind the wheel. It took 10 hours total (including the Hatteras ferry ride) to get to Ocracoke, and we were all ready for bed when we arrived at midnight. During the drive, however, we were lucky enough to see the full moon rise and then hang, low and huge in the still-light sky, before ascending and shining down on us. The sky was clear for much of the drive, and the amount of silver light provided by the huge full moon was remarkable.

Monday Dec. 24 - getting ready for Christmas!

The family (my Dad arrived this morning) spent the day wrapping gifts and hanging stockings for Santa to fill. John and I drove around for about an hour in the afternoon, delivering gifts to (and stopping to chat with) several of our friends. After a quick dinner, we went to the traditional Christmas Eve service at the Methodist Church. When we returned home, we opened the "First Gift of Christmas" (this is a tradition I recently started; the first gift is a beautiful nativity music box and we open it first to take a moment to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas before diving in to the serious gift unwrapping). Each of us then opened one of our gifts from under the tree (another family tradition - we'll open the rest tomorrow morning). Then we watched the movie "The Nativity Story". Or more accurately, I watched the movie: John went to bed, and the rest of the family fell asleep in chairs as the film played. Now I'm the last one up, getting caught up on my blogging and enjoying the quiet. I do need to head to bed now, though, so I am not too bleary eyed to enjoy the celebration in the morning. Besides, if I'm not asleep, Santa won't come!

My wishes for the merriest Christmas (or Hanukkah, or whatever you're celebrating) and for a new year filled with joy!

All aboard!

We took the first and second grade classes for a ride on the Polar Express today. Well, we used our imaginations to pretend that the chairs lined up in the classroom were the seats on the train, anyway. It certainly seemed real, since the kids were required to have tickets and the conductor (my hubby John, in a three piece suit!) punched the tickets before they came inside from the playground.

We listened to Chris van Allsburg's magical story read by William Hurt on cassette, complete with train whistle and steam sounds and, of course, the lovely ring of the bells on Santa's reindeer. The kids listened very well. They were wide eyed at some of the pictures, especially the one of all the elves at the North Pole. I was heartened to see how much they enjoyed the simple story and beautiful illustrations, in this day of slick digital effects (I'm sure they all have seen the movie as well, but I realized anew this morning that the story itself is what holds the wonder).

After the story, we drank hot chocolate (stirred, of course, with candy canes...the fact that they disappeared turned into a vocabulary/science lesson on "dissolving"), ate "candies with nougat centers" (aka Milky Way bars) and delicious home baked cookies (courtesy of Macky's mom), played a rousing round of "The Conductor Says" (Lupita won for the second year in a row, having won last year as a first grader - she really pays attention!), and gave each other Christmas hugs and presents. We gave each child a bell on a ribbon; most of them tied the bells to their wrists, and the classroom was soon filled with the sweet sound of ringing. I loved that sound!

"Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me as it does for all who truly believe."

The big show

On Ocracoke, the biggest show of the year is the school Christmas program, and this year was no exception. The gym was packed with community members of all ages, from the youngest babies to the oldest grandparents. There were smiles on all the faces, as the standing room only crowd watched the kids (from pre-kindergarten through high school) perform (and project) their hard-prepared Christmas songs, skits and even one short movie.

The first and second grade classes kicked off the show with a wonderful performance of "We Need a Little Christmas", utilizing several props and featuring one of the kids as the Christmas tree, which they decorated during the song! It was an adorable and festive way to start the program. The pre-K and kindergarten students then performed "Here Comes Santa Claus" (the Elvis version: several of the kids wore Elvis wigs!) and "Jingle Bells".

Several more excellent performances followed, both sung and played on musical instruments from guitars and keyboards (the pep band) to violins and harmonicas (the 4th grade music club) and even handbells (the 7th grade class). The 6th graders performed a hilarious version of "I'm Getting Nothin' for Christmas" (starting with a "breaking newscast" reporting the "bad behavior" of kids on Ocracoke, including stealing the wreath from the Lighthouse).

The 8th grade class recited (and acted out) a poem about Santa getting stuck in the chimney. Luckily the jolly old elf escaped, so Christmas won't be delayed this year - whew! The High School students then presented the short film they produced, which was an Ocracoke version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol. It was excellent, and the "blooper reel" at the end of the credits was quite funny. The final act of the evening was the entire school singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas". I love that the entire school body (pre-K through 12, plus teachers and staff) can all fit on one stage. Good thing it's a strong stage!

Hope you're enjoying the holiday season. My advice: go see a show performed by kids - it's good for the soul and heart to smile that much.

Thank heaven...

...for online shopping with fast shipping! I managed to buy a couple more Christmas presents today, which will be delivered on Dec. 24th! I even found something for my Dad, who is nearly impossible to shop for. There are still at least two additional people I need to get gifts for, so I'll be shopping on the island tomorrow or the next day for them. Luckily we have fabulous stores around here!

On a sad note, I'm a bit disappointed that this year I will miss an island Christmas tradition: caroling. Every year, a group gets together and walks around the village, stopping at homes of many of the island's elders to sing on porches, in front yards, and sometimes in living rooms. At the end of the evening, the group meets at one of the two island churches for a warm dinner (usually chili) to thaw out from walking around outside in December. This year, the "official" caroling night is this Friday the 21st. I'll miss that one because I'll be in Asheville NC that evening (will be spending the weekend there with my Mom and sister, staying at the Grove Park Inn and pampering ourselves in their fabulous spa).

Several other caroling regulars also will not be available on the 21st, so another outing was planned for this evening. I missed that one, too, because I have not been able to fully lose the lingering head cold I've had for a while, and I thought that perhaps I should not walk around with a group of friends who probably don't want to share it with me! Jamie called me while they were out to make sure I hadn't forgotten, which is always a possibility (ever since I burst into tears after realizing I had missed Charlotte's welcome party (i.e. baby shower) for no good reason other than just not remembering to go, I actually have a standing request to my friends to call me if I'm ever not at something at which they expected to see me, to make sure I'm not at home doing nothing except having a brain freeze). Anyway, I have been a member of the caroling group every Christmas since I moved here, with the exception of this year, which is why I'm sad that I didn't get to go tonight.

On another sad note, two of my favorite guys to sing to aren't here on earth to listen any more. But I suspect Roy and John Thomas were listening from heaven tonight. Probably playing guitar and singing along, too!

Aaaarrrggghhhh!

I am not ready for Christmas and it is next Tuesday!

I have been so distracted and unfocused recently, I swear I have adult ADHD. I can't seem to get anything done! I should clarify, though. It's not actually that I've been UNfocused, I've just been focused on things other than Christmas preparation (read: gift buying).

Today, I spent quite a while focused on several other blogs, most of which were examples of often-hilarious misuse of English grammar, orthography, and punctuation. Yes, I'm a grammar geek and I believe that the world is in dire need of editors. I also really enjoy laughing, and these blogs caused me to do so this morning, often and heartily. If you also find this kind of thing interesting (and don't worry, I won't be offended if you don't...I've found enough similar thinkers online to make me happy), check out these links:
Apostrophe Abuse
Literally, A Web Log
lowercase L
Why a Tittle
And finally, the one that started it all (thanks, Sundae!) The "Blog" of "Unnecessary" Quotation Marks

Windy and wet

The last 24 hours or so have been quite blustery and rainy. The rain started yesterday afternoon, and the wind picked up overnight. At the moment (11:45 on Sunday night...yes, I need to go to bed!) it is still windy but no longer raining. While I was out driving around this afternoon (after touching salt water), I had the good fortune (and timing) to arrive at the park service boat ramp just in time to see the sunset over the waves. Normally, sunrise is the only thing you can see over waves around here, since the sun sets on the Pamlico Sound side of the island, rather than the ocean side. Today, however, there were whitecaps on the sound!

The power has been stable throughout the wind-storm, which is good since it is also quite cold. During my drive, I noticed the cable and electric wires blowing in the wind, and thought it was just a matter of time before we lost power, so I was pleasantly surprised when that didn't happen (at least it didn't happen in the "down point" part of the village where I live, I suppose it might have happened in the "round creek" area where I saw the wildly flapping wires.)

Hope you are safe, dry, and not getting blown away, wherever you are!

A party and a pageant

Today I was lucky enough to watch island kids enjoying the Children's Christmas Party at the Community Center. This annual event is organized by Leslie of Books to Be Red, and is always well attended. The kids I talked with all seemed to be enjoying themselves very much. For the first hour or so of the event, they played games, worked on crafts (making popsicle frames, painting t-shirts, etc.), participated in Christmas-related activities (preparing "reindeer food", for example), and ate delicious cookies and other treats. Then a siren was heard and everyone got excited and ran outside. No, there wasn't a crime in progress (this is Ocracoke, remember?) It was Santa arriving, on the fire truck. He came inside and spoke to everyone there (kids and adults alike) as he walked through the room, then settled down in his chair to meet the kids, who lined up to sit on his lap, tell him what they wanted for Christmas, and have a photo taken with the jolly old elf himself. I had so much fun watching all this happiness, I found myself with a goofy grin on my face through most of the event and feeling like a big kid by the end of it. So when Leslie asked me if I wanted my picture with Santa, of course I said yes! I "sat" on his lap (I was kind and spared Santa my full adult weight), chatted for a moment, and smiled for the Polaroid camera. It was a ball!

This evening, the kids (assisted by a handful of adults) of the Assembly of God Church performed in the annual Christmas pageant. This year, the title was "The 12 Days of Christmas". The main part of the show (involving all the kids from toddlers to teens) included a re-written version of that popular Christmas carol, which described the nativity scene (8 angels, 6 donkeys, 5 golden stars, 4 shepherds, 3 wise men, 2 parents smiling, and one baby Jesus are some of the verses I remember...I can't seem to bring to mind what number 7 was). As each group was introduced in song, the kids playing those characters joined the scene, until the stage and the area in front of it was filled with costumed, singing children. The toddlers playing sheep (with adorable cotton-ball ears) were the cutest in the bunch, in my opinion. The angels (8 first through third grade girls) looked lovely and sang beautifully. Several other songs were sung, including "Isn't He", one of my favorite worship songs, and Pastor Sam spoke a brief message. After the secular fun of the Christmas party with Santa, it was lovely to see and enjoy a celebration of what the holiday is really about.

Hope your celebrations, whatever they are, are both fun and meaningful.

Beach weather

I went to the beach today, wearing capris, a 3/4 length sleeve shirt, and no shoes. It has certainly been a mild December so far. I'm told that there's bad weather (wind and rain) coming in the next few days, but I don't mind particularly. I need to hole up a bit this weekend, to get caught up on preparations for both Christmas and our annual January vacation.

So I am ready for a rainy day or two. But I surely enjoyed the sunshine which enabled my walk on the beach today. I even put my feet in the ocean, which was quite enervating (read: chilly). The sand was warm from the rays beating down through the few puffy clouds, and I had the beach almost entirely to myself (there was one additional car in the parking lot when I arrived, and I could just barely make out another person, presumably its driver, quite a distance down the beach). I love walking across the dune crossover at the "Lifeguard Beach", with its slow introduction to the wonder that is the ocean. First, I hear the waves. Then, I see the dunes with their waving sea oats (stalks only now, the full heads having dropped off to seed new ones). In a moment, I get the first glimpse of the horizon, that lovely line where light blue sky meets dark blue ocean. Next is the glimmer of sunlight dancing on moving water. And finally, the rolling surf breaking and arriving on the shore. If I'm lucky, I might see some dancing dolphins, and there are almost invariably several birds sharing the area. I haven't seen a whale yet, but I know plenty of others who have, and believe I will be blessed by that vision at some point.

Today was clear and the light made it easy to see for miles. As I climbed the steps to the platform at the end (or beginning, depending on how you look at it) of the ramp from the beach back to the parking lot, I looked up and saw the village, which made me smile in the same (and yet slightly different) way that seeing the ocean always does. I thought "there's home", and almost burst with the joy of that truth. In the parking lot, I stood next to my car, looked up at the sky and its wispy clouds and said "thank you, thank you, thank you", crying tears of gratitude and happiness. Later I was talking to a lady who said that every time she gets out of her car at night, she stops and looks up at the star filled sky for a moment before proceeding into her house and on with her evening. I think this attitude of gratitude, this taking time to stop and appreciate the beauty of home and of our lives here, is a wonderful way to live.

Okay, I'll stop waxing poetic now. :) Go look at the sky (or something else in nature) wherever you are. It is a beautiful world!

Shooting stars and snaps

I did enjoy the Geminids meteor shower last night, sitting on a balcony and watching the dark sky with a cat in my lap. I saw several shooting stars, which streaked very quickly in short bursts across the sky. They were easy to miss, so I felt lucky to have seen the few I did.

I didn't have to set my alarm to wake me up in the middle of the night to go look at them, as I stayed up until the middle of the night on my own. Wonder why? I became slightly obsessed and completely embroiled in attempting to figure out a game called Snaps. I found a link to this frustrating amusement when browsing the site of the soon-to-be-released movie P.S. I Love You. I wasn't been able to determine how it works (and thereby to have much success at playing it) last night, but I did solve it today. Want to try? You can play online here. See if you can figure it out without cheating (aka searching on the Internet for clues). Have fun!

Stars and stillness

After yet another potluck, followed by the Civic and Business Association meeting, I stopped by Silver Lake for my salt water moment. It is a beautiful evening: warm, still and clear. Multitudes of stars are easily visible, both above in the dark sky and also reflected in the completely still surface of the harbor. I stood at the edge of the water for a minute, enjoying the image and listening to the...well, to nothing. It is wonderfully quiet.

The Geminid meteor shower is happening now, and tomorrow night (Dec. 13) is supposed to be the peak of the activity. Unfortunately I have to get up early on Friday the 14th, so there will be no star gazing for me on the peak night. Tonight is so lovely and clear, however, that I think I may try it this evening. I'll set my alarm for the middle of the night, then get up to see what I can see. I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes.

Links to more info. about the Geminids:
space.com article
Top 10 Tips article - this one has a great picture!
Nasa article - the science behind the Geminid shower

Happy stargazing!

Soup and cookies

It was a soup day. No, I didn't eat soup today. I'm speaking meteorologically. The weather was what John calls "froggy". The fog rolled in overnight, and got thicker as the day proceeded. By mid morning, there were no ferries running, so we didn't get any mail today. I love days when the island is truly inaccessible because the ferries have been shut down. It feels like a giant, cozy cloak wrapped around me, holding me safe. That feeling is heightened when the reason the ferries aren't running is fog, which literally wraps the island in its shroud.

I drove around for a while during the afternoon to see the fog over the water, where it was much thicker than over the land. It was impossible to see the Lighthouse from the other side of the harbor. This evening, I drove around in the fog again. Light refracts differently in fog, seeming to go straight up toward the sky. Walking back to the car after stopping to touch salt water, I looked at the fog in the glow of the headlights. Seeing it that way, you can really see what fog is: hundreds of tiny raindrops, glittering as they hang suspended in midair. It was lovely.

The reason I was driving around this evening was to go to the annual Friends of the Library cookie swap. What a sweet event! The Library was packed with adults and kids of all ages. Each individual or family had brought at least 2 dozen (some people brought more) cookies, and an empty container. The cookies were all laid out on a table and, after enjoying performances of Christmas music by several Ocracoke School students, each person visited the cookie table to hand pick an assortment of 2 dozen to take home. I got about 21 kinds of cookies, because there were a few I needed to get more than one of: the Heath sparkling sugar cookies (I love anything with Heath in it), and the "poodles" (no-bake cookies made with chocolate, peanut butter, and oatmeal). Part of the reason I got 2 poodles was because I made poodles, without total success. Oh, they turned out okay, but did not harden very well. So I had to get a sample of a correctly made poodle to taste, to figure out what I did wrong! Actually, this year was a grand triumph for me, compared to my attempt to make cookies for the exchange last year. That resulted in TWO destroyed batches of cookies. I threw the first batch in the trash, and the second one in the ocean. At least this year's cookies, though not perfect, were definitely edible, and pretty tasty. Just a bit "gooey". Baking cookies is clearly not my forte, and next year I am going to take brownies. I'm good at brownies.

Holiday activities and songs

I'm a soprano, so I love Christmas carols, because many of them are written in a high key. Consequently, I am a happy person this time of year, and sing daily without even trying. I try to sing every day all year (I firmly believe that you get better at anything you do every day, one reason I want to write (i.e. blog) daily, but we won't get into that...). Anyway, it's no challenge to sing daily this time of year! I suppose I could sing Christmas carols all year, though, so perhaps I'm limiting myself. Anyway, I digress. My point was that I have had several opportunities to sing recently, as well as chances to just have some holiday fun.

The holiday season has officially kicked off on the island, starting with the annual OPS Tree Lighting and Wassail party last Wednesday. I missed the actual tree lighting as usual (one of the down sides of being late to everything...see my blog dated 4/12/07), but still enjoyed the wassail, cookies, and seeing friends at the party. There were many terrific confections, but my favorites were the marshmallow chocolate snowmen, and Jamie's haystacks. Yum!

The following night (Thursday 12/6), the Annual Ocrafolk Christmas Concert was held at Deep Water Theater. The Madri-gals sang a few songs a capella as usual. This is our 3rd year performing, and each year we have added a new lady (the first year, it was Sundae, Jamie, Marcy and me; the next year DeAnna joined us, and this year we were further balanced when Kitty added her lovely alto voice to the mix). The six of us sang 3 songs for the show: Masters in This Hall, The Holly and the Ivy (one of my personal favorites), and Away in a Manger. The entire show was excellent, with performances by musicians from Ocracoke, Hatteras and even one from the mainland (John Golden). Jamie reprised her sultry rendition of "Santa Baby", and also sang "Blue Christmas" with our island Elvis (aka Bob Ray), to add some fun touches to the show. Philip told a story about the wreck of the Ariosto on Christmas Eve 1899. John Golden led a sing along of "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer", including teaching all the adults the "extra" words so that the kids in our lives will think we're cool. April Trueblood from Hatteras and 2 of her friends performed an achingly beautiful rendition of Silent Night, and we finished up the evening with the entire room singing a handful of carols picked out by audience members. It was a great show, and I've heard nothing but compliments from all who attended it.

This past Saturday was the night of the annual Christmas party at Jimmy's Garage, which was well attended as usual. This is the biggest potluck every year on the island. There were large quantities of fabulous food, as usual, and I ate so much my stomach hurt, also as usual! This year's over-produced item was deviled eggs. There were so many plates of deviled eggs it was nearly funny. DeAnna said "I didn't get the 'bring deviled eggs' memo, did you?" which made me laugh. I love deviled eggs, so the fact that there were 14 (I'm not kidding...) kinds to choose from wasn't an issue for me! During the party, I was blessed to hold Charlotte (Marcy's sweet daughter, age 4 months) while her Mommy sang with Martin and Friends. She is a doll, and I enjoyed singing along with the music to her.

On Sunday, it was time for some Christmas shopping, as the School Road shops (Books to Be Red, The Hemp Shop, Zillies, Indulgence, Eleven Eleven, Ocracoke Restoration Company, and The Gathering Place) hosted their annual Holiday Open House, including treats and drinks for holiday shoppers. The Gathering Place had hot wassail, which I'm sure was delicious, but the fact that it was 72 degrees (yes, you read that right...it has been unseasonably warm here recently) outside kept me from drinking it. I did enjoy a glass of white wine while browsing through Books to Be Red, and I have to tell you that shopping while drinking wine feels decadent and heady. I highly recommend it!

Tonight was the annual United Methodist Women potluck and gift exchange. This was another evening with copious amounts of wonderful homemade food. After the meal, Rosemary read a couple of selections from a book called Angels Love Kids. Then Marcy and Jamie led us in singing Christmas carols. The fact that my very favorite (O Holy Night) was one of the choices made me even happier than singing carols does usually. But what blessed me the most was closing my eyes and listening to a roomful of women's voices singing together. It was peaceful and lovely.

I have had a mild cold, which seems to be on its way out now, thankfully. But the TheraFlu I have been drinking while typing this blog is starting to take effect, so I'd better be off to bed. I'll be singing Christmas carols in my dreams...

Fewer - and more - ferries

Hopefully you already know about the plan to replace the 7 bridges on the island starting on January 2nd, during which a large portion of highway 12 from the north end ferry landing down to the village will be closed.

But don't despair! If you have a 4WD vehicle, you can still come visit by way of the Hatteras ferry. You do need to know that there will be fewer ferries running from Hatteras, though. (More details below.)

If you don't drive a 4WD car or truck, you can of course still come to Ocracoke on either the Cedar Island or Swan Quarter ferry. There will be MORE ferry runs to Swan Quarter than there usually are during the winter. The Cedar Island ferry will run the same number of times as usual for this time of year (4 per day), but the scheduled times will be slightly different. See below for details from the official press release I received on this topic today.

Also, you can check status on the progress of the bridge replacement project as it proceeds at this website.

FERRY SCHEDULES TO OCRACOKE TO CHANGE
DURING BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION ON N.C. 12
Schedule changes take effect Jan. 2, 2008

MANNS HARBOR — The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division is adjusting schedules on several ferry routes beginning Jan. 2, 2008 through March 15, 2008, while seven bridges are replaced along N.C. 12 on the north end of Ocracoke Island .

During construction, traffic will be detoured from N.C. 12 onto the beach. Only four-wheel-drive vehicles will be allowed to take the beach detour. Because less traffic is expected from that end of the island, the Hatteras/Ocracoke ferry route will run as follows:

Hatteras to Ocracoke

Depart 5 a.m. (both sides)
Depart Ocracoke on even hours
Depart Hatteras on odd hours
Last departure from Ocracoke at 8 p.m.
Last departure from Hatteras at 9 p.m. (except for scheduled school events or emergencies)

Travelers can also reach Ocracoke by taking either the Cedar Island or the Swan Quarter ferry. The Swan Quarter ferry will run as follows:

Depart Ocracoke Depart Swan Quarter
6:30 a.m. 7 a.m. *
10 a.m. 9:30 a.m.
12:30 p.m. 1 p.m.
4 p.m. * 4 p.m.
*Fuel and delivery priority runs will depart Swan Quarter on Tuesdays at 7 a.m. and depart from Ocracoke on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 4 p.m.
Delivery trucks will use the Swan Quarter route and will have designated days and times to travel. The Swan Quarter ride takes about 2.5 hours and is a toll ferry. Fares for Ocracoke residents will be waived for the Ocracoke-Swan Quarter route during the bridge replacements.

During this time, the Cedar Island ferry will run as follows:

Depart Cedar Island Depart Ocracoke
7 a.m. 7 a.m.
10:30 a.m. 10:30 a.m.
2 p.m. 2 p.m.
5 p.m. 5 p.m.

The Cedar Island ferry route ride takes about 2.25 hours and also is a toll ferry.

For updated information on ferry schedules as construction takes place, visit the Ferry Division Web site at www.ncferry.org and for more information about tolls and to make reservations call 1-800-BY-FERRY.

A new book

I've written here before about books which are about or set on Ocracoke. Well, now there's a new one to add to the list. Called The Sheltering Cedar, it's a lovely children's book about animals who take shelter in a cedar tree during a storm on the island just before Christmas. It has beautiful illustrations and a sweet story, and will make a great gift for the kids in your life. The publisher has created a web page with additional information about the animals and ecosystems featured in the story, which teachers can use to extend the learning experiences of their classrooms.

If you will be on the island for the Annual Ocracoke Preservation Society Tree Lighting and Wassail Party (Dec. 5), you can buy a copy at the museum and have it autographed by the author Anne Runyon, who will be at the museum for a book signing starting at 4:30. I'll be there getting the four copies I've pre-ordered signed. See you there!

B-ball

It is hard to believe it is December already and another year has almost passed. There will be much activity to celebrate the holidays around here over the next few weeks. I received an email today with the schedule of upcoming events, and it was a long list. I'll post it here if anyone is interested...leave a comment to let me know if you are.

In the meantime, I enjoyed a non-holiday-related island event today - a home basketball game. Both the girls and the boys teams played hard, although unfortunately neither won their respective game. The girls team coach said he expected the matchup with Jamesville to be the toughest one of the season, and it was. I had fun cheering on the team anyway. One of the great things about Ocracoke is that most of the people in the audience were cheering on the players by name. So in addition to "Go Dolphins!", there were shouts of "Good job Luke!", "Great rebound Aaron!", "Nice shot Tristan!", etc. I was one of the shouters, and I almost wore out my voice. But I can't think of a better way to do that.

One of the not-as-great things about Ocracoke basketball is that the school doesn't have a regulation size court, because the gym is too small. It does make for a very involving experience, watching the game. Because there's no room for traditional large bleacher seating, some spectators are sitting literally right on the edge of the court. That's where I found myself today, and believe me it has a way of motivating you to watch the game - you need to know where the ball is because you may need to catch it if it heads out of bounds in your general vicinity! So I've added "new gym for Ocracoke School" to my list of things I would do if I won the lottery (or had some other great financial windfall) and money were no object.

As I watched the game, I reflected on how well rounded many of the players are. Basketball is not all they do. Many of them are good scholars, one is an excellent musician, and at least two are surfers. The coach of the boys team is the High School English teacher, which I have to guess is reasonably rare (I don't know about your High School, but at mine all the coaches taught PE, Shop, or Health classes). I think this is good. It keeps things in perspective. Yes, the team plays hard and yes, they are probably disappointed when they don't win, but they have other things in their lives which are important too. I hope the fact that their lives are rich and full will be reflected in their developing adult selves.

Rainy days and Mondays...

It rained on and off all day today, and was just generally dreary and gray. I actually don't mind days like this. They are great days to hole up inside and watch a movie or read a book. Unfortunately, I couldn't do either today since I had to work. I did manage to get outside for a while (had to touch salt water, of course!) I love walking in the rain (as long as it's not a downpour), so I enjoyed that as well.

Right now, I'm hearing thunder and seeing some pretty spectacular lightning, so I wouldn't be surprised if the power goes out soon. So that'll be the end of this blog! Hope you are safe and dry this evening...

Feasts for the senses

It has been a marvelous couple of days for all my senses. Last night, I saw and heard (and participated in) the annual day after Thanksgiving Ocrafolk Festival fundraiser concert. Philip Howard, David Tweedie, and I performed a short radio show written by Lou Ann Homan, which the audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy. They certainly got into the audience participation anyway! The concert was excellent as always, with lovely performances by Coyote, Jamie, Sundae and Rob, Molasses Creek, and several others. And there were delicious baked treats available too! There are two Festival fundraiser concerts each year - one at Thanksgiving and one at Easter, so if you missed this one, make plans to be here next March! (Yes, Easter is in March in 2008.)

Today, John put up the Christmas tree for me (yes, I'm a fake-tree girl). I then proceeded to put most of the ornaments on it. I collect gold Danbury Mint ornaments, and I have 17 boxes of 12 (they come out one per month for a year), plus several more boxes of "annuals" (the "extra" one they do each year). Hanging the Danbury ornaments is an adventure in touch. Because they are gold plated, I don't handle them with my fingers (the oils from my skin could affect them); I wear gloves. Yes, literally. Yes, I know that seems odd. No, I don't care that it seems odd. Anyway, handling those thin gold strings that ornaments hang on while wearing gloves is a bit of an adventure, let me tell you.

So far, I've managed to put 14 of the 17 boxes on the big tree. I'll put the last three boxes and the angel topper on tomorrow. The annuals will go on the small tree, along with the "travel ornaments" (collected from places I've visited). I have a total of five trees. One is six feet tall (that's the "big" one), one is 4 feet tall (that's the "small" one), and three of them are the miniature (about a foot tall) kind, but all of them have either lights or mini ornaments on them. I also got out the Christmas dishes, changed the tablecloth so I could put the Christmas runner on it, and even decorated the guest bathroom with Santa on the toilet. I love Christmas!

I took a break from Christmas decorating to go to an open house, which was truly a feast for the senses. The house itself is lovely to see - it is an historic home on the island which has been lovingly redone by its current owners, and they did a fantastic job with it. It also smelled wonderful in there as soon as I opened the door, and my taste buds enjoyed the source of the scent - Michael's delicious seafood gumbo. This was no "crackers-n-cheese" open house - in addition to the gumbo, there was thin sliced filet with horseradish sauce, assorted fruit, superb Bleu cheese, and several other things I didn't sample but I'm sure were equally fabulous.

Finally, tonight I went to Jim and Mary Ellen's house for more good food! Mary Ellen described it as a "no turkey after Thanksgiving gathering". There I enjoyed chicken wings, pork tenderloin, Mary Ellen's divine homemade pimento cheese, "Northern beans cooked Southern style", Jamie's creamy shrimp dip/spread, and two different desserts. But even more than the food, I enjoyed the fun of hanging out with friends: laughing, telling stories, celebrating the events, accomplishments, and joys of each other's lives. This should be the sixth sense: feeling, not with fingers, but with the heart. It was the sense which meant the most to me, in my entire feast for the senses weekend. It is this community that has welcomed, nurtured, encouraged, and healed me that I love most - and that touches me most - about Ocracoke.

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." ~ Helen Keller

Happy Thanksgiving!

Okay, so I'm a day late. As Sundae would say, I'm simply prolonging the joy. I had a wonderful, full Thanksgiving day, and didn't fit blogging in to it.

The first (and one of the best) things I did for Thanksgiving was sleep in! I got up at about 10ish to watch the Macy's parade. After Santa arrived, I watched a bit of the Dog Show and then John and I went to Howard's Pub for a light lunch. We didn't eat their Thanksgiving gut-stuffer meal, as we had been invited to a pot luck at Gary's house later in the day. This annual feast always starts with steamed oysters. It is difficult to keep me away from about any potluck, but it would be impossible to hold me back from attending one which begins with steamed oysters!

The weather was warm again, and the rain held off until evening, enabling us to enjoy the oysters outside. Then we went into Gary and Kitty's house to feast on turkey and an abundance of delicious trimmings. Rob and Sundae had brought an old fashioned ice cream maker, so dessert included delicious just-made vanilla ice cream.

Later in the evening, a group of us went for a walk around the neighborhood which, while it didn't fulfill its intended purpose of making us feel less full, was a lovely time nonetheless. The evening was still fairly mild (later overnight the wind picked up and the temperature dropped significantly), and the moon reflecting off the clouds provided plenty of illumination to guide our way. I learned of a cut through/short cut in the village that I hadn't known about before, which is always fun for me.

Back at the house, a group of us shared some music (a mandolin, a harmonica, and multiple guitars were played, and several people sang), which seemed to me to be the perfect way to end the day.

I have much to be thankful for, and I am.

Moonlight and angels

I just returned from an evening drive (and touching salt water, of course). It is a lovely, quiet night. I usually turn on a light as I leave, so I don't stumble in the dark when returning, but tonight there was no need. The moon provided plenty of light. It's not a full moon, but it is an extraordinarily clear night, so all the illumination streaming from the 3/4 moon is spilling all the way to the ground.

I hadn't driven far from my home when I saw an angel. No, I'm not having heavenly visions, or hallucinating. This was one of the decorations provided by the electric company, that the Fire Department puts up on power poles around the village each year. There are angels and snowflakes, and seeing them always gets me in the holiday mood. I have always loved Christmas, but I love it especially much on Ocracoke!

The weather has been beautiful - warm, sunny days with clear blue skies. The evenings have been lovely too. Tonight is completely still; Silver Lake looked like a mirror as I stopped to touch salt water there. And the village is always quiet at this hour - I only saw one other vehicle on the road during my brief trip. It left me with a sense of stillness and peace. So I pass on that peace to you, my friends and readers, wherever you are on this fall evening.

Flock of geese

I saw a probably-unique-to-Ocracoke sight a couple of days ago, and I wish I had brought my camera with me because it would have made a great photo. It was in the yard of the Austin's house, around the corner from where I live. (Well, one of the Austin's houses, there are actually several of them around the corner from where I live!) So what did I see? A flock of geese, all sitting quietly together, not moving. And not a feather among them. It was a bunch of decoys, I assume recently pulled from the water for the winter, just sitting in the yard. Now I really wish I had had my camera with me, because words are just not doing it justice!

It has gotten quite chilly here recently, so I guess our lovely summer-like fall is drawing to a close. Like the Austins, I need to prepare for winter. They took decoys out of the water, I need to take my sweaters and other warm clothes out of the storage bins under the bed, and get them into my closet. Hope you are warm and ready for winter, wherever you are. (Although I suppose "ready for summer" is more appropriate for my readers in the Southern Hemisphere!)

A beautiful day of looking at the future

I have just spent the evening looking at the future. But in order to explain, I have to start with what I did this morning. I went to the school, as I do on Thursdays, to read to the first graders. First, I went to the Book Fair and bought several books for the classroom. While there, I saw two of Ocracoke's younger citizens, Mariah Daisy (about 17 months) and Lachlan (3). They were busily shopping for books with their Mamas, Sundae and Amy, and I enjoyed watching them. I bought several books, then I went and read two of them to the first graders.

Tonight, I went to an art show. The featured artists were the children of Ocracoke school, from pre-kindergarten on up through the grades. They had created lovely prints, which were available for sale to raise money for the PTA. Many of my friends attended, along with their children. I sat and looked around the room at the young faces and smiled, thinking about the future. I look forward to reading to Mariah Daisy when she is in the first grade classroom, in a few years. And to seeing all of these children grow into adults and have children of their own.

After the art show, I went to a small gathering of musicians, sort of a jam session at a home rented by another musician from Vermont who is staying here for several weeks this month, and had invited all his musician friends from the island to play at the house this evening. It was a great time, with a spread of delicious-looking food (I had already eaten dinner, so didn't taste much, but it looked fabulous!) to go along with the musical entertainment. I did enjoy a glass of wine Marcy brought me. But what I enjoyed most was holding Marcy and Lou's daughter Charlotte, one of the island's very youngest residents (she was born in August). I held her for most of the evening while Marcy and Lou played and sang. And I loved looking down into her sweet face, and thinking about the future. What a blessing to be here and watch Ocracoke's future as it becomes.

My favorite map

I have spent several good chunks of time over the last couple of days staring at and reading "The Complete Illustrated Map of Ocracoke Island". You may have seen it in some of the shops around here (I know the Village Craftsmen has them, both folded and never-folded, suitable for framing). It was published in 2003, and I bought one then. I looked at it a bit but never actually sat down and read every word until last night.

The map is completely hand drawn and written, and is a testament to the artistic skills of Len Skinner and Debbie Wells, who put it together. It includes a map of the village, and a larger one of the whole island. There are so many "secret" places on this island that would be wonderful to see. Where is my tour guide? I now need a small boat, to visit some of the farther away creeks on the sound side. And I definitely need a 4 wheel drive vehicle and a kayak!

I recommend buying this map, and reading every word. There are a handful of funny things on it, some of which are somewhat "inside" jokes, but you may still find them amusing. Or maybe you'll just wonder what the heck they are about! If you get one of the maps and find something odd, leave a comment on the blog and I'll explain the story behind it (if I know it). But aside from the funny things, you'll also learn about some of the history of the island, and a good deal about the plants and animals found here. It would be a great gift for anyone who loves Ocracoke. So now I've helped you with your holiday shopping!

It's a mystery...

...where the heck I've been for the last week! Sorry for the complete lack of blogs. So what have I been up to?

This past weekend, I participated in a "Murder Mystery" party/event. It was quite fun, even though I was also working (serving food, drinks, etc.) during the evening. My character got to find the evidence which led everyone to figure out who the "murderer" was, and I enjoyed that. The participants were completely into it, with fabulous period (1823) costumes, and well developed characters. The guys completely stole the show, mostly because they were much louder than the ladies. Everyone seemed to have a great time. I definitely would recommend doing something like this.

Last Wednesday, I attended the Ocracoke Preservation Society annual fall membership meeting and potluck. The speakers presented some very interesting information about tax credits for historic rehabilitation of old homes, and showed slides with pictures of many lovely restored buildings and villages around eastern North Carolina. During the potluck part of the evening, while we were all immensely enjoying the mounds of wonderful food, my friend Jamie floated the suggestion of a frequent (weekly?) potluck during the winter months, especially this year when things are expected to be quieter than usual during the bridge replacement project. I think potlucks are always a fabulous idea, and will certainly attend all I can (i.e. if I'm on the island, I'll be there!)

On Sunday night, I shared dinner with a few friends (leftovers from the murder mystery weekend). I enjoyed their company mightily, as we chatted and laughed about a wide variety of things. And I learned a "life in a small town" lesson when I completely opened my mouth and inserted my foot because I didn't know the status of something. I'll not go into details here, but I really need to get someone to keep me up to date on things, so I won't say stupid things which might hurt someone's feelings because I'm clueless.

Last night, I went to my friend Sundae's house and took dinner (yes, more leftovers from the murder mystery meal) for her and the kids (her husband is off the island, helping sail a boat to the Bahamas for the winter). After dinner, all of us (Sundae, her son Emmett and daughter Caroline and I) played a game. Sundae's youngest, Mariah Daisy, is still too young to participate, but we enjoyed her giggles and antics. The game was fun and thought provoking: each player is given a few cards with things on them for which one might wish (some are actual things, while others are experiences like "go to a spa with Mom", others are family things like "watch old movies with your Grandma", and others are successes, like "win an award for..."). Your task is to give the cards to others in the game, the goal being to give them the ones you think they will like the most. You then look at the cards you've been given, and rank them in order from most favorite to least. That, for me, was the thought provoking part: since most of the activities and items were positive and enjoyable to me, it was interesting to ask myself "which of these would I like better?" I kept joking that "house on Ocracoke" would really be my ultimate card, and why wasn't that one in the deck? I often selected things which entailed money ("be a movie actress"), as they were possible vehicles to "house on Ocracoke". Yes, currently my mind is a bit one tracked.

Oh, that's the other thing I've been doing: looking at houses for sale on the island. I'm currently torn between 3, but I haven't yet visited 2 more that I am interested in, so I'm undecided. Guess that's a good problem to have. Wish me luck!

Wanted: Ocracoke guide

I have spent the last couple of days driving around parts of the village I haven't driven to before (yes, believe it or not). I know that there are other parts which are only walk-to or kayak-to-able. (Yes, I did just make up those words.) But I don't always know how to get to them. I am seriously spatially challenged, and during the exploring I got to do as part of the Ocrafolk school, I started realizing how things "fit together" around here. I've been looking at a hand drawn map of the village which shows things like canals, walking paths, and other lesser-known places. Now I just need someone who knows these places to show me how to get there, and tell me about them when we arrive.

So, here's my want ad.

Wanted: Ocracoke guide. Person with knowledge of beautiful areas, stories (recent or historical), etc. Availability of kayak helpful, but not required.

If you know anyone who fits the bill, let me know! :)

Bumps, bruises, bites and a blister

So, the other side of packing so much fun into four days is the fact that it shows on my body! I have a bump on my head (with a couple of small scratches) from where I wiped out on my bike (although I certainly could have done that any other time, so it's not necessarily Ocrafolk School related). I also have a couple of bruises on my leg (also from the bike wipeout), a scrape on the back of my foot (caught it on the edge of a brick in the water while flounder gigging), several mosquito bites, and a kayaking/clamming/flounder-gig-light-holding blister on my left thumb.

Now here's the odd part: I feel great! It is fabulous living life so fully that you get a bit banged up in the process. Makes me realize I'm truly alive.

So, all you parents out there: let your kids get some bumps, bruises and scrapes in the process of living and having fun. Obviously, keep them safe from serious harm, but don't try to prevent them from ever hurting themselves, because they'll miss lots of great experiences if you do.

That's my advice for the evening. Now I'm going to bed, because the other result of all this enjoyable activity is it makes a body tired!

Ghosts, giggin', graveyards, GPS and grub

I am not sure how it is possible to pack so much fun into a slightly-over-24 hour period, but here's what I've been up to since my last blog.

- Went on a ghost and history walk and heard many fascinating and spooky tales of the island, from shipwrecks to wandering spirits.
- Went flounder gigging with a small group. We got in at midnight, and I had to get up at 6:30 the next day but I didn't care! We didn't get an flounder either (we saw one and David stepped on one), but it was still a lot of fun.
- Walked through several of the old graveyards on Howard Street and heard about who is buried there, and how they are related to each other and to people I know who still live on the island today.
- Used GPS units to navigate to the sites of shipwrecks. For the most part, this involved walking on the beach on a beautiful day, but we did find one wreck site with a large piece of the ship exposed, which was fascinating. On the way back to the village, we explored Loop Shack Hill, which is a WWII historic site on the island. More about that in another blog (remind me if I forget!)
- Enjoyed a fabulous shrimp boil, complete with salad, baked beans, and baked potatoes at the Soundfront Inn (now a privately owned home). After the meal, we made s'mores on the bonfire while being entertained by several very talented musicians: John Golden, Bob Zentz, Fiddler Dave, and Gary and Kitty Mitchell.

Whew! No wonder I'm tired. But it's a good tired. I would love to do this kind of thing more often. Maybe not all within a 24 hour period, though!

Irrational love and insane amounts of fun

You've probably noticed by now that I love Ocracoke. I love this place more than I love many people. Yes, I know some people might think that's irrational, but there it is. I have loved Ocracoke for a long time, but I have fallen much more deeply for this marvelous, beautiful place over the last two days. How? By having insane amounts of fun enjoying the island during the Ocrafolk School.

If you love Ocracoke, I highly recommend you consider attending the next Ocrafolk School session (I'm thinking positive that there will be a "next"), and taking the "Ocrafolk Sampler" class, if it is offered again.

So far, in the Sampler class, I have gotten to:
- Take a short walking tour of part of the Village with Philip Howard.
- Go in the Lighthouse (yes, I had done this before, but it is still really a cool thing to do).
- Take a ride on the Schooner Windfall (ditto to the comment above).
- Walk across the widest part of the island outside the village, from the ocean to the sound. This part involved hiking through some thick woods, and worrying about ticks, but I still loved it. Every part of Ocracoke is beautiful (well, all the natural parts anyway...some of the newer houses don't fit my definition of lovely.)
- See one of the largest and oldest (if not the oldest) live oak trees on the island.
- Eat fish cakes (old island recipe) made with fresh caught drum.
- Spend an evening singing and listening to pickin' and grinnin'. My guitar skills are still much too rudimentary to try pickin' along, but I was grinnin' and enjoyed listening and singing very much.
- Go kayaking through some lovely areas of Pamlico Sound, including Northern Pond.
- Walk through Wickstrom's and see the old tennis court.
- Go clamming (we got about 60 clams!)
- Use a net to scoop through marsh grass "nurseries" and look at the tiny fish and shrimp to be found in there.
- Eat delicious scuppernong grape cobbler made by the cooking class!

And tonight we are going flounder gigging! I have had insane amounts of fun already, and there are three more days to come. And I am sure that by the end of the week I will be completely, totally, absolutely, irrationally smitten with Ocracoke. (Even more than I am now.)

If you're completely, totally, absolutely, irrationally envious(or even just a bit jealous), remember you may have the opportunity to do this too! Check out the Ocrafolk School website, and send Gary a note to let him know that if there's another School, you'll come!

Beginnings

I have been off the island for a few days (well, I've been back for a few days now too, but just now finally finding time to blog). I went to be with one of my very best friends who had a baby on Tuesday. We knew the baby would arrive on Tuesday, since his birth was a scheduled C-section, so the trip was planned. John Alexander arrived right on time and is a sweet baby boy. Congrats to my friend and new mama, Julie!

Today on the island we celebrated a new beginning, too, with the grand opening festivities for the Ocracoke Campus of the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching (NCCAT). The organization completely re-furbished the former Coast Guard station on the harbor (you've probably seen it - the white building with red roof, on the left of the Ditch as you come in on the ferry), and today was the official opening of the building. It was an absolutely perfect fall day, warm and sunny but not too hot. After the speeches, we got to tour the facility. It is beautiful, with individual rooms (with private baths) for up to 24 teachers who will attend seminars there. But the absolute best part of getting to walk around the building was the panoramic view of Silver Lake harbor, the Ditch, and Pamlico Sound from the lookout tower. The sunlight dancing on the water was mesmerizing and I spent several minutes up there, staring out the windows at this place I love so much. This evening I attended the "Seafood Fest" dinner, which was delicious and great fun, from the lovely sunset to the dancing under the stars to music by Martin and Friends. And the fun is not quite over! Tomorrow, NCCAT is hosting a cookout for the Ocracoke community, which I plan to attend as well.

Also tomorrow, there will be another beginning, as the first annual Ocrafolk School kicks off! I have been assisting with planning for the school and will be attending the "Ocrafolk Sampler" class. I am really excited about it! You can read more about what I'll be doing and learning in the next week here. Aren't you jealous?

Hope you are enjoying fall wherever you are!

Warm fall

It has been unusually warm for October over the last few days. I'm enjoying the sunshine (although I'm still too busy to enjoy being outside in it much!), but I'm ready for some cooler fall weather.

One of the few things I miss is changing leaves. I love the trees we have on the island (I think Live Oaks are gorgeous, and Red Cedars are ingenious in how they allow the outer leaves to become salt stung in order to protect the inner ones), but they don't provide blazing fall color.

It's a small sacrifice, though, and I still wouldn't live anywhere else!

Song, champagne and good advice

I went to the final performance of the Ocrafolk Opry last night. I greatly enjoyed the singing and storytelling (Fiddler Dave doing some poems from the Rumgagger show), and even joined the group of ladies on stage for "Bald Headed Men".

After the show, we shared a bottle of champagne. A couple of folks poured it from the bottle into something they had with them (a water bottle, and a soda can), but most of us just passed the entire bottle around and shared. It didn't feel awkward at all (not to me, anyway). The Ocrafolk crowd is made up of my friends, and being with them feels like home and family.

After we polished off the champagne, I walked out of the theater with Marcy. She gave me some wonderful, simple yet profound advice. In fact, I think this is some of the best advice I have ever received. Hearing it gave me peace, and implementing it has given me more (and will continue to bring even more, I suspect). I hope it will help you, too. Marcy said:

"Breathe. Pray. Know you are loved."

'nuff said!

Duck parade

Every morning, there's a duck parade, and I'm usually up early enough to see it. No, this isn't the Peabody Hotel with trained ducks and a wrangler to lead them.

And it isn't Disney World. Although some visitors seem to think it is. One person suggested to me earlier this summer that we should build a large parking garage at the mainland ferry docks, requiring people to park there and walk or bike throughout the village. When I told her there was an effort underway to establish a tram service which would run throughout the village, she said "Oh, that would be even better...like Disney World!" When I replied that, of course, Ocracoke is NOT Disney World, she looked at me blankly and I had to go on to clarify "real people actually live and work here". But I digress. I was telling you about the duck parade.

There is a large group of mallards who spend most of their time in an open area, which is usually damp and has a veritable miniature lake in it after a rain, next to a house around the corner from where I live. Each day, they walk together (not exactly in a line, but more or less) down the street, around the curve of Loop Rd, across Lighthouse Rd, through a couple of backyards and to a soundside beach. Once they get there, they are out of my line of vision, so I'm not 100% sure what they do, but I have seen mallards swimming and playing in the sound on other occassions, so I'm betting that's the purpose of their journey. After a while, they walk back (in their ragged, not-exactly-a-straight-line way) to their neighborhood, and their pond. (Sometimes a few of them stop by to eat some of the food I put out for my outside cats.)

I enjoy watching them, and probably should take a lesson from their consistency. There's something to be said for doing the same thing every day, especially when that thing is playing in salt water. :)

Almost full

...the moon, that is. My life is still, as usual, over-full. It is a quiet, clear night here this evening. I just got back from a short bike ride, during which I very much enjoyed the silvery rays of moonlight sparkling on everything from my bike basket to the harbor. The ride made me sleepy, so I'm off to snooze!

Happy Fall, by the way. Yes, I know I'm late. I love Autumn, though, so I still wish you a happy one, late or not. :)

Art Walk

If you visit Ocracoke often, you may already know about the many artists who live and work here. If you don't, you have a great opportunity to learn more about them on Sept. 29th. That's the day of the annual Art Walk.

As the name implies, the event is a great opportunity to walk around the village, stopping in the shops, galleries, and sometimes homes of many island artists. There is a great variety of participation: artists who offer everything from jewelry to paintings to photographs to ... well, come explore and see for yourself!

The fall is a lovely time of year on the island, and the weather has been beautiful for the last couple of Art Walk weekends. Hopefully this year will be the same. But it's a great event, regardless of the weather. Join us if you can!

Visit the "Art on Ocracoke" website for more information.

Lost costumes

Have you heard about the fire last week which destroyed most of the historically accurate costumes used for The Lost Colony? (The entire Irene Rains costume shop burned to the ground; the only costumes spared were some which happened to be out for dry cleaning.)

If you have ever seen the Lost Colony show during a visit to the Outer Banks, you know that the costumes were lovely and elaborate. This was truly an awful loss for the show.

The Lost Colony producers have already announced that "the show must go on", and they are working to raise the money required to create new costumes. Want to help? Click here to find out how.

Coming up for air

Well I finally have a few minutes to blog! I can't believe how busy life has been recently. Actually, I shouldn't say "life" has been busy. "Work" has been busy. Work has been keeping me away from life. It's beginning to get on my nerves, frankly. The fact that I have been so out-of-it that I completely forgot to go to the "welcome" party for Charlotte (Marcy and Lou's baby girl) yesterday even made me cry. I sometimes wish I didn't have the job that keeps me so busy, but then I remember what real estate costs here.

Okay, so enough whining.

The weather here has been lovely recently - neutral to cool-ish days and clear skies. The evenings have been beautiful, and I have enjoyed riding my bike under the sliver of early moon to go touch salt water. It's a good thing I'm a freak about my salt water touching, or I wouldn't even have gotten outside much in the last few weeks!

Here's to fresh starts...hopefully this will be mine!

Walking lightly

I just got back from touching salt water for the day. It is a beautiful evening, the full moon in the clear sky providing enough light to easily see. It is not as hot as it has been recently (the rain brought a cool front through), which is a nice break.

I went to my favorite soundside beach this evening, and as I walked back I reflected on the fact that, when walking in sand, my feet usually dig in as I go. When my feet are wet, this means a bunch of sand gets stuck to them. (Not a big deal, of course; I just have to rinse it off in the outside shower when I arrive back home.) But tonight as I walked, I decided to deliberately attempt not to sink in to the beach. I stepped more carefully, looking at each spot before placing my foot on it. And I tried to tread more lightly, rather than pushing down as I went.

This got me started thinking about the impact humans have on the earth. So here's my environmentalist moment for the day: tread lightly on this fragile planet. It makes less of a mess to have to clean up later that way.

Have a nice evening, wherever you are on this lovely earth we call home.

Downpour and scaredy-cat

It has been a dry summer this year, and we needed some rain. Well, we got it this morning! There was thunder rumbling in the distance when I got up, but I've heard that several times previously this year and it hasn't rained. I went about my morning as usual, and suddenly I realized it was pouring. It was what some people in the South call a "gullywasher". It was windy during the rain as well, and it came blowing into the screened porch.

During this summer storm, I discovered that Jamie (the cat, not my friend) is afraid of thunder. I couldn't find him anywhere, so started looking around for him. I shook the treat bottle, which will get him running anytime he is within earshot. But he didn't come to find me. I called for him (yes, he sometimes comes when called, and yes I know this is not typical of cats!), but no dice. Finally, I got on my knees and started looking at cat level. I found him hiding under the bed. Not just barely under the edge, behind the dust ruffle (he does that a lot, and takes great pleasure in jumping out onto the other cat Savannah, or the foot of whoever happens by). No, this morning he was all the way under the middle of the bed, with his paws tucked under his chest and his tail curled around him (I think he was trying to make himself as small as possible). Poor little guy. He waited it out, and came out a few hours later (not that it rained for a few hours..it only rained for about half an hour...I guess it just took Jamie a while to get over his scare!)

Sometimes life throws scary stuff our way. Hiding for a while until everything settles down is not a bad way to deal with it!

Death and dying

Two friends passed away this week. I cried buckets for the one, but was fairly dry eyed for the other. No, I'm not a cold callous person!

The first death was of a man I have known for nearly 11 years, although only as a work colleague. (This is for my corporate America job, so work colleagues are not people I necessarily lay eyes on very frequently, but instead I interact with them via email and phone calls.) I had spoken with Todd just a couple of weeks ago, as he was assisting with part of my large project (the one that is keeping me from blogging!) He was only 36 years old and in fine health. He was killed in a freak car accident which was not his fault at all - he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. If he had been just a few seconds earlier or later, he would still be alive. For him, I cried the buckets. Partially because of the shocking unexpectedness of it, but also because he was so young and just in the early part of his life. He will never see his kids get married, never know his grandkids, and never have all of the other important events that make up a life. For that, and for his young family who didn't get enough time with him, I cried. A lot. I have trouble even blogging about it, let alone trying to speak aloud about it.

The other death was of a lovely Ocracoker named John Thomas O'Neal. He was a sweet, kind, God loving, friendly, welcoming, accepting, encouraging gentleman. He always greeted me at church, making a point to wave me over to where he was seated (he could not walk anymore), take my hand and speak to me for a few minutes. I adored him. And for him, and for his family, I cried too. But not as much. He had lived a FULL life (he was 83 years old). He had seen his kids grow and marry, most of his grandkids grow and marry, and took great joy in his great grandkids. I know he went to heaven to be with the God he loved for all eternity, that he is at peace and no longer in pain, and that I will see him again. I did cry at his funeral, but mostly for his family and friends (me included) who will miss him. For John Thomas himself, I celebrated. His funeral, in fact, was referred to as a celebration of his life. And it was. I was struck by the amazing LEGACY this man had left: two of his grandchildren led much of the service, one singing and playing the guitar (which John Thomas had taught him to do), the other presenting a message not only about his grandfather's life, but also about the grace, mercy and peace of God. It was beautiful to see the fact that John Thomas' legacy of faith lives on, and therefore he is not truly gone from us.

Life is beautiful. Hope yours will be a long one, full of friends, family and love.

I'm going to have to...

...change the name of my blog! To "Island Sometimes" or "Island Days I Am Not So Busy It Is Ridiculous" or something to that effect.

So seriously, I have been working 12 - 14 hour days, and that's just at one of my jobs. Then there's the other one...

So I'm done complainin'/making excuses now. Hope your life isn't as full as mine.

Will try to get back to daily bloggin' sometime soon. :)

Happy birthday

to me...

It really was a happy birthday, even though I had to work (one of my jobs, at least). It was a quiet day, and multiple friends stopped by with gifts, called, and/or emailed to say hi and many happy returns. And I had a fabulous dinner at the Cafe Atlantic (a birthday tradition). Which reminds me, I brought my dessert home and haven't eaten it yet. So that'll be the end of this blog...time for a sweet midnight (well, not quite) snack!

Hope it was a happy day for you as well.

Excuses and catch up

Has it really been nearly a week since I last blogged? Wow, time flies when you are...well, time just flies.

So here are my excuses for not blogging.
1. I melted. (While it certainly has been hot, that one is not particularly plausible.)

2. I didn't have anything to say. (Of course, no one who knows me will believe that one.)

3. I actually have been blogging, but I've been using the "invisible" setting. (Yes, I know you don't believe that one either.)

4. I've been busy. Yes, I know that's no excuse. So I guess that's the summary then: I have no excuse.

Here's a bit of catch-up for you, since I have been so quiet.
1. Charlotte Castro (Marcy and Lou's baby) was born Tuesday Aug. 7th shortly after 8 PM. She weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces and was 21 inches long.

2. There's a new Ocracoke blog for your reading pleasure: Castle Blog

The temperature finally dropped and today it is absolutely beautiful. I think I'll go for a walk on the beach. Right after my nap.

Talkin' trash

Apologies for the shortage of blogs recently. The last few days have been extremely full! (I am writing this at nearly 11 PM tonight, and today was so full I have not yet left the building, even to touch salt water. Don't worry, I'll get that done before midnight!)

On Saturday, we hosted the August birthday potluck. We celebrated birthdays for Lachlan and Philip (both Aug 2nd), me (Aug 13th), and Lou and Marcy's soon-to-be-born baby Charlotte (to be determined, but she is due Aug 12th). It was a smallish crowd (around 15 people, I think), but I thoroughly enjoyed the food and the company nonetheless. Everyone seemed to have a good time. My favorite part was the chocolate overdose (chocolate cake with chocolate icing and "death by chocolate" ice cream). Now, that's my kind of birthday dessert!

On Sunday, it was dinner and music at the Jolly Roger as usual. We got a big table and kept filling it up with an ever-growing crowd of friends. That was a lot of fun, too. Come to think of it, eating with friends is just about always fun!

Tonight, the officers of the Ocracoke Civic and Business Association (OCBA) met to prepare the agenda for this month's meeting (to be held Wednesday night). After completing the agenda, we talked for quite a while about an issue currently affecting the village: trash pickup. I would venture a guess that trash pickup is not a topic of concern in your neck of the woods (unless you are one of my readers who lives here, of course!), but here it is an issue. Currently, each property is assessed around $125 annually for trash pickup service, which is paid at the same time as property taxes. There is currently a move afoot to greatly increase this amount, and it has people concerned. Rudy made an excellent point this evening about the fact that individual homes (where 1, 2, 3, or even 4 or 5 people live) are currently assessed the exact same amount as large businesses (restaurants, for example), which of course produce FAR more solid waste. Even rental houses (the newer/larger ones sometimes sleep 8 or 10) are billed the same amount, although all one has to do is to drive by a place like that on checkout day to see they throw away much more than the average residence.

It's a thorny issue which has been raised before, with some people advocating a "pay as you throw" program, where you are billed according to the amount of garbage you dispose of at the solid waste dump area. A potential side effect of this, though, is people dumping their refuse on the side of roads, or in other people's trash cans, as a way of avoiding the fees. I'm in favor of some kind of graduated scale, where businesses and other income producing properties (including rental houses) pay more than year round residences. One suggestion is to charge people based on the number of trash cans they need (rental homes would need and use more). It seems logical to me that large businesses would have dumpsters, and would pay each time they were emptied.

If you have any great ideas, or examples of how this is handled in your town, I would love to hear them! Let's talk trash...literally!

Chatting with Grant

The UPS guy who brings packages to Ocracoke is named Grant. He is a friendly guy, and, even though when I see him he is quite busy, he usually takes a few seconds just to say hello. He brought me a box today, and I noticed he has a new mustache. I commented on it, and we had a brief, friendly, funny conversation.

I like the fact that, on Ocracoke, it often seems that people are more comfortable with being friendly and chatting with total strangers. This may be a factor of being in the South, too, and not entirely related to Ocracoke by itself.

But no matter where you live, you can of course always be friendly. Please be especially nice to service people. They work hard, and are often overlooked and under-appreciated.

In the words of a gentleman who calls himself The Chef and publishes an ezine: "Be nice. Nice is good." :)

Stopping for sunset

As I drove home tonight after picking up sushi for dinner, I was treated to the sight of a lovely sunset. The sun seemed much larger than usual, close and low in the sky, and was very orange. I decided to stop at one of my favorite salt water spots, on the edge of Silver Lake and watch unttil it disappeared. As I pulled up, I saw a lady on a bicycle come up quickly, stop very suddenly, and jump out rapidly, grabbing her tripod and camera to capture the scene.

As I got out of the car, I saw Philip Howard, leading his Tuesday night "Ocracoke Ghost and History Walk". (If you haven't gone on one during one of your trips here, I highly recommend it - you will have fun, and learn a lot too! They are offered on Tuesday and Friday nights and start at Village Craftsmen.) I wondered briefly why Philip was stopping his group at that spot (I didn't think there was anything of historic or ghostly significance about Ride the Wind Surf Shop.) Then I heard Philip tell his group, "I stop here just so people can watch the sunset." What a great idea! Hope you get to take the time to stop and watch sunsets (or sunrises, or moonrises, or anything else you find lovely).

Thank you for being here

I went to a potluck tonight, a party in honor of a lovely young lady named Emma who will be leaving the island later this week to spend her senior year as an exchange student in Denmark. The potluck was very well attended, an indication of how much Emma and her family are loved. Emma will be missed, although we are all excited for her to have this wonderful experience.

As I was preparing to leave, Emma's mom Karen said the sweetest thing to me: "Thank you for being here. And I don't mean just here, at the party; but here, part of the community." Where else but Ocracoke do people say such nice things to each other? (I hope there are other places!) It was such a blessing to me to hear that, as I have been in a grouchy mood lately. I actually was mentally writing a "rant-n-rave" blog this morning. Think I'll skip that. Thanks Karen, for reminding me to be grateful for the many reasons I love this town, and to focus on my gratitude instead of my grouchy attitude!

Life at the number 1 beach

Tom from Texas asked "Have you noticed new visitors drawn specifically by Dr. Beach's #1 designation?"

I think so, yes. Of course, I haven't done any scientific study on this, but in general the island seems busier. Especially lately, every weekend finds EVERY room on the island booked, even in the larger hotels which typically have a handful of rooms available for last minute travelers.

It also seems that there are many more people coming to the island who not only have never been here before, but who are completely clueless about Ocracoke, even the fact that it takes a ferry to get here.

Finally, I have heard many visitors talking about the fact that they are going to see the number 1 beach in the nation.

I am curious to see how long this lasts. I wonder if the fall "shoulder season" will be busier than usual too. I hope so, for the sake of businesses who could use the extra income. But I certainly also hope that things slow down a bit, too. The fall is usually a great time to recharge and catch up with friends, since everyone is so busy in the summer. Since this summer is busier than normal, we will all need a good fall to rest and recharge!

Aunt Blabby

If you read the Ocracoke Observer, you probably know who Aunt Blabby is. "Ocracoke's oldest and most opinionated server" is how she is described there. But that hardly does justice to the wickedly funny, acidly witty lady. I love Aunt Blabby ~ her column is the first one I read when I get the paper.

In the July paper, in response to a question, Aunt Blabby wrote, "Copernicus called. You are NOT the center of the universe." I found that hilarious ~ and thought provoking.

It is easy to become self centered and self focused. We are, after all, involved in everything that happens in our own lives. No one else on earth but me has heard EVERY single word I've ever said. (That's a blessing for the rest of you, believe me.)

What's my point? That sometimes blogging can become a bit, well, self focused. Thinking and writing about myself and my life and my daily habits and thoughts may be making me dangerously introspective and prone to melancholy. Or maybe I'm just tired.

Anyway, if you have any Ocracoke (or non-Ocracoke, for that matter!) topics you would like to know about, post a comment and let me know. I need to write about something other than me. And maybe you readers would like a new topic, too. Let me know...

Beach closures?

Did you know that the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is considering designating four areas of Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands, as "critical habitat" for wintering piping plover? This has the potential to close these four spots (South Point and the North End on Ocracoke) to ALL human activity (off road vehicles AND pedestrians) for most of the year (FWS has restated the critical habitat definition to indicate that the areas are crucial for both nesting (spring/summer) and wintering piping plovers.)

The closure areas would include any emergent sandbars in Hatteras, Ocracoke and Oregon inlets, which could affect ferry dredging and/or the construction of a new bridge at Oregon Inlet. If FWS is successful in their attempt, the identified areas could be closed to ALL human activity (ORV AND pedestrian) for the entire year.

In 2006, a lawsuit was brought against FWS, and the judge ruled that an economic analysis must be done. That analysis has now been completed (45 pages, released May 29), but is highly inaccurate and misleading (it was completed by a company in Massachusetts who did not contact any business owners on the Outer Banks).

I can see both sides of this issue (as usual!) On the one hand, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, of which Ocracoke is a part, is a national park, and was designated as such to ensure it would be available for people's use and enjoyment. On the other hand, the poor piping plovers don't stand a chance against man and all his big machines, and there certainly is a need to protect them.

I believe (as I do for most things) that there is a reasonable solution, and that consensus is possible. I'm not sure whether consensus will happen, but it is possible.

Regardless of your position, you can express your thoughts during the public comment period, which ends on Monday July 30. More information is available at the links below.

FWS site
Bullet Points by Larry Hardham, President of the Hatteras Angler's Club
Tradewinds Tackle Message Board

July showers bring...

...BUGS!

We had a lovely soaking rain this morning. It wasn't windy, so the rain simply fell straight down in silver streaks, cleansing and bringing a fresh feeling to our dusty dry island. We certainly needed the rain, and I suspect gardeners were very pleased. I hope that their plots produce a lovely bounty (whether edible or merely decorative) as a result of the showers this morning.

Unfortunately, there's another result of rain showers: mosquitoes! And they are out in force. There's an old adage that the mosquito population is worst about two weeks after a rain. Last week, I heard someone at the post office commenting that on Ocracoke, the mosquito swarm starts about two MINUTES after a rain shower. Today, that definitely seems true.

I went out to see the sunset and touch salt water, and had to hurry back inside before I got completely covered in bites. One particularly hardy skeeter (as we call them here in the South) hung on to the back of my hand even as I swiped at him, trying to get him to leave me alone. Nervy thing took 4 swipes before he flew off! Or perhaps I was just not making good contact, I don't know.

I'm sitting in the screened porch now, rejoicing at the sound of many frogs, because I know mosquitoes are their favorite meal. I hope they eat very well tonight.