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! :)