Friday, August 2, 2019

Good grief ....

Good grief because this is only the 7th post
for 2019 in what is supposed to be my family journal
I blame Facebook.....once that came along, I really slacked
with my blog.

I need to work harder with this
so whats new.....

well, I retired!! 
May 24th after 23 years with Capital One
very bittersweet
I made soooo many great friends there and even
though I have been working remote from the beach and
not seeing them very often, I do miss them.
Thanks to Facebook I am able to keep up with so many
of my friends so there's a thumbs up to FB

2 months after retiring I am STILL in awe at how
sweet, awesome and thoughtful my team was
in my send off. So many great notes, cards, gifts 
one of which was a Betta fish!
I have never entertained the idea of having a fish
but I just love this little blue fish
It is so relaxing watching him swim around
They gave me a large fish bowl that was half filled with gift cards
and there in the middle in a little container was
this beautiful blue Betta fish
We have upgraded him to a tank with a filter and heater
and this allows me to not have to clean it every week
but now only once a month
We also added some live plants and he loves swimming
through them




I can not get that plant that is floating to stay at the bottom
I think I need to add some more stones
also to the right in the back you can see the moss ball
that is supposed to help with keeping the water clean

Johnny was busy the first part of the spring finishing up
his shed or as I call it, his she shed




and now is all done and looks great
as our builder was able to get the same vinyl siding
as we have on our house
the blocked off area there will be filled with garden dirt
and we are going to plant something, haven't
decided what yet

There are lots of foxes here on the island
we catch glimpse of them here and there but now have
2 little ones living in the ravine by our house.
though as I type this we have not seen them in over a week
guess they have moved on



and to finish up this post.....my new obsession
cold brew coffee! 

I love it and this is my favorite brand
I add 1/2 and 1/2 but no sugar
and I can thank my son-in-law for this as Bucky
is the one that got me to try it.
so refreshing on a hot day



and that's all for now.....hopefully I can get more post done
later.....

Saturday, May 18, 2019

Worrell 1000 .....

The Worrell 1000 is a 1,000 mile beach catamaran
race between South Beach, Florida and Virginia Beach, Virginia

It started as a bet in a beach resort restaurant between 2 brothers, 
Michael and Chris Worrell

The bet was it was impossible to sail a 16 foot catamaran from
Va Beach to Florida. The first race was in 1976. 

It has missed a few years and rules changed to allow
for larger catamarans

The race for 2019 is the first one in 17 years
They started in Hollywood, Florida and will finish today
in Virginia Beach

We were lucky enough to get out on the beach this morning and
watch as they prepared to launch














The North Carolina stops were Wrightsville Beach,
Hatteras and Kill Devil Hills

It was fun being out on the beach this morning to
see them launch

later....

Sunday, May 5, 2019

This week .....

After having such a wonderful day on Sunday, warm,
out on the beach
Monday was cold! Probably not as cold but after having warmth
it felt cold and it was very, very windy so that made it feel colder

so that was the perfect time to pull some of my white bean chili out of the freezer. Then I made my fave salad
tomatoes, cukes, sweet onions
with vinegar, olive oil, onion powder and fresh basil...yum



On Tuesday I worked, Johnny ran some errands
and as soon as I logged off we headed over to the beach
83 degrees....and we took Pippa Lou who loves the beach
as much as we do!!
She is so good, no barking and there were a lot of dogs on the beach
she just lays on her beach towel and watches the ocean,
people and dogs



Wed was just working
81 degrees but we did not go to the beach
just had a lot of things around the house to take care of
Johnny worked on the shed...it's coming along!
he is in no rush...as he says, I work on retired time! haha


Thursday of course was Trivia time!!
we went to Hurricane Moe's for Happy Hour
yummy good shrimp and cold beer
Afterward we walked over to the beach....so beautiful
Then walked to Longboards for trivia
and we did awful....only got 12 out of 20!!

Below is the beach in Kitty Hawk



Then came Friday and all of these restaurants started posted
that they had fresh soft shell crabs!! one of my favorites
So we headed over to Blue Moon Beach Grill for soft shells
It was the first time this year we had to wait for a table....but only about 
20 minutes so not too bad


later.....

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

First winter ....

When we started telling people we were
retiring to the Outer Banks, most people would say....

"but what will you do all winter"

I always thought that was kind of weird and I would always answer
"I guess the same thing I do in Glen Allen in the winter"

I know it used to be so many places closed up down
here during the winter months but now it's not that many
and some close only for a month or so, not the entire winter

We had a great first winter down here though we have
heard it was mild in comparison to some of the winters
But that happens in Glen Allen too

Johnny will tell you the worst part was the wind
when cold, it just cut right through you, cold to the bone!

here we are on the beach Nov 25th 
I'm not wearing a coat, only a vest
and walking on the beach in November is great



December 1st our good friend Tim came to town and 
we were out on the beach again
it's also when I found my first piece of red sea glass
I understand it is very rare


Tim and Johnny fishing....no coats needed
we just couldn't believe it was Dec 1st and it was so nice


I still made my cinnamon buns


and we loved decorating our new house for Christmas


and as I do every winter, I work on a puzzle


I did change my wardrobe slightly....added a bunch of hoodies


of course Johnny brought the excitement.....
so sick having to be flown to Greenville, NC


Turns out winter is some of the best shell hunting
we went out every chance we got


and here is the beach at the end of January
grandkids came down and we had a lot of fun on the beach


and went to one of the lighthouses


more great ocean treasures


We also saw some of the most amazing sunsets 



Feb 14th on the beach!



I def did a lot more cooking during the winter
and especially soups and chili's


always interesting weather...be it the wind, fog and Nor'Easters


we took the off season to check out new to us restaurants
and enjoyed most of our favorite bars
a couple were closed for the winter

We shopped, went to art galleries, went to craft shows, went exploring
and really had a wonderful winter here