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

Sunday ....

Sunday fun day!!

Our Sunday started out with us sleeping in....doesn't get

much better than that

Lazy Sunday morning.....sitting out on the front balcony with 

coffee, late breakfast and then of course.....a run to Lowe's!! haha

Did a little yard work and then headed to the beach.

wow, so gorgeous. You could not have asked for a more beautiful day

This beautiful shepherd was digging a nice hole

for him to lay in

We saw lots of dolphins out today

Living our best life on this little sandbar

very calm ocean today, small waves and with the south

wind coming in a little sideways

don't ever doubt the wild life down here

you can run across bears before you cross the bridge to the island

and then if you cross the Alligator river down past Manteo, lots of bears! 

had to buy some plants for the carport that can

stand not being in the sun

 later.....

6 months later...

good grief...talk about abandonment 

no post since October 2018!

I'm going to try to be so much better with posting

I'm almost retired, 20 more work days!!

Johnny and I have been having a lot of fun doing

things to our home 

Planted flowers, trying to get rid of the weeds (that's not really fun)

 fixing up the carport, my fave place to relax and hang out

We just love our neighbors....so much fun

and the fire pit is almost nightly

Johnny is making progress on his "she shed"...slow but progress

but that's fine, he's retired and works at his own pace now

here's the side yard...not too many weeds in this sod

I bought a Cricut machine to play around with during retirement

here's one of my first projects....

With not being too sure about how well flowers would do in this sand

we didn't overdo it too much

we buy garden soil and mix it with the sand and so far

things are doing well

you can also tell there are lots of weeds in this sod, which was a

different delivery. But Johnny is working his yard magic and 

slowly killing off the weeds. I know in a couple of years it will look great

I'm really hoping the clematis will do well. One of my fave's and I love

any flower that will continue to come back each year

hoping it will climb the fence

Last year we planted our first tree, a crape myrtle

and look at her now, she's coming back strong!

I love our little back balcony

it is so peaceful out there, especially in the morning

So I decided to make it a little more appealing and pretty

bought 2 plants to go out there but I think I need to 

add a palm out there to sit in the corner.

And the dogs just love hanging out here

that's all for now

later.....