New Year's Eve

I neglected to post last night, New Year's Eve Eve. We traveled back from Ocracoke and Neal wanted to stop and eat at Cracker Barrel. He really wanted to stop and eat there! Normally when I am traveling home from the 1:30 ferry to Swan Quarter, I go through a drive-in b/c it takes me till 8:30 or 9:00 and I get tired driving. But, as I said, he really, really wanted to eat at Cracker Barrel; it just seemed so important to him, so we did stopped at Rocky Mount. I had chicken and dumplings (or as it should have been called, a small amount of chicken with hard hunks of dough), carrots and turnip greens. I love greens. I really love them. But not at Cracker Barrel. I don't know what they do to them, other than putting what looks like some country ham in them, but I almost immediately got heartburn. It's roughly a 2 1/2 hour or less home from Rocky Mount so I drove the rest of the way in intense discomfort.

Cracker Barrel is just a very interesting place. It's the kind of place to go when you want a large quantity of filling food without spending a lot of money. Oh, and you have to listen to country music. The only good thing about Cracker Barrel is that they have a wood-burning fireplace for cold weather but we weren't anywhere near it. As we were leaving, Neal said "That was good." I replied, "No, it wasn't good. It was edible; there is a difference."

So home now, posting with a cat on my lap. We are going to Steve and Penny Kilby's house in Mouth of Wilson, VA for a New Year's Eve party tonight but right now I am going to Waffle House, courtesy of Daughter #3 who has a craving. Let's hope the food is better than Cracker Barrel.

I Am So Lazy

How lazy am I? Soooo lazy! I didn't do much of anything today but I really enjoyed doing nothing. Well, I hung some pictures and cooked dinner. I took a shower and dried my hair. And I read a book. Otherwise, that's it. Nada.

It was gray and partly rainy today and I love days like this! In the afternoon I decided to install myself in our little sunroom so I turned on the equally little heater and it got so cozy and pleasant that I pretty much stayed there for the rest of the day.

Tomorrow we have to leave for home. I always hate leaving and this has been a super short visit so I am not ready to leave but we have plans for New Year's. Tomorrow morning I'll put my few Christmas decorations away...there is a space under the eaves with an access door from the cupola. I am going to put my entire tree in there, decorated. It's just a little tree...and it is decorated with shells that I found on the beach. Except for the starfish top....I bought that at The Pirate's Chest. And then it will be so long Ocracoke (till later in January) and so long Christmas in Ocracoke, till next year.

Sunday, Sunday

Technology is great, technology is terrible! I was halfway through typing my entry when I tried to insert a picture. The window for inserting the picture wasn't opening so I clicked on the "back" arrow and found myself exiting the blog post I had just written...NO auto-save here! Of course, I don't feel like rewriting what I already wrote so I am going to condense it. (So after I wrote and published this version, I find that there is a draft saved. Ugh...will I ever learn!)

• Didn't go to church, went to the beach instead.
• Picked up a few shells and a grocery bag of trash. People, throw your trash AWAY!! What goes on the ground finds it's way to the ocean.
• Sat on the dunes and watched an amazing performance of hundreds of cormorants flying in a line, making loops and swooping up and down over the ocean.
• Went to Variety store; saw Janie T. and Kati W. Chatted. Shopped for t-shirts which are 40% off right now! Oh, and bought a few groceries too.
• Realized I only had 1/2  hour to get to the quilting group. Ate very quickly and made it more or less on time.
• Phyllis W. came by to see the quilt she had commissioned for her granddaughter...it is a log cabin pattern in pinks and grays...lovely. We basted a section of the quilt for the OPS Museum raffle. It is going to be beautiful and very unique!
• Neal and I went to the Schramel's open house. The food (seafood gumbo, duck gumbo, salad, bread, cheese) was incredible. Stayed for a while and talked to several people. What a lovely, wonderful event!
• Watched the movie "Mud" with Matthew McConaughey. It was very good.

Now Neal has gone to bed and I am typing this. The first, lost version was better. But this gets the job done. And here is a picture of the lovely quilt for Phyllis' granddaughter.

Christmas Time, Again

Curious that I seem to post around Christmas. Maybe it is a more introspective time. I don't know.

I am writing from Ocracoke Island, NC. Two years and three months, minus one day, we bought a house here. It is a sweet little cottage on the edge of a marsh on a fairly busy road but still relatively private due to the trees in our tiny front yard. It has been my dream for many years to live here and now that I am retired (5 months and 26 days) I can spend more time here. If my family lived here too, I'd probably never go back to Thomasville. (Except that Thomasville is much closer to the Ikea store.....)

So today is the annual Oyster Roast on Ocracoke Island, a fundraiser for the Working Waterman's Association. The parking lot at the fish house is cleared out, tables set up and people crowd in to eat their fill of fish stew, steamed shrimp and oysters. And today is lovely weather, blue skies, no wind and the temperature in the low 50's.

After we eat our fill of stew, shrimp and oysters, Neal and I will stroll over to the Community Square where dessert and hot cider is being served in the Waterman's Exhibit building. They usually have a little fire going in the stove and it's wonderful to soak in the warmth along with the warmth of community and friendship. Pictures later!

Ok, so it's later...here are pictures of the Oyster Roast followed by hot cider and dessert.