Oak Island NC

I just returned from a week at the beach in Oak Island, NC. This was our fourth year vacationing there with my husbands family. The area is GORGEOUS. In years past it's been sad to leave there and leave the ocean behind. For some reason this year I seem to be having a really hard time accepting the fact that I am not there anymore. I keep concocting schemes in my head that would allow me to stay there forever. I can't stop myself from listening for the ocean.
 My favorite part of vacationing at the beach, is waking up in the morning, stumbling for the coffee pot, pouring myself a cup of coffee and grabbing a book. I open the door, head to the closest chair, and sit back with a sigh of relief and start drinking my coffee. As I wake up, I crack open whatever book I happen to be reading, and read a few pages, sip my coffee and stare out to sea.
The return home is a jarring return to reality. I don't get broken in, there is no gradual entrance back into real life, the sounds of the highway nearby, the trains on the bridge, the sound of cars and the people that live around here screaming at their kids and rock music.

 The view from the house my mother and father in law rent every year. Who could resist this view??

 

I love upstate NY. I really truly do. The lakes, the seasons, hills, the forests, Fall, and so so much more. But I think it will take a few more days of mourning the loss of the beach and that island way of life, before I can once again appreciate where I live now.

It's Tuesday

I"m not entirely sure why my title is "It's Tuesday" other than, well...it is! I have not written a blog in a while. I've been kind of down in the dumps actually to be honest. No reason really, I just have periods of time when this happens. As people point out, I have an entire summer off. From May 21 till August 22. Awesome right? You would think so. Sometimes I'm deliriously happy about it, like the other day. Somedays I just don't know what I want. The days drag by, in a haze. I'm mad because my car is having problems, I'm mad because I don't get paid during the summer, I'm grumpy because there are 9 billion things I think sound awesome but I don't know where to start. Then it gets all piled up in a big pile of grump. So I am in the process of draggin my self out from under the pile of grump.

Today at a place called the Benjamin Patterson Inn, I was given a brief intro to the world of Hand spinning fibers. IT WAS AWESOME!! You can easily make a hand spinner and I think I just might. We left there, we being me and my girls and headed to the library to return our reading slips for the summer reading club. I found a great book called Learning Hand Spinning Visually, or something like that and it has really nice pictures and stuff. So I'm cautiously optimistic that I have found something I will enjoy. Or at least hold my curiosity for a little while. I am also devoting some time over summer to learning the local history and getting more involved with the historical society that we became members of.
Hand Made Drop Spindle
Last night the 4th of July fireworks the city put on were beautiful. It was the most clear night we have had in years I think and the fireworks were gorgeous. I was really happy to go to those and just be amazed. There was a group of people sitting behind us. About  halfway in to the fireworks I was both shocked and amazed to hear one of the guys say something along the lines off..."this seems like the perfect spot for something to start playing Tchaikovsky". My previous opinion of them kind of got eroded a little. This was the same guy who when a firework burst down by the guys setting them off said, "it would have been cooler if they had hit someone". I guess what it really boils down to is that sometimes people say things relative to who they are with. The getting hurt comment was to show off. The Tchaikovsky comment I believe came from a special place deep down that was more for himself than for his friends. I like that.