SECOND DAY AT OAK ISLAND

Expecting to wake up to a rainy morning we were surprised by only clouds. We all had breakfast while deciding what we were going to do today.
We went to a farmers/ craft market that is held every Monday morning in downtown Oak Island .
We bought some fresh produce from Hendersonville at the market, haha, not kidding !!
We also found a couple other things. The weather was perfect for an outside market this morning, cloudy and cool, only in the upper 70's while we were there.

It was a bit windy this morning !!!!!!!!!

 On the way back to the house we stopped at Walmart for some supplies and more water. A family of seven really goes through food and water.
Back home we made sandwiches for lunch with fresh cantalope for dessert.
All of us except d-in-love went for a walk on the beach. The sun was trying to break through openings in the clouds but the wind was fierce .

If pictures could move you could see g-son's shirt flapping in the wind.

He had fun on our walk even if it was a short one as we watched some really dark, threatening storm clouds head our way.

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing doing different things around the house.
We only received a light sprinkle of rain. I watched the radar and it rained all around us but not right here.
We went out for supper tonight to our favorite restaurant here on the island, the Blue Water Point Fish House. There was no wait tonight as we arrived about 5:30 and got right in ahead of most folks.
Everything was very good as usual.

We did some beach shop shopping on the way home and had some ice cream to cap off an enjoyable second day of vacation.

As we sat out on our house porch and looked out over the ocean tonight we had nice time just talking with one another as the sound of the ocean was so peaceful.
The wind is still blowing pretty hard but hopefully it will calm before morning and the sun will break through.
This pretty sunset was as we were leaving the beach shops to end another beach day.

Thanking God for a wonderful day shared with family and for all the blessings that He sends my way.
Good Night and God Bless

PERFECT FIRST DAY AT OAK ISLAND and TURTLE HATCHING

My alarm sounded way to early this morning after spending a restless night of sleeping in a different bed than I am used to. Ever since hubbie and I bought our memory foam mattress I have trouble sleeping on any other mattress.
Everyone was already up except daughter when I got down to the kitchen. We all had breakfast as daughter got up before we were finished.
It is a beautiful day and not even any strong wind today so we headed out to our first day on the beach.
This little guy was anxious to get this vacation started !!

 First order of business was a shade canopy. D-in-love has to keep cool and the rest of us I'm sure before the day is over will take our turn under the shade of this canopy.

  I love the big wide beach in this area and it isn't crowded at all where we are.

 G-son couldn't wait to get into those waves so #2 son and daughter took their turn with him first.

Before the day was over we all had our turns in the water with him.

We came inside for lunch then went right back out to the beach, for a full day of fun and sun at the beach.

We took the canopy down and came in about 4:30 this afternoon. After everyone got showers #1 son, hubbie and I went to Sub Way to pick up our supper for today.
After we ate the guys went surf fishing and daughter and I took a long walk on the beach. We walked down past the Oak Island lighthouse.

This was our lucky day as we walked up on this baby turtle hatching with perfect timing. The first little Loggerhead was just making its way down the pathway created by the turtle nest watchers just as we walked up.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us. I was filled with the awe as I watched these little baby Loggerheads race from the safety of their nest high on the dry beach into the rushing waves of the warm ocean.

I kept thanking Jesus for putting daughter and I at the perfect place at the perfect time. And this was just the mood lifter that I needed for this week. If these little guys, so small and vunerable eagerly
make such a giant leap of faith with seemingly no fear what do I have to worry about ???

The "turtle watchers" couldn't touch the turtles with their bare hands but they used gloves and buckets to scoop up a couple wayward little guys who thought the path was away from the water instead of toward it. They said they knew exactly how many eggs were in this nest because they had moved it out of the tide up out of the tide, there was 132 eggs in it but only 22 hatched.

As daughter and I made our way back past a now very luminous lighthouse and back to our beach house we really hope that we might be blessed with another opportunity to let g-son witness this wonder of nature in some of the other nest nearby that are scheduled to hatch in the coming days.

Hubbie, #1 and #2 son were still on the beach fishing when we got back. They said they had caught several fish but nothing of any size.

G-son watched the video of the racing little turtle hatchlings several times in awe when we told him about our good fortune.
I talked to Heather tonight and God seemed to have intervened back at home also as she said Dolly began eating her food today and all was well at the farm.
I feel like a load has been lifted from my shoulders tonight as I sit quietly in our bedroom and type this blog ready for an early bedtime to hopefully sleep better tonight.
As the sun set on our first day of beach fun it has been a perfect day, thanks to our Heavenly Father.

Good Night and God Bless.

TRAVEL DAY

Early alarm this morning so hubbie and I could get all the baking goods to market and set up for Georgia. In fact we followed her into the parking lot of market.
We got things set up and she went right to work selling.She is a very personable lady and everyone likes her so she is a very good asset to my business.
As hubbie and I headed back to the Honda we saw that an estate sale group was setting up a sale in the lot next to market so we just had to take a few minutes to check out what they had. We wound up with a load of things to take home. These are some of the useful things we found.

We did the chores before we unloaded our treasures because the temperature was rising pretty fast and we wanted to let the dogs get plenty of exercise before we put them back in their lots for the week.
We put Sadie and Flash in the lots and leave Annie loose to watch over the place and she does a good job. It does get them all off our regular schedule but they are pretty easy to get back to the regular routine when we get home.We had breakfast and then loaded the Honda with all our beach stuff.  The back of the Honda is not as spacious as my old Montana van was for sure. We were wondering if we were going to get it all packed in there.
We managed to get everything in except an extra case of water but we can  buy water when we get there.
We were loaded and ready to head out at 11:30.  Poor Bernie and Dolly watched us pack and did not understand why we were not taking them. After we shut the door they howled and barked as if to remind us they were being left behind.
I drove and we made wonderful time with pretty heavy traffic all the way. Thankfully we were headed down the mountain on I-26 as the traffic going up the mountain was backed up all the way to hwy 74 where got off. We are definitely going to have to remember to google that route on navbug before we get caught in a mess like that on our way home.
We stopped for lunch at a Wendy's in Wadesboro and spent almost an hour there by the time we stood in a long line to order then waited on our order.
Back on the road we had no problems and arrived at Oak Island around 5:00. We checked in at the realty and got to the house easily.
This is a beautiful house and this area doesn't seem crowded at all.
The sun is shining and it is hot at 89 degrees. We got all our things carried in and got settled in.
I walked around the house and took pictures.
From the beach .......

 Our bedroom.....

 Lots of beach front windows.....

Living room......

 Kitchen........

From the road.....

Walkway to the beach.....

 Beach front deck.....

All the beach front homes on Oak Island are set quite a way back behind the dunes so they are protected.
While we waited on #1 son and his family to arrive I set up my new laptop and got it up and running.
They arrived at 7:30 safely thanks be to God.
After we got them unloaded hubbie, #1 son and I made a grocery store run while d-in-love an g-son stayed at the house and recovered from the long ride.
On the way to the store the sun was setting over the intercoastal waterway.

We got groceries and picked up some late supper from Taco Bell on the way back to the house.
After we ate and got things put away I caught up my blog writing while we waited on #2 son and daughter to arrive.
They arrived at 11:30 safely thanks again to God's traveling mercies for the entire family today.
Talked to Heather and Bernie and Dolly were not being very friendly this afternoon when she fed them and didn't eat their food. She had went out with one of her friends and was headed home when I called her so I don't know how things went when she got home.
I am so grateful to God for the safe travel day for my family and all the other blessings of this day.
Good Night and God Bless.

HAPPY 61st TO ME !!!!!

Whoa !!! What a crazy day. The day before  we leave for vacation always is a bit crazy but maybe today was the worst . Seeming to drive that home was when I walked in the kitchen the next morning and saw the back door standing wide open !!  Glad no one came through looking for unlocked doors last night.
Hubbie took today off to help make things easier and it is a good thing he did with all we had to do today.
First on the list was a trip to Tractor Supply to get animal feed stocked up for the farm sitter. Then I wanted to get a new laptop as my old one is really aggravating me and hubbie wants it to surf around on. So after a look at Sam's Club while hubbie picked up a few supplies I decided to check out the sale Staples was having. Got a good deal and then headed to Dunham's sporting goods for a pair of deck shoes for hubbie for our beach trip.
Whew finally home at 11:00 and ready to begin baking , or so I thought !!  As I gathered supplies I discovered that I had forgotten to pick up any butter. Aldi is usually where I get this and they were out so I forgot to get it at Walmart.  I hurriedly made a trip to Ingles while hubbie started yardwork.
Only a 30 minute delay before my baking duties began. I baked 12 caramel, 7 chocolate, 5 pound and 2 blackberry wine cakes.
After a quick late lunch I started packing. Along with hubbie we got everything packed and sitting either inside the basement door or just inside the living room door.
Then we headed outside to get all the animal waterers and feeders filled.
Aa and Re came by to wish me a happy birthday .  I haven't had any time today to even think about turning a year older, but maybe that is a good thing !!!
Daughter came by a bit later and brought me a nice gift. This antique bird house and a gift card from my favorite place to eat, Cracker Barrel. Thanks kids!!! I love both my gifts.

She dropped Tipper her dog off as she has an overnight lock in with her volleyball team tonight and wants to get straight home and to bed in the morning so she can get some sleep before her and #2 son head to the beach.
When she left and all the regular chores were done I carried water to all my potted plants and flowers. The forecast is for 0 %  chance of rain for most of this coming week.
Back inside I started icing cakes and getting things ready for market tomorrow. I have a good friend that I hire to work my market booth for me on the first Saturday of vacation so that I won't miss but 2 market days. I used to go to market myself on this day and then hubbie and I would  leave after market to drive to the beach. We always arrived after dark and we are not good at driving after dark anymore especially in strange places.  This works out much better for us and Georgia Rhodes doesn't mind working the booth.
Hubbie helped any way he could to make things move faster but it was still 1am when we got into bed. I was very tired !!
I have a funny feeling about going on vacation this year. I am sure I need the time off but can't put my finger on exactly what is causing this apprehensive feeling. It is probably because this is the first time we have ever left the 4-legged kids at home. But since they have such health problems we just  didn't think they could make the long trip this year.
I'm sure I will enjoy my down time after I get there and things get settled here at home with Heather.
As this month of July comes to an end this has been one of the more exciting news filled months that we have had in a long time.
Beginning with the news that our entire farm is in the "study area" for the new mega power lines Duke Energy is going to build made us start thinking that it may not be in God's will for us to remain here for the rest of our lives. That news also put a hold on several projects we were getting ready to do around the house and farm.
We had a Fourth of July cookout here with Josh's family and then on their family beach trip he proposed to daughter making her a very happy lady and all of us very thankful that she waited for what seems to be her perfect husband. His family is excited also as they really love daughter.
In a usual July I would have been in the kitchen canning on many days this month but because of the recent drought we are in I have only canned green beans and made Dilly beans so far. All the other vegetables seem to be just sitting around waiting for some rain so they can ripen up.
The heat this month has been oppresive at times , so much so that at the end of several busy days I have found myself in tears I was so tired and wiped out from fighting the heat and a busy schedule.
G-son found a new friend as we made a couple trips with him to Carl Sandburg's goat farm where he fell in love with one of the young goats named Cinnamon.
D-in-love has had to only work Mondays and Tuesdays this month so g-son has only been here those two days each week.
Curb Market has been busy for me as the camps are in full swing around the area and they all buy cakes from me as well as all the summer residence that buy my cakes.
Unlike most months this month has seemed to drag by. I know I can't complain about time slowing a bit for me at this point in my life and I'm not complaining I'm just saying !!  Maybe it was the heat, maybe the busy time of year, maybe it is the not knowing where the power line will go, or maybe it is just a time in my life that things stop spinning for a little while which I am very grateful for. I rest in the knowledge that God knows what is best for me and as we end this month in the wee hours of the night feverishly getting ready for our yearly beach trip I pray that each decision that is made in the coming months will reflect the love light that God shines down on us each day.
God will take care of His creatures and all will be as He wills.  Thanking God for this blessed day.
Good Night and God Bless.