Weekend in pictures

Where Everybody Knows My Name

Terry & I went to Southwind last night, where we go every Thursday evening which is Jam Night. Young & old bring instruments or just their voice & have a great time making music together, entertaining the crowd.


With the warmer weather, the place was packed, inside & out. We saw some other regulars, mixed in with friends we haven't seen in awhile. I never know who we'll end up seeing when we go to Southwind, but there's always someone to catch up with or meet. Choosing one of their draft beers can be a hard one, but I went with the Terrapin Rye Pale Ale. Yum! I do love the hops. ;)

The corner seat on the porch is where I usually sit with my friend Raquel, greeting folks coming & going, next to the warmth of the chiminea. We stay long after the "Closed" sign appears, hanging out with our friends who own it & work there. There's no place like Southwind in Mathews or anywhere else that I have found. It truly is a gem & a blessing to have.

Confusion at the store

As I've been feeling good about using canvas bags bringing my groceries home, I wasn't feeling so great about those one-use, plastic produce bags holding my broccoli, apples, & sweet potatos. So I went searching online & found this site.
They have reusable produce bags which I bought & now love them!

But this is more about the first few times I've used them, as I knew it could make for an interesting moment or two. And it's proven to be so. The look from the cashier is one of puzzlement, embarrassment. The boy will look over to the bagger, with a smile & then a shrug. Should he ask me? Finally, "M'am, would you like me to take it out of this?" No it's fine, I reply. The cashier lifts my bag, full of lemons, examining it as he passes it to the bagger who seems just as amused. I explain what they are & why I use them. He responds, "I've just never seen this before". We're all smiling now. Who'd have thought I'd get so tickled checking out at the grocery store?

The Kelty's Last Night

We had our first camp-out of 2010 on the East River this weekend. Our friends, Jaimie, Mary, & Tony rent this old house on a beautiful piece of property & we spend a lot of time there during the warmer months. I found out a few days ago that they're looking to buy a house now, so we may not have much longer to enjoy this fabulous spot.

I've known all winter that we'd have to buy a new tent, since our Kelty's zipper busted during Labor Day weekends camp-out on New Point island. Also, one of the poles cracked during a treacherous hail storm at Delfest music festival. I didn't think we'd be camping this early on, so we went ahead & tried to use it one last time. And it held up!

The weekend was full of grilling, fishing, fireworks, kite-flying (or trying to), crab legs/oysters, fire, & swinging. The kids and dogs enjoyed swimming & even my adult friend, Shane braved the cold river water.


Oh how wonderful the warm sunshine felt, as I got my first slight sunburn of the year. I'm so incredibly grateful for our great circle of friends & our life on the water.

Signs of Spring

Today is the Vernal Equinox & one word comes to mind thinking about it.. blissful! I walked outside this morning & the strong scent of Earth lingered in the air & I felt my stomach flip-flop. You can feel, see, & hear the awakening all around.

Like everyone else, I am so ready for warmer weather. There was a week or so in February where I was feeling a bit gloomy & moody, however I also didn't work-out that week. (I notice such a difference in my spirit when I exercise). But I realize lack of sunshine can affect me this way, as well. What do they call it? SAD~ seasonal affective disorder. Something I don't usually experience during the winter months. During this last week, I've noticed nature coming alive.

I was also fortunate enough to have two separate bald eagle sightings. This guy lives near us & we see him from time to time. He just sat there, watching me, allowing me to photo him.

This winter was unusually cold for us. Most Januarys & Februarys, we're able to go outside with a thick coat on. Not this year. With daytime highs being in the 30's most days, I found myself trying to keep "my kids" entertained with forts, fingerpainting, & bowling. We were outside as much as possible this week & our days definetly went by much smoother with lots of laughs. Welcome Spring!

Magazine Bowls

Since my good friend, Erica, was interested in starting to make things like I am, we decided that doing it together would be more fun & created Craft Night. We made these magazine bowls on our second night meeting. I first saw the idea for these bowls looking through the cut out and keep site. It's cheap & easy, but make cool looking bowls. Materials needed are: 2-3 magazines (depending on how big a bowl you want~ i used 2), glue, tape, varnish.

Start by ripping out all the pages in the magazines. Take a page & fold it in half. Unfold, then start folding the edges towards the middle. Put some glue on one half of a folded side & glue it together.


Then roll it up until it looks like a spiral. Tape the end to itself.

Continue to fold & glue the pages. Tape one end to the end of the last paper you taped. You can add as many as you want, depending on how big you want your bowl. Then you slowly lift the edges to create the bowl. Adding varnish will make your bowl more sturdy & shiny. Here's my completed Vegetarian Times bowl! ;)

Where I go alone

Well not everytime I go. But most of the countless times that I've been to Bethel Beach Nature Preserve, I have been alone which is one of the main reasons it gradually turned into a spiritual place for me, in my late teens. I have lived 3 miles from this "church" of mine, most of my life.. the first 27 off & on with my parents & the last 5 years with Terry. And I went on this unexpected sunny & warmer day, sock-free!




I have watched this special place of mine slowly become smaller in size during my life. It's taken quite a beating from hurricanes & nor'easters & it always amazes me to see the huge changes after such a storm. However, the comforting smell of salty sea grass & marsh, along with the usual wildlife are still present.



Taking the short walk (some disagree with me about the length of this walk) down to the end, you will find that you can often sit for hours, without ever seeing another person. But when you do encounter someone, they usually have a smile on their face.. there IS something quite remarkable about Bethel Beach.

An Introduction

I used to write in a journal daily, sometimes a few times a day. In my cabinet sits a stack of ratty notebooks full of my deepest thoughts, teardrop stains, and drawn happy faces. I haven’t done much writing in a few years. And I miss it. So here I am.




Towards the end of 2009, I felt a bit unfulfilled thinking about my year. I decided that I was going to throw myself into 2010 with open arms, determined to grow & DO.

Although I won't be writing about the deep personal aspects of my life, as those ratty old notebooks contain, I believe having this blog will allow me to furthur achieve my resolutions & hopefully strengthen my writing to what it once was.

Life on the Chesapeake Bay, catching live music, crafting, learning about sustainable living, and moments spent with my love, Terry, friends & family will mostly occupy my blog.
Welcome!