Cottage Crazy: Christmas 2013 Preparations at the W

Cottage Crazy: Christmas 2013 Preparations at the W: A couple of busy days shopping and then cooking up some homemade treats and a bit of Holiday decorating the last two days.  Chex & the C...

Christmas 2013 Preparations at the W

A couple of busy days shopping and then cooking up some homemade treats and a bit of Holiday decorating the last two days. 

Chex & the City Mix 

I made enough to fill ten one gallon containers. I had to mix it all up in a clean 40 quart plastic tote!

I eyeballed what I thought would be enough ingredients and nailed it perfectly with nary a left over. I am quite sure I could not do that again. The W has a fleet of wagons to help us transport items to the lower level garage.

I thought this was too cute not to photograph!

I have 19 coming Christmas Eve for a sit down dinner. Pre-made some dishes today and baked a large 8 pound turkey breast to go with the honey baked ham. Mike cut up the turkey and it looked exactly like the video I showed him! He did a Great job. I put out a few Christmas decor items to go with the red poinsettia's and a live wreath on the terrace door and a bright lime green and red sparkly wreath on our entrance door. Both are lovely. Located all the Christmas china and have it all ready to go. Mike picked up our card tables and chairs from Lorrie's and I ordered new red tablecloths for them. He checked out the placement and we think we have a seating plan. 

 

 

The French door to the Terrace is ready for Christmas.

New Red and Green Plaid Tablecloth. Dad's Grandfather Clock had stopped running and Mike surprised me last week by having it repaired. So nice to hear it chime again. 

We have 2 large red poinsettias in the windows facing the terrace. I could not get the lighting right to get a good picture. But they are on the same wall as the live wreath so with the big red ribbon on the wreath we have three evenly spaced splashes of red which looks nice.

We decided to not do a tree this year since we decorated one at Paws & Paddles for the Cottage Tour Open House. The fresh green wreath is giving off a nice evergreen smell. So it's all good. Next year though I am determined to put a nice size tree out in the center of our large Terrace with the large old style colored lights. I just need to work on an anchoring system in case the wind would be an issue. The Terrace is surrounded by tall brick walls but the breeze does (thankfully) swirl around at times. 

Planning on being up at 5:15 for the gym then back to get ready and head out to deliver items and pick up the Coconut Cake from Wildflour Bakery. I think we have the desert thing covered. I also have a Fresh Apple Cake made by a friend, chocolate truffles, an a Applesauce Cake made from Granny Hogan's recipe. Honey baked Ham, Turkey, Baked Beans, Potato Salad, Green Beans, Mashed potatoes and Lorrie's Mac & Cheese.  Boiled Custard for sipping before dinner. I wish this warm weather would last and we could flow out to the Terrace. I actually have had the door open all day it is that warm! We have a big cool down predicted so we'll see. 

Merry Christmas to everyone. See ya in the New Year. Planning lots of Tybee Tyme in 2014!

Sharing Hershey's Story

HERSHEY, OUR “PAWS & PADDLES” PET

 

By Connie Wright Stanley

 

Hershey, our Chocolate Standard Poodle, entered our lives after we bought and renovated a Tybee Cottage for our pet-friendly cottage rental business, “Paws & Paddles,” near Savannah on the Georgia coast. Decorator Jane Coslick, of “Coastal Living” fame, helped us and inspired us to get a pet when she had a cute sign made for our back deck. It was two poodles paddling a kayak. 

Hershey barreled his way right into our lives from the time Mike and I first laid eyes on him. A large muscular dog, he had been used for breeding until recently. At 7 he was neutered and needed a new home. He was not leash friendly and was skittish around people. That first day, the beginning of a three-day trial weekend with him, he was very excited. A beautiful dog with excellent conformation, he carried himself like the proud stud dog he had been. But I was concerned when it was clear that we were having a problem just trying to get him in the car! Mike had that look. I got in the back seat with Hershey…the beginning of our life with this magnificent dog.

Hershey was so huge and unpredictable. We had previously had miniature poodles that I could pick up and carry. Not this one! He chewed everything. I think he was upset and expressed it by chewing. We got him some indestructible Gonuts. One looked like a summer sausage the other a large black donut. They worked! Walking him was a tug of war. We tried a harness discovered online and it was great. He reminded me of a thoroughbred horse. Loud sudden sounds scared him and he would jump and run. He seemed almost afraid of people and shied away from a outstretched hand. We took him on his first trip to Tybee and of course we didn't have a kennel, but he took over Mike’s day bed. Hershey liked his bed in the great room just as long as we were in there. We spent most of our time on the sun porch with him nearby. Hershey was settling into both of his homes, the Tybee cottage and the Blue Ridge Mountain home above Roanoke, where he had his own bed in our bedroom.

 

We took Hershey with us everywhere we went: Tybee, Savannah, our Windy Gap mountain home in Virginia, and nearby Smith Mountain Lake. He was happy as long as he was with us. He conquered his fear of loud sounds and began reaching out to strangers when we walked on the Roanoke Greenway. He did his best to nudge their hand into petting him. We taught him to shake hands, a simple trick that he turned into his way of communicating. He would fasten those big brown eyes on you and sit and raise up his paw and hold it slightly pointing to one side and wait for you to figure out what he wanted. In the morning he wanted his first hugs of the day. Petting wasn't enough. He needed a full out body hug. Just as you would hug your child or your spouse. He practiced learning not to knock us or others down as he crashed through any open doors. We started by making sure he knew we were in charge. Door opens, Mommy first, then Daddy, then Hershey. It took patience and lots of practice. But he not only learned that but learned to stay and wait until we said come. We were so proud. He learned to walk on a loose leash and he totally enjoyed any and every walk that he got. He learned to trust people and enjoyed everyone. I enjoyed seeing the smiles he brought to strangers’ and friends’ faces. He was a joy, a constant companion, a friend, and a delightful listener.

 

One day he stopped eating his regular food. We thought it was something minor like a virus. The vet suggested changing his food. We did. He seemed to like the new food. But after a few weeks he wasn't eating again. Back to the vet. We were shocked to find out he had Lymphoma. More shocked to learn he only had a few weeks left. He received meds to help him want to eat and perked up. We continued to take him every where we went. He went on boat rides on Smith Mountain Lake. I can still see those long brown silky ears blowing in the wind as he sat near the bow of the boat and we cruised down the main channel. He came to our neighborhood Homeowners picnic. Typically no pets were invited. But we knew this might be the last time everyone would see Hershey. That night I woke up a little after 3:00 a.m. and felt very anxious. Hershey wasn't in our room. He had gone into the great room and was under the ceiling fan. He didn't get up, but more importantly he didn't look at me when I came in the room. I knew something was very wrong. I talked to him and could tell it wasn't good. He seemed hot and his breathing was rough. I told him if it was time it was ok for him to go. If he needed help we would take him to his vet’s at 8:00 a.m. when they opened.

 

I woke Mike after a couple of hours because I was sure the end was near. We stayed with Hershey, hugging and petting him. He seemed hot so I wiped him down with cool water. It was cooler outside. I opened the terrace door to let the cool air in. Hershey marshaled all the strength he had left and staggered two steps to the door. He stood there shaking and then took two steps outside and lay down on the cool stone tiles. We put towels under his legs and around him to protect his now bony legs and hips from the rough surface. We talked to him and petted him. His eyes were now unresponsive. His breathing became harder. He struggled once with his legs rapidly flailing. We held him and told him we were there and loved him.

 

A short while later his heart stopped beating with my hand on his heart. At 7:50 a.m. ten minutes before his vet would be at his office he passed away outdoors under the now blue sky. We miss him terribly but I am so glad that we took a chance on loving and welcoming another dog into our home. If we hadn't I would have missed spending two of the best years of my life learning to know and love Hershey. Yes, our hearts are broken. But I would do it over in a heartbeat. Hershey taught us to open our hearts to the possibility of love and joy even if it is fleeting and temporary.  “Paws and Paddles” remains a haven, and treasure chest of Hershey memories, for us and our renters who bring their beloved pets along to the coast. Someday we will welcome and love another dog into our homes. I will love Hershey today and forever more.

The Tybee Island Christmas Cottage Tour 2013

Christmas 2013 Tybee Cottage Tour

We participated in the 2013 Tybee Island Christmas Cottage Tour of Homes to benefit the Humane Society on December 7, 2013.

It was such fun to see Paws & Paddles decorated for Christmas. We met so many wonderful people and shared our stories of finding and decorating Paws and Paddles Cottage. Many of our guests assumed that we had a dog. We have a dog bed right by the front door. The bed is under a bone shaped sign with the inscription Ruff Life. I had anticipated this. I had carefully folded Hershey's chocolate fleece blanket with his name on it and I laid it on his bed under the sign at the door. We ended up talking a lot about Hershey and how we lost him several months ago to Lymphoma. It was a positive thing since it allowed our guests to share their stories about losing a pet. I received several hugs of understanding and enjoyed connecting with our guests in such a real and genuine way. The Cottage Tour is done to raise funds for the Humane Society so this seemed especially fitting. We had decided to participate in Hershey's Memory. He was there with us in spirit the whole day. We had guests touring from 10 to after 3. The Cottage was full of people laughing and talking. I don't think we had more than a minute or two between groups. Many times we had groups of guests in almost every room. It was like a big party and I loved every minute. My only regret is that I did not have more time to talk with everyone. Many thanks to Jane Coslick for creating such a fun event to benefit the Humane Society.

What a great start to the Christmas season! Merry Christmas to All.

Paws & Paddles Pictures of the 2013 Cottage Tour

Come On In...

My decorating contribution...lots of Red Poinsetta's!

Thanks to our MerMaids Denise and Jan for decorating Paws & Paddles!

My favorite colors. Tybee Turquoise and Red! 

Lots of small found things and a bit of Red and Green plus fishy!

Snoopy usually guards the front door. A great place to hide your sandy flip flops! I tried to photograph the outdoor lights that were in the three palms in the front yard. They looked great at night but did not photograph well.

Our walk way in to the Cottage looked great at night. No steps...HERE!  The decorated tree is peeking through the window at left. The picture doesn't do it justice.  It is quite Fun to be photographing Christmas decor outside at night when it is 70 degrees outside! 

The best part about this homemade oyster shell mirror?  Eating the Oysters! Denise added the Christmas Holly!

Denise found these red stars and we had them in every window. We were a few short and I was able to find a few more! 

Precious our MerMaid gift from dear Friends! She travels between Tybee and our our Roanoke, Virginia home.

M E R R Y   C H R I S T M A S   T O   A L L !

Cottage Crazy: Christmas 2013 Tybee Cottage Tour

Cottage Crazy: Christmas 2013 Tybee Cottage Tour: We participated in the 2013 Tybee Island Christmas Cottage Tour of Homes to benefit the Humane Society on December 7, 2013. It was such fu...

Christmas 2013 Tybee Cottage Tour

We participated in the 2013 Tybee Island Christmas Cottage Tour of Homes to benefit the Humane Society on December 7, 2013.

It was such fun to see Paws & Paddles decorated for Christmas. We met so many wonderful people and shared our stories of finding and decorating Paws and Paddles Cottage. Many of our guests assumed that we had a dog. We have a dog bed right by the front door. The bed is under a bone shaped sign with the inscription Ruff Life. I had anticipated this. I had carefully folded Hershey's chocolate fleece blanket with his name on it and I laid it on his bed under the sign at the door. We ended up talking a lot about Hershey and how we lost him several months ago to Lymphoma. It was a positive thing since it allowed our guests to share their stories about losing a pet. I received several hugs of understanding and enjoyed connecting with our guests in such a real and genuine way. The Cottage Tour is done to raise funds for the Humane Society so this seemed especially fitting. We had decided to participate in Hershey's Memory. He was there with us in spirit the whole day. We had guests touring from 10 to after 3. The Cottage was full of people laughing and talking. I don't think we had more than a minute or two between groups. Many times we had groups of guests in almost every room. It was like a big party and I loved every minute. My only regret is that I did not have more time to talk with everyone. Many thanks to Jane Coslick for creating such a fun event to benefit the Humane Society.

What a great start to the Christmas season! Merry Christmas to All.

Cottage Crazy: Weather is changing on 10/19/13 on Tybee Morning e...

Cottage Crazy: Weather is changing on 10/19/13 on Tybee Morning e...: Interesting Morning. As pretty as it could be before sunrise. A few clouds on the horizon with almost no wind. We biked over to the far nort...

Weather is changing on 10/19/13 on Tybee Morning early...

Interesting Morning. As pretty as it could be before sunrise. A few clouds on the horizon with almost no wind. We biked over to the far north side of the island and enjoyed the sun and a nice breeze of about 7 miles and hour. Enjoyed watching the boats and a ship leaving the Port of Savannah while we enjoyed one of the many beach swings. After about an hour we noticed a thick line of gray clouds on the horizon. Very quickly they started coming towards us. Very soon the whole sky was almost covered. It was kind of exciting 

and a little bit scary. The wind picked up with a hint of cool air. It was 73 this morning. So far no rain...HERE...as Easton would say! We headed to Paws & Paddles for a great breakfast by Chef Mike. Enjoying being lazy on the sun porch. I got some nice shots of the full moon and the lighthouse this morning before sunrise. 

Mike enjoying his coffee in the surf. He has enjoyed his fisherman shirt with the silky material and many vents as well as his shorts with many pockets for holding shells etc.  from West Marine. This is the perfect Tybee combo with a t-shirt under. About as dressed up as one ever needs to be here! 

This is the far north side of the beach that we love so much. Usually very quiet. The birds and and the Horseshoe crabs are farther down the beach in the opposite direction.

We see this lady every morning before sunrise and every afternoon walking the north beach. Always in a pretty bikini with her hat cocked to one side to keep the sun off her face. When the water is warmer she swims the entire length of the beach. We were actually worried about her one day she had been out there so long. A fellow on the beach said not to worry she was fine and could stay out there for a long time with no problem. We also watched a man swim the length of the beach this week. Water was 71 and then climb out and run back down the beach. He looked to be 50 or so and didn't have an ounce of fat on him. I could easily imagine him as a secret agent or a navy seal with his short hair, tanned tall frame and his unsmiling face. Tybee is truly an interesting mixing pot. 

Cottage Crazy: A Beautiful Friday on Tybee Oct. 18, 2013

Cottage Crazy: A Beautiful Friday on Tybee Oct. 18, 2013: A warm 73 degrees this morning on Tybee. Low thin clouds along the horizon didn't prevent a beautiful sunrise! We enjoyed the very light...

A Beautiful Friday on Tybee Oct. 18, 2013

A warm 73 degrees this morning on Tybee. Low thin clouds along the horizon didn't prevent a beautiful sunrise!

We enjoyed the very light soft breeze and then biked over to the far north beach to see the birds and horseshoe crabs on the beach. Hundreds of black skimmers with orange and yellow bills. Awesome. We sat on one of the beach swings after walking the beach and finding numerous large shiny olive shells. They are so shiny and perfect they looked like you purchased them instead of plucking them out of the surf. We seem to always find several if it is high tide or just after.

This is the side of the island that most tourists never see. It follows the river channel back towards the Port of Savannah. Very wild, very peaceful, and very much my favorite place on the island. Pictures can't do it justice.

The sand is smoother, whiter, and the beach feels more like Sanibel Island. Georgia beach sand tends to be more tan than white. The Horseshoe crabs are interesting. They dig in the sand and lay eggs and then have to find their way back to the surf...lots don't make it. 

We ended up staying on the beach for over two hours after sunrise since it was so delightful. The air had such a soft feel and the gentle breeze was comforting.

This trip is ending on Sunday morning when we head back to our urban home in Downtown Roanoke and cooler temperatures. We have enjoyed every minute. Still some time today and tomorrow so laters...

Meeting my Cousin on Hilton Head Oct. 16, 2013!

We headed over to Hilton Head Island yesterday morning to visit my cousin. She is formerly of Portsmouth, Virginia. She also lived in Roanoke, Virginia for many years. She is the daughter of my Grandmother Wright's baby sister Marie. We visited at her lovely home and then had a delightful lunch outdoors at a local restaurant on the most perfect Oct. beach day. Glorius sun with a light breeze and very low humidity. It was so great to see her and share some family memories and history. We had not seen each other since Grandmothers 80th Birthday Party in 1987. I have fond memories of the party that Janice gave Grandmother Wright. Grandmother was just thrilled and seemed quite happy that day. Most of her immediate family was in attendance.  She always talked at length about Janice and her accomplishments and how beautiful and talented she was. 

We hope to stay in touch since we both now have homes within 45 miles of each here. Lots of similarities about the two of us. She loves poodles! Four of the sweetest miniatures all black/with a bit of gray. Three boys and one darling little girl. I fell in love with Dixie and she seemed to really like me too! It might of been that we kinda greased the skids with the dogs by bringing them a bag of Beach Bum homemade dog biscuits from the SeaSide Sister's shop on Tybee. The dog treat business is part of our MerMaid Cottage groups non-profit endeavors. They also do their own coffee which is placed in each cottage. We had hoped to bring some of that as well but they were temporarily out. We also both have an Earnest Johnson original painting in our homes. He was a very accomplished watercolorist from Oriental, N.C. I met him in Roanoke at the Sidewalk art show one year shortly before he passed away. A delightful and talented man. My painting is of a sunfish sail boat tearing across the water. Her's is a snow scene of Hotel Roanoke which was commissed by her and her former husband to make signed prints for sale to benefit a local charity. 

We also share a friendship with Suzanne Gandy! They used to live across the street from each other in South Roanoke. We both agreed if Suzanne is your friend you can always count on her when needed. So true. Suzanne mentioned her friend on Hilton Head one day at lunch with me at Wildflour on 4th Street in Roanoke. I asked a question or two and then it dawn on me she was talking about my cousin! What a small world. So glad we had that conversation! 

We are facebook friends and will work to stay in touch. I am not good with phone calling. I guess I have spent so much time on the phone at work that the telephone seems like work to me. We all totally enjoyed our visit and look forward to seeing each other again. She is an accomplished pianist and performs with a theatre group in her area. We will have to work on catching a show when we are down here again. Our waitress assisted with taking a photo of all of us.

Enjoyed  a nice reunion. Such a beautiful place and sweet sweet pups.  I could spoil those pups silly in a quick minute!  We would make great pet/house sitters and we are even experienced...LOL.

My Sunfish Sailing painting by Earnest Johnson.

A Tybee kind of Morning...Kite Surfing & Photo shoots

We biked over to the North Beach knowing it was cloudy and little chance of a great sunrise but we enjoy greeting the day at the beach. It was quite windy. We climbed up on the lifeguard station to be out of the wind. A good looking young man stopped by and unloaded a mini mountain of stuff. We quickly realized we were in for a treat. He was very friendly and he was a Kite Surfer. We have had the pleasure of watching this sport from a distance. Now we were going to see how it was done from scratch! He said when the wind was up he just had to take the morning off and head to the beach. He looked much younger than the 42 years he mentioned. Tall dark and handsome with an outgoing personality. We discovered in a short time that he was a contractor on the island, a type A+ personality with a heavy dose of perfectionism!  It was very obvious that he was a perfectionist by the way he had his equipment organized. He quickly starting laying out the complicated looking lines, and other pieces of equipment. He used a hand pump to add air to the outer rim of his kite. That was the first time I knew they did that! In short order he had the kite inflated and ready to go.

He had a harness that fit around his waist and he had a wet suit on as well. We were in for a treat. He was an extremely accomplished Kite Surfer. He was using a wake type board today. He commented he had surf style boards as well. When he hit the water and started jumping the waves and getting 20 feet or so of air I felt like I was flying right along with him. 

We enjoyed watching him for over an hour. He offered some help to another Kite Surfer who was clearly learning. He had his lines so knotted up when he got them out it took nearly an hour to straighten them out. He struggled with the kite and our new friend finally held the newbies kite along with his own while the newbie got straighten out and finally hit the water. He was clearly still learning which highlighted the difficulty of the sport. 

Being Tybee less than 20 feet away we also had a full blown photo shoot going. Complete with clothing changes accomplished inside a small black tent like structure and was held down by three young women getting inside with the one girl that was was changing. Very interesting. 

Just another early morning on Tybee!