Cottage Crazy

Friday, October 11, 2013

Heading to Tybee Tyme in the early a.m. tomorrow!

Looking forward to some Tybee Tyme. We have been crazy busy finishing up selling our Mountain home. Lots of discarding things we don't have to have in our new urban life. Moving and giving things away to family, friends and the Salvation Army. Moving some things to Paws & Paddles. Handling the legal aspects of selling real estate. All good stuff but stressful while I am working every day. We got it all done with the help of family and friends. Mike and Lorrie worked tirelessly the last two weeks. Maricelino helped by moving lots with his truck. Lorrie identified church friends who needed and were thrilled with 3 trucks of furniture. Anne jumped in and helped while keeping our spirits up by telling us we were going to get it all done and that it would be worth it! Suzanne encouraged me to go for what we wanted when we weren't sure about making a move before selling our house. So glad we did. Last night was a great example of why Downtown. I left work at 5:30 and we walked to the Taubman Musuem and enjoyed Thursdays Live. The exhibits were awesome, free music was great, and we enjoyed great food and wine in Norah's Cafe. Still got home before 9! None of which we likely would have done before. The night before we attended the town hall meeting about the return of Amtrack to the Roanoke Valley. Just the type of thing I had not been doing but like to do. We are going to try and catch some warm weather and enjoy our 45th wedding anniversary in Savannah and Tybee. More to follow... Our comfy King bed at Paws & Paddles awaits us on Tybee Island.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Watching the Sand in the Hour Glass slip away...

We had another great beach day. A light to moderate breeze kept us cool. The warm salt warm was a treat to float around in. We decided for out last day a beach day was perfect. We all ended up napping at one point. The sun, the breeze, and the sound of the surf put us all to sleep. Interesting to see the variety of people at the beach. A number of Russians, Germans, and folks from all over the U.S. all enjoying the beach. By the end of the day we were sandy, wet, disheveled and didn't care a bit. The Outdoor shower felt amazing. I am going to miss that in Roanoke. Nothing like a Palm Tree for a roof over your shower. We did a fair amount of biking this week which I love. Tybee is such a small town you can walk or bike anywhere you want or need to go. It has been a great week. The weather, the scenery, and the company couldn't have been better. We have had a great 10 days. Tonight we are likely going to do some packing. We have heard there could be some rain in the forecast after midnight. Might be better to pack the car early than later in the rain. I am planning on leaving a fair amount of my summer clothes here. We are planning on a return trip on Oct. 12th which is just 3 weeks away! We will probably need a few jackets for the next trip just in case it cools down a bit. This week it has been shorts, tanks, and bathing suits. I did manage to dress up all the way to bermuda shorts for the two days we spent in Savannah. The rest of the week black running shorts and my favorite tank top from Lighthouse Cafe in Sanibel Island. It is getting a tad worn but that is always when they feel their best. One of these days if we can pull ourselves away from Tybee we need to see Sanibel again. It is a unique place as well. Sugar white sand and tourquise water that looks more like the Bahamas than Florida. Great biking there as well as a beautiful wildlife refuge.

Off to do some packing and someone mentioned going out for ice cream. That sounds like a great plan...

We have had 2 of these umbrellas forever and rarely have used them. It is usually too windy but the last 2 days they have worked like a charm. Probably kept us getting too much sun. We are all a nice reddish brown which should be tan by tomorrow.

Early this morning Anne and Mike waiting on the sun to rise. It didn't disappoint. Those jackets came off as soon as it was up.

Friday, September 20, 2013

Oh what an Awesome Day at the Beach

It had been decades since I spent an entire day on the beach. Today was the perfect Beach Day. A light to moderate breeze which allowed twin umbrellas to provide shade without a hassle. The shade along with the wet suits kept us nice and cool while we toasted to a nice light shade of brown! We spent hours in the water as well jumping the waves and just enjoying the warm and salty water. Our nice North Beach has the advantage of having one of the best food spots on the island just across the parking lot. So around 2 we sauntered over hoping for lunch and frozen mud slides. Lunch was awesome. Grilled Shrimp Citrus Salads were amazing. Shrimp grilled with a lite jerk seasoning, strawberries,mangoes, and candied cashews on a crispy bed of greens. They didn't have the mud slide mix so no slides today. I brought a old fashioned paper back to read. A Mary Kay Andrews paper back from her earlier days under a different name. It was very good. Started and Finished it in one day. That high school speed reading course has been helpful but sometimes I find I go through books way two fast. I left the Kindle at home and I didn't want to take the iPad to the beach. I actually enjoyed having a real book to read on the beach. Yes it got a little wet but that's ok.This was one of the set I bought at SeaSide Sisters that is autographed to Paw and Paddles! We have all of her books in our new green repurposed Merita Bread rack...somehow knowing her junking ways that seems mighty appropriate.

All three of us had a great time. It has been nice having my sister here with us. She and I share memories of our childhood that no one else know since both of our parents are gone. I have learned some things I didn't know about Anne. I didn't realize she really loves music. She knows the names of most songs and the artists for the songs being played by either the bands or canned music we hear in the restaurants. A fact I think is interesting since our Mom loved music. Her first job was with MacAvoy Music in Downtown Roanoke. She sold sheet music and records along with instruments. We used to joke that Mom knew the first 5 words to every song written and could hum the rest! Anne loves the Beach, Shrimp not Oysters, and is easy going and up for anything we want to do. She hasn't biked in a long time but she has enjoyed biking the Island. Hoping we can continue doing some biking back in Roanoke on the Greenways together. She likes Paula Deen and loves her Pecan Pie. She doesn't like olives or Outdoor showers. Fun that I know that now. One more day on Tybee till we have to pack up and head back to the real world with all of it's joy's and concerns. I think I appreciate Tybee because it is a retreat and a great get away from the concerns of the real world. Not sure I would feel the same way if we were here all the time.

We watch his attractive lady walk both ways on the beach early each morning. She often swim laps until we are worried if she is ok. She is an inspiration! The temperatures have been warmer than normal but with a 15 to 20 mile an hour wind waiting for the sun to rise I have worn a light jacket. She was swimming in a bikini and I was shivering in the wind. LOL.

Another Beautiful sunrise this morning.

Love the Lighthouse. This morning I could capture the full moon and the lighthouse in one frame.

Mikie wandering back to the bikes. Time for breakfast!

The lovely sea oats are starting to fade away. In August they were lush and heavy with seed. Love the waving motion it is so relaxing. Hard to believe that Fall is just around the corner. We have enjoyed finding Summer in Tybee. Roanoke had so much rain it felt like the summer that wasn't. This week has more than made up for all the rain.

Looking forward to another sunrise in the morning.