Summer Ends...Fall Begins

The past 2 weeks we have celebrated many things.

The official end of summer, Labor day,  always marks the slowing down of our pace at the restaurant and is a welcome time. My daughter always has a picnic at her house and this year was no exception.  However, they surprised us with a cake in honor of our 30th anniversary and then my parents surprised us further, arriving from Florida to take part in the fun! 

Our family remembered how we enjoyed our visit to Ocracoke Island N.C. so they got together to give us a trip back whenever we can schedule it ( hoping the hurricanes leave us something to revisit!)

We spent several days at the beach soaking up the last summer had to offer. This is my favorite time at the beach, only a few people, warm water and temps in the 80's.

There are some things that never change, generation after generation

-kids will forever run away when waves approach

-They love to be buried in the sand

-they don't mind at all if you have to dig, redig and dig yet again, their little tidepool

By the third time while I was digging I asked my Mom why was i doing this again? She replied , "you are making memories" I told her to remind me of that the next morning when I couldn't move!

At one point while I was taking some pictures I heard all this ruckus behind me and turned to find that a flock of seagulls had ventured over to our cooler and stolen a bag of chocolate animal crackers and were dividing them amongst themselves. I'm sure someone has a pix of me retrieving the bag, thankfully, it hasn't surfaced!

We enjoyed the unexpected company and my parents left to return home this past sunday. On monday the 20th our son left on his first ever flight, a trip to Alaska for his new job ( started Aug 27th with LJT and associates, an electrical contracting firm for NASA, as a remote telemetrist)

He did well for his first flight and is very excited to be there. Can't wait to hear all the stories and see the pix when he returns. The aurora borealis is over where he is staying and I told him to take plenty of pix for me, i envy the opportunity! Our daughter ( pictured above with her boys) began nursing school on the 20th also. 

So we have had a busy couple of weeks and now I am playing catchup getting ready for ArtBliss this weekend, making charms for our swap and gathering tools and supplies!

So goodbye to Summer, and hello to Fall and all the adventures it holds!

I'm Off To See The Wizard....

The wonderful wizard of GLASS!

Yesterday my husband and I took a daytrip to Richmond, after finding out just last week that this exhibit was taking place! It meant driving 3 1/2 hours each way but it was well worth it!

Doesn't he look happy? And yet he was the one who opted for the headphones and recorder and was walking around telling ME all about the pieces! I think it surprised him how much he actually enjoyed it! There' nothing like seeing work like this up close and personal, it is overwhelming!

Now me? I was excited from the get go! I had seen a Tiffany exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY many years ago and knew just how spectacular it was to see his work in person.

While we were unable to take pictures of the exhibition, there was an Art nouveau wing as part of the permanent collection that I was able to take pictures in.

There was works by Mucha-

And another love of mine, Lalique-

And Dragonflies and moths and butterflies of every description

After leaving Richmond we made a stop in Virginia Beach at the Harbor Freight and had a fun time shopping for new tools. I really wanted this wooden workbench they had there on sale, really sturdy, plenty of room for metalsmithing, 5 feet long, yeah, that can fit in my Prius!  Oh wait THAT's the box it's in? Nevermind, will have to wait until we have the truck! The Chesapeake Bay was beautiful and slick calm as we crossed the bay bridge tunnel to head home.  All in all it was a wonderful day off!

Again??? Really???

Ok so what's up?  Forbes,  really? All of a sudden we're on everyone's radar! Very cool though! check it out here.

Happy 4th of July!

Every year , family and friends gather for the annual 4th of July harbor party picnic, held at the harbor on Chincoteague Island. All of the boat slip owners get together and have a picnic/party which ends in watching the local fire company set off the annual fire'works display on the carnival grounds. The fireworks are visible from the dock which makes it a perfect place to watch from. The kids ( now all growing up) always ask my husband to go sit on the bow of our boat and watch from there, this year being no exception. It was especially nice to have our grandkids there to celebrate this year. We all shared a feast of hardcrabs, steamed oysters, clams, scallops, steamed shrimp, grilled vegetables from someone's garden, fresh vegetables and dips, salads of every description, fresh salsas, hot dogs, hamburgers, and carribean jerk chicken, cakes and pies and puddings oh my! We had a birthday cake to celebrate my son in law's birthday, I made chocolate covered strawberries and Ray and i made snow cones for the kids. Food and drink was followed by sparklers and then the fireworks. A good time was had by all!

I am dedicating this post to my nephew and Godchild Daniel who is currently serving somewhere in the gulf, on the USS Truman out of Norfolk, Va. It is because of all the men and women like him that we are able to sit home comfortably and celebrate our freedoms, relaxing with family and friends, having a cold drink and watching re-enacted bombs bursting in air! May we never forget how we got here! May God Bless America and all who love, serve and protect her!