Sunrise

No matter how many sunrises I witness from the back door, they're each different and spectacular.

Different and spectacular describes all the women I've met via this thing called blogging. And to be sure we're not discriminating, the men partnered up with these ladies are wonderful too.

Yesterday afternoon we had a small gathering of local bloggers: Big Hair Envy, Noe Noe Girl, Ann Marie and Ghostless.

Ghostless, who is newly-moved to Mathews but not quite in her home, is a wonderfully warm and charming lady with a flair for color, style and the ability to maneuver a horse trailer. Much like my mother, she adores animals so much that a 37-year-old parrot and a donkey are on her extensive list of pets.

All my life I've wanted a donkey. And pigs actually. Everyone got quite the chuckle when I proclaimed my love for donkeys.

When Ghostless finally cuts through all the red tape to move into her house, my hope is to be able to meet her horses, her donkey, her parrot, and her dogs. But especially her donkey. I love donkeys.

Stop laughing.

Big Hair Envy, who came with Cool Breeze, is kin to me. So help me, she's kin to me. Around these parts "so help me" is another way of saying, "Oh yes indeed, for sure." Each time we get together she and I step a little bit closer to figuring out a family tree--which may or may not be our own. But by golly we're mappin' somebody's family tree. So far we've got a connection from her family in West Point to a family in Cobbs Creek, so it's only a matter of three miles distance before we figure out once and for all we're blood kin to each other by way of Cobbs Creek. Or the internet. Or the Mattaponi River. Or Malbec.

Noe Noe Girl and Cee Dub are the most instantly-likeable, sincerely cheerful, and genuinely-loveable people ever put on the planet, and if you do not want to laugh, then you'd better steer clear of Noe Noe Girl. Today Noe Noe used one of my favorite forgotten expressions when she said that one of the 4,358 cheeses brought by Ann Marie was "off the hook." When you say it with attitude and soul, "off the hook" means "out of this world and possibly out of this galaxy." It was really good cheese. And Noe Noe Girl is off the hook.

Ann Marie and the Waterman came with their crystal-blue eyes and their wonderful Mathews stories. Ann Marie also came with a cheese plate to die for and a camera that required its own zip code. It was that big. The Waterman's impish smile and colorful quips were the perfect spice that was sprinkled atop the already-flavorful group.

The internet has an amazing ability to bring completely different yet equally wonderful people together who otherwise would never cross paths. And when these people come together, it's all good.

Very, very good.