Queens Creek

Sunday I spent the entire day better part of the day parked on my back deck.

Although there were any number of things I should have been 

could have been doing, I gave myself permission to take the day off and just relax.

(It wasn't a difficult goal to achieve, but I gave it my all.)

The day was just about perfect.

I stared at this creek for hours.  And hours.

Alas, the frenetic work week resumes again today. 

I'm grateful for this sanctuary, with its view of Queens Creek, that is my home.

Cow Point

Last evening, Middle Sister and I kayaked from my house to the mouth of Queens Creek.

On the left as you're leaving the creek is a splotch of beach known as Cow Point. It's privately owned, but on Sunday afternoons many boaters take advantage of the convergence of shallow and deep waters to back their boats up to the small sandy beach and relax in the sunshine.

Cow Point 

Across from Cow Point

My arms were sore at this point.  I don't have much upper body strength, and whatever I did have was recovering from a ropes obstacle course Daughter and I conquered during last week's vacation.

Middle Sister

Although Baby Sis and my parents were unable to join us for last week's vacation, Middle Sister, Daughter, Son and I enjoyed ourselves.  Son could only come for a few nights due to his job at Merroir, but we managed to thoroughly relax and eat well.

Now it's back to the normal routine of commutes and long work days.

It's hard to believe July is almost over.  One blink and Daughter will be in her senior year applying to college.

*Sigh.*

To read about a childhood adventure at Cow Point, click here.

Crab Pots

These crab pots live down Redart.  I visited them when Middle Sister was here and we were taking in the local sights.

I'm feeling a little crabby myself today.  It's back to the crazy pace of post-Christmas Normal Life.  Although I've had to work the past week, traffic has been light, and the workplace has been quiet and slow. That will all change today.

There are three basketball games this week.  So, after the long, full days of work, we'll be busy cheering in the stands several evenings this week.

Last but not least, this is my final week of being able to say I'm in my forties.  How in the world it is possible for me to be halfway to 100 years old is well beyond my comprehension.

Sigh.

Reflections

From my back yard Thursday morning, I took these shots of a pink and purple sky admiring its reflection in the mirror of Queens Creek.

The work week has been short, but I'm back to work at long last. The past several weeks of uncertainty with my government job (usually synonymous with employment security and stability) has caused me to ponder how I would earn an income if I should lose my current job.  It's a difficult question to answer given where I live and my age, which is fast approaching 49.

Even though I do still have my job, I really need to reflect on this more.  Short of winning the lottery, I'm really not at all sure what a 48 3/4-year-old female who lives an hour away from anything resembling civilization would do to support a family by herself.

But, as Miss Scarlett once said, if I think about this now I'll go crazy.  I'll think about it tomorrow.

Since tomorrow is Saturday, I'll postpone all this thinking until Monday.

Have a great weekend.

Back Home

After a fun filled weekend that took Son, Daughter and me to downtown Washington, D.C., Monday was a very welcome lazy day thanks to the federal holiday.

The trip to DC is worthy of a blog post itself, however I didn't take my camera on any of our outings so there are no pictures to share, only memories of fabulous restaurants within walking distance of our hotel and shopping malls the size of Canada.

(Tyson's Corner has really expanded since I lived up there thirteen years ago. Also, they waited for me to move back to Mathews before incorporating a restaurant that pushes sushi out into the dining area on a conveyor belt.  Endless amounts of sushi. I didn't have any this time, but instead ate at a place where the first thing the hostess asked after we were seated was, "Do you want to switch out your napkin from white to black?"  When I politely inquired as to why I would want to do that, since I'd never been asked before, she explained that it's a personal preference. Some people ask for black linen to avoid white lint on their clothes.  I told her my white napkin was just fine and thanked her for her concern. I then wondered why they don't just do away with white napkins and only use black, but I was too engrossed in the mouth watering menu to worry about it any longer.)

Anyway.

We had a great time and having Monday off allowed us time to transition back into the Mathews way of life, which does not include sushi, Vietnamese restaurants, complimentary Amaretto at the end of a very fine Italian meal, and Trader Joes within walking distance.

It was a rough transition but one we made nevertheless.

Monday afternoon I took Daughter to her first soccer practice. She's trying out for the high school team. I  brought my camera thinking I'd go for a run and snap some photos after dropping her off.

I achieved the photo snapping but failed miserably at the running attempt.  It was just too darn cold.

These are from Williams Wharf.

I don't ordinarily let the cold stop me from running, because after the first mile I'm sweating no matter what.  But I just didn't have it in me and once I started taking these the motivation to do anything other than drive home and curl up in front of the Cooking Channel quickly subsided.

Before I go off on yet another tangent and tell you about my new favorite cooking show (My Grandmother's Ravioli), I'll end this by saying we had a fantastic get away and enjoyed having an extra day to recover and transition back to our reality.

I hope your weekend was great.

Bluer Skies

Thirteen days ago I left Mathews for Norfolk, 

where my son and I spent five long days

in a hospital for his surgery.

We were sent home with six different medications

to be taken around the clock, every three hours.

(The smoke you see coming from 

my ears the sentence above is due to too many 

medications to keep track of and administer

numbers, none of which adds up to a solid night's sleep.)

(Those are dead balloons, but when we arrived home they were very festive.)

Slowly--veeeery slowly--he has improved.

We've had to take it slow, but at least we're moving forward.

Today I am returning to work.

(Thank God for paid sick leave while I was out.)

The school will send someone over this evening

to start him on the long road to catching up with all

his class work.

By the end of the week, 

he hopes to return to school,
if only for half a day.

While we were busy coping with the surgery,

Mother Nature waved a magic wand and created

the most amazing weather.

Cool temperatures, low humidity, and crisp, brisk evenings filled with the calls of crickets.

And the marigolds are blooming.

Life is good.

Back to the Grind

This week it's back to the normal drudgery routine that is my life.

Which means a return to the paying job, also known as work.

Since I've been away for a week and because this particular week at work is one of the busiest, there won't be many new pictures here unless I scrape the bottom of the barrel.

Before I do that, I am recycling some old ones of the Milford Haven area.

Today I awoke at 5:15 (a most horrific shock after sleeping in until 8 or 8:30 most days last week), drove 102 miles round trip to work where I clocked 9.5 hours with no break and barely any food. The house is a wreck, the yard is overgrown, the laundry is piling up, the dog has some sort of skin issue causing him to shed tumbleweeds, and I'm supposed to be training for a half marathon in my "spare time." Ha!

Also, I need to be seeking out additional ways to earn an income, a fact I've been neglecting for some time. (If anyone is looking for part-time help that does not involve a drive over the Coleman Bridge, let me know. Or I could just follow through on the thousands of ideas I have.  Far, far easier said than done.)

It's hard to believe the difference between this week and last, but I am grateful for last week's respite from the day to day responsibilities.

The whining portion of this blog post is now officially over.

Thank goodness the first day of the worst work week is too.

What's happening in your world?

More Vacation Talk

In spite of the topics here lately, this is still a blog about living in Mathews.

It's just that the summer time brings things like ball games in Deltaville, fireworks in Yorktown, and vacations in North Carolina.

Speaking of  North Carolina, there were days so hot even the sea gulls were gasping for breath panting. 

Middle Sis

Towards the end of the week, the Chesapeake Bay Sisters showed up.



(They showed up in North Carolina. I promise to return to Mathews topics soon.)

Baby Sis

The last full day of vacation was a grand time on the beach before we were forced inside by rain.

But this was a good thing, this rain.

I had already declared the day to be a Chesapeake Bay Family Challenge at the ping pong and air hockey tables.

So, at about 11:00 in the morning, CB Son hooked up the speakers to Pandora's Bob Marley station, and the games began as the rain begged and pleaded with us to please enjoy our time indoors.

Who were we to argue?

I decided during this very game that CB Daughter resembles Baby Sis (and my mother)
and Son resembles Middle Sis (and my father).

If you've never experienced a Chesapeake Bay Family Competition, I can sum it up as follows: We're all I am very, very competitive.

There's no sense playing Candy Land whatever game it is unless you do so with confidence and/or with the goal of intimidating your competition.

Translation: I talk lots of smack even if the game is Candy Land, which we did not happen to play that day. So I scream whether I'm winning or losing.  Sort of like a crazy person crazy person.


The kids tolerate it love it.


The sisters love it tolerate it.


Nobody can really believe the level of screaming involved.

Some sisters were forced to don crab hats in order to fully tolerate experience The Family Challenge.

In short, a good time was had by all.

*****

I promise at some point I'll return to pictures about Mathews.  For now, I can't stop thinking about how much fun I have with my family, and how precious this time together is.

The End.

Wildlife

The other day, post-Hurricane Irene, I drove down to Aaron's Beach to check on things.  On the way there, I spied this egret standing in someone's swamp yard that was still saturated with water from the storm.

I was so focused on the egret that I almost neglected to see the other two who were hanging out in the background. Luckily I spotted them before they took off and zoomed in a bit for a better glimpse.

I love surprises, and this was quite unexpected.

In other news, although we're in a great deal of denial, today kicks off  back to school week here, so we begrudgingly return to the frenetic pace associated with a new school year, sports practices, soccer games and driving for hours on end cross country meets.

Every single day will be a logistical nightmare challenge.

The Mathews High School Cross Country team has a 4:00 p.m. meet at Beaverdam in Gloucester on Wednesday.  Last year I created a separate blog for the team which I haven't updated since last season and am overdue posting year-end photos which I hope to maintain throughout this season as time permits.

Have a great week.

Family Vacation - Part Two

Chesapeake Bay Daughter - Two Hats are Better Than One

As I mentioned yesterday, hats were a large part of the family fun last week.  But standing around laughing and giggling while wearing silly hats wasn't the only thing we did, believe it or not.

Middle Sister read a book.

All of us thoroughly enjoyed the beach.

From body surfing to skimboarding to doing unintentional back flips in the surf just wading in the surf, the water was spectacular. There's something very healing and invigorating about the ocean water.

Thankfully, CBW did not try skim boarding this year.
She learned her lesson a couple of summers ago.
CB Daughter is the skim boarder extraordinaire.

My sisters and parents drove down to Buxton to cause a ruckus at the top of the lighthouse visit the lighthouse one day.  I won't say exactly what happened there, but if they are reading and care to share the story, I encourage them to do so.  I found it to be highly amusing. Perhaps Chesapeake Bay Mother can write the story on her blog.

They had such a good time there (with, perhaps, a few exceptions) that they convinced the CB Children and I to head down there later in the week.

So we did.

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Except just after we purchased the tickets, a rumble of thunder shut the whole place down. So we never made it up to the top, sadly.

The look on CB Son's face below clearly indicates his lack of enthusiasm at the entire outing. It was blazing hot, he was tired and starved to death.  What he's really saying here is, "Can't we just eat something and go take a nap on the beach?"

CB Daughter, on the other hand, was thrilled to be doing something different because she needs to be doing something all the time.  Lying around sweating in the sand is not her cup of tea.  

It's a balancing act, trying to make everybody happy.

Our family is completely unbalanced rarely in balance, by the way. But we do our best.

Below are some random shots.

Baby Sis - Pretty in Pink

Baby Sister's Friend Dino - He's simply hilarious.

Chesapeake Bay Son 

There were always clouds passing around us, but luckily we avoided most of the rain.

One final photo from our family vacation:

This is how I looked when I walked into work Monday morning. 

In addition to being a fair representation of how I feel about being back home and back at work, the above image reflects the collective mood of Chesapeake Bay Son and I when Daughter declared her ardent desire to go putt putt golfing on the ride home.

So, after packing all our stuff (including stuff we didn't have on the trip down) and hauling it down several flights of steps and then trying to jam it into the car, we finally headed north.  After about 45 minutes of driving, we stopped at Jurassic Putt in Nags Head and underwent the torture that is miniature golf in heat when you really need to be getting down the road to beat traffic played a spirited round of miniature golf.

Chesapeake Bay Son came in first.  Daughter came in second.  I came in last.  And although there are a few choice words I could use to describe the whole thing, I believe the photo above says just about everything I could possibly write here.

The End.