Crazy Weather

In keeping with the theme of unwanted/weird weather (and I won't mention the 4 letter S word even though we're supposed to get MORE tomorrow night...)

One April, I think it was 2006, the family assembled in Deltaville for Easter.  It was very warm out so I let Bridget take the kayak out on the creek.  While my aunt, uncle and I were sitting on the swing watching her paddle around, we noticed the wind pick up.  I called Bridget to head back in and we hauled the kayak back up on dry land.  The sky grew ominously black though we didn't get any rain.  As the clouds blew past, we noticed a strange cloud forming on the tail end of the storm clouds.....

It was an awesome sight to see.  It never touched down where we could see, but did end up producing a waterspout further up the river near the Bay.  There were no reports of injury or damage thankfully.
PS in one photo I think you might be able to see one of my well known flying monkeys.

A Good Book

This is what my yard looks like right now.  26" of snow.  The good news- I finally dug the driveway out and made several trenches for the dog in the backyard.  The bad news- we are once again under a Winter Weather Warning and have 10-20" of snow headed our way once again.  (Insert shrieking here). 

Luckily, I was smart and went to the library prior to the first massive snow storm and made sure I had enough books for myself and my son to get us through.  Which is where the title of this blog comes in.  There is nothing better than a good book whether it's because you're snowed in under 80 2 feet of white I-think-I-have-a-hernia-developing crap snow or relaxing in a hammock, relaxing on the pier or even better- relaxing on the beach in the sun. 

Deltaville and good books seem synonymous.  Meaning that for every trip south, I make sure I have plenty of reading material.  And I also make sure that I have a stockpile of reading material there waiting.  I love to read, and I read fast.  So, I can burn through 2-3 books easy if I have a week with not much going on. 

In Deltaville, life slows down and the book comes out.  There are usually 2 places I can be found reading (other than in the house): the hammock and the pier.  The hammock is the perfect reading spot.  Sometimes it takes some maneuvering to get in and get  comfortable.  My shirt rides up a bit and I can feel the ropes of the hammock against my skin and I know I'm going to have hatch marks on my back, but I don't care.  My right foot drapes over the edge to offer just enough push to keep the hammock in a gentle swing as I read.  I always doze off listening to the whomp-whomp-whomp of the jet skis jumping waves and the gentle humming of the boat engines going in and out. 

(This is actually a pic of my sister. I took this pic only because the rest of the family was working hard while she was laying in the hammock)

Sometimes I like to go down on the pier and read.  If the tide is high enough, I simply lay down on the pier with my feet dangling in the water.  It isn't the most comfortable way to read a book, but having my toes wet makes the difference.  And if I'm still enough, minnows sometimes come along and nibble at my feet (not sure if anyone saw the reports on the very expensive pedicure treatment where people stick their feet in a bucket of water full of minnows that eat all the dead skin off your feet- same thing only mine is free).

But the best place to read a book is on the beach.  Whether it's sitting in the chair at the water's edge or lying in the sand, nothing beats a good book on the beach.  The waves rolling onto shore, the kids laughing and playing in the water, the shore birds and their various cries.... even the feel of the sand adds to the overall enjoyment.

This is my mother.  I have her picture here because I am always the one behind the camera.

And sometimes the best place to read is in a soft bed at the end of a loooong day.

My son- fell asleep reading after a long day on the beach- just like his mom.

Simple Pleasures

My local radio station discusses people's simple pleasures every Thursday morning, so I'm stealing the idea.  It's part of my "come on get happy" campaign to battle the winter blahs and the blahs in general. 

So, for my simple pleasure today, I'm going to pick going for walks in Deltaville (since this is a Deltaville blog I'll keep with the theme).

Sometimes things can be a little boring in Deltaville.  You've gone on the pier so many times, slept in the hammock so many times, and watched the Shrek movie until your eyes bleed (the joy of 3 year olds and their movie fixations).  So that's when you go for a walk "around the point". 

The Point is simply the road that circles around the end of the pennisula where our community is located.  I imagine the name refers more to the fact that it is the tip/point of the pennisula, otherwise I guess we would have called it the loop.

When I was younger, the road was not all gravel.  Back in the day we had an orangey sand and some spots with oyster shells.  I used make sand castles in the road near our house.  Walking during the day is hot and sweaty, and always takes you past the community pier and boat ramp where, as a kid, I always accidentally fell in the water on purpose.  Now my children accidentally fall in the water on purpose.  (Accidentally falling in on purpose is an artform typically mastered by children who are wearing one of the few clean outfits they have left for vacation and happens when specifically told NOT TO GET WET) 

Walking during the day you see your neighbors, find out who's down for the week/weekend, check out everyone's flowers look for anything new that's been added since you were down there last.  Basically it's trespassing legally from the road since it's a public road and broad daylight, you can be nosey without getting in trouble.

At night walks are even better with the noise of boats and cars gone, you hear more of nature's sounds.  Whipporwills whistle, the fittings on the ropes on the mast of the sailboat across the creek ping in the breeze, the Milky Way stretches across the sky... it's magical (you can also look into the windows of your neighbors' houses to see how they have things decorated... not that I would ever do that). 

so, what's your simple pleasaure today?

Little Sue

Those of you who reside or vacation in the tidewater area are familiar with Little Sue convenience stores.  They've been in the Middlesex, Mathews and Gloucester Counties forever (or at least 30 some years).  Recently, the Little Sue located on the "main drag" of Deltaville was purchased by the evil 7-11 and is no longer a Little Sue.  I nearly threw myself down on the ground kicking and shrieking cried. 

I have a history with Little Sue.  I thought I was big stuff when I was allowed to ride my bike up to the Little Sue in town.  I might have been around 10 at the time.  I'd pedal up there on my rainbowed banana seat bike and get a slice of pizza or a candy bar, or just loiter because that was cool. My daughter and her friends thought it was cool when I let them walk up to the Little Sue.  Until they realized how long a walk it was.  I ended up driving to pick them up.

The biggest history I have with Little Sue took place when I was much younger, maybe 6 or 7 years old.  There was an ad in the Southside Sentinel for a little girl with dark hair and a tan complexion to be "Little Sue" in an advertising campaign.  I wanted to apply.  If I remember the story right, a district manager saw me later in the Little Sue and said I'd be perfect (as I had long dark hair in braids and spent my summer with a deep tan from running wild being outside all summer).  My parents declined as we didn't live in Deltaville and only spent time there now and then in the summer. 

I could have been rich.  It's just like my dad's Gerber baby story... supposedly he was up to be the Gerber baby and my grandmother didn't do it.  So that makes me almost an heiress.