Ocracoke

There are few places in this world I love as much as Ocracoke, and island off the coast of North Carolina that feels like the end of the earth. I grew up on Roanoke Island two and a half hours away; and my parents bought a cottage there when I was in college 20 years ago. Ocracoke is largely park service land so much of it has remained undeveloped. Within the last ten years (since have having children and moving up north) have I really grown to love it. It is a place where me and my boys and my extended family can gather, go to the beach, go out on the boat to dig for clams or fish, cook together, eat together, and play cards and games. Both my boys have learned to ride a bike there. This year we took a trip in April. It rained half the time and was a little chilly but Ocraoke still worked it magic. We all left renewed and more in love with life, nature and one another.

A New Venture

You can take the girl out of Carolina, but you can't take Carolina out of the girl.

Whenever I forget where I am from and what I am made of, the universe lets me know. Thursday was one of those days. I woke up with a list of a thousand things to do; no time and a sick kid staying home from school. Thankfully my good friend BC was in town from North Carolina doing some carpentry work for us, so Sam was able to be home with him while I was running errands. BC and I grew up on the Outer Banks together and we both went to UNC.

I first ran to the Park Slope Food Coop http://foodcoop.com/ to do my weekly shop. The food coop is a member run organization with 13,000 + members with members working a 2 and 3/4 hour shift a month. It is Brooklyn and quite a melting pot. I quickly did my shop and got to the check out counter where a Hasidic man was checking me out and chatting a little too much for my taste. He asked where I was from. When I replied North Carolina, he was overjoyed. He had been the rabbi on UNC's campus from 1997-2001. We talked on and on about Franklin Street and the pit on campus.

Then I ran to the kids school for Parent Teacher conferences. One of Sam's teacher's family is originally from North Carolina and he attended UNC Charlotte. He mentioned how one of the women that lived in his co-op reminded him of me, sweet (?), fair skinned and from North Carolina.

I went back home to check on Sam and found him and BC watching the Carolina -Radcliffe basketball game on the computer. It brought a tear to my eye to see one of my oldest friends watching the game with my son. Both screaming and clapping.

Then I had to get ready to go out to meet Bud at the Four Seasons for a wine dinner with members of the New York Building Congress. Now this is not a normal occurrence. Neither of us had ever been to the Four Seasons and we were given tickets to this dinner and felt like we could not pass it up. That said, I always get nervous about what to wear, if I am going to be able to have real conversation, or that I will be bored out of my mind. Off I went, met Bud, had a glass of champagne and took my seat at our assigned table. A young woman sits next to me. I say hello and ask her what she did, thinking it is something with construction. She says that he is there with the wine people. We continue to talk and low and behold, her family is from Little Washington, North Carolina and she attended UNC four years after I did. At that, we clinked wine glasses and threatened to show the other guests how Carolina girls party. We talked the entire event, about how much we missed having our grandparents in NC, partying at Bub's and Trolls in Chapel Hill, Driving and Crying, the Cat's Cradle, and how all of us that went to UNC are connected.

I am grateful for all that North Carolina has given me and how it unites me to others I meet. You can take the girl out of Carolina out of the girl, but you can NOT take Carolina out of the girl.

Graffiti

Not really sure the reason, but I really love some good graffiti. Maybe it's the bubble letters or bright colors but probably more the whole f*&k you attitude. Walking home from taking Sam to a friend's house, I came across this masterpiece, one and a half blocks from my house. I rarely go down that block and was blown away when I looked up, lost in my thoughts, and saw it.

Elizabeth Adams

Elizabeth is one of those people in life whom you thank your lucky stars you met. She enriches my boys lives and mine as well. She brings a touch of the south, youthful energy and enthusiasm and just plain niceness to our house whenever she comes. But most importantly she is a talented painter. You can currently check out her work in person at Tilles in Fort Greeen http://www.tilliesofbrooklyn.com/art.html and more paintings on her website http://www.brooklyngeorgia.com/.

A lovely fall day at the beach

Oh, how I love the beach. I grew up on Outer Banks of North Carolina. This video was shot in October 2007, when we went to back to my friend BC's wedding. We were all packed up ready to head back north, when I demanded a last walk on the beach. Zeke is doing what we refer to as the sandpiper, running back and forth from the waves, Sam is being the big kid, Bud is muttering in the background and I am loving it all, even when the inevitable happens. Love the last frame, the Kentucky boy's "i told you so" look to the Outer Banks girl.

Hudson Valley Sheep & Wool Co.

I have a theory when we are going places in upstate New York. If the road is long, dirt and curvy, it is going to be good. Hudson Valley Sheep & Wool Co. proved this true.We found it about 18 months ago, when I had just started needle felting. There was a small sign on the side of the road that said "The Yarn Shop". Me and my gang of boys followed it and stumbled upon the sheep farm and fiber processing barn. Attached to it is a small yarn shop with a table full of wool roving in so many colors. So while I am in the store ogling the wool, my boys are running around the farm calling the sheep, petting the huge sheep dogs and getting muddy. Sometimes it feels like a dream.

http://www.hudsonvalleysheepandwoolco.com/