Early Spring

Have you ever seen so much pollen in March ?? Seriously ?  It's so bad I had to recall my "out" shot against my opponent in Thursday nights match ... we were on hard courts but the pollen was so bad that I could see the ball mark ( and my mis-call ) ... UGH!
But it has certainly been the perfect weekend at Little Rockland - to catch you up , we took delivery of 10 Rhode Island Red laying hens Tuesday evening ... and they started laying eggs on Wednesday ! Not only are they the most entertaining girls - lined up on their roosting poles like the NY City Rocketts ... they are putting out some beautiful eggs ... They must feel at home in their designer digs ... Thank goodness ...
It's been a busy week at work and Randolph has started his job as the catering manager at Jim N Nicks - it seems a great fit with his passion for pork and his sincere support of the SFA, something that he and Jim N Nicks share  - and I'm certain that soon they will learn that he is most effective when he doesn't have to rise before the sun !  He has been a good sport about it however and Judge and I have enjoyed some early morning snuggling ...
The weekend brought my high school bestie and her family to the beach this weekend ... I can't believe her son is 16 and over 6 ft tall .. WOW ! What an amazing job she and Ed have done with him - They have got to be proud ... not many kids turn out like Wynn ... Kudo's to you guys !
Then the reunion brought old college friends - I could not be happier to catch up with my friend Valerie and her mom... Thanks to everyone for making the trip to our little piece of paradise !
So as I sit here and enjoy the breeze in the open windows, loving dog by side  - and handsome cook in the kitchen , I am once again pinching myself of the great life I have ... it's a simple life - but it's my life and I love it ... and I love that each of you take part in shaping my chapters ... with that - have a great week ...

Until next time.... C.

Music to my ears ...

It must have been a happy man who took it from the caveman grunt to broken english  to the Queens English then added tunes .... Isn't it amazing how a song can make you feel ?  It certainly can make you happy, sad ,even at times a bit angry .... It  evokes memories of friends or a place in time  -  it's all encompassing on the emotion scale... but I dare say any of us would agree we would be worse off without music in our lives...

I think I like not just one or two songs - but era's .. who could not possibly love Willie and Waylon, Bluegrass and Banjo's , Sotuhern Rock and Sultry Soul ???  I even have one friend who is teaching me to "hit da' flo" in some  apple bottom jeans ... reality I've seen her on a video clip and she can really hit get those " boots wid da fur" movin ' - you go Mel...

Isn't it  fun to really belt out a ringer sometimes  - Roadtrips, Showers , and how secure and happy I feel when I hear Randolphs deep voice ring through at Church ... and it makes me smile when he's singing those country songs at home - there tends to be a natural smile on his face when he's a country star ... now give it a few beers and that's a different story - it becomes less musical talent and more comical .. but that's what I love about him ! Whatever the moment he seems to smile when there's music and THAT makes me happy too !

Anyway,  I don't know who you were in the beginning but I thank all of the singers and songwriters for giving me one of the biggest joys of my life !

Sing on everyone ! Sing on ...

Water

I learned a lot this past weekend from two things that I love  ... cooking and water... Water is so complex and after my MANY ( try 15 ) attempts at icing for my Lady Baltimore cake ( more about that later )  my eyes were opened about the many uses  of water ... First ... I don't think I could live somewhere where there was not water close by ... even though I  probably take it for granted too many days , there is nothing like the calm that envelops  you when driving over the bridge into downtown on your way to work ,  waking to a high tide, seeing heron in the marsh ... you know the feeling...  Then comes the great feeling of water ... when you are cold a good hot shower can warm you right up , when you don't feel well a nice long bath can ease the pain , when you are hot  - a plunge into the ocean provides a refreshing reprieve ... and the fresh smell of your spouse just after a shower is pretty comparable to that of air dried linen on a sunny day ... Just the thought makes me feel all happy inside...  These things just scratch the surface about water but ...
To bring it full circle, I've been desperately trying to decide how I'm going to drop a few lbs before summer - really before April when Randolphs family visits... so as I was busily pulling bread out of the oven and attempting the Lady Balitmore cake from my trusty Charleston Receipts ( I know - not on the diet )  I realized that it's true what the diet demons say ... water will TRULY FLUSH FAT ...Insert the ATTEMPTED Lady Baltimore icing ... I used a flat ( 18) eggs , a bag of sugar, and 1/2 bottle of KARO light corn syrup trying to get that sticky perfection right - after each attempt , the only thing that would soak the pan clean was ..... you guessed it ..... H2O  - If it can get stuck hard sugar off of a pot it MUST be able to flush some fat through your body .... so it appears I"ve realized my first step on my ongoing journey to drop a little weight ... drink the water - just like they all say ... so bottoms up!

Living for the Weekend

Funny how on Monday the topic of conversation is " How was your weekend ? " , by Wednesday it's 1/2 way to the weekend and Friday - well Friday is technically the weekend !!!! YEAH!!!!    This week is a little different .... the week is rolling along like the whole thing is a weekend... the energy of the Wine & Food festival coming to town brings so many friends and more good food ..... We are excited to have friends visit this whole week ... Melany arrives today to experience  Little Rockland for the first time ... boy do I think she will be suprised.  Then Harriss arrives tomorrow for a 2 day stint in the country - bring on the good wine :-) ... the our good friend Jennifer will hit the "farm" on Sunday .... boy won't she just love the new chicken chalet ! We've been busy getting the place ready - a real work in progress but we find hours of fun building on our little piece of paradise each week... so pack your bags or even just your daypack and head on out ....