Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Pamlico Sound - Salvo, NC


A pink sky greets the day as the seagulls precariously fly across the sky, while wind pushes the mixture of salt and fresh water towards the shore. While looking across the sound during a peaceful moment, one's mind begins to wander and wonder:

"Whose eyes have seen the beauty painted out for all to see in earlier times?; Who has walked the shoreline specifically following gathered birds hoping to find enough fish for themselves and perhaps others?; What pirate anchored his ship here, headed inland in search of treasures and captives?; What did the first colonists think as they arrived to a new land, likely to never see their own again?".



Over time, the land along the ocean and the sound has been developed with large houses and amenities for those who visit and roam the land and waters. What might the area have been like without all the building? Wild, untamed, untarnished? Those present may never know except through memories and stories told by those who came before, and where the imagination might take someone as they look out across and endless sound and ocean.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

The smell of cinnamon and nutmeg surrounds our little cabin as we relax in the surrounding beauty. Christmas carols play in the backgroud as we talk and later relax. After packing, organizing presents, and making sure we could travel with all we needed, a relaxing afternoon is very welcome.

Our family has spread apart over the years, and now we have found special time to re-connect with one another. The kids were very happy to see each other and to play, only to begin fighting over toys and books. We know when we are apart they will miss each other so much the fighting will be forgotten.

We have come back to a special place where we have come for many years, and not far from where we grew up, to see the beauty of the majestic mountains we have missed. A brisk walk around the downtown shops leads us to the candy store where we always buy carmel apples. Which kind this year? The gourmet shop makes any kind imaginable: pecans, peanuts, snickers, chocolate and peanut butter, M&M's, or just carmel. Each time I get the same kind, carmel apple covered in peanuts, all to be devoured by me.

Having family at a distance makes getting together for the holidays a very special time. A time we will treasure through out the year.

Friday, December 18, 2009

My Christmas necklace


During the Christmas season I like to wear a necklace my Grammie gave me years ago. The necklace is made of pewter and is a representation of the Swedish St. Lucia- a girl wearing a long white dress with a red sash and wearing a crown of candles. My family belongs, partly, to a Swedish heritage, and I enjoy wearing the necklace to remind me of my ancestry and the Christmas traditions our family follows.


Each year one of the girls in our family would dress in the traditional costume of St. Lucia and we would walk around the family gathered on Christmas Eve and present them with Swedish cookies and coffee. The traditional St. Lucia song, sung in Swedish, would be playing in the background, or one of the talented cousins might play the song on a musical instrument. St. Lucia was a martyr who, in the dark, tied flaming candles to her head so she could see to carry food to Christians hiding in catacombs in Sicily during the Roman rule. Each girl in the family had the opportunity to be St. Lucia, as she might have been in ancient times, by spreading light and the gift of nourishment to family members during a dark time of year.


Christmas time brings so many memories to mind- excellent foods, big presents, singing, excitement, loud families and laughter. However, the traditions my family carried on through the years will follow me through my life and will forever lay as memories on my mind. I am glad to have my necklace as a reminder of so many happy occasions.

Friday, December 11, 2009

What we are reading this week...


Christmas books are fun to read no matter how old you are! Here is a list of a few Christmas books with enchanting stories and great illustrations. Hopefully some will be new ones for you to discover.





  • A little girl misses her home in Maine and the familiar Christmas she has know. She soon learns the prairie holds its own beauty.




  • An exciting look at what the birth of Christ might have been like if he had been born during a different time and among different cultures.



  • A fun story about an owl following the Christmas star on a journey through the nativity story.



A Christmas Fable by Mark Karlins and illustrations by Maureen Hyde
  • A young girl living in the mountains tells her story of Christmas Eve: nursing a deer back to health and the mysterious man who brings the deer to her.


  • A classic!
Snuggle up by the fire and enjoy!

Camping gifts for everyone: Top camping gifts under $40

Camping gifts for everyone: Top camping gifts under $40

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