A Different Life II

[GratefulGal]

Sounds like you've settled in nicely for a lovely stay.

Knowing that you are "dune side" and Lily tracks in sand like our Tucker does, thought you might want to know about these handy fold up mats that we use in place of a rug outside our AS. They are lightweight, foldable, and the sand falls right through. I've found it really helps keep the the outside, well, outside! We have a total of four to lay side by side (and I bought some small aluminum tent stakes to help hold them down).

Camco Handy Mat with Strap, Perfect for Picnics, Beaches, RV and Outings, Weather-Proof and Mold/Mildew Resistant (Blue/Green - 60" x 78") (42805)
Camco from Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Enjoy your stay! And write often!

Donna

[Lily&Me]

I received a notification of GratefulGal’s posting here at 11:46 am, it shows up on the portal page and in my UserCP as a post on a thread I subscribe to...but I can’t see it.

This thread is also opening to the first page of the thread, rather than the most recent post, per my settings.



(On edit, I can see this one, still not hers. )

Gremlins, maybe.


I have a Cgear Sand Mat, Donna, which I have deployed for the first time this trip.

It does help a great deal, I also wipe Lily and her feet down each time we come back inside...and remove my own shoes.

Still, there is sand, but it’s all part of being at the beach.


Maggie

[GratefulGal]

No worries...looks like you got some message and got the gist of it. I'll send this one just to see if it gets posted.

I'm in our home in southern KY and we had a low temp of 18 degrees overnight. Good grief! Winter is hanging on big time this year. I think the universe is prepping me for staying two weeks in South Dakota before the end of the month. I'm gonna freeze my tail off!

Blessings! Donna

[Lily&Me]

I did, I got it in my email inbox from the thread subscription!

Ahh, well, it’s out there somewhere.

The one thing I don’t like about this Cgear mat is it doesn’t have grommets to attach it to the ground, but it is otherwise very useful and I just anchor it with my chair.

Yep, a cold wave coming thru, with lows in the 30’s tonight and a freeze warning, but going to be in the low 70’s by the weekend.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

And this morning the post is showing up.


The sweet camp host from Ocean Pond sent me this picture last night of her foray into no-knead bread, and doing it in a pan...her only piece of cast iron being a tiny skillet that came with a pancake mix once upon a time.

She made the cranberry-orange variation, which I have not tried as pan bread, but just might.

She is loving it. Another convert.


I divided in half what I had left from my last batch, put each piece in a baggie and in the freezer.

I’m figuring a thaw in the frig overnight, bake as usual in the morning.

Sometimes I’m tired of it before I have baked up an entire recipe...I’ll let y’all know how it turns out.


Daybreak out my beach side windows.

Going to be chilly, but otherwise a clear and sunny day at Edisto.

[Lily&Me]

I may have posted this book before, but have just read it again...one of the best ever.

https://www.amazon.com/All-Light-We-...ag=googhydr-20

[Lily&Me]

Freezing the dough in portions, thawing ovenight in the frig, and then baking results in no noticeable difference in my pan bread.

I will do that again.

I have discovered that using medium high heat the first couple of minutes gives a nice bounce/extra airiness to the rise of the bread, equivalent perhaps to putting dough into a Dutch oven preheated to 450 degrees.

When you start to smell it browning, turn the heat down.

Cheryl, the camp host, is passing my recipe around to her family, friends and other campers...all of whom are now making artisan and pan bread.


We have had a couple of beautiful, sunny days here, tho a bit chilly it is going to warm up into the low 70’s for the weekend.

One pays a ridiculous price for a bundle of firewood , but I was in the mood for a campfire, so indulged the other day.


We are going to take a drive around the island today, and visit the wonderful King’s Farm Market.

[Lily&Me]

I’ve been in the “5 years ago at this time...” the past week or so, remembering Doug’s and my last few days before he was stricken...where we were, what we were doing, the events of March 9 and after.

What a traumatic experience, life as I knew it changing forever, in an instant. Not my first trauma, but my first death of someone so close to me. Never been thru anything like it.

Looking back, recovery has been an interesting journey...life going on, as life does, other things happening and having to be dealt with...alone...while one is forced into the abyss of absorbing and addressing the myriad of internal and external ramifications of abrupt loss.

The first few years were the worst, year 4 feeling like a real turning point for me, and year 5 finding me on pretty firm footing.

At least, I feel on pretty firm footing right now.

I’m really working this year on being forward facing...it may be a 70th year thing, may be a recovery from trauma thing, but it feels necessary and important.

One must process the past, one does not have to live there.


We’ve been walking and crocheting and reading and visiting with fellow campers, cooking a bit and sampling the restaurants here.

A friend of mine from home is due here tomorrow, going to pitch a tent next to me, do a little exploring, relaxing and just generally experiencing the beach for a few days.

All is well.

Maggie

[GratefulGal]

My mom is on year 4 alone, having known my dad since she was three years old. That's so many, many years.

As I watch her, though, at 81, I see little evidence of any desire to be forward looking. Not judging...just sad that her desire to live life while she can is so diminished. Relatively good health, too. I just keep loving her.

Encouraged by your outlook and actions, your courage and transparency. Enjoy the blessings that come your way this week.

Donna

[Lily&Me]

Thank you, Donna.

It is always a work in progress, as regardless the origin of our traumas we tend to relive them through the churning of memories.

I’m working hard on acknowledging those, and then turning my mind to the present and what I have to look forward to.


5 years ago, today. Rest In Peace, Doug.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

Early evening yesterday, we were sitting outside when a pair of cardinals came and perched on the fence by my site.

They sat there for several minutes, just looking at us.

Cardinals being his favorite bird, Doug used to always tell people “we’re a matched pair”.


My friend is in a tent, so headed toward the bathroom with a flashlight as dark was falling, only to encounter what she thought was a loose dog...turned out to be the biggest raccoon she’d ever seen.

It just looked at her, bold as could be, then ambled over into the dunes.

She said there were at least three in the night that she saw outside her tent, and could hear a couple in the dunes having an angry conversation about something.

Lily didn’t wake, nor did I, so they must not have got too close to us.

Going to hang out here and do Botany Bay later today, the Gullah History center in Beaufort tomorrow.

Kinda nice to have company.

Maggie

[Jim Flower]

Hello Maggie,
The photo was four years ago. He must be gone by now given the number of hurricanes that have washed over Edisto. I will look for him in April on our way home. Summer is coming but it seems to be a struggle this year. Jim

[Lily&Me]

He is not gone, Jim, he is still here.

We went to Botany Bay at low tide today, which is the most amazing and almost surreal place...the sea trying to reclaim an area which is slowly being overtaken.

Debbie/Mansderm is here, and I have enjoyed meeting/visiting with her.

Planning a drive to Beaufort tomorrow, my friend from home has to head back on Friday.

Much Edisto love here.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

We had a wild night here last night, with intense animal activity around my friends tent and some animal large enough to thrash against the fence sounded like it killed a bird of some sort.

The latter at 2am, right outside my window.

The bird was clearly in terrible distress, screeching and screeching and batting it’s wings, less and less til eventual silence, but the animal that must have had it was throwing itself about and doing this weird kind of humming.

I don’t know what it was, but I thought maybe a rabid mongoose.

Absolutely wild, I felt like I was in a bad dream, but I was wide awake.


Botany Bay was spectacular, and I found a large-ish piece of Indian pottery on the beach...left it right there on this log.

Got to Beaufort, found the museum had closed early for an UK reason, but had a delicious lunch at Steamers.

It has been great fun to have the company of Debbie and my friend from home, and to share this beautiful place with them.

[Lily&Me]

We’re getting a bonus day at Edisto, having to wait until tomorrow for FedEx to delivery my replacement Visa card...after I left mine in the little payment folder at Steamers the other day.

Didn’t realize it until I stopped on Edisto Island for fuel, too far to drive back and get it. Don’t recall ever doing that before, guess I was too busy visiting with Debbie, but at least they found it right away and held it for me.

Fortunately, I was able to get a spot for tonight just up the way from where I am now. As full as the campground has been, I was afraid I would have to find a spot down a long and narrow river access road somewhere on the island to hopefully boondock undisturbed tonight.

We’ve had a glorious stay here in this beloved place, with temps and precipitation kind of all over the place.

Even a bad weather day is a good day at Edisto, however.


I remembered last evening that there is a Trader Joe’s in Mt. Pleasant, so am going to stop in there before leaving the area, to stock up on their coffee and a few other choice items.


Hard to believe I have been gone from home almost three months...it has flown by.

I am a fortunate woman, and it’s been a great trip.

Maggie

[Lily&Me]

He’s a bit weathered from the storms, Jim, but still in place, keeping watch over the campground and the beach.

We are right across from this site for tonight...

[OTRA15]

Thanks for the great photos Jim and Maggie . . . reassuring.


Peter

[Lily&Me]

Moonrise out my window my last night at Edisto...

[Lily&Me]

After waiting for my replacement credit card on Monday , we have been scrubbed and restocked with supplies, and are working our way up the eastern shore for our next stop, my distant cousin on ancestral land in the northern neck of Virginia.

Today, we are taking the ferries thru the outer banks of North Carolina.

Doug and I used to drive out of our way to take ferries across rivers, lakes, various bodies of salt water...always just fun for we land-locked Illinoisans.

Not the fastest route, definitely the prettiest and most unique.

Lily doesn’t care much for the engine noise and movement underfoot, staying very close to her Mama.

[Mansderm161]

She's so pretty!