Blog
I'm dreaming of a warm Christmas
You may be dreaming of a white Christmas, but not me. I'm still hoping for one of those upper 60-degree Christmases that we've had on the Outer Banks in the past. * I remember one Christmas Eve, probably nine or 10 years ago, when we were on the beach because the bluefish were blitzing - people were wading in the surf... Read More
Family time
My family's tree-trimming event was slightly unorthodox this year. Instead of decorating to Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas, as is our custom, my kids insisted on an old Cashmere Jungle Lords CD that I unearthed recently. My six-year-old, clad in boxers, hung his ornaments between air-guitar sessions to "... Read More
Reasons to go out into the cold
It's rather wintry all of a sudden, don't you think? * I'm writing this on Sunday night and I'm not ashamed to say that I've just turned a 24-hour cycle in my pajamas. I've been inside all day, praising the invention of the heat pump. Of course there was that half-hour I was outside with my three-year-old who just... Read More
The busy season
Ready or not, here it is. Christmas. * Can I say that now? Am I supposed to say something generic like "the holidays" or "the holiday season"? * Whatever you call it, it's already here in all its expensive and caloric but fun and joyful glory...The weekend is packed with holiday-related things to do, but before we get... Read More
Feeling thankful
So I'm sitting on a ferry in the Abacos last week staring at the turquoise water and daydreaming in a pining sort of way about living on an island. Then the obvious occurs to me: I ALREADY live on an island (I know Nags Head is technically on a peninsula but it feels islandy). * Two days later, I'm back home, in a... Read More