Why the turtle crossed the road..

Actually I have no idea why this turtle was in the middle of the street. He was heading away from the direction of the water, and taking WAY to long to cross a street that I have seen smashed, dead turtles on before. So as the dogs and I come up to this turtle on our walk, I took the plastic bag out of my pocket (that emergency bag that is ususally used for cleaning up after your dog) and scooped up the turtle with it instead. We took him down to our dock and let him go on our 'beach' (read- the square foot of sand that we created next to the water when we were done with our hurricane sandbags). He enjoyed the private beach from inside his shell for a few minutes but as soon as the dogs moved on from turtle sniffing to squirrel chasing, he slowly crawled under the dock and went on his way. And THAT was our adventure for the day. : )

Not at bad setup, if you ask me..
 

A visit with the grands

Earlier this month, my grandparents drove through and had a quick visit before continuing the rest of their month-long roadtrip. They brought my cedar chest (a gift that they custom make for each daughter and granddaughter for their 18th birthday). My parents also managed to fill their backseat with my remaining California possessions. I'm thankful for the trashbag-full of sweaters and jackets that they sent. I forgot that I owned some of that stuff, and the temperatures here have definitely started to drop. We had a great time eating local foods with them and showing them around a bit. Thanks so much for the visit!

C <3 C on the bayou

My cedar chest : )

Gone fishin'

We have a couple of friends here that gave us fishing equipment for our wedding. I liked the idea that I owned a pink fishing pole, but we didn't actually attempt fishing until this weekend. And it was awesome. Peter coached me on casting for a while, and then he turned his attention to building a small fire in our chiminea (wow, mosquitoes really do hate smoke!) In a matter of five minutes, I caught three small catfish. This is what we learned in that short period of time-
1. Catfish are full of cartilage, and it is ridiculously hard to get a hook out of a catfish face.
2. Don't let go of the fishing pole while trying to set a fish free. They might try to swim away with it.
3. Always watch your bucket of bait. Or your dog. Otherwise you will be out of bait.
4. Catfish have sharp barbs in their fins, and their sting causes "Severe pain and inflammation." We found this to be accurate. In addition I learned that they can also make you bleed.
5. We are completely inexperienced and ignorant fishermen.
6. The channel in our backyard is full of fish and we can't wait to try again. Maybe with a little help next time...

Our first victim. And that "what in the world am I doing" face.

A different kind of beautiful..

Moving from Puerto Rico was hard. I loved almost everything about my life there, but eventually I learned that God was preparing me for something else. I struggled with this for a few months. The mountains, the beaches, the trees and the flowers were my favorite. The weather was my favorite. The food was my favorite. My friends, students, and coworkers were my favorite. I couldn't see how I would be happy living anywhere else, even if it was with my new husband. As I prayed about this and stressed out about it, God reminded me of another time in my life that I was having trouble trusting Him. It was 2006, in California. And what was I praying about then? "No, God! Please don't send me to Puerto Rico! That can't be what I'm supposed to do!" Oops. I guess He is wise and all-knowing... and I am not. So my dear coworkers prayed with me and supported me and are still encouraging me in this new transition. I probably don't even need to say this, but South Mississippi is NOTHING like Puerto Rico. I miss PR, and all of the people that I love there. But God is working on my heart and helping me to see that my new scene is beautiful, too. The food here is amazing, too. The sun shines here, too. So that's where I'm at right now.

Hurricane Katrina devastated the gulf coast seven years ago. I wasn't here to experience it, but Peter was. Most places we go have pictures of Katrina devastation. A restaurant has a plaque near the ceiling to show where the water level was inside their dining room. Everyone's got a Katrina story to swap. Some of the best things that have happened as a result of the hurricane are the tree sculptures that line Highway 90. Before Katrina, this street had white sand beach and ocean on the south side, and miles of antebellum mansions and giant oak trees. Now there are empty lots, places where you can see the foundations and bits of those historic homes. Many of the trees were damaged. So a few talented people turned the dead trees into sculptures. There are a few hundred of these sculptures that can been seen along the gulf coast, from Alabama to Florida. Carved with chainsaws. I got the chance to get a closeup look the other day. Beautiful. And for many, these sculptures stand as symbols of hope as life moves on.

I love this one! A pelican eating a fish.

Cannon blast from the past

A few miles down the road from us is the home of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy during the Civil War. I found it interesting that here in the south, they don't normally refer to it as the Civil War, but as the "War of Northern Aggression," or the "1861-1865 conflict." Hmm. Anyways, Davis' home (prime real estate right on the beach) is now a museum, and the host of the annual Fall Muster. Hundreds of Civil War buffs dress up to reenact, camp out, and live like they were still in that time period.  This is an event we stumbled upon by accident yesterday, and went to check it out.All the canvas tents, campfires, and cannon shooting caught our attention on the way home from the grocery store. The people are all in character, and talk about their areas of expertise as long as you'll listen. We had a lengthy converstion with a doctor/undertaker about the sudden development of embalming and the booming funeral industry and saw Jefferson Davis and his wife pose for an old fashioned photo. Even the children were in dressed up and in character. Twoboys ran up to Peter, excited to show him the root grub that they had found while playing in the dirt. Fun stuff, glad we found it!

Around the campfire.



Getting ready to fire the cannon.

Shopping.  Or as Peter says, "Union soldier hitting on a Southern belle."

Chatting on Davis' porch. Ocean view :)

Beauvoir- home of Jefferson Davis

Very ornate living room.

: )

Cruisn' the coast

When I first heard the rumbling of their engines I thought a C-130 was following us. Then seeing dozens of antique and classic cars driving down the road, I thought for a second that my husband had been granted his wish and we had been transported back to the '30s (Midnight in Paris, anyone?). Really, it turned out to be an event called "Cruisn' the Coast," and hundreds of classic cars were hanging around our area for the week. We had a good time admiring them everywhere we went. One night after dinner, we found a '32 Model A and a Chevy from the '50s parked next to my Honda. My car is pretty, but it looked a little intimidated to be sandwiched between such pristine classics.  : )

 

Embrace it

Trying to experience some of those things that people love to do in the South. Even if it doesn't appeal to me. : ) This week Peter got me to try oysters.  There are whole restaurants here devoted to the eating of  oysters in a half-shell- served either raw, or broiled and completely buried in condiments to hide them. Thankfully I was served the latter. My thoughts- it tasted ok, but not something I need to do again. When it comes to be your turn to try them, it is best to not think about oysters being bottom dwelling & feeding things while chewing on one.