If we were having coffee

On the Woodland Trail. Chincoteague, VA. (It’s really Assateague Island, the southern portion, but it’s easier just to call it Chincoteague.)

The morning cup of coffee has an exhilaration about it which the cheering influence of the afternoon or evening cup of tea cannot be expected to reproduce.

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., “Over the Teacups”

On the beach.

If we were having coffee, I would invite you out to the porch where the sun has been warming things up.  It’s quite pleasant out there, and I think you might enjoy watching the birds who have been flitting about.  I saw a flock of Cedar Waxwings today.  Or at least I think that’s what they are.  I got a few pictures but haven’t had a chance to look at them closely yet.

It’s great to see you again!  How are you?  How was your week?  Have you read any good books lately?  Watched any good films?  Gone anywhere worth a mention?

A good place for a picnic.

My week has been so-so, a mixture of the good, the not-so-good, and the okay.  Whatever was ailing me last week returned, and I ended up at an urgent care facility today.  I left there with a prescription for antibiotics and an instruction sheet on what not to eat for the next few days.  I don’t like taking medication, especially antibiotics, if I can avoid it.  Alas, I can’t avoid it.  Hopefully this will do the trick and I’ll be better in a day or two.  If not, well, there will be tests.  Fingers crossed that it doesn’t come to that.

Hoping to share my picnic lunch with me.

M and I both managed to break our glasses today.  I broke my sunglasses, making it difficult to see on these bright, beautiful, sunny days.  M broke his reading glasses.  He has several pairs of reading glasses, most of them the cheap variety you can pick up at a drug store (or even some grocery stores).  The pair he broke happened to be his prescription glasses.  In both cases, his and mine, the glasses can be repaired.  We just need to get up to the mall to the eyeglass place to have it done.

It was a warm and windy day.  (Wednesday.)

Now that the not-so-good news is out of the way, how about some good news?

Wednesday was a beach day for me.  The weather was warm.  Warmer than I thought it would be.  I got to the beach all layered and ready for the wind, but the wind was so warm that I was doing the same as the few others who were visiting the beach that day.  Stripping away the layers.  I would have gone all the way down to my tank top, but I didn’t have sunscreen on my arms and shoulders.  I can vouch for the fact that sunburn in mid-March is possible (and in my case, probable).

Looking out over the marsh.

I had a wonderful time walking on the beach, and then hiking a few of the trails.  I finally walked the Lighthouse Trail up to the lighthouse.  I’ve seen the top of it poking up above the loblolly pines, but up until Wednesday, hadn’t walked up to get a full view.

The top that I’m familiar with.

The original Assateague Lighthouse, located on the Virginia portion of Assateague Island, was built in 1833, but a taller, brighter lighthouse was needed so additional work on it was started in 1860, delayed by the U.S. Civil War, and then resumed in 1867.

The front door.

The lighthouse is open on weekends during the months of April, May, and November.  From June to October it is open daily.

Full view.

Some of the week was spent finishing up work on the yoga room and the hall that runs from the guest room and office to the kitchen and living room.  I’ll show you some of that in a minute.  Let’s look at the lighthouse one more time.  Just because.

It’s a beautiful lighthouse.

Oh, and this marker:

Dedicated.

The yoga room is finally finished in terms of painting and repairing walls and such.  I still have some unpacking and rearranging to do.  We can also start putting artwork on the walls.  It’s a matter of deciding what we want out there.  Much of what we brought will end up in the attic because this house is smaller than our last place.

There is still work to be done. The lamp in the left corner will be leaving the room and going elsewhere although I’m not sure where elsewhere is yet.

Then there is the hall.  We finished painting and M installed the new flooring.  There was a hitch along the way.  He started taking up the vinyl tiles that the original owners installed and it was easy going until he reached the living room.  Mr. B. (who built the house) must have switched glues, and decided on a superglue of some kind because after much hammering and crowbarring, all we got for our work were a bunch of small chips off the tiles.  We’ll never get that up in our lifetime so we’ll have to install the new flooring over the old flooring in the living room.  That means M had to come up with a clever threshold where the hall ends and the living room starts.

Work in progress. The hall flooring is finished. We’ll start on the living room soon.  (The colors are off in this image.  The walls in the hall are a light gray.  The walls beyond it are a brownish-peach color.  Not sure why they reversed.  Something about the light, I suppose.)

I think that’s about it.  For those who are curious about such things, I’m currently reading The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature.  I’m loving it so far, but that should come as no surprise to those who have followed my blog for a little while.  The author, biologist David George Haskell, spent a year observing a one-square-meter patch of land in an old-growth forest in Tennessee.  His descriptions are beautiful, and I’m learning a lot about what goes on in a forest.  Since I walk the same paths day after day, I know what it’s like to find those small bits of magic and miracle that occur each day.

Sunrise clouds.

Thank you so much for stopping by and joining me for coffee, tea, or some other beverage.  There are some more potent potables, if you’d prefer.  Wine, a nice IPA, and probably some rum.  I’m not partaking these days, but you’re welcome to.

Sunset is soon so I’d better get this posted and head out there.  You’re welcome to join me on the dock if you wish.

A bunny seen on today’s walk.

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

The periwinkles won the race. They’re blooming before the daffodils.  (Also from today’s walk.)

This post is in response to Part Time Monster’s #WeekendCoffeeShare.  Grab a cuppa of whatever your preference is and join us.  I’d love to hear all about what you were up to this week.