Tea

I love to shop in the "Latino" section of the grocery store.  Let's me feel like in a foreign country for a few moments.....

For 99 cents per pack, I found these two really neat herb teas.

Asparagus

I love asparagus!   Last spring, I planted a small row at the edge of my garden.  I read about it - you're not supposed to harvest at all the first year.  So I didn't.  It hurt me, but I didn't!    The asparagus shot up in spindly little shoots and eventually grew into little fern looking stems.

So, this year, I was looking forward to being able to harvest at least a little while.  Unfortunately, I may not have the knack for growing it....hard to see, but this is my measly asparagus patch.

And this is my total take for the spring unless it shoots up more!  Oh well - it is delicious - I ate a bite or two in the garden this morning!!

Desk cleaning

Most of you know that Duane is probably going to retire in a few months from IBM and move to Lenovo in the same position (assuming that high-level corporate deal goes through).   As a result, he will move out of the office that he has occupied for many, many, many years. 

He has recently begun to bring home lots of items that have been tucked away in the office - thought I'd share some of them.  Mostly gifts that visiting foreign co-workers have brought for him (as is their custom).  Neat, but I don't know what any of it says or means, of course. 

Iris bonanza!

Can you believe it? The deer stayed away this year and my iris's are going to be beautiful!

Spring Hair Cut!

I had grown a bit tired of my shaggy hair over the winter. Now that spring is finally here, I thought it was time for a new "do". My stylist, Kristen, snapped these photos. I found her years ago when she worked in the Walmart salon and followed her to her own shop when she left Walmart. She's finishing up nursing school this year but says she'll still take a day now and then to cut her "regulars".  Sweet girl and I do enjoy chatting with her!

Here's the before shots:

And the after!  I'm feeling light-headed, haha....and I look more and more like Mom every day I think!!  A lot of my curl is gone vs. my childhood ringlets!   And the gray, of course...sigh.   Much easier - just wash-n-go!

Oh, and I bagged up the "clippings" to put around my azaleas as a natural deer-repellant!  (and no, they were not long enough for Locks of Love - I looked it up and measured.  You have to have 10 inches!)

Just this and that

For those who see Facebook, some of these may be repeats.

We spent a very soggy weekend with Sharon and Buddy on Ocracoke....


Stormy approach to Ocracoke!





Angry sea!  And not a soul in sight!

As usual, Duane did a fine landing with 26 knot gusts!

Our airplane was lonely --- very windy, so most folks just stayed at home!

So, we made the best of it.....glad Buddy and Sharon had the car as opposed to the normal bicycle transportation! We alternated between relaxing at the condo and a little mini-pub-crawl. I always look for "our table" at Gaffer's! 

Raw oysters at the "Topless Oyster".

Happy folks even if it is soggy out!


Snoozy...

Ok, just kidding!

Cool C-130 flyover

This morning I heard a call on the radio from the lead pilot of a group of five C-130 airplanes out of Pope Air Force Base.  They were just calling to inform the local area that they would be transitioning the airspace.  I radio'ed back to them - "you guys are welcome to do a low pass down our runway".    There response was "here we come!"

Interesting jet tug

The Citation jet that is based at Siler City had a low battery this morning.  He needed to get close to an electrical outlet to charge it up.   Tom at Guardian had the solution - the "bug-tug"!!

He hooked up his tow-bar and bug-tug-chugged the jet over to the fuel farm where there is a power outlet!  Ya don't see that every day!

Boat weekend

Finally got back to the boat this weekend. Oh, it was lovely!   Sunrise Saturday morning.

Our plans were to go down the Intercoastal Waterway and meet up with friends in Beaufort for lunch....went over to the fuel dock in town.   But, oops, our GPS wasn't working.  Duane did some de-bugging to no avail.  So, we putzed around for a while out in the Neuse just to warm up the engine, then headed back to the marina.  There is much shallow water near Beaufort!  We just didn't want to risk going down there without a GPS!

Since Beaufort is really not that far away, we decided to drive instead!   That involves a ferry ride - always fun.

Met up with Ed and Betsy at the Beaufort Town Docks for a neat ride over to Morehead City.   Fun little scoot-about boat!

Had fun pondering exactly what they do with these barges and cranes.  (we really didn't figure it out!)

Had lunch at the Ruddy Duck in Morehead - we'd never been there.  A fun little joint!   Then it was time to head back to Oriental....Ed keeps his boat at this cool dry-dock place.  They just lift your boat up, wash it for you, then tuck it in the building until you call to say "bring it out for me".  Pretty sweet!

Good evening

Beautiful day today!   More photos when I get back to my computer!

Do-it-yourself-driveway repair

Our "tar and chip" driveway is in need of some repairs after the cold, wet winter. There are several spots on our personal driveway that need attention. Then many more out on the community drive. About 6 months ago, we had a contractor fix some areas that were cracking, but we didn't feel that they did a real good job. So, like most things, it's probably better to do it yourself if you can!!!  

Here is a spot on our drive that the tar/gravel have worn away.

I took a bucket down to the Sanford ST Wooten ashphalt plant and picked up 5 gallons of the hot tar.  A worker took my bucket and brought it back to me full, so I don't really know what that process is like - other than it's very MESSY!

We didn't get around to the repair until Sunday, so we needed to heat the tar back up to 150 degrees.

Duane used a hot water heater element and some iron pipe filled with mineral oil to make a submersible heater.  (The "tar" is pretty liquid even when cool, so this step is probably not necessary on a warm day).

The area that we are to repair "grew" after we started removing the loose stones.

A quick sprinkle of mortar mix just to add some bonding.

Then pour the tar on top and throw stones in the wet tar.  It sets up quickly.

Tamp it down flat - add some "siftings" on top just to smooth it out.

And there you have it - a nice sturdy patch!

Birthday weekend and new rear window for Buddy's BMW

Buddy and Sharon came up from Greenville so that Duane could help install a new rear window in Buddy's car.  (The old one was cracked).   It was a little more difficult than it looked. 

But after much "adjustment", they finally got it just right....

I think Buddy is pretty pleased with the results - and happy that it's over! 

And Happy 24th birthday to Richard!! We all met in Morrisville for a nice birthday dinner and a little game of "free poker"....nice to get together with everyone!

Spring is finally here! Bring out the shorts!

I wore shorts for the first time the Wednesday!  This is my version of a "selfie" since I don't have a smartphone....put on the sunglasses - beware, blinding white legs are in the vicinty!!!

My forsythia has finally bloomed - the past few years the deer have nibbled it to death.  My "deer repellent" seems to be doing a fabulous job!  Looks like a fabulous weekend coming up! 

Not a lot going on

Haha ---well, not exactly.....but the World of Karen has really been the World of the Avion lately!  A couple of new posts over there.  Check 'em out!