Full Moon over The Marsh and Flooding

  

The full moon brings extraordinarily high tides to the Low Country and this week was no exception.  We had a 9.1′ tide which flooded all sorts of areas in and around our island haven.  I love to walk on the golf course and on Monday when the course is closed I take advantage of the opportunity.  The walk was peaceful, the air was clear and the water was very, very high.  You wouldn’t be able to find your golf ball in the hazard at all.   This was a recovery week for me after doing a 10K race last weekend.  I walked but more slowly and gently than the week before.  The weather was towards to the end of the week so I even missed a day but I did go out and walk, in the rain, because I was going stir crazy inside.  Not the six or more miles that I have been walking but more in the three to five mile range.  I figure I need to take a break every so often or I might wear out.

Just learned about Interval walking and running.  I ran into someone who does this and has for years and she suggested that I take a look at it.  It is a Run-Walk-Run and she recommended that I take a look at Jeff Galloway and his program.  Since I am just at the beginning stage of  learning about this and how it might work for me, I really have no idea what I am talking about.  I really love the races and have two short ones already in the month of January.  My goal is to have at least one every couple of weeks with a 10K in there at least once a month.  They are just so much fun.  Also plan on doing one 1/2 marathon in the year.  I am excited for 2018 already.

Projects are Proceeding – Slowly

   

In one day the sheet rock people arrived and accomplished what you see here.  We had been living with the studs for weeks so it makes us really happy to finally see some construction and not destruction.  Truly amazing how quick they are when it comes to putting things back together again.  I am looking forward to what might happen in the coming week.  Maybe the tile will come in and we will see something even better.  The people working on the house have been really wonderful and have gone out of their way to minimize the disruption.  We have to lock up the kittens as they, being the curious ones they are, like to be right in there supervising the work.  We have never had cats that had more personality than these two and they certainly love people.

Luminary Night – a Delightful Tradition

Dataw puts on a wonderful celebration each year at this time called Luminary Night.  The island is beautifully decorated with wreaths on the road signs and Christmas trees at the club house and out buildings and then the luminary lights which are soft and welcoming and so festive.  I tried to get a picture of the ones we put out at our house but I failed at that night time picture.  However, we did decorate our golf cart for the occasion and we drove from one end of the island to the other to see the singers at the Butterfly Garden, then to the Marina for some grog and then back to the ruins and the Cannery for a gospel choir and the beautiful lights in the open spaces at the ruins.  It was truly a magical night.  We missed it last year because the weather was terrible so it got cancelled.  This year it was perfect.  Warm enough but not too warm and the full moon cooperated and lots of people came out.  I love how people decorate their homes and put out hundreds of the luminaries to ward off the darkness.

Goodbye Little Golf Cart and Hello to the Newbie

 

When we bought our house here in Dataw we also bought an old golf cart that our good friends actually found for us.  It didn’t cost very much, a benefit of buying used items on the island, and we were thrilled with it.  I had always wanted to have my own golf cart and now I did.  Over the years we have upgraded the cover and also purchased new batteries but otherwise it has been very good to us but it is old, in fact 21 years old and it was beginning to fail.  We traded it in for a rebuilt one that is only three years old.  What astounded us was how fast the new one goes.  Our old one used to creak its way up the slight incline between our house and the club like it was climbing a mountain.  This guy doesn’t even notice it.  Wyke and I took it out to Oak Island on the last nice day before the rain came and I couldn’t believe how quickly we got there.  And it seems to actually have some springs in it because the ride was quite smooth.  It even has turn signals on it and lights that let you actually see where you are going.  I think this was a good trade.

 

My Suggestion for a Way to Get Through the Holiday Food Fest

We all know that this is the season for parties and family gatherings and that includes lots of food, most of it fairly high in calorie content and definitely not what we eat on a normal day.  To help fight the extra food and to keep you sort of on track, you might want to take a look at a smoothie as an alternate for one of your meals.  Not only will it get your greens into you it will also get some high energy fruit.  If you are watching your sugar content just choose fruits that are lower in sugar which is usually berries.  Here is a simple graphic showing how to put together a smoothie in a truly simple way.  The amounts given are for two smoothies.  Just cut in half if you are only making one.  Consider adding some of the additional items on the bottom of the graphic to give yourself a little boost.

I had part two of my annual physical this week and despite the stress I feel every time I go into the doctor’s office the results were just fine.  However, I do need to find a new cardiologist as mine retired so we decided that I would find someone local.  I have found one and now will have to meet him and establish that relationship.  This is not my favorite thing to do, in fact I wrote my doctor a note saying that it was almost too much stress and I didn’t think it was good for my health to have to go into her office.  Guess how far that will get me???  Anyway, keep on eating right, exercising, lowering stress, treasuring relationships with friends and family, and pet your dog or your cat or both if you have them.  And have a great week.

This picture is our friend Bryan with Wyke and Abby playing chuck-it.