Post Hurricane Clean-Up

We have been waiting all week for someone to come and take the tree off our roof.  We cleaned up a lot of the mess from the tree and all the other trees that had shed limbs onto our walkway and driveway as well as the surrounding property.  As far as the lot goes, it is going to wait for the brush hog which we hope will come some time in January.  There is just too much over there and the brush hog will make small work of it.  The chainsaw came and John has mastered cutting up things that are already on the ground.  He is still a bit hesitant to take down broken trees that are standing but I am sure he will figure it out.  The sound of chainsaws has been constant all week as has the sound of very large trucks hauling away debris to the massive chipper that is located at one end of the driving range.  The piles have grown from what we thought were large piles of chips to humongous piles of chips and there is more to come.  We are truly amazed at what can be accomplished in one week with enough people and the right equipment.  Our management here at Dataw have been nothing less than superb at keeping us up-to-date on what is going on with the clean up but also what the future is beginning to look like.  It will get done but it is going to take a very long time.  The golf course maintenance folks actually managed to get most of the Morgan River golf course open by the end of this past week which is a small miracle.  The other golf course is still a week or more away from opening.  The number of trees down is staggering and yet there are still so many more out there.

Here are some before and after pictures from this week.  These were taking looking down Island Circle East just around the corner from us.  On Monday you could not see from one side of this two-sided street to the other because the median was full of debris.  Today it looks almost back to normal.

BEFORE

AFTER

 

Haunting Morning Walk

This picture is one of the most haunting of the week.  Each morning, John, Miss Q and I walk around the island inspecting the damage and the clean up.  We went out one very foggy morning and I took this photo.  It is a good example of what we have seen all week.  These trucks fill up with stumps and debris and cart it to the chipper machine that seems to go almost day and night.  However, the more they take away, the more we see what damage has been done and what still needs to be cleaned up.  Everyone we meet we ask how they are doing and how did they get through the hurricane.  Did they leave, is there damage to their house?  Do they need anything?  It really is quite the community builder.  Through all of this there is a return to normalcy.  The stores are open and fully stocked again, fridges and freezers are being refilled and there are even some golfers out there.  We went back to our local church today and it was just great to be back.  The sermon today was about health and how being a part of a community is definitely important to one’s health.  I can’t agree more and it feels very healthy right now.

 

Puppy Update

We go to pick him up this coming Thursday.  We are very excited and can’t wait.  We’ve been shopping and came home with all the food that was recommended and lots of toys.  We have a baby play yard set up on the porch and we have two crates, one for the car and one for the house.  We have ordered him a collar and leash, of course, with his name on both.  We are like new parents.  We knew we were getting one of the male puppies but we didn’t know until Friday which one would be ours.  The three males were called Mr. Black, Mr. Blue and Mr. Green.  The breeder marked each with a colored dot so she could tell them apart – well there were 10 of them after all.  Here is Joanne’s comment “Green is yours = happy and very sweet and gentle” and we couldn’t be more thrilled.  We will head up to Asheville on Wednesday and then go over to Charlotte to pick him up on Thursday morning.  We will return here on Thursday afternoon.  It’s about a four hour drive so not too bad and according  to Joanne the puppy should sleep the whole way home.  We shall see about that.  Miss Q is going with us.  Not sure how she will react but we thought it was better to have her with us and not spring this on her when we returned.

So stay tuned.  Life is about to get interesting!!!

 

Cooking Again

I love being back here and cooking again.  I do cook when we are up north but not as much as I do down here.  We have had lots of fish this week and that makes me very happy.  We are so lucky to live near the water and to be able to get fresh fish pretty much whenever we want it.  Plus the shrimp is just so much better than anything you can buy in the store.  I absolutely cannot imagine eating farm raised shrimp after being given a chance to eat shrimp that was caught a couple of hours ago.  There is just no comparison.  We have been eating well after weeks of eating in restaurants, getting out to exercise by walking around the island, and sleeping like a rock most nights.  The Low Country treats us well despite hurricanes and trees on our roof.  The picture is from our dinner this week of Sweet Potato Crusted Fish with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette it is from the website mylifeasamrs.com.

 

 

 

Today I am making Lentil Soup to keep in the freezer as emergency lunches or even a supper.  At the beginning of last week I cut up a week’s worth of vegetables and have enjoyed delicious salads for lunch all week.  It takes some discipline to do this but the payoff is worth it when I can throw a salad together almost as fast as John can make a sandwich.  We have also been enjoying delicious smoothies for breakfast.  Frozen fruit and kale mixed with almond milk and plain yogurt and if you need it a bit sweeter then throw in a banana.  Blend for as long as you like and yum – keeps you going for the whole morning.

Hope your week is full of healthy fun, healthy food and healthy exercise.  I plan on cuddling a puppy!!!