Memories of Our Summer Vacation

I am working on a scrapbook from our vacation and decided to do a little research to add to the book to make it more authentic. There are many things I could (and probably will) say about this trip, but the facts tell it better.

We arrived at Dee's Cottage in Topsail Beach, NC on Sat., Sept. 25 for a  'late summer' vacation on the oceanfront! According to the National Weather Service, this was the weather during our stay:

Sunday, Sept. 26

Widespread showers led to heavy rains.  0.59" of rain

Monday, Sept. 27

Persistent rainfall at rates of 1/2" or more per hour, peaking at 1.99" in one hour. Flash Flood Warnings, the first of 16 to be issued during this five day period.   10.33 inches of rain

Tuesday, Sept. 28

Some calm before the storm with a brief respite, then heavy rain later. 1.95" of rain

Wed., Sept. 29

Heavy rain. Tropical Storm Nicole effects. FFW, Tornado Warnings, Small Craft Advisory Warnings, Tropical Storm Warnings. Roads flooding and some washed out.   7.37" of rain

Thursday, Sept. 30

Light rain showers, then remnants of TS Nicole, more FFWs and washed out roadways. Rain ended late Thurs. night.  2.29" of rain

Other facts about this week:

*The area was suffering a mild drought before all this began.

*Out of 101 hours between 2 pm  Sunday and 6 pm Thursday at least a trace of rain was recorded during 84 of them.

*Rain was recorded during 42 straight hours.

*The area now boasts the wettest 3-day, 4-day and 5-day periods in history since 1850. Several days beat the rains encountered during Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

*Total rainfall 22.54"

                  "....and that was how I spent my summer vacation. The End"

Greensboro Weekend

     I went to see my 'baby' brother's (he's 44, but being the youngest of six kids, he will always be the baby!!) college basketball team play in their last home game at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina this past weekend. Normally I watch his home games and listen to his away games via announcers on the computer, so it was a treat to get to go to  Ragan-Brown Fieldhouse and watch a live game in person.
     My brother, Tom, is the men's basketball coach and Athletic Director at the college. From everything I have heard and seen he is highly respected, and I can see why. Tom is just a down to earth, hard-working,  nice guy. He brings out the best in his players and everyone else he comes into contact with. Guilford is a smaller school and every year his team has players who practice good sportsmanship and are respectful. Even when they lose their best players to graduation, they still play hard and win games.  I don't think any of this is a coincidence.
     The game was exciting, boasting two overtimes, but unfortunately, 'we' did not win. It was still really fun to watch and cheer with my nieces and nephews and the rest of the Guilford crowd. I got to meet the two announcers I have been listening to for years and to wave to my mom, sister, and husband on camera. Oh, the little things! And go, Quakers!

Scrap Happy

     I have been scrapping up a storm since I retired and am loving it! I have so many projects I have put aside until now and am thoroughly enjoying choosing what I feel like doing and working on it. From mini-albums to regular 12 by 12 pages and page kits, I have been cranking it out!
     For those outside of the scrapbooking world, making page kits is a time saver for 'crops' or retreats so that you can not only make the most of your time, but avoid bringing everything from  your stash with you (don't ask me how I know) and spend all your time looking through it for what you want instead of getting pages done. Basically it entails planning out your page and slipping your cardstock, patterned paper, and embellishments into a ziplock bag or page protector, then pulling out the kit to work on. These can be as elaborate or simple as you wish. I tend to be more elaborate, usually pre-planning the page by actually putting it all together except for the gluing and some cutting. Then I sketch it out on a small piece of paper and slap the whole thing in a page protector in a binder. At the crop, I can talk and laugh and have fun because I don't need to do a whole lot of thinking about what I am doing.
     So I have been making up a lot of page kits for the last several months, because I have two weekend retreats coming up in about a month and a half. I know I will have a great time socializing as I put my pages together from the kits. Happy scrapping!

Feb. 14 Means Love

     There are so many things  I love that make me happy. One is scrapbooking and another is collecting (and even using) Vera Bradley items. I actually did a two page layout of Vera that I would like to share with you today. It made me smile to combine two of my 'loves'.

     The first one is just to show my lovely travel pieces from a trip to Roanoke in one of my favorite patterns called Purple Punch. There's a little background for the second page to understand one reason I made it. Over a year ago I was on my annual Fourth of July visit to the Outer Banks to my brother and sister in law's house. They have several stores there that carry Vera, but I was disappointed because the new release of my newest favorite pattern, Very Berry Paisley, was to come out on the 8th and I wouldn't be there for it. We stopped by the stores anyway and lo and behold, one of them had put their new stuff out before the launch date (a huge no-no, which I later found out)! I went screaming through the store and told my sis it could be a while! What a great surprise! It was even better because I was carrying an All In One Wristlet in VBP that someone had gotten me at a preview store and the owner of one of the other stores all but accosted me to find out how I got it. She then examined it to see if it was 'real'.  I was so tempted to go back after my Vera haul, but I restrained myself!! Anyway, Happy Heart Day everyone!

Why Start A Blog?

     I love reading other people's blogs and I have loved to write since I was a child. I remember my dad bringing home these huge blank ledgers from work and giving them to me to write in. They had alphabetic tabs and I would write a story for each letter. Wish I still had those; I'll bet they'd be really funny to read now!
     Just a little background to get started....I retired from 30+ years of teaching last June and am enjoying my free time so much these days. Everyone asks,"What do you DO all day?", when the question should really be,"How do you find time for all the things you love to do?" Yep, I am busy scrapping, making cards, playing with my electronic gadgets, reading up a storm, doing things around the house (okay, not that much), and enjoying my time with Bill and the pups. It is a good life and one that I am not taking for granted.
     To get started, I have a question that I hope you'll respond to. What do you especially like about blogs? What makes you want to read one over another? What do they need to include to keep your interest? I would be very interested in your feedback as I feed my creative need to write!