Blog-cation 12/29/11

• Another gorgeous sunny but chilly day at Myrtle Beach.  I'm layered up and headed out beachwalking.
• Happy 19-month Anniversary, SGD.  LYMTTY.
• I'll be heading out to visit family for a few days, so my blog will be on vacation.  Wishing everyone a safe and festive New Year's Eve and a kickbutt start to 2012.  See you next week.

What's happening 12/28/11

• Didn't get up in time to see the sunrise this morning, trying to let myself heal with as much sleep as I can get.  But Sunbella shone bright the whole chilly, breezy day, glistening on the smooth ocean.
• On a day like this, I'm flabbergasted at how some people can leisurely stroll on the beach in shorts and bare feet, while others are bundled up head to toe and speedwalking like they can't get somewhere fast enough.  
• This chick didn't beachwalk today, but I did make myself get out to Myrtle's Market for fresh produce -- love it that they still have tomatoes that taste like summer -- and to the grocery store.  I'd had a lifetime worth of pimiento cheese sandwiches and microwave popcorn the past few days.
• Just caught a gorgeous sunset off the breezeway.  No glass of wine tonight, just orange juice.  Sunbella set into a stand of trees to the southwest, looking like sunset on the Serengeti, except for the jet contrails stitching the sky and squiggle clouds left by earlier jets.
• My SGD got to play golf today back in Missouri and played pretty well, too.  Even got two birdies.  I'm tickled for him.  It's been way too long since he got to do something he loves so much.    

What a finish! 12/27/11

• After a wicked, wild day of pummeling wind, pounding waves, and pouring rain, the sun broke through late afternoon and took the temp up to 69.  Got in a short breezy beachwalk.  First time in days and it felt good.  Watched Sunbella set peacefully in a cloudless sky, the sliver of new moon hanging overhead in the deep blue.  Goes to show, I never know how things will turn out, so my expectations are pointless.
• Forgot a HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout-out to my nephew Jordan, wherever he is.  Hope you're having a good one, Dude! 
• In case anyone is catching my blog, this is my 100th Myrtle Moments.  Not bad for an old chick who didn't even know what a blog was when I started.  Take a minute and give a comment just so I know someone is out there reading, huh?!  Thanks.

A tale of two mornings 12/26 and 12/27

• Yesterday was a sleepy, cold sunrise.  Mother Ocean lay like a pond, sliding unbroken ripples onto the sand with barely a splash.  The fishing seagulls didn't even bob.  Though the static, steely blue clouds along the skyline squelched her colors, Sunbella managed two sunrises -- she did a peep show from under a flat cloud, hid again, then blew over the top of the cloud bank in full shine.  The day continued cool, breezy, sunny.
• Today is restless and rolling and gray, with no sunrise at all.  Mother Ocean is churning waves worthy of "Point Break," frothy white and slamming high onto the sand.  The few beachwalkers braving the morning are wading through thick, brown foam on the narrow beach not covered by tide.  A man nearly lost his little boy to the ripping waves, grabbing his shirt and yanking him back while in up to his own waist.  A passerby recovered the boy's floating flip flop.  The palmetto fronds whip wildly in the blustering wind blowing straight off the ocean.  While typing this, the rain starts pelting down, driving the beachwalkers back to their resorts.
• Yesterday I gave in to being sick, passive, going back to bed before noon to sleep as much of the day away as I could, in survival mode just to write and breathe, making myself get dressed and leave my place to get a haircut, returning worn out from the effort.
• Today I woke feeling crappy again, but I plowed on and colored my hair, showered.  Maybe Mother Ocean's wild, untamed fury is inspiring me.  I am dressed, breathing as deeply as I can and being thankful for it instead of whining that I can't breathe, fueled with cold meds and coffee and writing furiously, and working an I'm-going-to-kick-this-crud's-butt attitude.  Maybe this is my turning point to getting well, being a fighter instead of a whiner.   

Christmas tidbits 12/25/11

• Been too sick to blog, saving what little energy I've had for volunteering.  Wasn't scheduled to work today, but I'm headed back shortly for Day 4 of the Red Cross feeding the multitudes.  Want to see all the onion chopping, cranberry dipping, gravy stirring, dressing making, mashed potato scooping, hefting and cleaning and truck loading and unloading I've done come to fruition.  Hope I make it.  I'm feeling pretty puny again.
• It helped to see a gorgeous sunrise today.  Sunbella shined her blush onto the sponge-painted clouds all the way to the west horizon, then rose slow, hot orange, diva glorious.  Back to clouds and a chilly breeze now.  Still a few folks out taking a Christmas day beachwalk.  Good for them.
• Just a few funny things to share from the past few days:
• A family of 12, all with black hair and dark skin, were leaving the beach and resembled a Christmas shepherd gang flocking to see the Christ child.  Only their robes and towels were draped over swimsuits, they were carrying floaty tubes and boogie boards instead of gold, frankincense and myrhh, and Grandma was wearing a swim muumuu.
• Made a quick dash to Wal-Mart on Friday to get more meds for my cold.  Thought I'd hit the jackpot when I found everything I needed and got in a 20-item or less line with only two people ahead of me.  Then I spent 25 minutes sneezing and hacking while a lady with a cartful of bags and a $197 plus change bill (you think she had more than 20 items??) in the front of the line tried her American Express card three times and couldn't complete the transaction because she didn't know her zip code.  Then her debit card was also declined.  I was ready to collapse -- not smart taking cold meds on an empty stomach -- or tackle the woman and drag her out of the store, when her husband appeared, entered the magic zip code, and they were gone.  I crashed back in bed as soon as I made it home.
• When I finally awoke from the above nap, I drug myself to the hot tub to steam my chills and open my head.  Unfortunately, a woman and her young'un in a floaty tube were in the pool nearby, close enough that I could hear her say "no, Maybeline, don't splash Mama," at least 27 times.  The girl kept on splashing and jibberjabbering and giggling, no matter how many times or how loudly Mama said not to.  Mama even threw in a "stop" now and then.  Made no dayum difference.  I couldn't help but think -- if Maybeline had been a dog, I would have been able to enjoy the hot tub instead of flee to my room.  A dog would have either a) not gotten in the pool at all because it's not their cup of tea, or b) been dogpaddling along and amusing themselves, not splashing around.  Maybe I should check out Ocean Park resort next door.  The marquee says "dog friendly" and I see lots of pets going in.  Now if it is only kid-free! 

Lucky 12/22/11

• Slept lousy again but got up with the alarm anyway.  Stepped out onto the balcony to warm and humid, sky socked in with dark clouds except for a stained glass window at the eastern horizon glowing black and red.  Had to walk the sunrise.
• A tumultuous Mother Ocean slapped foamy swells onto the sand.  A lone dolphin rolled up out of the waves.  Pelicans belly-flopped on the water, then bobbed and fished.
• The east window stayed open and let the intensifying sunrise colors through -- hot orange backdrop; blush turning the murky clouds to cotton candy and the ocean to chablis.
• Sunbella rose, pancaked between two clouds, then was gone and night returned.  The sunrise show may be the best today has to offer.  And I got to see it walking barefoot on the beach.  I'm a lucky gal.  Plus, I just got to phone convo with my SGD after he got off work.  The day begins.
• Sending a "happy birthday" shout-out to my nephew Eli.  Have a kickbutt day, Dude! 

Quick change 12/21/11

• Aunt Peg said the Myrtle Beach sky changes faster than any she's ever seen.  It does.  When I hit the beach for my sunrise walk, ominous clouds were rolling in the west, looking like rain was holding just on the other side of Ocean Blvd.  North up the beach was blue haze, south purple-pink haze.  The air felt cool and moist on my face, thick with salt.  Mother Ocean was rocking and roiling (yes, roiling), her 3-foot waves crashing like thunder.
• A break in the eastern clouds allowed muted light to shine through as Sunbella got closer.  Blue sky took over between the now fluffy western clouds.  Sunbella made two distinct sunrises using the clouds as props, both muted, not her usual verve.  I kept walking, waiting for more.  Just as Sunbella was blasting rays from behind a monster cloud and I could feel the crescendo of a "hallelujah" moment coming, more clouds crowded in and choked out her big finish. 
• Now everything is murky gray.  I've got lamps burning for light to write by.  But it's warm, 61 degrees, 88% humidity.  I love that, even if the humidity makes my hair a tangle of beach grass.
• I'm back to feeling my solo mojo, after my SGD's visit.  Didn't take long to take over the dining table again with dictionary and thesaurus and notebooks and steno pads and a different pen for each project.  Didn't take long to cover the coffee table with magazines and books, spread my junk back out into empty drawers, start sleeping toward the middle of the bed and throwing my legs over to find the cool spot, to eating and wearing and doing any dayum thing I want anytime I want.  It feels good to know my way again, not to be empty and lost.  But I still miss him.    

200 pounds of onions, oh my 12/20/11

• Sometimes being a vegetarian sucks.  When I got to my volunteer gig, which is helping the Red Cross and Street Reach Ministries prepare Christmas dinner for 5000, my options were to hack up turkeys or cut onions.  I can't hack hacking turkeys, so I chose to peel and quarter 200 pounds of sweet Spanish onions.  Worked with a lady named Sandy from Little River, very nice, and another couple from West Virginia that spend half the year in MB, also very nice.  After the first 50 pounds or so my eyes didn't sting and I couldn't even smell the onions.  I could sure smell that turkey, though.  Yuck.  And there's nothing more slippery than a tiled kitchen floor covered in turkey grease.  I scrubbed the soles of my sneakers as soon as I got home. 
• Since I did so well on the onions, Lee, one of the guys in charge of the kitchen, deemed me Cranberry Lady.  A team of female basketball players from Atlanta, in MB for a tournament, were coming to volunteer and I had to supervise them dipping cranberry sauce from 5 gallon buckets into little plastic souffle cups, capping them with lids that fit, putting the cups into boxes, and keeping count of the whole shebang so we could get to 5000 cups of cranberry sauce.  We had 4 buckets going in my work area, 3 buckets going in another room.  While we were dipping and capping and stacking, their head coach was standing around taking pictures and yacking, so I started hollering, "Hey Coach, how about toting some of these boxes out to the fridge truck."  The girls got a kick out of me making their coach do some work.  Guess I got a little bit of drill sergeant in me from my dad.   We finally ran out of matching lids, somewhere between 2000-3000 cups.  Chef Brad assured me his restaurant would be donating more cups with lids by tomorrow.  Hooray, I'll probably get to scoop more cranberry goo when I go back on Thursday.  At least it's not sweet potatoes.
• Lee was a really cool guy.  When I introduced myself, he said his first girlfriend's name was Roni so it would be easy for him to remember.  Then he proceeded to call me Tori all afternoon, even after I would say, "Roni," and he'd say, "oh, right."  So when I was signing out to leave, I shook his hand and said, "Well Ted, guess I'll see you on Thursday."  He laughed and winked at me and said, "Thanks, Roni."
• I was supposed to work until 5, but by 4:15 my back was screaming "I'm done."  Plus my ballteam had left, so there wasn't much more I could do except turkey duty.  Gave me time to do some barefoot beachwalking before sunset.  Great way to end a good day.  That and getting my butt down to the hot tub right now.

Glad 12/20/11

• Slept lousy, too much coughing, not enough sleeping.  Still got up before sunrise.  The ocean-clouds-sky was silver-blue-gray.  Then came the pinking as Sunbella got closer.  She peeped through a hole in the thick clouds at the skyline and spread blush on Mother Ocean.  Finally she blazed past the thicket of clouds, sassy orange and bold.  A new day begins.
• After my shower, the world is back to silver grays with a tad of soft blue, no delineation between Mother Ocean and the sky.  Sunbella lays down a creamy yellow haze of sunlight on the waves.  A few shell snatchers are walking the low-tide beach in shorts and bare feet.
• Time to get to writing before my volunteer gig for Street Reach Homeless Ministries at noon.  Glad I have some way to be of service today.  Glad my living solo groove is returning to me.  Glad my SGD got back home safely yesterday.  A new chapter of my journey begins.  

Good-bye Christmas 12/19/11

• Up early to get my SGD ready to head back to Missouri.  Excellent morning to get back to sunrise watching.  The tropical rainbow colors were deep and luscious, wrapped around the skyline.  Mother Ocean rolled ice blue and peaceful, barely making a splash as she slipped in the low tide.  Clouds along the horizon were whispery blue-gray mountains.  A few splotches of clouds became a glistening wet rainbow trout as Sunbella unleashed her colors before cresting.  Seven silver contrails threaded the blue sky.  Sunbella rose quiet, humongous, glowing molten orange, and quickly melted away all the clouds.  A dazzling day begins.
• My SGD is already in Atlanta, awaiting the last leg of his journey home to Springfield.  I beachwalked south and waved at his plane as it took off and banked out over the ocean.  He didn't see me, but it felt right to give him a send him off from the beach.  Mother Ocean and Sunbella comforted me as I cried my way back to my place.  We had a wonderful visit, the best Christmas present I could ever have.  But alone feels so much more lonely when you've been sharing space with the one you love and now they are gone.

Catching up

• Haven't seen the sunrise now in two days.  Yesterday I slept in because I wasn't feeling well and knew it would be cloudy anyway.  Today I just slacked and didn't get up.  My soul misses starting the day with Sunbella rising up and proclaiming "the day begins."  I'll do better tomorrow.  Dazzling sunshine now, taking the temp to the mid-50s.  Hopefully we'll get in a beachwalk on our last day together.
• My SGD has still been feeling puny with head/chest congestion, so we've been taking it easy.  Friday we sunned on the ocean deck and took a short beachwalk before the cool front moved in.  Topped off our day with hot-tubbing and sauna time.
• Yesterday we headed back north to La Belle Amie Winery for the Saturday bonfire.  A country picker/singer entertained, including his hilarious rendition of "The Devil Went Down to Jamaica," with Johnny and the Devil at war over who had the best weed.  We sipped Heavenly Body Cabernet Savignon and warm mulled wine, did a little rubbing on Bella and Amie (the winery dogs), and enjoyed the sharp woodsy bonfire smell and cuddling in the afternoon chill.  The ash blowing around looked like snow.  Wonderful way to spend a Saturday, or any day, afternoon.     

Sharing the sunrise 12/16/11

• Still not feeling great but we got out on the beach before the sunrise.  Cool but not cold, barely a breeze.  The sunrise was dazzling, as always, but the best part was sharing it with my SGD:  saying "look" and "did you see that;" having our fingers laced together as we walked; holding his coffee mug while he snapped pictures; dodging the seagulls flying perilously low over our heads; stopping for a hug or kiss just because it felt right; helping each other up and down the tall sand shelf; counting contrails; gazing at the sunrise and seeing the exact same thing at the exact same moment.  Priceless.
• Sending a Happy Birthday Shout-Out to my sister Sonya!!  Enjoy your day!

A Beachin' Day 12/15/11

• SGD and I both felt a bit crudded up, but we couldn't waste a 70 degree December 15th.  Did some marshwalking at Murrell's Inlet.  Such a peaceful place with the gentle lapping of the marsh under the boardwalk, compared to the constant whoosh of ocean waves at Myrtle.
• We layed out on the ocean deck for over an hour, soaking up the toasty sun, ignoring our goosebumps when the wind picked up.
• Drove to Plyer Park by the SkyWheel and beachwalked down to the start of the boardwalk past 2nd Ave Pier, just to have some different scenery.  Walked the boardwalk back to Dirty Don's, which became "our place" when we visited back in May.  Got the same table, same waitress named Chrissy who took our picture again.  We sipped draw Fat Tires out of beer goblets and munched fried pickles, cheese sticks, and potato skins -- delish food and drink, delightful company.  We likey Dirty Don's!
• We topped off a beachin' day with a quiet evening playing Uno and doing laundry, soothing our scratchy throats with hot chocolate while watching Big Bang Theory, and going to bed early.

New Year's Eve 12/14/11

• We chose 12/14 to celebrate New Year's Eve, for no particular reason except we won't be together on the real one.  It was fantastic!
• Dazzling sunshiny day with a bit of a brisk wind.  We walked north up Ocean Blvd to 2nd Ave Pier, shared a Diet Coke while watching fishermen reel in spotted trout off the pier.  The sun warmed us on the beachwalk back.  Then we shared a pre-New Year's Eve nap.
• Watched the kaleidoscope of criss-crossed clouds and colors sunset from the breezeway and sipped a bold Cabernet Savignon.  A group of Snowbirds were having martini time on the floor above us.  We raised our glasses to each other.
• Our Eve event was wine tasting and dinner at Noodles & Co.  Our fave of the wines was the Silver Palm Cab, which we tasted several times and then ordered a glass to share.  We also tried Sake for the first time.  SGD said it was like tasting gasoline.  Both our dinners were delicious, topped off by Rosa Regale sparkling wine and chocolate cheesecake bites for dessert.  We even got to see Luna Linda drenching the ocean with her moonshine before calling it a night. 
• My best New Year's Eve ever.

Blush 12/14/11

     Woke up on the dot of 7am without the alarm.  From the balcony, Sunbella spread her watch-me blush across the clear skyline.  SGD came through the door to join me just as Sunbella peeked fire orange over the horizon.  Silver contrails zig-zagged across the blue.  The dark blue cloud bank to the west could have been the Ozark hills.  Pelicans swooped low over the waves in formation.  Mother Ocean rolled in the high tide with gentle, frothy waves.  One swirly cloud hung over Sunbella, her ethereal signature on the masterpiece sunrise she just created.  The day begins. 

Orange moon rising 12/13/11

• Another great day with my SGD.  I'll just hit the high points, because there were so many exquisite moments I could fill up pages.
• Another dual treadmill workout.  I love that we share a love for walking workouts.  SGD had cheesy scrambled eggs and toast waiting for me when I got out of the shower -- delicious.  Checked out Whispering Pines golf course.  SGD would love to be playing golf but didn't bring his clubs.  Maybe soon he'll get to do a golfing visit.  Even picking up this and that at Wal-Mart gave us several don't-make-me-pee (for me) laughs.  Life feels so good having him here.
• Beachwalked to SpringMaid pier in the dazzling sunshine, had a draw Yuengling lager sitting on a picnic table watching the waves roar into the shore, beachwalked back.  Mid-60s felt perfect, not hot, not cold.
• Watched the sunset from the breezeway.  The after sunset blush across the sky and ocean is the color of love.  We weren't alone.  Groups on several floors above us were sharing time and the sunset, too.  Felt like a party.
• Our pier passes were good all day, so we went back to watch the moonrise.  Took slushy Yuengling Black & Tans for refreshment.  Probably a warm mulled wine would have been a better choice, as we had the shivers waiting for Luna Linda.  Finally SGD said "look, look, look," and Ms. Moon peeked up orange and huge over the ocean edge.  Never, ever, saw the moon look like that before.  When she was fully exposed, she was full except for looking like she had on a beret rakishly tilted to the left.  She stayed deep orange for 15 minutes or so and layed out an undulating orange path across the ocean straight to us.  We stayed on the pier as she morphed into a butter yellow glow, then headed back to BlueWater to watch her whitewash the waves with moonshine from the ocean deck.
• Even with all the resort lights, we were awed by the black canopy of stars and two that blazed across the sky just for us.   
• The hot tub killed our moonwatching chill nicely and capped off an amazing day, sandwiched by a phenomenal sunrise and moonrise.  

Perfect day 12/12/11

• No sunrise yesterday to inspire me to blog.  Woke to dreary clouds and a raw wind, which didn't go away.  The rest of the day with my SGD made up for the sucky weather, though.
• We did dual treadmill workouts watching "Will and Grace."
• Beachwalked with the north wind slapping our faces for 16 blocks.  SGD found a few shells that were keepers, took pictures of a foursome enjoying a cold beach day of fun.  The walk back was more pleasant, less runny nose.
• Roadtripped north to La Belle Amie Vineyard in Little River.  Quaint place with beautiful grounds, tasty wines, and a sweet white dog named Bella to greet you.  We brought home a Poor Bastard Merlot and a What Was She Thinking white blend -- surprising, too, because we never drink white.  Gertha at the tasting bar took excellent care of us.  La Belle Amie is a must-do if you're into wine and spending time in Myrtle Beach.
• Continued our wine lovers afternoon with an early supper at the Carrabbas Italian Grill.  Icicle lights everywhere and jazz ballads playing gave the room romance.  The Montepulciano d'Abruzzo (red wine) was smooth and luscious and perfectly complemented the soft bread, explosion of greens salad, and the simple but delicious pasta entrees.  How could we not hold hands and stare into each other's eyes between courses?
• What could top off such a perfect day?  Hot-tubbing and watching moonshine on the ocean, of course.   
• Unbelievable that after all of yesterday's wine we made it up in time to see the sunrise.  Only one bubble cloud on the horizon, but it was directly where Sunbella was coming up.  She silhouetted the cloud with fire orange, then slipped up like she was coming out of an envelope (SGD's words).  SGD's first sunrise of his visit and it was a dazzler! 

Triple sunrise Sunday 12/11/11

• Mother Ocean cooked the jam this morning, rolling and bubbling and churning the deep blue blueberries.
• The tropical rainbow was held to the north, thwarted by a cloud wall blocking most of the skyline. 
• Relished three distinct sunrises because of that cloud wall.  Sunbella found chinks to shine through twice, then made the peaks of the clouds luminescent gold as she made her final appearance.  Cold -- 38 degrees, 31 wind chill -- on the balcony, but the show was worth it.  The day begins.
• My SGD got in safely last night, his plane was even 20 minutes early.  I was a sweaty mess by the time he came through the gate, from nerves or a hot flash, who knows.  He didn't seem to mind and grabbed me up in a wraparound hug.  Had a lovely evening sipping Merlot, holding hands, laughing with Big Bang Theory, watching the full moon over the ocean, sharing some space together -- finally.

SGD Day 12/10/11

• Didn't see the sunrise this morning.  Got a gig proctoring the ACT test at Coastal Carolina University, had to be there by 7:15am.  Used to do testing at the university where I worked back in MO.  Nice to look forward to a check coming about a month from now.  Plus it kept me busy and not going crazy waiting for my SGD to show up.  He made it to Atlanta, is due into Myrtle Beach International in about two hours.  Can't believe this day is finally here.
• Sitting on the toilet in a campus bathroom, I looked over at the toilet- seat cover rack where someone had written "free hats!" with an arrow pointing at the covers.  Got an out-loud laugh out of that one.  Good thing no one else was in the bathroom with me.
• Just stepped out on the balcony to kill time.  Cloudy, 55 degrees, brisk breeze, and there are Eskimyrtles out in the ocean again today.  These appear to be fully grown.  And they are in up to their waists.  I can hear squeals, all the way on the balcony, every time a wave hits their upper sensitive parts.  Makes me shiver just to imagine feeling that.
• Saw a lady and a little boy run into the middle of a group of seagulls.  She screamed and swatted when the birds flew right at her and grabbed for her hair.  There's a lesson there:  if it's not fun for the gulls, it's not going to be fun for you, either.    

Eskimyrtles? 12/9/11

• Dark clouds hung thick above the ocean and made a solid wall at the horizon.  As Sunbella climbed behind the wall, she painted the clouds push-up orange.  When she topped the wall, she beamed streaks of dazzling light straight up the sky, like a soprano throwing back her head and hitting the highest note in her register.  The day begins.
• Took a break from cleaning and writing to beachwalk.  The horse ploppers were back.  Could they be so kind as to walk together and not muck up the whole beach?  NO, they have to meander here and there, dropping their plop hither and yon.  As I stepped over a pile that had been steaming in the sun, I remembered a line from "28 Days" where the group is doing equine therapy as part of rehab and snarky doctor Daniel says, "They couldn't stink more if they were dead."  You're right, Daniel.
• Found a peachy fairy teacup shell, tiny cousin to one I found weeks ago, when I was talking to SGD on the phone.  He brings me love and luck.  I brought her home to keep her cousin company.
• I think I found a new breed of humans on the beach.  Ages 2 to 17, dressed in shorts and swimsuits, squealing and splashing in the ocean.  The temperature is in the low 50s, so they must be of Eskimo heritage to frolic so in such cool water and weather.  I'm calling them Eskimyrtles.  I didn't see any in water above their knees, but I had worked up a sweat by the time my beachwalk was done, so who knows?  They may take the full-body plunge before they call it a day.

Not sold in stores 12/8/11

• Romance is not a diamond in a velvet box from a jewelry store.
• Romance is holding hands on the balcony on a frosty night.  Watching a nearly full Luna Linda pool her moonshine on the ocean, making a million waves sparkle and dance.  Sharing the moment and not saying a word.
• Romance is feeling giddy over cleaning the shower because you know in two days your special someone will be using it.
• Romance is holding your breath when the phone rings because you hope your special someone is calling.
• Romance is creating your own New Year's Eve on a random night because you won't be together on the official one.  And knowing it will be extraordinarily special no matter what you do to celebrate, because that night you will be together.
• Create some romance in your life tonight.  Not sold in stores.

Breakfast buffet 12/8/11

• Mother Ocean was spread smooth with blueberry jam.  The skyline served up orange marmalade, lemon pudding, and blue-raspberry Tang.  I watched from the balcony bundled in sweater and gloves.
• Sunbella poured over the top of the breakfast buffet in molten orange glaze, then dripped golden honey across the ocean.  Delicious.
• I am embracing the chilly morning and dry air.  But wind, you can go away anytime.  I had enough of you last night:  howling through my place like evil spirits and keeping me awake; slinging the lounge chairs and smoke pots noisily against the fence and into the pool; and driving the rain in sheets beneath the street lights.
• Only two days until my Special Guy D flies in.  I've got to stay busy or go crrr-azy.  Think I'll take myself to Chapin Library for a free showing of "The Help" this afternoon.
• Yall have a blessed day!  

Wicked cool 12/7/11

• No water at BlueWater again today; more maintenance issues to be fixed.  So I ran errands and worked at Chapin Library.  The change of scenery did me good.  Felt my creative mojo perking and got some good writing in.
• Made it back in time to beachwalk, and what a wicked cool (one of my Sister Kris's favorite sayings) beach walk it was!  A front is moving in, and the beach was a wind tunnel blowing from the south.  I had to bend at the waist and keep my head down to keep moving forward.  The dry sand was rippled like potato chips and stung my skin.  Seagulls did their hover dance, hanging on the breeze.  Mother Ocean churned and frothed, leaving foam to slither down the beach.  I kept going and made it to my designation, but I was sucking air from exertion when I got there.
• Coming back was easy.  I felt light as a feather, nearly took flight once or twice.  Found a perfect small swirly shell, the kind I love.  Hadn't picked up one of the ocean's gifts in several weeks, so the shell came home with me.
• I'm back now and just before the scary clouds moved in.  My hair is a tangled rat's nest, and there's no water to wash the sticky sand from my skin and sunglasses, but I'm dayum glad I went.  Being beaten by a salty gale made me feel alive!  

Carnival 12/7/11

• The last warm morning for a while.  I was up early and ready for beachwalking.  When I hit the ocean deck, I stopped and gawked.  The sky was a carnival.  The barely-there cloud streaks snatched pink or blue or orange from the tropical rainbow and glowed.  I did 360s on the sand to take it all in.
• Mother Ocean rolled in foamy towards high tide and lapped over my feet.  She felt the same temp as the air, only wetter.
• The piers were swallowed up by humidity again, making the beach cozy.
• Saw a young man squating on his duffel bag and sipping a Miller High Life 40.  He said, "It's been a helluva week on vacation here" and asked for a cigarette.  I'm not sure what he meant, but I gave him a smoke and wished him a good day.
• 7:07 and I stopped to watch Sunbella blaze her way through the clouds.  My heart pounded and my breath paused.  Her rising was quiet and slow and ordinary, but glorious at the same time.  I told a passing beachwalker we should be hearing the "Hallelujah Chorus" while watching this sunrise.  He laughed and agreed.
• My feet were ice blocks plodding on the ocean deck when I returned, but I feel blessed to be able to beachwalk the sunrise in 66 degrees with 88% humidity.  I will miss this warm weather!

Here comes the sun 12/6/11

• Stepped out on the balcony in time to see the leftover moonshine dribble through a hole in the high clouds onto the ocean.  A streak of orange bled through gun-metal gray clouds clogging the horizon.
• Minutes later I hit the sand barefooted.  The beach was compact, only visible maybe ten blocks to the north, five to the south, bookended by fog instead of the piers I usually see.  No wind, 61 degrees, humid.
• I didn't expect a sunrise, but Sunbella cleared a stage when she was ready to shine and rose bright, bold.  Divalike.  
• Yesterday I speedwalked in sneakers.  Today I strolled, let my big toes play in the cool sand, welcomed Mother Ocean to splash me.
• By the time I got back to my place, there was more blue sky than clouds.  
• Talked to my SGD after he got home from work (he works nights), and it was a slick snowy-road morning with slide-offs everywhere back in Missouri.  I felt guilty for my barefoot beachwalk morning.  But I wouldn't trade.  No way.
• Finally got internet working so I could post this.  The sun is blinding, reflected off the resort next door.  It's time to slip on a bikini and take my work down to the ocean deck.   

Monday's maxims 12/5/11

• Sunbella blasted through the muck of clouds and was waiting for me to hit the beach.  Mother Ocean's salty tang saturated the humid air and flooded my nose.  Contrails stitched the sky, then spread to become clouds.  I fast walked 16 blocks north, then 16 back and had a good sweat going this morning.  It had been too long since I'd done an early morning beach walk.
• Thought of some Roni maxims while walking:

1. Even cellulite looks better with a tan.
2. Almost everything tastes better with ranch dressing.  (Desserts and chocolate not included).
3. Love is hard.  But if it's right, it's worth it.  (My SGD visits in 5 days!  Guess love is on my mind.)
4. Crap in, crap out.  If you're trying to release your creativity, turn the dayum television off.
5. Some people get way too relaxed in the hot tub and tell you way too much!

That's all for today folks.  Have a kickbutt Monday.

I love this place 12/4/11

• I layed out on December 4!  I only lasted an hour before the clouds rolled in thick and no more sun, but still.  Compared to the 40 degree and rainy weather at home, I'll take being able to lay out for an hour any day.  Amazing.
• Went to the Murrell's Inlet Christmas parade this afternoon.  Best.  Parade.  Ever.  Even though there was one school band butchering Christmas tunes and lots of Santa hats and reindeer antlers and candy canes being tossed to the crowd, there was also:

1. bars all along the parade route with tables set up next to the street where the parade watchers could buy cocktails and chili and slices of wood-fired pizza.
2.  people in shorts and flip flops as well as jackets and jeans.  I don't remember feeling comfortable in just jeans and a sweater at a Christmas parade EVER.  Loved it.
3. dogs everywhere, in and out of the parade, including a Black-mouthed Cur puppy named Luke that became my good buddy and rested his paws on my shoulders when he stood up, and the fattest bulldog I've ever seen being wheeled around in a Red Flyer wagon cushioned with blankets.
4. people walking around with huggers of beer chatting, kids throwing a football around, and smokers everywhere not afraid to light up.  My kind of crowd.
5. radio station vans blasting out good music, not just Christmas music.
6. beach-themed floats and lots of boats and classic cars.
7. the world's largest bicycle, from a Shrine in Conway, that held 11 riders, and they didn't fall down.
8. and the coolest entry of all, a humongous Cat dump truck showcasing Bubba's Love Shak, complete with Bubba (I assume) on mike doing his own rap to "Love Shack" playing on the loud speaker, with dancers in the truck and grooving behind. 

Perfect timing 12/3/11

• Weather Channel said the sunrise would be at 7:04am and BAZINGA.  Sure enough, Sunbella peeked over the ocean at exactly 7:04.  Good thing, too, as my hair color needed to be rinsed off at 7:05.  For several days I would hear "have your roots done, Clairee" whenever I looked in the mirror.  That's a line the fabulous Shirley Maclaine, playing Ouiser, said to her best friend in "Steel Magnolias."  Since I don't have a BF here in MB, Ouiser was looking out for me.  Amazing what a hair cut (yesterday at Smart Styles) and color can do.  I feel positively perkified.
• Went to my writer's group this morning.  The only thing I'm going to say about that is:  my perky has now petered out.  How long am I going to keep kidding myself that I'm a writer?
• Saw a hundred or more Harleys go by on a toy run as I was driving home.  Some of the riders had on reindeer antlers or Santa hats.  (No helmet law in SC.)  Cool to feel that concentration of revved-up power and giving spirit.  How fitting that Skynyrd's "Freebird" was playing on the radio as the riders flew down the highway.
• I'm taking myself out sunning now to clear my head and warm my soul.  Doesn't matter that it's only 62 degrees.

    No blog today, folks.  In case anyone even notices.  I'm taking a blog break to focus on work.  Yall have a nice day!

The Mall 12/1/11

• Jeez.  I am an idiot.  I went to the Mall for a pleasant diversion and a little people watching.  Forgot it was Christmas.  Everywhere I went "Blue Christmas" and "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and "Santa Baby" was blaring from store speakers.  Even the Charlie Brown Christmas song swamped me with sadness.  Not for myself.  Not because I'm here alone.  Sad for another 24 days of this in-your-face-buying-frenzy complete with sappy soundtrack to quilt you along into buying more crap and feeling bad about your otherwise OK life. 
• Can you tell I hate Christmas?  Not the urge to help others and give the gift of love (and not diamond love) Christ-y Christmas.  I hate commercial Christmas.  Quoting Alfred, the Macy janitor, from Miracle on 34th Street, "There's a lot of bad 'isms' floatin' around this world, but one of the worst is commercialism . . . don't care what Christmas stands for, just make a buck, make a buck."  Amen, Brother.  Every year I wish I could go to sleep on Halloween and wake up after New Years.
• I didn't last an hour in the Mall.  I was either going to have a boohooing meltdown or start snatching that giant Christmas tree bald and hurling ornaments at the speakers.  So I left.
• Even when I was beachwalking and hearing the nurturing swish swish of Mother Ocean, "Winter Wonderland" was playing in my head.  Dayum.  My brain has been abducted by Christmas Classics.

Forty-nine 12/1/11

• 38 degrees, 32 wind chill.  Mother Ocean slipped slow and still onto the sand.  The narrow cloud band at the skyline between me and Sunbella became fiery embers, then a sailboat silhouette in her glow as she topped the horizon.  Birds sang out as soon as Sunbella was fully revealed, announcing "the day begins."
• This morning I wondered why I even get up.  No one would know if I didn't.  Wondered why I should write about the sunrise.  No one would care if I didn't.  After tears and the urge to ignore Sunbella's rising and go inside where it's warm, I realized I get up and write the sunrise because of hope.  Seeing the sunrise unfold in a different way every day reminds me nothing stays the same.  If I keep getting up and watching, there is always a surprise, a shift, mystery, beauty, and maybe even a dazzle or two.  I'm glad hope kept me on the balcony this morning to witness the glorious sunrise.
• Thinking about sitting at my dining table alone with my writing notebook today had me paralyzed.  Someone once said something like -- writing is easy, you just slice open a vein and let your blood pour out onto the paper.  That's how I felt anticipating today's work.  So I'm getting the hell out of here.  Taking myself to a mall to people watch.  Who knows what kind of creative fire that may spark?
• This is day 49 that I've been in MB, and I am 49 (not today, just in general).  That feels like an omen, like there's something special going to happen today, something to confirm that I'm on the right path being here and writing.  Hope I'm not just wishful thinking.    

Feeding frenzy 11/30/11

• Took a break from writing to beachwalk.  Aunt Peg left part of a loaf of bread, so I brought it to feed the birds.  Not a bird in sight when I threw out the first pieces, then in a flash I was mobbed with seagulls and pigeons.  They squawked and darted at me, some flew up and hovered right in my face.  I finally took off walking and threw bread back over my shoulder.  They kept stalking me even when the bread was gone until they found a pile of horse plop to forage.  Yuck.
• Yes, the horse litterers were back today.  At least there were only seven mucking up the beach this time.
• The breeze was nippy, but the sun felt good.  Surprised there were only a handful of fisherpeople (lots of women fish, too) up on Springmaid pier.
• Walked back up Ocean Blvd.  Standing in line at Lauren's Mini Mart to buy my Powerball tickets, a scruffy guy behind me asked, "How are those Magnums?"  Now I had just been looking at the variety of single-pack condoms for sale hanging behind the counter, including Magnums, when he asked.  I was dumbfounded until he pointed to the ice cream bar I was splurging on laying on the counter.  Didn't even notice it was called Magnum.  "Oh," I replied, "I haven't tried them yet."  If I see him again, I'll tell him it was three delicious dollars worth of dark chocolate, caramel, and vanilla heaven on a stick.  That sucker was gone in the six blocks it took me to get back to my place.
• Please let me have the winning Powerball numbers.  Roni needs a BlueWater condo so I can come back any time I need to recharge my beach batteries.
• Time to get back to work.

In sync 11/30/11

• Called it quits at Chapin Library at 3:30 yesterday.  I was starving and spent.  The water had just been turned back on when I arrived at BlueWater.  Sync.
• Stepped on the balcony, facing east, just as Sunbella was setting for the evening.  She threw soft pink and blue up onto the clouds, and the clouds cast the colors down to the pools left on the sand by the retreating tide.  The colors only lingered a moment.  Breathtaking.  Sync.
• After treadmilling, I did crunches in the 3rd floor gym.  Lying on the floor, I caught sight of the lop-sided grinning moon over the Grand Atlantic resort next door.  If I hadn't forgotten to do my crunches yesterday morning, I never would have seen it.  Sync.
• Couldn't sleep, out on the balcony at 5:10.  The night black still hanging on, I looked up Ocean Blvd at the lights from all the resorts.  It may seem ugly to some, just one hotel after another, but I love it.  Thinking about all the lives contained in those places, the fun people are having and the memories they are making.  The lights and the life of Ocean Blvd is one of the things I love about MB.
• 6:20am  Stepped on the balcony for a smoke and said, "Wow."  Ripe blueberry sponge-painted clouds backdropped the skyline, with the tropical rainbow above.  The ocean was blueberry gelatin when it starts to thicken, rippling onto the sand.  Sync.
• In the movie, Thelma says to Louise, "I don't ever remember feeling this awake."  That's how I feel this morning.  My senses are amped.  Everything is realer than real.  I'm digging it.
• 7:07am  My nose was throbbing from the cold.  Sunbella singed the cloud tops in pink, then gold.  I'm staying out, I know she's coming.
• 7:12am  Sunbella found a hole in the clouds to seep through, kept climbing until she broke free.  My first sunrise in a few days.  I've missed you.  The day begins.  

No water at BlueWater day 11/29/11

• I was up early but no sunrise again today.  The sky was murky gray, the ocean muddy brown with no light to make her sparkle.  Hadn't felt the air that dry and crisp in days.  The Palmetto fronds weren't moving at all.  Amazing after last night's stormy melee to have such a mellow morning.
• BlueWater Resort, where I live, has the water shut off today from 10a-6p to fix a plumbing problem.  So I toted all I need to be able to work to Chapin Memorial Library.  This way I can use the bathroom when the need arises.  I didn't stand out at all carrying in two overflowing bags.  Many of the homeless, with duffle bags and backpacks in tow, use Chapin as their daytime haven to check emails, look for work online, read and catch up with each other.  The patrons are friendly and patient when waiting for a computer.  The staff goes out of their way to make everyone welcome and help us find what we need.  WAB ("what a blessing" in case you haven't read my blog before) to have this resource, especially today.
• Happy 18-month Anniversary to my Special Guy D!  I love you, D.  Only 11 days until I'll be saying that in person.
• Found several agents/publishers in the writer's magazines last night that I may query about my book, a magazine or two that might be right for a short story I've written.  Plus the writing on my memoir was flowing strong yesterday.  I felt very productive.  So time to get cranking on what I can make of this day. 

The Storm 11/28/11

• The southeasterly gale turned Hurl Rocks Park next door into a wind tunnel and pounded the Palmettos.  Sheets of rain sliced through the streetlamp light.  The Weather Channel forecasted winds around 35mph, but they felt much stronger, evil even.  Made me realize I do not want to be in a hurricane.  Ever.
• Of course I picked tonight as a quiet night to finish reading the writer's magazines due back tomorrow at the library.  With no TV noise as a backdrop, the storm roared and moaned and set my nerves on edge.  Slipping into my pajamas and sipping Merlot by lamplight chilled me out, so I got through the magazines and slept soundly.

Monday morning

• Mother Ocean starts whitecapping way out from shore, then slams her high-tide froth onto the beach.  Few walkers out.  No sunrise.  The sky is socked in with flat gray.  Darker gray streaks at the horizon look like rain, though it's not forecasted until mid-afternoon.  The Palmetto fronds are whipping wild in the wind.  Still a balmy 67 degrees.
• Want to ride my skateboard Pinkie since there's no reason to sunrise walk, but afraid the wind will dump me off in no time.  I'm not too surefooted on her without 25mph of wind hitting me.  She's getting mighty bored, though, all alone under the bed.  I promise, Pinkie, when the storms clear, I'll take you riding.
• Woke up ready to write, to dive back in to the memoir that was flowing so well yesterday.  Good day to stay inside and create.
• Yall have a great day wherever you are and whatever you do.

Whoa Part 2 11/27/11

• Following my McD's outing, was energized by how gorgeous the day turned out after such an ominous start.  Walked 29 blocks north on Ocean Blvd to the Sky Wheel.  Lots of happy Sunday folks doing touristy things and eating at sidewalk restaurants around Plyler Park.  Sat outside Dirty Don's, OUR BAR when my SGD was here with me back in May, listening to Molly Hatchett.  I was missing him bad.  Glad he'll be here soon and we can have a Fat Tire at the beach bar together.   
• Walked back on the Boardwalk and met bikers, speed walkers, and a Beagle with a wheelie cart holding up his back legs smiling as he trotted by.  
• Shed my sneakers at 2nd Ave Pier where the Boardwalk ends and put my tootsies in the ocean to cool off.  A lady walking toward me was boogieing to her earbud music.  I nodded and said, "I like your style."  She responded with a smile and said, "Thank you for noticing."  
• The holiday beach crowd had thinned, so I relished long stretches where my footprints were solo in the sand.  The splish splash of the waves was the only sound.
• A morning of doing everything different seemed to unplug my writer's block.  Took snacks and coffee down to the ocean deck and got to work.  The words flowed, my writing voice was strong and funny, and my soul felt unburdened from being able to create.  A dayum good day.  

Whoa 11/27/11

• I stepped out on the balcony and into "The Ten Commandments" movie, complete with music in my head.  I'm not kidding.  I said "whoa" out loud it was so burning-bush biblical.  Gunmetal gray clouds covered the entire sky and hung low enough to touch, with only a few chinks allowing pale light to seep through.  Mother Ocean lay calm at the skyline but churned wild and frothy onto the sand.  I expected Charleton Heston to be standing on the beach commanding her to part with his raised staff, but only saw two women trying to get their dogs to make potty. 
• Hit the beach walking with my coffee.  Sunbella found a tiny hole at the horizon and shone through like a lighthouse beacon.  She retreated, then flooded her light through the layers of a triple-layer cake of clouds.  For her finale, she perched on top of a line break in the clouds and blasted down in a sheet of intense gold.  The day begins.
• While all this sunrising was going on:  people were snapping pictures like crazy, even the shell snatchers stopped to stare; a line of pelicans flew by with the perfect precision of the Rockettes, the lead bird would flap and each one behind would flap in their turn, then glide in turn, then dip; a fin broke out of the water and I heard the "Jaws" theme in my head (seems like it's going to be a musical day, huh?), then the rest of the dolphin rolled out of the water and another followed, until I spotted them somersaulting all over the place.  I returned to BlueWater Resort in a sweat, the air humid and no breeze.  The dichotomy of walking off the beach into the atrium decorated with a Christmas tree and wreaths and lighted snowman still shocks me.
• All this happened before 8am.  What else can the day bring?
• 9:30am  Went to McD's for wifi and breakfast.  Double bonus -- got 2 for the price of one Egg McMuffins (without bacon, of course) and hash browns, so now I'll have a freebie breakfast or lunch for another time.  I'm lovin it!
• Haven't done any serious writing in a couple of days.  Have I lost my creative mojo or am I just trying to work on the wrong projects?  Scary to want to sit down and write and then feel so lost about what to write.  Looking for a sign or some inspiration.  Maybe I'll hear a song in my head?   

Pastel-wrapped day 11/26/11

• The skyline rainbow was pastel this morning.  Mother Ocean contrasted the soft colors by roaring in and pounding the high-tide beach.  I chose a balcony seat for a different perspective to watch the show of people rushing and dogs pulling hard on their leashes to make it to the sand for sunrise.  Sunbella rose slow and deliberate, commanding the placid sky.  The day begins.
• It turned out to be a glorious dry-aired, sun-drenched day.  Roni had to play.  I ran to Myrtle's Market for fresh produce:  3 apples, 2 oranges, a zucchini and a red pepper for $3.40.  Felt like I was stealing at that price.
• By 11:30, I was in my favorite spot on the ocean deck laying in the sun.  It was hard to relax with the teen posse rapping to songs on their boom box in the balcony above and some chick screaming "Jessie" over and over to her friend on the beach.  But I suffered through, letting the sun melt away my irritation.  Well, almost all of it.
• 2pm-ish and I headed north beachwalking.  The low tide provided 50 more yards of hard-packed sand and sun-warmed ocean slick to stroll.  Seems like my feet don't get tanned unless I'm walking the sand.  And I do like the look of tanned feet.
• A young couple, obviously dating and not married from the way they acted shy towards each other, braved the cool ocean.  Both had their arms across their chests, and the girl jumped a little with every wave to keep her lady parts from feeling the water's chill.
• A disabled gentleman rode a souped-up tricycle, with wide sand-gripping back tires and a motor.  He flew across the wet and soft sand with a wide smile on his face.
• Saw "family" with a heart drawn around it in the sand.  Not something I see every day.  Someone must really be digging their family for bringing them to the beach.
• "Happy Birthday Tristin" was written four times in big sand printing and once in shells, but no one was around then so I would know whose birthday it was.
• The equestrians were back mucking up the beach.  Guess they are allowed to ride on the beach from November to the end of January, but I'm already ready to tell them to shove their hoof prints and horse plop where the sun doesn't shine.
• Walking back, clouds started crowding the sky, telling me it was time to quit playing and get to work.  I decided a nap sounded like much more fun!
• Got up in time to see the sunset colors:  baby blue and pink wrapping around the entire horizon, cotton candy pink clouds drifting by, even Mother Ocean was rolling in on blush-colored waves.  Spectacular way to end Roni's play day. 

Beachwalking 11/25/11

• Was stuck in my writing, so I ran errands and went beachwalking.  Must be the holiday weekend bringing so many out on the beach.  Not a summer-size crowd by any means, but more people than I've seen since I've been here:  family pods with chairs and coolers; couples holding hands and strolling; kids playing frisbee and soccer and tossing a football; dogs giving each other the "hello" sniff; shell snatchers; and several brave souls out in the waves.  One family had five girls and a boy, all black-haired, body surfing and building mud pies in the low-tide pool.
• Saw KAL + AMR drawn huge in the sand.  Made me smile and look forward to drawing RLB + DES when my Special Guy D comes to town.
• I was most amazed by the variety of wardrobe displayed on the beach at 64 degrees and sunny.  13-year old girls in bikinis rubbing each other down with tanning lotion.  Dudes in swimtrunks with bare chests and feet.  Older couples in jogging suits and sneakers.  One couple was completely clothed with a blanket thrown over them as they read in their beach chairs.  A black man wearing a nice long-sleeved shirt, long shorts, and carrying expensive-looking loafers had a chunk of jewelry hanging on his mid-chest that looked like a badge bearing the number 85.  Now I'm no jewelry aficionado, but I'd bet beachwalking privileges for a week that the cost of that bling would pay my condo lease until next summer.  Or longer.
• In case you're wondering, I was perfectly comfortable barefooting in capri jeans, t-shirt, and sweater.  And I came back inspired with several writing ideas.  So time to get back to work.     

Tropical rainbow Friday 11/25/11

     No Black Friday for this gal, nor for a bunch of other sunrise walkers out this morning.  Even saw a car pull up in Hurl Rocks Park next door and six people jumped out, bundled in blankets and coats, and ran straight onto the sand like they were headed to a party.  Chilly breath-hanging-in-the-air morning, but seeing the lush colors of the tropical rainbow wrapped around the skyline was worth the shivering.  I just googled colors and still can't come up with a fitting description for how vibrant the colors were.  The best way I can capture what I was seeing is:  picture the most intense blues and oranges and pinks and yellows you've ever seen and them amp them up like they've just downed three Monster drinks and maybe you'll come close.  Or you can just come to Myrtle and see it for yourself.
     I'm not trying to be preachy, if you've read any of my blogs you'll know preachy doesn't sit well with me, but I am sick of all this Black Friday crap.  First, I absolutely hate it that these retail employees are having to go to work at 10pm, midnight, 3am, or whatever, and don't really get to enjoy their Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving used to be a HOLIDAY when stores would close and workers get time off.  When did Thanksgiving become nothing more than Black Friday Eve?  Second, don't we have enough clothing and appliances and electronic junk to last a lifetime already??  Buying more just because you get a door-buster price MAKES NO SENSE.  Maybe it's time to turn off the TV so you're not brainwashed by commercials and recycle those Black Friday newspaper ads and be thankful for what you already have.  It's cheaper and a lot less stressful and kinder to the planet.
     OK, I'm climbing off my soapbox now.  'Nuff said.
    

The Kitchen 11/24/11

     I served Thanksgiving dinner to homeless people (and others with homes that needed a meal) at the Community Kitchen.  Didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped to.  The volunteers formed an assembly line to pass out tea, food boxes and dessert, then we were told to get back against the wall.  Not enough people contact for me; I wanted to mix and mingle and chat people up.  Plus too much churchy business:  prayer, then a sermonette, then another prayer, then sing a gratitude song.  I know The Kitchen is backed by Swash Park Ministries and a lot of the volunteers were church affiliated, but these people came for a meal.  Not to be browbeaten to come to Jesus.
     Good things that happened:

• I got to see my buddy Mary again.  She remembered our dancing night at Broadway at the Beach and gave me a big hug.  Her companion Lee was sick, so she took food back to him.  I made sure she got a wide slice of pecan pie, her favorite.
• A church from North Carolina was set up in the parking lot giving out blankets and jackets, so nearly everyone took a blanket and/or jacket back to wherever they call home.
• A gentleman that works at the resort where I'm staying was there to eat.  I talk to him every morning as he's vacuuming the atrium.  Now I know his name and he knows mine and we are better acquainted.
• A hispanic man that I didn't know came up to me and asked "como esta?"  Don't know why he picked me, but his eyes lit up when I answered "bien, senor, y Usted."  We had a nice chat in Spanish.  He spoke English as well, but it tickled me to get to use my Spanish-speaking skills.

     I realized I felt more kinship with the people there to eat than the people there to serve.  Maybe I was homeless in another life.
     Miss Carol, who runs the Kitchen, said another homeless person was found dead on Thanksgiving, bringing the total up to 25 for the year.  Myrtle Beach is a beautiful place but not for everyone.  Miss Carol had people new to the Kitchen say their names and where they are from and the list included:  Wyoming, Ohio, US Virgin Islands, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Florida.  I would love to hear their stories.      

Thanks 11/24/11

• Mother Ocean lay languid and ice blue, quietly slipping one wave at a time onto the sand.  My first Thanksgiving at the beach.  I had to walk the sunrise.  Coming through the sea grass, I was greeted by a spritely Schnauzer named Lacey, who wanted some rubbing attention.  As Schnauzers are my absolute favorite dog, I was happy to oblige.  Even if nothing else good happens, that made my day.
• The tropical rainbow at the horizon stayed vibrant, no murkiness today before the sunrise.  There were no visible clouds, but Sunbella somehow made them appear for her act.  She became orange Christmas lights dotting the horizon, then a fan of pink-orange vapors rising like steam.  When she was ready, she banished the clouds so all attention was on her glorious rising.  The day begins.
• Thanks for:  letting me have some doggie love this morning; living here and walking the beach today and every day; the companionship of Sunbella and Mother Ocean and Luna Linda; getting to serve meals this afternoon to those that otherwise might not eat today; my Special Guy D that loves me even when he doesn't understand me; and my family that I keep loving even when I don't understand them.  WAB!  (what a blessing in case you're new to my blog)
• Happy Thanksgiving Yall!

Wait for the flow 11/23/11

• I am so dumb sometimes, stressing about not being inspired to write today.  I wasn't meant to write today.  When I finally let go of what I expected of myself, the flow came, telling me to do revisions on pieces I'd already written and work on queries.  Spent all morning in the flow, not even noticing time passing, got three queries sent, and almost made myself late for my volunteer gig.
• Peeled and cut sweet potatoes for 2.5 hours at the Community Kitchen to prep for the big Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.  What an eclectic group of people volunteering with me:  a retired PE teacher from New York that winters with her sister in MB, Florida, and cruising the Caribbean that said "what the hell would you do that for?  I've never read a book in my life and I don't plan to" when I told her I came here to write; a chef that's worked in some of the finer MB restaurants but hurt his back and now lives on disability and has to volunteer to keep his supplemented housing; an assistant bank manager; several homeless people; and several rich retired people.  Found out my dancing bud Mary and her sweetie Lee will be there tomorrow for the big dinner.
• Got a cut in my palm, several blisters, and sore arms, but feel much better after hottubbing.  Is there anything that hot tub won't cure?  If there is, I haven't found it.

Unsettled 11/23/11

• Mother Ocean is angry this morning, churning high and slapping white foam onto the high-tide beach.  White is the only color breaking up the myriad grays of sky and water.  No sunrise today.
• The cars swish by on soggy Ocean Blvd.  The men emptying trash in Hurl Rocks Park wear orange slickers, foretelling a nasty day to come.  Turned the A/C on to dry the sticky air in my living room.
• Woke with achy knees and feet.  Maybe from two beach walks yesterday, maybe my bones are complaining about the weather change.
• I am churning along with Mother Ocean, unsettled.  Want to write now that my company is gone, need to write, but what?  Have several short story ideas simmering, but nothing inspires me right now.  My finger isn't twitching to grab a pen and let it race across the page.  Started a memoir about my journey here, but my mind says "who the hell cares about me moving to Myrtle Beach to write?"  What could I possibly have to say that would make someone want to read it??  No one even reads my blog, face it.  And a memoir is supposed to be honest -- can I really bare my soul and tell my truth?  And what about my family and friends -- why should their lives be exposed just because I feel the need to write about mine??  So many questions, no answers.
• The one blessing to this day so far is I'm working kitchen prep for Thanksgiving dinner at the Community Kitchen for the homeless.  Doing physical work after sitting and writing excites me.  Tomorrow I get to serve dinner from 3-7pm.  Maybe I'll make some new friends.  Maybe I'll run into my wacky buddies Mary and Lee from the free concert.  Maybe I'll be inspired with a story I'm meant to write.  Maybe?   

Spectacular farewell 11/22/11

• Aunt Peg's last beach sunrise, and we were out there early walking it.  The sickle moon cast an aqua wash on Mother Ocean.  Hadn't seen that color on her before.  Maybe it was special for Peg's farewell.
• The waves rolled high and boisterous.  Clouds mimicked the waves along the skyline.  One bold cloud formed into a whale's tail flapping high out of the water.
• Seagulls congregated on the sand right before sunrise to say good-bye to Peg (she loves the gulls), then peppered the sky in swooping swirls. 
• Sunbella rose out of the wave clouds flaring hot orange and laid a path of liquid gold across the ocean right to our feet on the sand.
• Gorgeous morning in the 60s and barely a breeze.  Mid-70s by the time I dropped Peg at the airport at 10.  She's going to hate KC and 40 degrees in a couple of hours.

 

Muted morning 11/21/11

• 6:25am  A quilt of clouds covered the sky, except for a few breaks at the skyline.  Sunbella sent a preview of her coming as a wash of ballerina pink across Mother Ocean.
• 6:51am  No sunrise, no burst of intense light energy today.  Only sunspots as Sunbella peeked between the clouds, glowing and throwing out a splash of gold on the waves, then disappearing under the quilt.  Maybe she'll come out again later.
• 62 degrees and humid, barely a breeze.  Felt wonderful to walk the beach with my coffee.  Peg sat on the sand and snapped pictures. 

Goofing 11/20/11

• Strolled the Marsh Walk at Murrell's Inlet with Aunt Peg.  She loves bird watching, and pelicans and herons and seagulls and lots of birds we couldn't identify were out to greet us.  Such a gorgeous warm day to have the marsh breeze blowing in our hair as we scoot over the water, so we tried to wrangle our way onto one of the many big boats docked there -- even a little boat would have been fine -- but no luck.
• Grabbed some lunch at Applebee's, then walked the boardwalk around Plyer Park and played Skeeball.  I could've spent $20 playing without even realizing it I was having so much fun.  Gave our winning coupons to a little dude that wasn't having much Skeeball luck.  That felt good.
• I went beachwalking down to Springmaid Pier.  Saw an older couple sitting close in their shorty beach chairs, pouring up a cold beer into plastic cups and clinking a toast to each other.  Made me miss my Special Guy even more than I have been anyway.  Told them, "Now that's the way to spend a Sunday afternoon.  Who needs football?" and the man said, "We are so happy to be here, we've come every year for 11 years."  A lovely couple making special beach memories their own way.  That's the way to live.

    

Sunday sunrise 11/20/11

     Peg and I got out to walk the sunrise.  50s felt so warm compared to the past two mornings in the 30s.  Another double bonus sunrise.  A tall wall of clouds was on this side of the horizon.  Sunbella peeked from under the wall, looking like a molten orange pancake, then disappeared.  She made her way up past the wall and exploded onto Mother Ocean in golden waves.  Hundreds of sea gulls stood in groups along the smooth sand of low tide, still and reverant.  They must've been having church.  When their service was over, they flew up in an ethereal swirl.  The beach was alive with sunrise walkers today, smiling and exchanging hearty "good mornings."  How can you have a bad day when you get to greet Sunbella and Mother Ocean right on the beach?
     Even though you couldn't be here to live this magnificent morning with us, I'm wishing you the best kind of day in your world. 

The dog show 11/19/11

• My "dog" didn't win the dog show.  In fact, I felt like I'd been beat like a dog when it was over as boulders pounded my temples.  The first critique was supportive, otherwise I would've peed my pants I was so nervous.  After that it went downhill -- why did you do this?  why didn't you do that?  how can you change voice from first person POV to an unreliable narrator? -- How can I WHAT?  And you can't defend yourself during these workshops.  That's a rule.  Just listen, ask for clarification if needed.  Would it have been smartassy to ask if they were speaking English?  It seemed so, so I didn't.  Guess I was already feeling under fire.  Got another rejection email this morning.  A very nice one -- your work is not something I feel I could represent but I hope you find an agent that represents your work with the passion it deserves -- but a rejection nonetheless.  
• So my brain was deep fried after all that.  Had a bite of lunch and took myself beachwalking to let the ocean breeze blow the critical crap out of my head.  Some brave kids were splashing and screaming in the water.  I gravitated to the unoccupied sand so I'd only hear the wash of the waves.  Horses were out on the beach again today, so I was careful to step over the deep hoof prints and plop.  Saw a fuzzy black and white house slipper of a dog on a leash whose hind end kept slipping into the hoof craters.  He had to kick his back paws to get out.  That made me laugh.  It helped. 

Double bonus morning 11/19/11

     Silver contrails stitched the sky.  Mother Ocean slid ice blue onto the sand.  Sunbella slipped up between two strands of blue-gray clouds, disappeared, then rose again full and dazzling to warm the 41 degree morning  -- double bonus!  The day begins.
     Supposed to warm into the 60s today.  Bring it on.  We've got beachwalking to do and the Christmas tree lighting to watch tonight at Broadway at the Beach.  I'm headed out soon to Surfside for my writer's group.  Can't wait.  First time for the group to critique my writing.  I'm excited and anxious.  Feel like my dog is being judged in the Westminster Kennel Club dog show.

Friday 11/18/11

• Went to a matinee of "Happy Feet 2" at the Grand 14 at Market Common -- UGH!  Maybe you have to be six years old to make sense of the movie, because it didn't to me:  we're in peril . . . we're saved! . . . we're in peril again . . . no wait, we're saved!  They threw in some happy feet dancing and an inspirational song in between all the drama.  Wore me plum out.  But, the penguins were mighty cute and the seats were comfy.  Funny, there was maybe 15 people in the whole theater and only one child!
• Strolled out Springmaid Pier and watched the anglers catch one little wrigling silvery fish after another.  Sometimes two on one cast.  Aunt Peg loves fishing.  The brisk breeze slapped us in the face.  The only relief was to face directly at the sun with the wind at our backs.  Got to talk to my SGD from the pier, that warmed me up.
• Crawling under my comforter for a nap warmed me up nicely, too.  Quick workout on the treadmill, and we were off for a night's adventure.
• Margaritas and spicy food at Mexico Lindo -- mine was deliciosa again.  Caught "The South's Grandest Christmas Show" at Alabama Theater.  I felt like a young chick among the white-haired crowd.  Beaucoup talent among the cast and band.  The sets and decorations, especially for the homey last half of the show, snuck a bit of Christmas spirit into my heart.  I even teared up at the song for our military -- I lied, I was crying like a waterfall.  Good day.  Good night.  I'm thankful for Peg to share it with.         

Sharing a sunrise 11/18/11

• 6am  The tropical rainbow glows in a tight band across the horizon, backlighting snippets of clouds that my aunt Peg says dance like Kokopelli.  Mother Ocean is platinum pudding in the 34 degree air, slipping slow and still onto the sand.
• 6:25am  The colors soften and spread up the sky.
• 6:50am  Here she comes.  Sunbella lights one cloud on fire, shooting five orange-pink cyclones of wisp in her wake.  She breaks hot orange on the skyline.  The clouds melt in her presence.  The day begins.
• Peg got a kick out of sunrise watching.  Even bundled up in purple pajamas, fuzzy jacket, and beach towel.

Hanging together 11/17/11

     The sky is locked up tight with clouds, not even a peep hole to see Sunbella's rising through this morning.  So I'll tell you what we did last night.  After the unpacking and grocery/what-not getting, my aunt Peg and I hot-tubbed with two Canadian golfers.  Funny, they drive over into North Carolina every day to play, don't even play here in Myrtle Beach, with supposedly the most golf courses in one place in the world.  They say they like the courses over there.
     We hit the indoor pool to cool off, then swam outside.  Floating in warm water with just a bit of cool in the night air, so relaxing.  Thought a bird was dousing me, but it had started sprinkling.  We made it back to my place and were pajamaed and sipping wine by the time the storm hit.  My first time seeing lightening illuminate the churning ocean.  Powerful.  An hour of "Harry's Law," and we were ready to snooze.  Good day.

It comes, it goes 11/16/11

• Last night:  Warm fog swamped the air and did a dance of veils in the flood lights.  Then it ate a 15-story hotel two blocks away and everything beyond.  My world felt small but cozy.
• Today:  6:30am  Steel blue and peachy-pink are the morning colors, touching sleepy drifting pillow clouds, the thick fortress of clouds guarding the horizon and melting into the ocean, and the break of sky between.  The heavy haze stopped time, squelched the sunrise.
• My aunt flies in today for a visit.  I get a hug . . . I get a hug!
• By the time I got out of the shower (7:35am), Sunbella had blasted through the muck of clouds and was shining bright.  The day begins.
• 8:25am  The soup is back and Ocean Blvd north of the Landmark resort is gone from sight.  Mr. Fog, don't screw with my aunt getting here safely or we'll have to tangle.  And the wrath of Roni ain't pretty.
• Lots to do.  Gotta get busy.

Here's the answer 11/15/11

• Got a large sweet tea at McD's and took myself to Chapin Park to write.  It's the loveliest spot with a large pavilion, benches and tables and porch swings scattered about shaded by mile-high pines and pin oaks.  The sand is covered in pine needles and soft leaves and sweet potato-sized pine cones.  Two City workers wiped the tables down with disinfectant  -- odd when a park smells like a hospital -- and emptied the trash, greeting me with a "how you, Ma'am?" and then blessing me three times when I had a sneezing fit.  Such nice men.  I was watching cars go by on Business 17 when the Public Works workers started putting giant green wreaths with golf ball-sized red lights onto the street light poles.  That's odd, too, sitting in a park when it's 75 degrees, smelling the ocean, and seeing Christmas decorations going up.  Guess I'd better get used to it.
• I was wrong about not beachwalking.  Too extraordinary (my SGD says that so well with his fake British accent) an afternoon to stay inside:  warm filtered sun, coolish breeze, haze draping the pier in a gauze curtain and making the north beach disappear past the bend.  My hurt heel felt like I was walking on half a golf ball, but I made it.  The low tide gave me lots of solid sand to walk on.  The beach was nearly deserted, and I relished the quiet.  I still have an hour or so of daylight.  Think I'll go work on the oceanfront deck -- wearing shoes this time.

What will the rest of the day bring? 11/15/11

• The east-facing windows glowed pink when I woke up.  Time to get to the balcony for sunrise watching.  Potty first.  Potty won't flush.  Dayum (Southern-speak for damn).  The thingamajig was all wadded up around the flusher arm.  Lucky I brought tools.  With tweezers, wrench, screwdriver and much cussing, I got her flushing better than she has since I've been here.  Having to handle toilet doodads that are both rusty and slimy before coffee does not make Roni happy.  And my hands still felt gross after three scrubbings.
• Hobbled to the balcony in time for Sunbella's rising.  The air was thick with salt and dew, casting Mother Ocean and Sunbella in soft focus.  So warm I didn't need a sweater.  Perfect for beachwalking.  But no, Ms. Dainty impaled her heel on a stick stuck up from a deck board yesterday, and the wound is now swollen up like a tick on a yard dog.  No beachwalking for me today.

Words aren't enough 11/14/11

     Mother Ocean roared loud this morning, churning wave on top of wave.  The sky woke wild with color:  an orange cyclone; zig zags and islands of rouge; slate gray fingers laced in Pepto pink; all surrounded by an aqua wash.  A narrow cloud wall commanded the horizon, forming a dense jungle of trees.  The ocean welcomed the color and blushed.  Every second the shades and shapes morphed until I ran out of words and could only watch, remind myself to breathe.  A dolphin soared out of the water so close a swimmer could jump on and ride.  If there were any.  Sunbella rose from the jungle and slid up the cyclone, taming the wild sky.  The coolest sunrise ever.  Until tomorrow?  The day begins.

Worshipping my way 11/13/11

• Sunbella was already up, past the tangle of clouds, when I made it to the balcony.  Her energy bathed my face in warmth, like palms cradling my cheeks.  I drank it in until she drifted past the balcony.  The day begins.
• Took my coffee and notebook to the beach deck and got in a little writing.  Had a good chat with my Special Guy D.  He works nights, so he was saying "have a fun day, Sweetheart" while I was saying "good night and sleep well, Sweetie."  It's weird but we make it work.
• The nearly high-tide beach was alive with people, some barefooting in the waves, most snatching up the sea bling Mother Ocean was slapping on the sand.  I joined them.  The air was thick and salty in my nose, no breeze to dilute it.  I walked north to Withers Swash Boardwalk at 4th Ave South.  50 degrees never felt so good.
• Walked back down Ocean Blvd.  I could still see the ocean between resorts but couldn't hear her.  Only the splish splash of hotel fountains and pools, the whoosh of cars rolling by, the occasional flap of Clemson Tiger and Carolina Gamecock flags pridefully perched atop those cars.  Walked 32 blocks, 40 minutes start to finish.  No matter what else happens, it has already been a good day.

Saturday night blues and more 11/12/11

     Ten Toes Up did not disappoint.  Dead Dog Saloon's glassed in patio was standing room only, and lots of the crowd appeared to be groupies.  Thought I was going to see a blues band, but they straddled musical genres -- from a countryfied tune that got the two-steppers on the floor to straight-up down-low blues, from a funked up "Summertime" to the Allman Brother's "One Way Out" that had the oldsters shaking bootay and air guitaring -- as smooth as your oldest pair of Levis.  BJ was totally one with his guitar and lap steel.  Charles brought on the baseline that pumped up the soul of every tune.  Adam and Animal blended their drum grooves, complementing not competing.  And Adam bent those harp notes so intense I thought my heart would break.  And the vocals didn't suck, either.  Kidding.  They were awesome.  Come out and see Ten Toes Up or check out their website at http://www.tentoesup.com/.   You'll have a new favorite live band.  Guaranteed.

Super Saturday 11/12/11

• Went to Art in the Park at Market Commons.  Loved looking at all the local artist's wares, from drawings of the way Myrtle used to look when the Pavilion was the diva of the beach to garden tchotchkes to jewelry galore.  Found some early beachy Christmas gifts, a serendipitous bonus!  Got a coffee at Barnes & Noble and people watched, one of my favorite things.
• From my balcony:  The seagulls were thick on the beach, flapping and squawking "more, more, more" as people tossed bread in the air.  They toted their beakfulls to the shallow ponds of low tide to eat in private.
• Sunbella called me out for a beachwalk.  The way-out low tide left the beach more naked than I'd ever seen it.  Reminded me of those Kardashian chicks at a red carpet event.  If the mounds of jiggly jellyfish had been out, it would've been a dead ringer.
• Anyway, the exposed sand brought out hordes of shellseekers stuffing their pockets and metal detectives scanning every inch of beach for treasure.  The only thing I was tempted to pick up was part of a denture.  I'm guessing top front teeth.  Five of them.  I'm also guessing someone won't be biting into an apple anytime soon.  I left the teeth.  In case that someone comes back for them.
• I bowed to Palmetto boy, fronds sticking up all around the top of his baseball cap and waving in his hands like he was blessing the beach.  He blushed and covered his face with fronds.  He may need the blessing because the Palmetto is South Carolina's state tree and probably illegal to be toting around.
• What a super day this has been.  And I'm headed out later to hear Ten Toes Up play at Dead Dog's in Murrell's Inlet.  Should be a great show.

Saturday sunrise 11/12/11

Mother Ocean is a skating rink backlit by a tropical rainbow.  The pelicans should be gliding over her glassy swirls and sworls instead of splatting in for a fish breakfast.  There is no murky gray preamble before Sunbella tops the horizon, glazing the rink in a wash of gold shimmers.  The Saturday morning still is broken only by lapping waves waking the sand.  The day begins.