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.