The many faces of Jackson, over the course of an hour+ video call this morning. I just couldn’t choose one among the dozen shots…

And in addition to starting off the day with such a lovely, fun call from Joe and Jackson, it’s nearly 70 degrees today!

Today’s date holds some significance for me, and perhaps for a few others. Thirty-five years ago was the day I first lost someone in my immediate family, in this case my dad. He was 62, had retired just a few weeks prior, and was with mom and a brother in Florida, setting up their condo for the years ahead. Mom lived another ~25 years in that space, and made the most of her years.

I was 25 when dad died, having moved to CA for grad school, married the year before and, to use current parlance, in the early stages of ‘adulting.’ Definitely learning by mistake, but definitely learning, I was looking forward to getting to know my folks and siblings as a ‘grown-up’. In time, of course, that’s happened–with all but dad.

As an adult I’ve come to know the dad I knew growing up, rather ...

A few spring-like days in store for us this week. Today low 60s, tomorrow high 60s. We’re heading back to G’ville for a few appointments tomorrow morning, and I think I’ll squeeze in a ride, since it’s so lovely out.

Nothing remarkable to note; all good, work fine, feeling well. Simply appreciating the beauty around us here. (And doing some flood insurance research for updating…).

The weekend was full; ECU audition day (all remote, of course) on Saturday morning, then the afternoon was an extended Zoom-interview with Chris Grymes of Open G Records. We’d had a podcast-chat a few years back, but he wanted to do another in prep for the ‘release’ of recordings of four of my pieces next month. I’m sure the recordings will be good, as the sessions were great, the draft edits I heard were super, and the audio wizard who’s putting these together is just incredible. So while I’m not feeling that any delivery-date is guaranteed, I’m told that I’ll have the finals in hand by March 8, with an official ‘release’ on March 15. That will involve the art & liner notes, availability on different outlets, etc.

Beyond that, jus...

Another great few days at the beach; productive, fulfilling.

A blissfully calm night. Seems we’ll have more difficult weather over the coming days, but we really needed a good night’s sleep and, thankfully, we got it. Reading/hearing the headlines out of Texas right now makes me feel particularly lucky for our relatively mild weather.

This morning’s walk with Frankie provided a good reminder of what we love about being here in Surf City.

Pattie driving to New Bern this afternoon to receive her 2nd vaccine. A little nervous after hearing about some folks’ flu-ish days post-2nd vaccine, but are prepared with tea, honey, Bourbon… Really glad she’ll soon be fully vaccinated, and looking forward to my ‘category’ getting its turn. All in due time.

Onward to prep for today’s teaching, and trying to sneak in a few minutes of writing…and h...

Back in Surf City, after a quick weekend back in Greenville.

Relatively calm weather here this morning, after a terrifically violent night. It felt like a hurricane, with very strong winds, pounding rains, and a very loud-roaring ocean. [Frankie didn’t care for it, at all.]

It was clearly much worse about 40 miles south of us, where an EF-3 tornado touched down, killing 3, injuring 10, leaving many homeless. Just horrible, and evidently the tornado–a very odd occurance for this time of year–“came up in a heartbeat,” giving no one a chance to get any warning at all.

___________

The weekend trip to G’ville was largely driven by my desire to take a scuba class...

The days start early here in Surf City, as in Greenville, but it’s such a pleasure to was the sun rise over the water. Frankie’s now pretty much settled in here, comfortable with the sights and sounds/noises, and sleeping through the night (mostly). Whereas on the first day she really was skittish and wanted to be held the entire time, by now she’s found lots of favorite comfortable spots, and that’s both nice and helpful.

The furniture is all back in place, most everything is cleaned to Pattie’s satisfaction, my office is fully set up and functioning. I’ve been getting all of my teaching done without any technical glitches or lags, so being here is working out in terms of meeting ECU-responsibilities.

About 30 minutes before beginning teaching this morning, was happy to get a c...

Surf City, NC

So, we packed up almost everything we’d need to relocate to Surf City, and got here at about 1pm yesterday. Lots and lots to do here, as it’s a swept-clean construction site, but the construction inside is 98% done. A few workers will be by on Monday to finish up some small things (painting quarter-round, other finish work), but we’re definitely livable.

Yesterday we did lots of cleaning upstairs, assuring that we could sleep and wash. Got upstairs bedrooms/bathrooms set up, from beds to rugs to curtains. The going was a bit slow, as Frankie is definitely a bit unsure about this change of surroundings. Her first night sleeping here wasn’t very easy, as the roar of the ocean, and the rain against the windows get her on high alert.

We got alot done, but have tha...

Greenville, looking south to Surf City, NC.

The day started in the best way, with a call from Jackson:

It’s pretty darned cold up there around Jackson, so there’s not too much outdoor time many days. But they all seem to be doing fine. The pix above make clear exactly what brings Jackson’s biggest smiles–the view of Frankie!

_________

Then we pack up the best we could for a relocating trip to Surf City. Of course we forgot a few things, but we’ll retrieve those when I head back to G’ville next weekend for a diving class (learning about a full-face mask–just curious).

So, onward to cleaning and setting up as much as we can before collapsing fro...