ANOTHER GOOD QUOTE FOR YOU, LACED WITH POSITIVITY AND HOPE

I heard these lines spoken a long time ago. I can’t remember from whom but I think I heard them in a movie from one of its characters. I had to get my notebook and quickly jot them down. It is a pity I didn’t remember the actual production but it was an engrossing part and I was busy following the storyline (not recently, several years ago). They are a variation of words from Beethoven's ‘Ode to Joy’. I found my old notebook again, saw the words and now you are seeing them too. I thought they were and still are beautiful. 

I took the photo several years ago. Sanderlings are my favorite beachcomber! For our international friends who would like to translate the quote on my photograph, it says: “All men will become brothers under gentle wings.”

Short and sweet today! Thanks for looking and I hope your day is a great one. 

MY NIECE'S SUNRISE PHOTO AND A POEM

When we took a trip down to North Carolina, my niece took this photo on 4-16-25 at sunrise. I thought it was gorgeous and I asked her if I could share it on here. She was happy to say yes. Thank you my sweet, you are greatly missed!

"The tide recedes but leaves behind

bright sea shells on the sand.

The sun goes down, but gentle

warmth still lingers on the land.

The music stops, and yet it echoes

on in sweet refrains…

for every joy that passes,

something beautiful remains…"

and the sun will rise again.

~author unknown~

AN OLD FAVORITE - LEAF ON THE SAND

Another old photo. This was found on a beach in Florida on our last visit there several years ago.  An old leaf full of glistening sand.

The beach is full of treasures not necessarily made of gold.  The fun is in the hunt for them, to open our eyes we just have to look outside the box. 

A little like life I think.
  

~~~~~~~

Thanks so much for dropping by.

I wish you all a great day!

A TRIP DOWN TO DOWN TO NORTH CAROLINA - PART 2

No Monday Morning recipe today as I have quite a few posts to share with you. I can honestly say we were on the go the whole time we were together, and didn’t make anything except for a very simple meal on Easter Sunday. 

Every day we gave them a few choices as to what they would like to do. We went to the National Air and Space Museum-Steven F. Udvar Hazy, where Gregg deposited me at the cafe for another sit-down. I drank a cup of coffee and Gregg joined me shortly afterwards. We waited for a while until our family had a good chance to walk around and joined us. For me it was fun seeing all the activity, people and families going back and forth. I will share the photos they took eventually.  

We gave them three days to relax and then traveled to North Carolina, staying with Gregg's sister and husband. It took us about 7 to 7-1/2 hours to get there. A good journey considering. It was so kind of them opening up their home to us all and thanks to them, we had a great time.Gregg's sister loves collecting shells and sees the beauty even in the broken ones. I agree as I thought those displayed in this vase were delightful. She has more upstairs, whole ones. She also gave me two conch shells a few years ago that are still treasures on our family room bookshelf.

I found this online. You can enlarge all photos for better detail.

One of the days we found ourselves at Bodie Island Lighthouse.

 Our niece with Uncle Gregg.

Here she is again.

I am including three maps showing the location of the lighthouse.

The current Bodie Island Lighthouse (Bodie is pronounced 'body') is the third that has stood in this vicinity of Bodie Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and was built in 1872.

It stands 156 feet (48 m) tall and is located in the Roanoke Sound side of a portion of peninsula that is the first part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The lighthouse is just south of Nags Head, a few miles before Oregon Inlet.

It was renovated from August 2009 to March 2013, and was made climbable by the public. There are 219 steps that spiral to the top. 

The 170-feet structure is one of only a dozen remaining tall, brick tower lighthouses in the United States, and one of the few with an original first-order Fresnel lens to cast its light. 

You can read a lot more of its history at this website, which is where I got the above information.

On the itinerary? A sunrise! They got up at 0-dark-thirty. I again stayed at home as not only wasn't I able to walk too far at all but walking on the sand in the dark would have been an accident waiting to happen, so I was very happy to get a peck on the cheek from Gregg upon which I slide back under those nice, warm, cozy covers. His sister took them to the beach. I enjoyed the conversation later telling me all about it.

Our dear niece, photo taken by Gregg...

and another he took of the rest of the family watching the sun appear over the horizon.

With Uncle Gregg again.

Brother and sister who always enjoy each other’s company. They are looking forward to getting together with their other brother not too far down the road.

These photos were taken by various family members. Looks like they had a wonderful time.

That's all for Part 2 and more to follow.

Thanks for looking and I hope your day is a great one.

BIRD PHOTOS TAKEN BY ONE OF THE FAMILY

Gregg and I always enjoy getting photos from his sister.  She lives near the ocean and there is a lot of wildlife in her area.  She took many photos of birds.

She said a long time ago that I could put any of them on my blog.  Today, as you can see, I framed two.  She is very kind letting me share these, especially as we are unable to travel right now.  Her photos are bringing us both a lot of smiles.

I will be putting together another post soon. These are shared with many thanks to my sister-in-law.

Thanks for looking and enjoy your day.

ANSWERS TO YESTERDAY'S QUESTIONS

Question 1:  
Who was the inventor of the vacuum cleaner?

Answer:
Ives W. McGaffey devised the first vacuum cleaner in 1869.  He called his crank-operated machine The Whirlwind.  In 1901 Englishman Hubert Cecil Booth invented a large, horse-drawn unit powered by a gasoline engine, with long hoses fed through the windows.  J. Murray Spangler of Canton, Ohio, invented the first functioning portable electric vacuum cleaner in 1907.  It was built by the Hoover Company of New Berlin, Ohio, who rolled out their first electric Model O in 1908.



Question 2: 
Who invented blue jeans?

Answer:
Jacob Davis, a Nevada tailor, came up with the idea of placing metal rivets on the denim at the points of strain.  In 1873 he and Levi Strauss patented the process.


Question 3: 
Did Elisha Graves Otis invent the elevator?

Answer:
No, hoists already existed.  But in 1853, Otis invented the elevator brake so that they wouldn't fall - obviously, a necessary improvement.


Question 4:
Who invented the computer mouse?

Answer:
Among Douglas C. Engelbart's two dozen patents, is one for a "K-Y Position for a Display System," which is a prototype for the mouse.  Although the device was invented in 1968, Engelbart's brainchild was not popularized until Apple used it in 1984.

AN EARLY MORNING...

“An early morning walk is a blessing for a whole day.”

~Henry David Thoreau~

FENCES AROUND THE WORLD

Photo taken near Corolla in North Carolina last year.  

If you would like to see other fences around the world, or join in with your own, you will find the link here. Thank you for hosting Gosia.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope that wherever you are in this world, you will have a happy, healthy and safe weekend. 

THIS WEEK'S FENCE POST

On one of our trips to the Outer Banks. 

~Forgotten~

Thank you for hosting Gosia.  If you would like to see other Fences Around the World, or join in with your own, you will find the link here.

WEEK OF QUOTES - HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked and that you will have people to love and to like in return.  And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind."

~Neil Gaiman~

SISTER-IN-LAW'S MOONRISE SHOT

Gregg's sister recently sent this rather spectacular shot of the moon on a beach. I always enjoy seeing her photos and am grateful she doesn't mind me sharing here.  I have several more of her photos I would like to show you eventually.

COROLLA NORTH CAROLINA TRIP - 5TH DAY - 9-5-17 - PART 1 - SUNSET

Corolla, North Carolina Trip - Fifth Day - Part 1

Sunrise 
Wright Brothers' Memorial
Lost Colony

Tuesday, September 5th, 2017

It is now 6.50 p.m. and I am back at the house.  I got up today for the sunrise. Gregg almost had to see it on his own as he left before me, with me mumbling some poor excuse about being too tired.  I mumble things incoherently when I am almost all-the-way asleep.  However, after he left I could not bear the thought of him seeing that sunrise on his own.  I heard the door close and I had immediate regret, so I kicked my lazy butt out of bed and dressed faster than I usually do, literally throwing clothes on, raced down to the beach without any thought of twisted ankles - I have a history - had momentary panic when I couldn't see him, but looked and looked and there he was.  

I snuck up behind him and gave him a big hug, experiencing a few seconds of thought that I might be hugging a complete stranger.  I have been known to rush up to someone - rarely thank the powers - pat them on the back, chatting away for what seems like an eternity,  thinking it was Gregg - that happened not so long ago - only to be greeted by a  strange face in complete shock at being accosted by, whomever he thought I was.  I don't blush too often but when I blush I am my own sunrise, and it was a wee bit dark that morning.  I needn't have worried.  Gregg saw me coming as he had a big smile on his face and he wasn't surprised.  He knows me better than I know myself at times.  A few minutes later here comes the sun.  Surreal!  

"Sunrise offered a very beautiful spectacle; the water was quite unruffled, but the motion communicated by the tides was so great that, although there was not a breath of air stirring, the sea heaved slowly with a grand and majestic motion."

~George Grey~

These are all Gregg's sunrise photos.  I have some of my own which I will share at a later date.

It was a lovely time at the beach in that very special light. There were a few other sun worshippers.   

As it got lighter we could see a familiar figure approaching.  It was Gregg's sister.

We had a nice time chatting for a while....

  

and watched as these two cute dogs trotted by. 

They were certainly enjoying their walk.

Gregg and his sister took a walk further up the beach and I meandered back to the house, taking lots of photos along the way,

 finding a few shells,

I thought this was some kind of seaweed and was very surprised to find that it was an egg casing for a skate.  I would like to spend more time at the beach to improve my knowledge of such things.

I came across the following here and here which gives more information.



I came across the remains of a horseshoe crab earlier.  I look forward to the day when I can see a live one.

I see traces of those ghost crabs again...

and occasionally see them scurrying down into burrows as I walk along the path back to the house.  

The dunes are high and you can't see the ocean when you reach the bottom level.  It is very private and incredibly pretty.  

There is a row of sea oats on the top of the dunes, and I believe this pink flower, quite tiny, is a perennial sand bean.  These and the other fauna keep me well occupied.  I am not sure what the spiky plant is.

I believe these are pokeweed berries.  There is an interesting article at this link.

We have a private entrance and there is no one else to disturb my thoughts, and no one awake in the house yet.  Once I had finished searching for wildflowers and ghost crabs, I found a comfortable chair and sat outside for a while enjoying the peacefulness of it all, looking up at the dunes and the pretty glow that still filled the sky.  It was a perfect time of the day to do this.  I stayed there for a half hour or so, before going in and getting ready for another day of sight-seeing.