Sunday, February 2, 2014

Outside at Last!

Today -- yes! finally! -- the breezes warmed, the sun shone, the snow melted, and all of Oriental went out their front doors and stretched their arms. Outside!
Not many boats braved the river. I saw three sailboats, this lone powerboat, and one kayak.
In Bayboro (the county seat) on Friday I found this Snow Mountain in a parking lot. I haven't seen one of these in years! All the local kids should have been playing "king of the mountain."
We did sell at the market yesterday. A very slow day, but we were so happy to feel sun and see friends, we didn't mind much.
And then ... suddenly, a ukelele choir:
They played adorably for about 30 minutes to a crowd standing in the middle of the street. They shared rhythm instruments with us and asked us to sing along.
Isn't this one cool?
In Oriental ... um, how do I say this nicely? Streets are for dogs and walkers and bikers and people carrying on conversations. They're only secondarily for cars. It's perfectly normal for pedestrians to require cars to sit and wait while four people and seven dogs finish visiting in the street. Boaters particularly take no notice of waiting drivers, who sit patiently while yarns are told.
These two girlies are regular features in Oriental. Yesterday they sported their Chinese New Year outfits. Oriental had a dragon run and a Chinese dinner and raffle at the marina.
But my bike ride was today, Sunday. The dog walkers were out in force.
I met a Labradoodle, a Weimaraner, and two Newfoundlands.
"Masters of Drool"
The Neuse was smooth and lovely. And although the sailors didn't venture forth, the ducks did.

11 comments:

Leslie said...

Your town sounds like so much fun. I would so enjoy visiting your market and seeing all the dogs! Goodness, it is hard to imagine since I live in a place were people in cars are rather rude and don't even bother to stop at stop signs. Those of us who do any walking are part frightened and part wanting to make a citizen's arrest. :P

mysteryhistorymom said...

You ventured out and now I'm blissfully stuck inside! We're snowed in and I couldn't be happier! A book in hand, a fire crackling and a warm cup of Pumpkin Spice coffee are in my near future.:) So glad you had a fun day at market. It looked delightful! Lori

Unknown said...

Love the oriental dog tunics ... so cute :-D

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Glad you had such a nice weekend.

Is that your 'stripey-as-we-go' blanket in your header? Very nice! Thank you for posting the link to the pattern. I've started it in two shades of purple and a blue. I'm on row 10 and it is fun crocheting.

Have a great week ~ FlowerLady

Dasha said...

You have changed the backdrop and header! Looks great. ;-)

Kezzie said...

Love this!!! So nice to see more pictures of glorious Oriental! Can we have a post about what's on your stall please?!!! I want a nosy closeup and talk about what's what!!x

Angela said...

It sounds to me like you live in a very fun, social place. I'm glad everyone got to get out and enjoy the sun.

Pom Pom said...

What fun! I love it that there are so many delights at the market. It's so good to get outside and see the river, isn't it?
It's cold here. Brrrrrrr.

Thistle Cove Farm said...

it looks like a very fine day. I miss urban life, a bit, and am anxious to move closer to an urban area so I can, at the very least, visit.

Ida said...

Great photos. Wow those people must have been cold out their playing. I did see some blue sky in your shots but it still looked cold. Loving those little dogs all dressed up, so cute.

Deborah Montgomery said...

I like your new header! So nice you were able to get outside and enjoy some sunshine. I'm looking at my back deck right now covered in about 2 feet of snow!