Coming Home

Moving around from place to place is so trying. I spent a week back in the mountains, and I think it slightly confused my brain. Now I'm back on the coast, back to the beautiful, peaceful Neuse.

Rain, rain, rain. Bands of rain are sweeping the far bank, in that photo. We've had rain almost daily for weeks.
One of the first things I wanted to do upon returning home was go for a bike ride -- before the rain sent me back to the house! And look what I found! A eucalyptus tree! I'm so happy -- not all locations can grow a tree like that. You need warm, subtropical weather. Now, whenever we get settled into a more permanent house situation, I want to plant a eucalyptus tree. I haven't had one since we lived in south Alabama.

Last night Adam made us salads. Our new shopping/cooking regimen is working well. We shop daily, buying what's marked down to save on money, and driving much less to save on gas. He's enjoying the creativity of it. This is a lettuce salad with green onions, tomatoes, boiled egg, grilled chicken, and his homemade corn tortilla chips. Yes, he cuts corn tortillas into wedges and deep fries them in oil. They are better than any chips I've ever had from the store. And note the one, fun chip -- a little pitcher he made with a pouring spout, for the salad dressing. Is that fun or what?

So cute --

And it worked~ And then I ate the little pitcher :)

At the farmer's market this morning we discovered a large snapping turtle in the huge rain puddle near the harbor. From tail tip to nose tip, he was probably 2 1/2 feet long. A whopper, in my experience of turtles, but locals here say they get much larger in Oriental.

Folks stopped to observe him.

It was hard to get a good shot of him, underwater. As the puddle diminished, he went away somewhere.