This little one escaped from her house and showed up on our porch to visit.
I caught Ryan’s crud this week but luckily not Covid. Small graces. While I was resting I made a few crafts. If you want your team and colors let me know, $20 shipped for a set.
Lisa Frank and Orly have a new collaboration. Childhood nostalgia.
Ems tub paints are the hardest to get clean, probably my fault for letting it sit in there. My advice wash it off that night.
Snagged some Krispy Kreme and got our free vaccine doughnuts. I miss KK so much!
Happy weekend! Enjoy some college football! I’m so excited it feels like I can’t even describe how excited I am.
This week flew by. Last week Ryan was sick and we both got tested for Covid just in case. It was negative so thanks vaccine, especially since I had an exposure. But turn out just the crud and now I have it. So continue to be diligent about those mask and hand washing. Don’t forget your flu vaccine and pneumonia vaccine if you qualify.
I worked 2.5 nightshift at the beginning of the week. But still managed to love on some baby turtles.
So many people are feeling burned out and restless or paralyzed with the weight of the world currently. It’s a strong season of both/and. We can be both sad/heartbroken at the state of the world AND be grateful for the littlest insignificant things in life such as the start of college football, cheese boards, and baby turtles. Because the little insignificant things in life are in fact some of the most important. Drawing in gratitude and joy will bring in more gratitude and joy. So friends in a time of great pain don’t forget to seek everyday magic.
I met with my counselor this week and in such a season of unknown she reminded me to get grounded back into a routine (so hard what is that) and practice daily meditation. Another thing I have tried to focus on is what’s a little or big task that will be helpful for my future self. So tonight I got gas, I could have put it off one more day but I didn’t. I also ran to the grocery and grabbed a few things for dinner tomorrow and a super easy dinner Sunday.
Penelope came over to snuggle with me one day.
So this weekend remember find something beautiful, even if it’s just grocery store flowers, and do one task your future self will thank you for.
I few flowers from the garden. Not many flowers this year. Some of my seeds didn’t take but I should be able to get them going for the next few months with our weather.
My aerogarden. Soon I can have a salad.
I’ve started a system to organize my photos so ask me how that’s going in a few weeks.
No cute baby turtles on the beach this week but I did find some good birds. Ruddy Turnstones are not ones I commonly see.
Took a much needed walk with a good friend this week.
I made a different version of the feta tiktok pasta. This is what we call crack cheese pasta because my family refers to Boursin garlic and herb cheese as crack cheese. I take two crack cheeses and grape tomatoes or some tomato sauce put that in a glass dish and bake while your pasta cooks. You just want the cheese warmed and tomatoes roasted/warm/splitting. Mix in a little half and half or heavy cream and add the pasta. Done and delish.
Holy Fridays have snuck up on me for oh a month now. I’ll have to do a July recap soon, but for now let’s just stick to this week.
It’s been filled with work for Ryan and a major migraine. Poor thing. It was rough.
I had some work and visited a bit with family who were in the area.
Of course the best was the little turtle just waiting for me at the top of the nest on Tuesday. Day made. You know I’m a baby nurse truly neonatal intensive care in my heart so like there’s something about baby turtles too! Luckily I got to love on two little ones Tuesday.
And remember I have been trained for this. So it’s not safe to pick up baby turtles on the beach. You can give them your germs and they can give you theirs. If you see little ones alive on the beach please stay with them to scare off the crabs and birds but call the professionals (and yes that’s someone more official and professional than me). Also, please don’t use my photos without permission.
Big plans in the works. Sadly another year without international travel BUT Hawaii feels international. PS: we are both fully vaccinated and have fully refundable flights should we need to abandon plans.
I am making a few of these personalized bracelets to support my crafting habits. If you want one let me know. Baby names, mantras, words of the year and sports teams are common.
PS-college football is around the corner and I literally can NOT wait! We were going to go to the first game in ATL but now don’t feel like we should be inside a stadium full of people. Much to my crushing heartache.
This past weekend we visited family and friends that are family in Atlanta.
I ventured out for some fairy hair and adventure. I swung by the Lilly P store to look for matching outfits for me and Em for an upcoming party. Nothing I loved. I did grab some Antico and there just happened to be a Jeni’s next to the one I went to!
We had three nest this Turtle Tuesday with two amazing king beautiful crawls.
Home grown tomatoes on a sandwich and on a salad! So good.
The rest of the week was filled with work. Ready for my baby bug to visit Tate Camp next week!
Happy weekend! June has been nothing short of crazy and good. So rather than try to go back and break it up week by week I’ll just do an overview.
We traveled to Cali and Dallas. We had an epic time gazing at Sequoias and whale watching. A full trip memory post coming soon. We had an intentional extended stop over in Dallas for sister and brothers time as well as tacos.
We headed home. I worked a few days. Had a Tuesday with NO turtles (maybe it was the tropical storm that came from the gulf/land out into the Atlantic). Then headed back to Dallas for a family weekend. Although we missed some of our significant others it was lovely to have all the Copley Girls in one place.
I went back home, worked barely got unpacked and then we headed to ATL to see some of Ry’s besties. The same ones that visited us in Beaufort and we saw in Dallas but we went over a year with out seeing them so we are playing catch up.
Phew. I’m tired just thinking about it. It’s safe to say we are back to pre Covid traveling. Thanks science and vaccines!!
My little garden is limping by with the help of a neighbor and summer rainstorms during our travels. Ryan added another olive and a pomegranate tree to the line up for my upcoming birthday. I told him now we need a house so I have more yard for my plant babies. There there really isn’t room for them.
Happy weekend! Although it feels like our weekend is winding down I know it’s just beginning for most.
We have had a fun and people we love packed two weeks.
We celebrated Em,Teddy and Ryan’s birthday last week. Unsure if anyone should be allowed to marry into the family or birth babes with birthdays from about May 8-28. We are pretty booked solid.
While visiting I also met one of my besties babies finally thanks to Covid. We had a blast with the whole family.
I try to grab some pics of Em around her birthday every year and during summer. Be still my heart.
We saw a snake on the beach last week during turtle patrol but sadly no turtles. Not my idea of a good time or preferred wildlife.
This weeks turtle patrol adventures were spectacular though.
Growing up I’d go on sunrise walks with my Grammie or dad. I don’t remember any one else getting up with us too much. We would seek shells and often I stole my dads old film camera to capture the sunrises and shrimp boats. Later I was upgraded to a panorama film camera of my own.
We also always trolled the beach for turtle tracks and looked for the sea turtle conservation volunteers. We would watch and eagerly learn as they gathered data and moved nest. I always dreamed one day in retirement or maybe just a summer when I was able to come volunteer myself.
In 2019 we moved here which took much courage and bravery on my part but there’s always been something about Hunting Island. Even though I hadn’t even officially fully moved here I made sure I scoured the website to find out when and how to be a sea turtle volunteer. I had a blast my first year. Held my first hatchling and was even more invested than before. 2020 was a different year but this year I was able to be a prober. I know some of you have no clue what this means- I get to analyze a crawl, take the robe stick and try to locate the eggs. Then they will be marked and caged or moved with lots of rules and regulations if needed above the high tide line.
Last Tuesday I was about to successfully probe and find not one but two nest. I don’t know why and I can’t really describe it or help you understand unless you too are in fact a crazy sea turtle person. But needless to say the magic of Hunting Island was extremely potent that morning.
This week we also had Ryan’s friend and family visit. We had a fun boating day with lots of dolphin sightings on Wednesday. We were able to hang out with the smallest family member while mom and dad had a conference.
He loved the beach and uncle Ryan’s crazy driving.
The Summer garden is unfolding. I harvested quite a bit of basil.
A couple days work then an adventure next week. It’s our favorite kind of adventure!
Happy Weekend! Last Friday got away from me and I didn’t get this out.
Turtle season has officially started. Hunting Island had its first turtle activity today which was a non nesting crawl.
I hope everyone’s Mother’s Day was something of what you hoped for.
The past two Tuesdays I’ve been lucky enough to find some teeth.
Ryan’s parents came to visit and camp at Hunting Island. We explored the south end of the island a bit and I got so burned it’s embarrassing and I’m still peeling.
Sunrises on the regular enhance my life.
We are visiting Em and family for May birthdays this weekend. We have already had Ethiopian and Indian food. Exciting diverse food is something Beaufort lacks.
The garden is entering summer mode.
I have had some fun in the kitchen lately. Homemade bread, hummus, pesto and salsa. We made grilled cheese on homemade bread with mozzarella and fresh pesto. We will definitely add that to the summer rotation.
Happy Weekend! I’m most excited that turtle season starts tomorrow!
Last week I got too busy and did not get this written in time.
I visited this sweet angel for a few days. We had dinner with friends, did nails and homework. She wanted to match Tate of course.
My sister, aunt and uncle also came for a visit! What a treat it is to have people visit. Yay for science and vaccines. We had a picnic and took our rental dog with us. She enjoyed being carried. In her defense we did walk far for her little legs. We visited the Cypress Wetlands to look for alligators. We also found some nesting birds.
If you need a educational, fascinating and mellow show, then Secrets of the Whales on Disney+ is great.
We took this old girl out for a ride finally and got her cleaned up for summer.
Penelope spent another day with us and clearly we are so fun we exhausted her or so boring she couldn’t stay awake. Unsure how comfortable that is but she stayed like that for a bit.
The new bridge to Hunting Island is open. It’s nice and wide. But I will miss the old bridge that carried me over to my favorite island all my life until yesterday.
It took three trips to Home Depot, two trips to Lowe’s, two orders from the internet and one return but we finally have a headboard. No more losing my pillows into the bay window.
If you need a way to elevate your Monday nights might I suggest having a cheese plate for dinner. Easily thrown together and yummy.
It’s strawberry season in the Lowcountry. Be sure to stop by Dempseys or Barefoot Farms.
The Barefoot Mermaid 