Rainy Day Memories

It's definitely a stay-at-home, curl-up-with-a-quilt-and-a-good-book kinda day here in Nashville!  Rain is expected all morning, and it's so hard for me to get motivated to do anything when it's so gray and dreary.  I understand a lot of you are also suffering under gray skies, so I thought perhaps I would brighten our spirits by sharing some memories of my recent trip to Myrtle Beach SC .... Be warned!  This is a very photo-heavy post!!!  

My mom and I used to go together for a week every year, but the last couple of years have been tough ones, and we were not able to go.  So you can imagine our excitement when we made our plans for this year!  We both love the beach in October - cool days, no crowds, and lots of quiet time together on the balcony overlooking that glorious ocean!

Most days it was a little too chilly or damp to sit out on the beach, so we spent a lot of time on the balcony, which was just fine with us.  I couldn't stop snapping pictures of the glorious nature on display .... and mother nature came with her "A" Game - she was fully prepared to impress us!

There were stunning sunrises ..... each one more beautiful than the last .... we held our breath, awestruck, in those first hushed moments as the world began to wake and come to life ....

Our amazing Creator, painting each day fresh and new ...

Delighting Himself in our delight ...

Mom and I played like a couple of beach bums - doing exactly whatever we wanted to do and nothing else!  The water was a little chilly, but we managed to get in a few lazy walks and some shelling most days ... the beach was practically deserted!





We found some of the most interesting shells I've ever found on a beach!

Many of them were absolutely perfect tiny little specimens!

We had one pretty good storm a few nights before we left - the water came up to the very edge of the beach ....



...  and it totally changed the shape of the shoreline...

BEFORE:

 AFTER.....

When the tide went out in that particular area, we found this deep crevice in the sand, maybe 3 or 4 feet deep, with a very deceptively wicked current.  There were tons of shells in that bank!

In the evenings, we both enjoyed our favorite activities ....

Mom is an awesome artist!!!!

I got LOTS done on this languishing UFO
I'll post my progress on this soon!!!

We spent the last day shopping at our favorite spots ...

I remembered this quilt shop from previous visits and was delighted to find it still there and doing very well!!!  They had quite a few nice pieces that managed to find their way into my cart =^..^=

I dropped Mom off at an Arts & Crafts store on my way to the quilt shop and noticed this in a little resevoir area as I was leaving the mall ....



I'm thinking - "Is that turtles???"  So of course I had to stop the car, right there in the road! - and get out to get a better look ....



Yep, sure enough, it was turtles!!!  There was a ring of some type out there just below the surface that they were sitting on.  I wonder if it was placed there for them specifically, or if they were just grabbing a spot to sit and enjoy the day?  Several of them jumped as they saw me approach.  I never knew I was such a dangerous looking character - apparently, my presence is enough to seriously terrify turtles!  You can see one swimming nearby at the very bottom right - I think he's hoping I'll go away quickly so he can hop back on safely!

We were happy to find a really wonderful and well-stocked used book store - a dying breed my friends!  Bookends was even more delightful inside than its window promised ...

I found a few Louise Penny novels to add to my growing collection :-)  On our way out of the parking lot, we noticed a really unusual phenomenon .... can you see that the setting sun is on the left, and then there is another light on the right?

It had a rainbow effect, but it wasn't like any rainbow I've ever seen.....  Anyone ever see one of these?  Know what it is?

Maybe that was my first UFO encounter that had nothing to do with quilting LOL!!!

Of course, we always took time to enjoy the sunsets .... and there were some doozies!!!  Mother Nature doesn't believe in getting lazy or sloppy just because it is the end of the day!  She likes to end the day with an exclamation point .... and we were left speechless in wonder once again ....

And what beach trip is complete without ice cream sundaes???

Isn't my mom beautiful?  She makes 77 look pretty darn good! As some of you know, she battled and won against colon cancer this past year.  My gratitude at this time of Thanksgiving is overwhelming.  We are so blessed to be allowed to celebrate the holidays once again with her - healthy and so, so dear to me!

Well, I hope this little trip to the beach has cheered you up as much as it has me!  I think I need to go wash the sand from between my toes now :-)  Enjoy your day!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=