Pittsboro, NC

It's beginning to look like Thanksgiving is here!  These beauties forage in the woods next to the house every day.

 

Pretty birds.  I have to take photos from behind the window glass.  If I so much as touch the door knob to go outside - off they fly.

Pittsboro, NC

 I know it's not all that interesting to most everyone else.....but we are finally getting fiber internet at the house.  After all these years of no availability, Brightspeed is laying the fiber right up to our house. 

 

Interesting to watch the contractor drill the hole under our driveway.  Amazingly efficient process with a sort of "sub-soiler" that lays the fiber cable about 6" underground.

This is part of a US government program to bring internet to under-served rural areas.  The appointment for the inside installation is Monday so we'll see if it actually works or not....fingers crossed!

Pittsboro, NC

 I know it's early for Christmas decorations.....but I was up in the attic and ran accross all my little red Christmas bows.  They hadn't been used in at least 7 years but were in relatively good shape still.  So I decided to go on and hang them up.

Duane's been busy keeping all the leaves and pine needles at bay.  A losing proposition for a few weeks yet I think!  

Chilly but seasonal now.....brrrr.

Pittsboro, NC

 A lovely crisp morning today after several that were dull and overcast.  Neighbor Lindy continues to supply me with lots of kiwi fruit....their vines are overrun with fruit.  They keep amazingly well in the fridge.  I keep a steady stream coming out of the fridge to the counter as they take about a week at room temp to ripen.

Going to the doc this morning to have a spot removed from my hairline.....the result of getting older I assume (and too much sun of course). 

Pittsboro, NC

 We enjoyed the reunion, nice to chat with some folks we only see once a year. 

 The usual assortment and bounty of mostly home cooked goodies.

 

 

 

I decided to branch out from the normal casserole or dessert as my offering to the group.  I labeled it since it was not obvious what it contained.   I was a bit apprehensive since it's not normal "Southern fare".  But I was pleased to see that the bowl was empty!

We headed home after the reunion, arriving well after dark.  Starting to feel a bit like fall/winter here!

Hendersonville, NC

 We’re on a short trip to the mountains for the McCraw family reunion. It was postponed due to the hurricane a month or so ago.   Pleasant but seasonal. 

Sunset at Duane’s folks last night.

Pittsboro, NC

 Rather mundane but strangely exciting....our 20+ year old washing machine has been giving me difficulties.  It was not handling large loads well, becoming unbalanced.  After a bit of troubleshooting, we decided it was about time for a new one.  Good sale at Lowe's and we thought we should go on and get it before the new tarriffs could add 50% to the cost....😏

Anyhooo,  a bit out of character, we decided that the minor cost for delivery, install and old machine takeaway was worth it for once.

Two really nice fellows - amazingly professional.  They were finished and gone in less than 15 minutes.

I've already done a load of clothes - and I am tickled pink with the "Deep Fill" option.  I know it's the small things in life....this one has a "old-school" option of filling the tub all the way if you want to.  (The old washer was programmed for the water-saving "feature" and only filled the tub to barely wet the clothes!  I hated that! 

Pittsboro, NC

 Just enjoying the fall weather.....off the side of the house. Not a lot happening!!

Pittsboro, NC

 I'm a bit sad and quite frightened today.  Wonder if the German citizens had these thoughts in the 1930's?

Pittsboro, NC

 I didn't want anyone to think we've fallen off the face of the earth.....

But it sure feels odd especially after the time-change yesterday...

Hard to believe that I've changed over to long sleeves and long pants....

 

And I actually hunted out some fall decorations.  It's been years and years since I put out any decorations!

We've been getting back into riding our bikes....and Duane has been out vacuuming up leaves for the first time in years.  A losing battle but a somehow pleasant chore.

Pittsboro, NC

 I spent the day mostly at the two airports....busy - a business jet at each airport.

And snapped another photo of the fall foliage as I was driving westbound.....beautiful weather here with temps in the 70's for the next 10 days.

 

Pittsboro, NC

 Back to the house.....it's really fall weather now.  A bit of a drizzly day and really cool temps.

 

Some of the bushes have lots of berries....I think the almanac says that means a harsh winter ahead....

Oriental, NC

 Time to do some bottom cleaning and inspecting before the water gets too cold!!  Fortunately, Duane volunteers for this duty on SCUBA when it involves inspecting/replacing the zinc anodes on the saildrives/props.  Wrapping up our time in Oriental and will head back to Pittsboro soon.

 

 

Oriental, NC

 The local hardware store in Oriental is a hoot and an almost daily trip for us.  They have a popcorn machine so you always end up with a cone of fresh popcorn while you shop....and now as Halloween approaches they have this lovely door-greeter!

 

And he comes to life when you approach!  Small town fun....

Mostly finished the window project on boat #1....then a little campfire and bbq in the evening with the usual suspects.

Oriental, NC

 Still working on windows and various small chores....last night was, of course, Tuesday BOGO night at Silo's.  We had a big crowd - (we're at the far back of the photo.....Fun to catch up with Dale from HiFlite and Chris & Gosha from Solaris join the usual culprits - Jerry & Donna (Bluejacket), Ed & Cathy (What If) and Joe & Colleen (True North).  All of them will be heading out southbound in the next several weeks.....

Oriental, NC

 Still busy with the window install. 

Ed and Cathy arrived in the afternoon so it was fun to catch up with them. They’ll be staying with us until they splash What If in about a week. 

Perfect weather for a little campfire and more visiting with neighbors Joe and Colleen too!

Oriental, NC

 Busy, busy with the window project. Here is a completed one. Tedious work!!

Oriental, NC

 We dove right into the salon window replacement on Oasis....beautiful weather so comfortable.

Duane made quick work of removing the old window.  It did not come off gracefully though!  Using butty knives and a lot of muscle.  He drilled holes in the 3/8" acrylic and had the window in tension with a halyard as he worked the old sealant loose.  The window broke into several pieces but that isn't an issue.

Getting the surface cleaned up and ready for dry-fitting the new acrylic.

After dry-fitting the new window, prepped the surface for new black Dow 795 sealant.

 

 And this is a preview of the new window.  I know, doesn't look like much.  I need to wait for the sealant to cure a bit before cleaning up all the edges.  I'll show you tomorrow.  We have 3 more windows to do on Oasis and 4 more on Sojourn.....good fun.  Not. 

Oriental, NC

 Back to the boat finally.

We stopped by Bridgeton for a quick visit with the Jandals Crew. They volunteered apart for us and we stopped to pick it up and say hello.

Dave and Toby, are there getting the boat ready to go south  

When we arrived, next-door neighbor, Andy had a crowd of people at his place. As he sailed his small catamaran by he invited us to come over at 6:30 for a gathering around the campfire.

 

The campfire was a nice thing since it was quite chilly!!  Lots of the folks are Andy's friends and former/current employees.  Some traveled quite a way for the weekend.  Some staying in RV's on the property and some staying at a rental house in River Dunes closeby.

 

 

The moon rise was beautiful but I didn't catch a good shot of it.....

 

Andy had a food truck come serve a yummy meal to us all.  It was a pleasure to be invited....Andy and others had lots of kind words for each other and friendship.  Fun gathering!

 

Pittsboro, NC

 We discovered The Plant - an eco-friendly art/business space....I'm embarrassed to say that we've lived here 30 years and haven't ever driven back the little roadway to this area!!  It's the home of Starlight Mead and Fair Game Brewing.  And a handful of fun looking restaurants.  We had a beverage at Fair Game then ordered takeout from from Kingston Kitchen 99 for supper at home (too chilly to eat there really).  Fun and we'll be back.

Pittsboro, NC

Today is the first day of early voting....so we decided to get it done!  The line was pretty long - took about 1 hour to get inside.
 

It won't come as a surprise to anyone who knows me how I voted for the presidential candidates.....my vote is cast for the only one on the card that is a rational, intelligent, caring human being. How anyone can vote the other way mystifies, baffles and saddens me, but I certainly respect everyone's right to their opinion as an American. 

(FYI, this is a photo of my sample ballot since taking a photo of your actual ballot is unlawful apparently).

Got my sticker!!!

By the time we exited the building, the line had grown very long....I think I would just come back another day if I was at the end of this line...but it is a beautiful day.

Pittsboro, NC

 

So I heard the chainsaw running again this morning.....Duane has been wanting to cut this half-dead pin oak tree for some time now.  It's a pretty tree but needs to go since we don't want it falling on the house some day!

I just barely made it out of the house to capture the fall!

 Timmmmbbbbeeeerrrrrr.

Then we got to work trimming the branches and pulling all the brush away into the woods....

 

Brush mostly out of the way, Duane cut up most of the tree into manageable pieces.  Most of the centers of the logs were rotten or hollow.  Friends Tom and Janet are coming to pick up some other firewood so we hope they'll take some this oak as well.  (It's not perfect for firewood since the core is lightweight and won't burn very long or hot...but hey, it's free).

 

They arrived as planned with their log-splitter.  We helped them split some other wood over on our next door neighbor's lot first.

 

Fun process.  That splitter is the bomb!!!

 

Makes quick work of even the biggest logs.

 

After that, we went over to the house and lots of teamwork made quick work of the tree Duane felled this morning.

 

All loaded up and they'll come back for some other wood later.  Fun process - wouldn't want to do it every day - but fun for a change.

 

s