May 2009 - The Start of the Summer Programming!

Welcome to May - Now get the programs figured out! I am working quite diligently on my programs so I have not been on the website doing up the pages. Thankfully I have some time on May 9th! To start up the page and get it going for you all.

The first weekend in May was a bit of a whirlwind as we went up to Williamsburg and Richmond. My nephew had his First Communion, and as his Aunt and Uncle, it seemed like a good idea for us to be there.  So here are a couple of pictures of Brenden and his cousins:

Here is Brenden with the Priest, he is right next to him. One of the tallest kids in the group, I guess he decided to get close to the priest. Great Photo Op for us.

Here he is with the Girls. His cousins and Lindsay, his sister. Slightly tough to be the only boy in the group, but the girls really look up to him. This totally reminds me of when my sister and I were growing up with my cousins - Denise and Stephen. Us girls totally looked up to Stephen, he was older AND he was lots taller than us. But this is an excellent picture of them all, while they were still dressed up. Brenden was getting a dollar a minute for keeping his tie and jacket on, I think he really cleaned up with the cash, as we got tons of pictures with him still in his jacket. I will put up more later.

I have been working on my programs pretty much now, to the exclusion of almost everything else. I have already done the History of the Lighthouse (called the Sentinel of the Shores) where I talk about the Architecture of the lighthouse. I wrote a program for Kids, but have not been able to get onto the copier to get copies for the game. (you have to have passwords for so many things with the government - it can get crazy!)

And I am working hard on another program - Barrier Island Nature. As a geologist, I'd rather relate it to the beach than to a bird or turtle, and will do so, but during training, they listed the top five things people are interested when they go to a park. Rocks was at the bottom. So I have to figure out a way to relate the geology of the barrier islands to something that people would be interested in. I think I have found it, but boy, it took a long time to come up with it. Doing the walk to and from work helps, gives me time to think with no one else around. Now I probably should have a notebook with me at the time.

The rangers here have to do at least seven programs - and you have to have an outline to the boss before you give the program. I have eight programs:

1. Sentinel of the Shore (History of Lighthouse)
2. Barrier Island Nature (Geology of Barrier Islands and The Why of Moving the Lighthouse)
3. Kids Program (Become a Water Molecule and Travel the World)
4. Graveyard of the Atlantic (The Treacherous Diamond Shoals and The Shifting of the Sands)
5. Pirates! (It Wasn't Just for Men)
6. Snorkeling (OMG Are we having fun yet?)
7. Cast Net Fishing (No Title Yet)
8. Night Walk (No Technology - No Problem (or something like that))

Plus, I just did a night climb (May 8th) the first one with a full moon. I used the Sentinel of the Shore program and modified it to work with climbing the lighthouse. We had a good time with that program, people were very happy after the climb.

My first Sentinel of the Shore program was for a school group, with 60 people there. I believe it went well. Then I did it two more times, once in the pavilion (where most of the programs are) and once in the museum (because of bad weather). I now feel pretty comfortable with that program. Hopefully I will feel comfortable with the rest.

On May 7th, there was a ceremony for the British Soldiers that were protecting our shores in 1942. Did you know that the German U-Boats were so close to our shores? Well, they were. And the British were trying to protect us and our shipping merchants. Anyway, the ceremony was great made more fabulous by the fact that I got my hat and uniform on that day.

Now the hat really does not fix, so I will be sending it back, as well as the belts - they were too big, but everything else looks great! I finally have shorts to wear, so I won't be so hot in the lighthouse. Yeah!

Today, May 9th, Sasha and I are going to Ocracoke Island.  You have to take a ferry to get there, but it is a beautiful place to go. We are hoping there will not be too much traffic.

Ocracoke was beautiful - the beach is fabulous. Here are some pictures of us, going to it on the ferry.

So last weekend was fun. We ate at a local restaurant there called Howard's Pub, had some great beers, and a nice dinner. Then headed back, got on the ferry and went home.

During the week, I experienced some bad allergies (I think it was allergies!) and I was dragging most of the week. My throat was so sore, I was worried that I would not be able to speak, kind of bad as that is what I do at the lighthouse. Finally when I thought it could not get any worse, and we started looking around for doctors, I took this allergy medicine Zyrtec and some Tylenol (I very rarely take pain medication, but boy, did I need it this week) and the major congestion went away!

So Yeah, we are going up to Kitty Hawk area this weekend to check out a Coastal Gardening Festival. After that, we are going to a Home Depot and Wal-Mart, plus I am going to pick more strawberries. I hope they are still going strong, because the ones I picked last time were great.

Saturday May 16th - Well, we went to the festival (it was OK but mostly people selling knick-knack type of stuff - jewelry, soaps, & other stuff) and got some literature, but did not find any plants really to buy there. However, I got this great bag (for free) that used to be a t-shirt. It is real easy to make into a shopping bag, as long as you have a sewing machine. I think I will be putting up a page soon of recipes and home-made things, and it will be in the navigation page, because it is easier to find than in the individual pages.

From the festival (which was also free) we went on a bit of a shopping spree. But we bought provisions for some things, and other things to make life more bearable (I don't think that is spelled right) to living in a maritime forest with maintenance not mowing our lot, and bugs everywhere.

Sasha has been getting bitten like crazy, the backs of his legs are just bumps of bites. And the need to scratch constant. So what we figured was it is better to buy a weed whacker than go to the hospital for strange illnesses.

I also have expanded my garden, so I got more soil, plants, and containers. I can only hope that the deer will stay away. I probably will have to put up more deterrents, but they have been staying away because of our layout. Check out the pictures:

So after the festival, we went to Spanky's for lunch, pretty good food for beach food, I had a crab sandwich and Sasha had a footlong hotdog with fries.

Then we went Strawberry picking at a Pick Your Own place. Got about 10 pounds of strawberries, plan on eating them for the next couple of weeks rather than dried fruit.

Then we went to Wal-Mart and Home Depot. As much as I would like to get things used, I could not find used plants, it just is not happening. I was able to get two tomato plants, two pepper plants, and cucumber plant. Hopefully we will be able to get at least $15 in produce from them this season. I tried to get ones that were not "hybrids" but the cucs are. The rest are not.

We also got stuff for cleaning up the area - we have a ton of weeds and grasses here, which will breed bugs. While the zapper can get a bunch, they are not going to get the ones that don't fly, including the ticks. So Sasha got this weed whacker at Wal-Mart, exact same as the one at Home Depot, only $30 less. Supposedly the most powerful electric weed-whacker made - we will see tomorrow.

We also got a little cart for taking stuff to the beach, hopefully we will walk to the beach once the swim beach opens up, and bring our cooler, chairs and stuff with the cart. I think it is much better to do it that way rather than bringing the truck.

We also had to get extra stuff for the bug zapper, and stuff for Sasha to put on when he does the weed-whacker - because the bugs are so bad, it is like this bug stuff that is a wrist band. So tomorrow will be a bit of chores for Sasha. Once he is done, I can play in the garden again. It is such a relaxer for me. I guess I like dirt.

We went out to eat at Outer Banks Brewing Pub, a nice place, the beer delicious, but I looked at the price of my dinner (after we had bought it) and could not believe that bowtie pasta with shrimp and sausage could cost $21.99! I thought he had said $18.99! OMG - well that is the last time we are going there. I just don't remember that eating establishments around here as being so expensive. No wonder people are not eating out too much. After that dinner, we are not going to be going out on Sunday for brunch, we spent too much on Saturday's dinner. AND it was not like it was a huge portion - it was good, but not that good. The sausage was supposed to be a little spicy - it was (and coming from me this is saying a lot!) bland. Just go for the beer, not the food or maybe just not the dinners. Sasha got a huge plate of mussels - I should have just gotten an appetizer as the meal.  Live and you learn.

Came back Saturday night, figured we would unpack tomorrow. We only unpacked the strawberries to put in the refrigerator.

Sunday May 17th - You know you can't enjoy the day as much as you want because you have to go back to work/school etc the next day. But ENJOY the day, I will - because the day is sunny and beautiful. So what am I going to do? Spend the morning inside, writing on the website and reading other websites while Sasha weed-whacks (I just love saying that word - it is a cool word) our area. Once he has done that, I will figure out what to do with our garden. I hope to plant today.

We woke up kinda late (well for me, 7:30 is late only because I am used to 6:45 now), had breakfast, and now I am surfing and Sasha has started to work outside. I will post new pictures of our layout and garden once it is done. Enjoy the day!

Monday and Tuesday May 18th & 19th - Gale force winds make for a no go in the lighthouse. Both days were just miserable, weather-wise, but it was nice to have extra time to work on my programs. My boss went over the snorkeling program with us, but we did not go out. Although we have the program on Friday, she will be going out with us. so hopefully it will not be too bad.

Chris and I (Chris is another ranger like me, this is his first job with NPS) decided to check out the area for the snorkeling on Wednesday. It was still cool, so we did not go in, but we figured we had found the place, and there was some good and interesting stuff around. Also on Wednesday, I worked on my Kids program, working on it more. I also have that program on Friday.

Although Sasha had done some work outside on Monday, he worked again on Wednesday and Friday - so we will have more pictures next week - no weeds to speak of, and my plants will be all potted.

On Thursday. May 21st, I finished working on my outline for snorkeling, and got the kids program finished. Although Friday will be only a 9 hour day (an hour for lunch), some people will have a ten hour (an hour for lunch). That extra hour can be a killer, something I will have to get used to.

Friday - May 22nd, the start of the summer! The kids program went OK, unfortunately, I had mostly 2 year olds, who could not read nor write. My program is for kids that would be able to read and write, so I may have to modify it a little. 

We did not have anyone sign up for the Snorkeling program, so that was good. We were able to go out with Laura S. (my boss) and really get to see what was under the water. The one thing that I will have to get over is the grasses in the water. They feel so weird, and I am totally not used to them. So that fear will have to leave by Monday. Maybe Sasha and could go out this weekend and do some snorkeling. I could try to get over the fear, and get some practice in.

Friday night was beautiful. Sasha and I watched a few movies (Barnyard and MiB) with a fabulous wine given to us by Melanie and Alan (from my book club). Great port wine (Black Jewel Port) from Forks of the Cheat Winery in West Virginia.

We spent Saturday reading and finally we went to the beach (I was very lazy on Saturday, getting the sleep I needed, I guess). We were there from 5 pm to around 8 pm. Saw a bride (but no groom) getting pictures, a kite-boarder who never got into the ocean, and birds dive bombing into the surf, looking for fish.

It was again, a beautiful night, reading our books and Sasha made this bodacious salad with all these great goodies: lettuce, mushrooms, red pepper, red onion, croutons, shredded grilled tenderloin and his dressing. Perfectly done, with a hint of lemon and very tasty.

Sunday will be not as lazy a day, we will hopefully get to the beach a little earlier, maybe this time to Frisco (Sasha does not want to go snorkeling, he wants exercise...kind of funny as I really don't.) So what we are going to do is go to Frisco, he can walk the beach (I will check it out of course) and I can read and figure out my night program (still have not really looked at the sky at night, will have to start doing that.) Maybe I will also work on my Graveyard of the Atlantic program as well. I have to get them done by this week.

I must say, I will be really happy once the programs are completed, then you just give them on your days, and don't have to be so nervous about them. It will be nice.

But this week I still have a little reprieve.  I do snorkeling, kids, cast netting, and sentinel programs only once this week. Lots of time in the lighthouse, but I am off on Friday. Really nice! 

The week of May 23rd through May 28th was fast and furious, with lots of programs and lighthouse time, and I felt like I was really working the entire time. But then came the weekend - a three day weekend for us! So on Friday, May 29th, we spent almost the entire day at the beach, such is the life! On Saturday, Sasha went to the beach in the afternoon, and I worked on one of my programs, the dreaded night program. It is not really a dread, but still, maybe more a nervous one, as I have not a clue about the night sky. So says a suburban girl. I will just have to get over that fear.

May 31st, I think we set a new record for ourselves. We got to the beach around 9 am, set up and we stayed on the beach until about 8:00 pm. We then went over to Hatteras beach (we were at Frisco Beach), got there around 8:30 pm and set up our chairs. We watched the night come up, with the stars out, I will be able to finish up my program. I now know what I need to write and how to bring across the night sky to make it understandable for others. It just took going out there and really looking at the sky to make it happen. Of course, having a three day weekend was a great way to end the month.

Expenses: Hopefully not as bad as April. Nope, not as bad, but still not where we want it to be.

It seems we still spent a bit of money on things, but again always necessary things. The food costs around here are high, both in groceries and in eating out meals. So we are hoping next month that we will spend less than $300 in food & household & provisions, and less than $100 in Meals to Go. We shall see.

I bought a pair of shorts at the thrift store here - very nice pair, as you can see, for $2.10. Some of my other pairs had holes in them, so it was time to get "new", but having a thrift store so close is great.

Thankfully we only needed to fill up once, for the truck, but that one time, we also got another 25 gallons of diesel that we can use when we get close to empty. It is really nice to have that extra diesel cans. The motorcycle was also filled up only once, we have been walking more than anything.

Rent is actually less than $160, but since it comes right out of my paycheck, we do not feel the pain of having to pay it. But having low rent means that, in our case, we had to spend more on "Camper Expenses". It seems the tick is very prevalent in this area and there are tons of ants and other bugs. So we got poison to put down, and a weed-whacker to cut the grass (because Maintenance does not come here to do that - but again LOW RENT!) We also got a little cart to bring our stuff to the beach, especially useful now that we are going to the beach more often.

Since there are lots of bugs, we also got lots of insect repellent - again, I put that in the camper services area.   The wood for the outdoor shower also was this month too, and that when to camper services. So there was a bit of stuff that we bought to "improve" the site and our own well being. I think that those purchases were all well worth it.

We finally bite the bullet on Verizon and broke down to get an internet card. Actually it was to get a wireless system in place so that both of us can be on the internet at the same time. It is working well, but we have not been doing any major downloads, as we do not want to go over the 5 GB limit. But I have not had the time to watch TV anyway, so I guess it is all relative.

We also paid for the hosting and domain name this month; thankfully people click on the ads on our website (hint, hint) and that gives us some residual money which pays for the website and domain. We thank you all for clicking!

This is the last month for paid health insurance for Sasha, next month we will be paying that. He was able to get onto a COBRA plan, and we will probably do that for as long as we can, and then switch to a high deductible plan like I have.

I am having lots of fun in my garden, I have started to see flower buds for the tomatoes, so I can only hope that we will start to get some in August. The Basil and chives are looking good, but the string bean plants are a little thin. We shall see if they make it.

Sasha also bought cigars in the beginning of the month, HOPEFULLY these will last a long time. Again, the thrift store came through for us, we got 3 books for a dollar, so not too bad a catch.

Oh, and the last thing, state taxes....Well, we won't have to pay so much next year.

Check out June, our the start? Of the hot weather! And how often will I be doing programs?