Hurricane Earl on its way

Of all the natural disasters there are in the world, nothing scares the pee terrifies me more than hurricanes, especially living on Chincoteague Island.  We’ve weathered more tropical depressions than I care to remember (love the one last year where my house turned into a houseboat) and I’ve only been here a few years.  Do I remember it being so bad in earlier years?

We’ve been tracking Hurricane Earl (now I hear there are 3 more out there waiting to descend on the east coast) since yesterday.

Hurricane EarlLooks like this storm is going to do some powerful damage before it’s all said and done, but we’ve decided to batten down the hatches and weather it out unless we’re evacuated.

I’ve got to run into town to find some hurricane candles in case the electricity goes out and some doggie food (thank god for hand can openers), stop off at the bank and fill my gas tank up.

Tomorrow it’s supposed to hit the Outer Banks and we’ll know more what we’re dealing with.  In the morning, my daughter and I are heading out to the store before everyone else does to stock up on some food.  The only fear I have is that the electricity goes out so we’ll have to stock up on stuff that can be eaten without cooking, too.

According to what I can figure out, rain should start Thursday night and Friday morning, it’ll be upon us.  The eye is supposed to stay out in the Atlantic thanks to that wonderful trough that’s going to keep it out there (so we’re hoping).

If we don’t get evacuated, I’ll be taking pictures and video as it passes over.

Wish us good luck and safety!
Until next time, wavinghand

Island Chick

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Paula Deen LIVE in concert at Delaware State Fair

Check this out…as of right this very moment, it’s 96 degrees in Chincoteague, Virginia, and God knows what the heat index is, but it has to be pretty well up there.  Yesterday, my friend, it wasn’t much cooler either and just as you would know it, my daughter and I had plans.

Big plans.

Big super duper plans.

Big super super duper duper plans.

That night, we were to go see Paula Deen LIVE in concert at the Delaware State Fair in Harrington, Delaware.

YES!!!  I KNOW!  Isn’t that just the coolest thing????

Well…

It. Was. Hot.

But let me tell you something we didn’t know and I’m not sure how many of the rest of the them didn’t know it, but it was OUTSIDE.  No tent.  Blaring sun.  Sweat forming pools around the ankles hot.  Would we have still gone?  Probably the fools that we were, but the concert was FABULOUS.

Island Chick -  Paula Deen 2

Paula Deen was FABULOUS.  There’s her husband all the way to the left and her married son, Jaime (not sure if that’s spelled right) and her grandson, Jack.

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Let me tell you, what you see is what you get – Paula Deen is no different live than she is on TV, except with this show, she was more people oriented.  In other words, she was more into getting to know her fans by talking to them from the stage.  She was wonderful!

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Here she is (above) talking to us.

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Here she is above with her son and grandson.  He was a pistol, I’m telling you.

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And you know, as hot as it was, she kept on going..if she was sweating, you’d never know it.  Not a bit of wind and the sun was blaring right on us – I know it was almost 100 degrees out there.  I could have used that cool Michael fan, I’ll tell you that!

Island Chick - Paula Deen

Here she is above with Michael and former  Miss Virginia Hannah (funny no mention of her last name in the brochure that was handed out but Hannah it was).  The guy to the far left was a chef and darn if I can remember his name but he was cool.  Paula made him take off his jacket calling it “inhumane,” lol.

And here’s my favorite picture of all…

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LOL, okay what’s she doing?  She was talking about going down the slide at the Harrington Fair.  Sounds like even Paula likes to get down and dirty at fairs!

It was a fantastic concert, despite the fact we had no idea it was going to be outside during a heat wave.  When it ended, there were mobs and mobs of people exiting this one exit, so we took another route – down the racetrack and guess whose  limo passed us?  Yep…beautiful white stretch limo and inside was Paula Deen, our cook show hero and all around great person with the best sense of humor you’ve ever seen.

Great show…if you’d like to watch part of it, here you go!

Until next time, wavinghand

Island Chick

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Chincoteague: One of ‘America’s Best Little Beach Towns’

I’m happy to announce Chincoteague made the list for America’s Best Little Beach Towns in Yahoo Travel today and AOL Travel gave it the #1 spot!  Oh Lord I can hear the pitter patter of tourists’ feet now.  Seriously, it’s the tourists that keep this place alive so I shouldn’t complain, should I?

Island Chick - SunsetSunset over the Chincoteague channel

As a year round resident, I’ve seen the seasons come and go.  Spring it starts getting alive, summer it’s crazy, fall is bird watcher season and winter is downright almost dead thanks to those frigid winds coming off the channel and the Atlantic.  Brr..makes me shiver just to think about it.

But Chincoteague has been my fulltime home for the last three years.  Has my opinion changed of it?  Not all all despite the tourists and the winters, it’s still paradise.  My only irks are the scooters and sightseeing tourists who don’t think about the residents having to get to work for example and they’ll be plodding around at 10 m.p.h. and you can’t pass them or they’ll give you a ticket faster than you can say “God give me Labor Day.”

All joking aside, as one of my neighbors put it after I asked him how was he managing with the noise from next door, “It comes with the territory.”

Yep, we choose to live in a resort town and we’ve got to suck it up.

One good thing?  You can run around with no make-up, bed hair and pajamas and everyone just thinks you’re a tourist and don’t pay you any mind.  Ahhh…the advantages of living in one of America’s best little beach towns.
Until next time, wavinghand

Island Chick

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What’s on your ‘Bucket List’ of places you want to go before you die?

The Bucket ListInteresting blog post I read this morning.  Seems there’s a movie out on DVD and BluRay Disc called The Bucket List starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman (two of my most favorite actors!) in which they make a list of things to do before they die.

In Yahoo News today, Bill Clinton was talking about his own list of things to do before he kicks the bucket including having grandchildren and climbing Mount Kilimanjaro before the snow melts (which is supposed to happen in the next 20 years).

While I have achieved most of my to do list wants, where travel is concerned there are a few places I feel it’s a necessary must to go to or return to.

#1 Burbank, California

Burbank, California, is at the top of my list and the reasons are very personal.  I used to live there years ago as a wee child but unexpectedly I had to leave to go live with my grandmother 3,000 miles away on the east coast.  I’ve almost gotten back there several times, then something comes up and I had to cancel the trip, but the heart yearns to go back and clear up a few things.

#2 Sedona, Arizona

Let me tell you..if there ever was a place that would turn me on more than anything, it’s Sedona, Arizona, for it’s spiritual healing. I’ve never been to a vortex but people tell me they definitely feel a difference in the air.

#3 Grand Canyon

I have never been to the Grand Canyon.  I have lived in Burbank California, the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and have traveled to Quebec, Canada, so there’s not much of this country I haven’t seen and then some, but somehow, I’ve always missed the Grand Canyon.

#4 Palm Springs

I have no idea why Palm Springs, California, is one of the places I feel I need to go before I die, but I’m picturing renting a beautiful house with a pool out back with lots and lots of cactus with lights surrounding the pool and of course palm trees (I have a secret cactus and palm tree fetish). And the sunsets would be spectacular against the backdrop of the mountains!

#5 Las Vegas, Nevada

The lights, the action, the close proximity to California (grin) are all only a part of the reason why I have to see Las Vegas, Nevada, before I die.  Okay, the casinos, too, as much as I hate to admit it.  The last time I played the slots was in Harrington, Delaware, and I walked out $500 in the hole.  Never went back and I love those one armed bandits.  Give me a trip to Vegas and I can’t guarantee my will power will hold out!

#6 St. Croix, Virgin Islands

Okay, I’m one of  two million people who would die to visit St. Croix but my reasons are those balmy ocean breezes, cute cabana boys and an island getaway suited to my tastes!

#7 Washington, D.C.

Am I the only one who hasn’t been inside the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.???  Oh and the White House!

#8 New York

Not just New York, but Manhattan!  I’ve actually been there once but it was on a tour bus.  This time I’d like to take a few friends (or family) and go see it on my own time.  I’d walk Central Park, watch a show at NBC Studio in Rockefeller Center and stay in one of those luxury hotels on Broadway and I just might take a boat ride out to the Statue of Liberty and just stare at her.

#9  Disney World, Orlando, Florida

Yeah, yeah, I guess I’m the only one who hasn’t been to Disney World, either!  I lived in Fort Lauderdale for awhile and never got over there even once.

#10 Rocky Mountains, Colorado

Being a mountain lover, I would LOVE to see the Rockies!

So, how about you?  Do you have a Bucket List of places to go before you die?
Until next time, wavinghand

Island Chick

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Amish Country – Lancaster Pennsylvania – Part 2

The first full day in Lancaster was spent checking out the shops.  My whole reason I came was to find some covered bridges.  You gotta admit – you would, too, right?  What is it about covered bridges that is so romantic?  Especially the red ones – gotta have pictures of red covered bridges or my life is not complete.

While the gang was preparing to visit Bird in Hand Farmer’s Market, The Kitchen Kettle and other hot spots along the “strip,” I had it in the back of my mind I was not leaving until I found a covered bridge.  Barbara, one of my friends who went with us, told me we’d find one later when the rest of the gang went to the mud hop, or whatever it was called where people love to take their expensive trucks and run them through the mud.  Meanwhile, I had to make the best of it by being dragged through farmer’s markets and shops and being forced to buy jars of homemade preserved vegetables and other Amish goodies.  Anything you could can, the Amish canned it.  Might I say I had a great time.

Bird in Hand Farmer's Market

Bird in Hand Farmer’s Market

Well here we are at Bird in Hand Farmer’s Market.  Actually this is the sign for it and looking across the street.  Here’s a picture of the building itself:

Bird in Hand Farmer's Market 2Bird in Hand Farmer’s Market

Not overly impressive on the outside but good lordy you ought to see what’s inside.  A good word of advice when you see all those yummy things on the shelves…if it says pickled, it’s going to be SOUR.  I bought pickled asparagas.  I thought how neat – I love asparagas.  Well this was a little too tangy, but the pickled beets were out of this world.  I bought my daughter some hot pickled mushrooms thinking she would love that, but she said they weren’t that great, but don’t let me discourage you…there is something to suit everyone and lots of it.  I wanted to take pictures inside but there were too many Amish people (who I might say were the friendliest and most courteous people I’ve ever met) working in there and I didn’t want to offend them by having their picture taken.

I did buy this little lighted street lamp thingee for my deck.  Ain’t it cute?

street light

Across the street, and all along the street in fact, were these quaint shops.  Here’s a picture of one of them.

Bird in Hand 2Bird in Hand shop

After that, we headed off to Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse.  Kitchen Kettle reminded me a little bit of Colonial Williamsburg in a weird little way.  We even got some entertainment:

Kitchen Kettle

And there were, of course, buggy rides….

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And more of Kitchen Kettle Village…

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We had a great time.  And like everything, all fun comes to the end as we make our way back to our room before we take to the road again to find my covered bridge!

Lancaster

Until next time, wavinghand

Island Chick

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Amish Country – Lancaster Pennsylvania – Part 1

I’m finally home.  I just had a wonderful semi-girly weekend in Lancaster, Pennysylvania.  It started out as a 3 girl girlie weekend and ended up with 8 head – 4 women, 4 men – but it worked out fine.

Lancaster PA 1

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, is beautiful.  It’s not until you get outside of town do you really see the true beauty of it.  Hills and hills of beautiful grassy pastures.  It threatened rain the whole time we were there but finally held out until the day we had to leave.  How’s that for timing?

This was my first trip to Lancaster and if you don’t count the views from a bridge we had to cross from New Jersey, it was also my first real trip to Pennsylvania.

I love mountains and wasn’t sure I’d see any.  I didn’t, but what I did see were miles and miles of hilly farmland which was just as good (the car’s engine took a little beating…I don’t know how it would have held up if it were any hillier).

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On the way to our room, this is what you saw quite often.  This is a big no no according to non-Amish people, but to the Amish, they’re used to it.  They say, “I don’t know why you’d want to take our picture.”  It’s not that they hated (hate isn’t in their vocabulary) you for doing it, they just didn’t see the reasoning.

All of the buggies were the same color.  Their main message to each other is that no one is more important than the other. I learned so much about the Amish.  It’s really quite interesting to find out why they lead such simple lives and there’s quite a few lessons they could teach us if you paid close attention.

The picture thing for example.  They did not take pictures of themselves – not even their children as they were growing up – and you’d never see any pictures of people on their walls.  They had other things on their walls but no people whatsoever.  They believed that everyone was equal and no more important than the next person.

Lancaster PA 3

Before we hit the room, we decided to stop off at what they call the Green Dragon Farmer’s Market.  This place was HUGE.  I was so excited, I didn’t take but a couple of pictures and this was one of them.  This is actually in the humungous parking lot.  There are places for cars to park and places for buggies to park.  See if you can find the buggie. ;o)

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This is two of our 8 head party heading back after spotting a buggie.  You do that a lot here.  In time, you get used to them but if you’ve never seen one before, they’re really neat to catch a glimpse of as they fly by (and I do mean fly…these buggies can boogie!).

So this is on our way back from the Green Dragon Farmer’s Market.  We had loaded up on fresh breads, pies, canned this, canned that, you name it, it was there, and went to find our room.  Let me tell you something while I’m thinking about it.  If you’ve never owned a navigator (I hadn’t but the friend whose car we rode in did), you have really missed out on an experience.

Lancaster PA 5

And so this is our home away from home.  Picture taken on Sunday when it did rain, but the skies remained rain-free until then.

Lancaster PA 6

So we’re checking the room out…it’s very very clean, smelled great, so we’re happy with our decision to stay here instead of the ritzy hotel in town (might have to do that one next) and I look out one of the windows to see what’s out there and I say, “Kim, come quick!  Look out the window!”

Another buggie parked at a convenience store across the yard there.  It took all of five seconds before we were grabbing a camera and ran out to get a close up.

Kids.  What can you do with them.  Show us a buggie and we’ll show you a picture we snapped of it no matter what lengths it takes to get it.  No matter what people might think of you.  No matter if you look like a tourist.  You gotta have that picture.

One thing that annoys me about living here on the island is that when the tourists come, it’s like you’ve lost your home to them but this experience did give me a better understanding – when you’re vacationing, it’s time to have fun.

More tomorrow…

Until next time, wavinghand

Island Chick

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Top Five Things To Do on Whidbey Island, Washington

I have a special guest today!  Marilyn Randall from Whidbey Island, Washington, is here to give us the low down on the top five things to do on Whidbey Island!  If you would like to be a guest on my blog to talk about your traveling experiences, we’d love to have you!  Click on my contact page for email instructions.

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The Top Five Things To Do on Whidbey Island, Washington

Whidbey Island is a magnificent island in the glorious waters of the Puget Sound, near Seattle Washington. Reached only by the ferries that travel their routes on a regular schedule or driving across two islands and bridges from the mainland at the north end, the island is a little known jewel of the many pacific northwest islands including the San Juan Islands that are another ferry trip away from Whidbey. Traveling the length of the island and taking time to visit the many wonderful scenic sites is something everyone should experience once in their lifetime. Surrounded completely by the waters of the inner sound, the shipping lanes connecting Seattle to the world pass the length of Whidbey Island’s west coast, where the views from the shore of this island, as one overlooks the spectacular Olympic Mountains across the water, are magnificent.

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#1. Bridge the gap…walk across the bridge connecting two islands in the beautiful Puget Sound and feel your heart palpitate as the cars cause the bridge to sway just a little from the weight of the traffic as you are standing hundreds of feet above the waters beneath this spectacular bridge. Near Seattle Washington, but tucked away on the north end of the largest island of the continental United States you’ll find Deception Pass Bridge connecting world famous Whidbey Island to the lesser known, but equally beautiful, Fidalgo Island. The drive to reach this destination is scenic and easy, but the view of the water from the bridge span is spectacular and breathtaking. Visitors can enjoy the views while walking across the bridge or hiking on the trails under the span. The beaches near this location offer magnificent views of the bridge as well as the surrounding waters and islands. Wildlife abounds and it is not unusual to see sea lions, seals, the occasional whale or sea otters and other animals and birds somewhere near the area. While parking is at a premium, especially in the summertime, restroom facilities help to make this a favorite spot to spend many hours exploring and taking in the surrounding scenery. The name, Deception Pass is appropriate as when the tides change, the waters from the inner sound rush through this narrow pass to flow viciously through to the open seas, creating treacherous, swirling, whirlpools that have been known to cause disasters for unsuspecting boaters. The waters rushing under this bridge are extremely dangerous and everyone is required to use extreme caution when navigating these waters.

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#2. If walking and hiking are important to you and you also love beautiful and serene surroundings while doing so, the South Whidbey state park, located on the West side of the island about halfway between the north end and south end might be just the place for you. The main walk is an adventure in itself, located amongst large, old trees and near the very large campground facility within the park, this hike is not for the faint of heart (or those that are not in good physical condition). The hike begins with a trail of switchbacks that eventually leads to the beach. Going down this half mile journey is a piece of cake, but returning might be a daunting task for some. As one leaves the beach and begins the climb up the bank, the wall of sixty-seven steps is a difficult task to do before beginning the switchback trail that climbs the rest of the hill. Upon completion the trip is a full mile, but worth the effort for those who enjoy a more difficult task. The beach is gorgeous and at low tide, nice, long walks along the nearly private beach is a wonderful way to enjoy the sights from the west side of the island. Caution must be taken here though to watch for the   incoming tides as getting caught too far down the shore when the tide returns might mean needing to be rescued at some point.

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#3. A trip to the little village of Langley on Whidbey Island is a must do. The town is brimming with quaint shopping and delicious restaurants as well as wonderful bed and breakfast facilities. Nestled against the bank on Whidbey’s East shore, this little town is tourist friendly and provides visitors with a glimpse into the life and style experienced by residents of this unique island. A walk along the street in the heart of town shows off the wonderful views of Camano Island, the neighboring island to the east in the Puget Sound and the lights from this vantage point are spectacular at night. Antique shops, jewelry shops, trinket shops and truly unique clothing shops are a must see as is the old time grocer’s store, still located in the original building. There are banks, bakeries, and spas for everyone’s pleasure. I highly recommend a stop in this pretty little seashore village as you travel the length of the island. The people are friendly and the food is delicious.

Whale Watching

#4. Ebby’s Landing and Fortress are of historical significance on Whidbey Island. Protecting the Puget Sound and Seattle from invasion since the 1800’s, the fort sits at a strategic place along Whidbey’s western shoreline and boasts campgrounds, park like surroundings around the fort area, a wonderful lighthouse that is often open to the public and a mile long stretch of beach to rival any found on the this island. The old fortress and bunkers are open to visitors and children and adults alike enjoy climbing through the tunnels, taking in all the sights held within the walls of the bunkers and seeing the turret mounts for the cannons atop the fortress walls. The views again from this vantage point are well worth the stair climb to get to the top of the wall. The grounds surrounding the fort and lighthouse are spacious and many visitors enjoy bringing their picnic lunches and spending the day flying kites or playing softball with the family.

#5. A trip to Whidbey Island would not be complete without seeing the Greenbank Farm and all it has to offer visitors. The farm used to be a winery with acres and acres of boysenberries, which was the main ingredient in their specialty wine. Once the winery closed, the buildings were restored and remodeled to suit new tenants and today there are numerous businesses on site as well as a gourmet restaurant, a cheese and wine shop and an antique shop. During the summer the Highland Games are played here and many other organizations also use this facility for their events. It is always a fun place to go for unusual activities, especially during the busy tourist season. The grounds are well kept with lovely ponds that are home to numerous wild species of ducks and birds. The former berry field is now a busy dog (off leash) walking trail and both dogs and their human companions enjoy the romp across the meadows. The paths, and there are several, are busy in winter and summer, even when the weather is blustery and chilly.

Marilyn RandallMarilyn Randall has an extensive background in the graphic design industry. Her art background is varied, including business logo design, printing design, silk-screened shirt design and miscellaneous mediums for her paintings and illustrating.

She published her first book of poetry and prose in 2009 titled My Heart And Soul, following soon after she published six children’s books, which she has both written and illustrated.

Her newest book and first fiction novel is Quicksand. She is currently working on her seventh children’s book, which she plans to release in the summer of 2010. Originally from Medford, Oregon, she continues to write from the serene surroundings of her home on Whidbey Island in Washington State.

More information about Marilyn and the books she writes can be found at her web site www.marilynrandall.com.

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Max’s Story

Max7

This is the reason why I haven’t posted lately.  Meet Max.  Max is our 8 year-old-cocker spaniel.  We used to call him demon dog, but now we call him miracle dog.

Here’s his story…

Max is one of those dogs who takes a lot of punching to get him down.  He’s resilient, he’s feisty and he’s the kind of dog who if he doesn’t want you to do something to him, he lets you know it.

For the last two years, he’s had a chronic ear infection.  We’d give him meds, it would go away for awhile, then come back.  We’ve had him to two doctors and the last one told us we’d eventually have to have his ear canals taken out and then that wouldn’t guarantee the infection would go away.

When I heard that diagnoses, I was determined I was going to do everything I could to save Max from never being able to hear again.  We had to  clean his ears constantly which involved putting a muzzle on him (that’s the feisty part) and then give him meds which he eventually developed an immunity to them.

Max 8

On Saturday morning, as I was getting ready to go to work, I noticed he had scratched his ear so bad, it was bleeding.  I had had enough.  With one dog on insulin and having to doctor up this dog and it not working, I decided to make an appointment with a Dr. Marti in Chesapeake.  He was a specialist who could tell us what to do.  Our last resort.

So we make the appointment and he examines Max.  Then they tell us to come into a little room.  He draws a picture of what’s going on inside Max’s ears.  It’s not good.  The ear canal has hardened and the infection has gone to the inner ear.  Max’s ear canals have to be taken out.

While I was somewhat prepared for the diagnoses (not for what it would cost – almost 4 grand), I couldn’t hold back tears all the way back from Chesapeake – a two hour ride.  I didn’t want him to lose his hearing.  He would never hear me tell him I loved him nor hear his squeeky ball and what if he accidentally got out?  How would he hear me calling him?

I wasn’t as prepared for all this as I should have been.  I wanted to be strong but it was hard.

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The next day, we drove back over to Chesapeake and picked him up.  He didn’t look too bad. He was wearing a cone shield like thing to prevent him from scratching his stitches.  I was still in shock over the fact he  couldn’t hear but hopefully he’d be out of pain.

On the way home, I knew it would do no good to talk to him so I had to pet him to let him know I was sorry he had to be put through all this.  He was panting kind of strange like take a breath, put his tongue back in his mouth, take a breath but I figured he was thirsty.

We pulled over to let him go pee and gave him some water which he drank up quickly.

We finally arrived home.  He was happy.  He was running all over the place like he was a free dog.  Skylar barked at him because of the funny looking lampshade he was wearing but he really looked good at that point.

It was at some point – I’m forgetting – that he acted like he could hear me.  It couldn’t medically be possible, but it did seem like it.  So, I did a few tests and sure enough he heard me.

I thought no this isn’t possible.  I decided to do another one.  He was upstairs asleep, I crept up and he made no move like he heard me.  I was standing in another room and I squeeked his ball.  His head shot up.

The dog could hear.

I knew no one would believe it.  They’d say vibrations or something like that, but no this dog could hear me.

I wanted to cry.  I did cry.  I thought my god this ordeal is over and my dog can still hear.  How fantastic is that???

Friday morning, 3 days after the operation, I noticed he had been bleeding on his right ear.  It wasn’t dripping but there was caked like blood clinging to the inside of the ear.  Then I noticed a stench.  Saturday morning, it was still bad and he was pawing at his cone like there was no tomorrow.

I called my vet and he said bring him in tomorrow.

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Yesterday, I packed him up in the car and we headed to Dr. Nickle in Onley, which is only about a 45 mile ride from here.

What he told me was something I never thought I’d hear.  “I’m not sure what’s going on with this ear,” he said.  “It shouldn’t look like this.  The ear appears to be rotting.  See it?”

I hadn’t been looking at this point because blood makes me squeamish, but I looked.  The inner part of his ear had darkened.  It appeared there was no blood going to it.  “They might have to cut it off,” he said.

I don’t know what else he said at that point because I had lost it by then.  I paid my bill and the whole trip home was a blur.

I pulled into the carport and called the emergency room over there at Chesapeake.  I didn’t make myself clear because she was absolutely no help.

So this morning, I called Dr. Marti and his receptionist told me he said it didn’t sound like the ear was rotting, that it sounded like an infection had set in.

So, I’m sitting here preparing myself.  As if this dog has not been through enough.  And the pocket book is starting to give out fumes.

I don’t care what anyone says about dogs being dogs because once you accept responsibility as a pet owner, something else takes over.  Unconditional love.  The same unconditional love they give you, you give right back to them.

I want to see Max happy again.  I want him to be out of pain.  I want my Mackiedoodle back.

I’ll let you know what the prognosis is but sometimes you get to the point when you say, “How much can this little boy take?”

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Road Trip to the Amish Country: A Step Back in Time

I’m planning a road trip!  An all girl’s weekend in the Amish Country. A whole weekend of girlie bonding in the middle of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

What is the Amish country?  To better explain it, Wikipedia does an excellent job – Pennsylvania Dutch Country refers to an area of southeastern Pennsylvania, United States that by the American Revolution had a high percentage of Lutherans. There were also German Reformed, Moravian, Amish, Mennonite and other German sectarian inhabitants.

Amish

What it breaks down to is this.  There is a settlement of people living in the beautiful rolling hills of Pennsylvania that live by God’s rule.  No electricity, no radio, no TV, no cars.  Very very religious.  The thing about the Amish is that they have chosen a lifestyle completely tuning out what they consider the sins of modern society.

Even though this sounds like people from another planet, they are actually a very peaceful group.  Their history is thoroughly fascinating and I’ll be able to see if first hand.

One of my girlfriends suggested this trip.  She had been a couple of times and I’d never been.  When my other girlfriend found out about the trip, she wanted to go, too, so we decided this was going to be an all girlfriend field trip.  God knows what kind of trouble we will get into.

Anyway, I decided to find out more about these people when I came upon a series of videos at YouTube concerning the teenagers who wanted out.  They had lived all their lives as Amish, but some decided enough was enough…

Isn’t that the most interesting thing you’ve ever seen?

Here’s more:

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVUQlR7EMMc&feature=related
Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qihiKszP53Y&feature=related
Part 4:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4MKua0Huuw&feature=related
Part 5:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8D-Xgk30pDo&feature=related
Part 6:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vp5dls7p3c&feature=related
Part 7:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRbrdL9n3GM&feature=related

If you made it through all seven, I’m sure you’ll be feeling as I did when I watched them.  It’s a world full of belief that the family is number one.

Until next time, wavinghand

Island Chick

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Smokie Mountain Sunrise

I’m trying to think how many times I have actually been to the Smokies.  For those reading this blog and don’t know what the Smokies is or where they are, the Smokies is a major mountain range in the southern part of the Appalachian Mountains.  For someone who has never been there, it’s something magical about these mountains that’s really hard to put into just the right words.

Let me give you a visual so you can try to understand where I’m coming from:

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Smokie Mountains

That still doesn’t do it justice.  Let me try again:

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Smokie Mountains

Ahh…now we’re cooking.

Like I was saying, I don’t know how many times I have been to the Smokies, it’s been that many and it’s not like it’s a hop, skip and jump away.  Going from Chincoteague to Pigeon Forge was exactly 620.90 miles which is 10 hours and 31 minutes driving time.  Roughly, I would say I’ve been four or five times.

The reasons were varied.  The first time it was on a lark coming back from Arkansas.  I saw the sign for the Smokie National Park and decided to veer off 80 and go check it out.

But the second, third and fourth time, it was for vacation because ever since that first time, I felt like I had to keep going back.

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Smokie Mountains

And you see why?

The picture above was a special moment.  I wanted some sunrise pictures.  In order to have sunrise pictures, you have to get up literally at the crack of dawn.  Forget the fact that you’ve not had much sleep from the night before.  You were on a mission.  Here’s another:

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Smokie Mountains

These were taken off the deck of our mile high cabin.  Oh, btw, if they tell you these cabins are in the clouds, believe’em.

I’ll be back to tell you more about my Smokie vacations tomorrow.

Until next time, wavinghand

Island Chick

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