Top Ten: Setbacks and Satisfactions

We are generally quite happy with, and in, our creekside home.

Our house when we bought it.

Our house now.

In mid-May, we left it awhile for a whirlwind trip up North:

the usual hellish drive North, this time in rain. We surprised Tim's longtime assistant, Sandie, at her retirement reception--a heartwarming reunion.

Sandie and Tim

Enjoyed super-quick visits with Tim's sister and parents, Mary the K., PO4, M.J., and the Maloney family.  During the drive up and back, we did some sightseeing: Valley Forge, Cedar Creek civil war site, Shenandoah National Park--would like to book a cabin there someday and do more hiking.

Patsy Cline's house; view from Skyline Drive

Upon our return to the Creek, we had a fun visit from Bob Bell, who had come down from D.C. for a nephew's graduation and a major bridge tournament in Raleigh.  The intrepid Bellini was up for anything, and so we did the Sights: the haunting Fort Macon, the splendid Tryon Palace, and the informative and merry historic district Trolley Tour.

Back on the home front, we have encountered typical domestic setbacks and satisfactions. In sort of yin/yang fashion, these generally have the same sources, as you'll astutely note if you scroll back and forth between the two lists. The setbacks are all sources of, as I call it, bourgeois anxiety, so if you have enough of that yourself, or if you think pouting about life's small inconveniences is annoyingly middle-class, skip to "satisfactions," which also are annoyingly middle-class, but at least cheerfully so.


Top Ten Setbacks and Satisfactions
Setbacks

1. Boating. Our "new" powerboat's in the water, but running rough. Could be anything--we have no clue. It's discouraging.

Our creek, with boat on lift--where it stays, mostly.

2. Deck. We also have no clue where our septic tank is, which could impede plans to replace our aging deck.  Yes folks, plot plans indicate the tank is under the deck, next to the house, but we can't find it.  Would love to be able to perform routine maintenance, and find out for sure if according to current code we can actually rebuild in that proximity to the system.
3. Creatures. Tim was bitten by a tick. Figures, once you leave the home of Lyme disease. So far, no evidence of any bad reaction.
4. Landscape.  We have trees and shrubs (which we hope are drought-tolerant), but await a hardscape, i.e., a path through the pine straw to the front door.  Tim says, "It looks like a pine straw farm."  That's the mulch of choice in North Carolina.

Hum theme from Jaws as you look at this close-up of The Pine Straw That Ate Brices Creek.

5. Furniture. We bought a bed to replace the falling-apart one we inherited, in our downstairs guest room. If you visit, you may be staying here, so you have a vested interest in this particular setback.  Once the thing was assembled, we realized the mattress is a weird size, a tad bigger than king. Now, who measures a mattress before purchasing a bed frame?  We may be able to solve this problem by getting "California king" bed rails. We'll see if Ashley Furniture comes through.
6. Entertainment. New Bern restaurants close around 9 o'clock.
7. Garden.  Holes in the bean leaves. Broccoli struggling in the heat, planted too late.  Who knew you were supposed to plant stuff in February down here?
8. Fitness. Vicious Circle: Tim hasn't been to the golf course enough, which makes him reluctant to play until his game is polished, which makes him not go to the golf course enough, which makes him reluctant....you get the picture.
9. Weather.  It's usually 88 degrees and sunny, with puffy clouds and a breeze. We haven't had the rain that soaked not too distant regions. The drought is no good for the garden etc. 
10. Sports.  No Red Sox on TV.

Satisfactions
1. Boating. Taking the kayaks out on the creek, which we've only gotten around to a couple of times, is very peaceful and good exercise.
2. Deck. A great place to have dinner and watch the
3. Creatures. We enjoy seeing the geese and their goslings, the hummingbird, dragonflies, cardinals, mockingbirds, turtles, lizards, bunnies, (and sometimes) eagles, right in our back yard. And--virtually NO mosquitoes.  What's up with that?

Note goslings,at left in imaages: May 23 and June 4.
4. Landscape.  We're making progress in our landscaping project, in the hands of Knightscapes Enterprises. After many months of planning and waiting, we can now an envision how it will look when the new plantings mature and the hardscape is installed. The pretty lace cap hydrangea that we inherited is in full bloom.
5. Furniture. We found great dining room chairs (after a 4-year search) at High Point. They're on order from Mennonites in Indiana, who beat them with chains for a "distressed" finish. What a vision. The couch and Tim's desk and file cabinet are in the TV room--perfect.
6. Entertainment.  Cracker in Raleigh. NC Symphony at Tryon Palace in a couple of weeks. And of course there're always reruns of Bones, and the thrill of a Netflix delivery.
7. Garden. We've harvested cucumbers--tasty.  Tomatoes are ripening.  Tim's tomato towers and the cuke trellis of his own design, all of which he constructed from PVC pipe, look great and work well. 

8. Fitness. I'm playing tennis regularly with some pleasant women who remind me of my tennis pals in the old days. It's fun getting back into it.  And we both use the superb health club nearby frequently for working out and yoga.
9. Weather.  It's usually 88 degrees and sunny, with puffy clouds and a breeze.
10. Sports.  The Brew Bern festival is coming up.  Whaddya mean, beer isn't a sport?  Okay, then, we still have the Kinston Indians.