Weather Wonders

Faye Leads the Way

What a difference a week makes!  Last Monday was a perfect Indian summer day and I was kayaking on the Appomattox – today I’m hunkered down, glued to the television, monitoring what the weather channel is calling “ the storm of a lifetime.”  What a crazy flip of nature.      My neighbor Faye invited me for an afternoon paddle…something I’ve been itching to do, so I accepted with enthusiasm.  Our route was to take us on three local bodies of water, starting at Wilck's Lake behind the public library, paddling down Buffalo Creek where it empties into the Appomattox and then following the Appomattox into downtown Farmville.  Faye indicated it was an easy paddle and would take about two hours.  Well, you may remember the cliche “two hour tour.”  It was more like four.  But, oh so fine.   Mind you, I have not done any kayaking in quite a while so I was a bit rusty.  This became apparent straight away when I tipped it at a precarious angle getting in.  I’m sure I saw alarm on my friend’s face.  I can only guess what she was thinking about the entire venture ahead of us.  I have to admit that within the first five minutes my arm muscles were talking to me and my flu shot was whining.  Now I’m thinking I’ve gotten myself into something I can’t even see the end of the tunnel…or the river as the case may be.   But it got better and better and I got the rhythm and my muscles relaxed.  We had to portage the kayaks up and over the High Bridge Trail, we navigated around fallen trees and pushed ourselves over sandbars all throughout the beautiful afternoon.  We laughed a lot.   We even startled a deer who was resting next to the river’s edge.                                  It was a perfect afternoon.

Wonderful Wedding

The Wedding was all I had hoped it would be.  Most importantly, the bride was happy and radiant. The groom showed up, looked debonair and positively beamed as Kate walked down the aisle with her father.  Did I say walked?  They almost sprinted.  But they arrived at the alter in good fashion, finding groom, best man, the priest and the rings.  All it takes to join in holy matrimony!  The wedding party sat in the choir pews, up close and personal, giving us an intimate connection to the ceremony.  It was all lovely.

Back in Farmville, I am pouring over photos and reliving moment by moment.  Sadly, the inevitable will engulf me and the clarity of the wonderful weekend will begin to fade.  I'm writing it all down and pressing it to heart and mind.  It was just too marvelous to forget.

Gone Missing

Life can surely offer up some surprises.  Most of you know I lost my cell phone on Saturday.  It happens….folks misplace their phones all the time.  Having said that, I feel my current circumstances contributed to my heightened aggravation.  This is a pretty significant week for me with calls to make and bases to touch, and to top it all off I knew I was leaving Elizabeth City Monday morning at 6:00 headed back to Farmville – with or without my phone.   I did what everyone does; cuss, blame their husband and check under the car seats.  Having no luck, I then began to retrace my steps.  You can only imagine where those led me the Saturday before my daughter’s wedding.  In the attic, the garage, every room of the house, Page After Page, Overman & Stevenson, Sydney’s, the downtown market, Belks, Big Lots, Farm Fresh & Food Lion,  Lowes, Ace Hardware, Jenny’s house, Brenda and Terry’s house, Flora’s house, Muddy’s and CHKD’s….just to name a few.  I didn’t make it.  There weren’t enough hours in the day to do it all over again, and besides, I had concluded that it must be in the house…..somewhere.  Turns out it wasn’t.  Driving back up hwy 460 this morning, George’s phone rings and it’s his Longwood secretary.  Said she got a call from a lady (Faye) in Farmville who had called me this morning and left a message. Faye was surprised when the return call was from a thrift shop in Elizabeth City who was trying to figure out who the phone belonged to.  Faye said she knew and would make some phone calls on my behalf.  The l-o-n-g and short of it, she did.  Phyllis went and picked it up and has it in her glove compartment.  No wait, her office.  No, maybe she said it was in her pocketbook.