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Monday, May 25, 2009

Memorial Day in the Point

Happy Memorial Day! This special holiday is a great one-you get to recognize those courageous men and women who have fought for our country, and it's also very symbolic of summer and what's to come. Falling at the end of May, Memorial Day weekend is a holiday that tends to bring families together and allows them to cherish the beautiful weather and each other. Memorial Day in Colton's Point was a busy one...the boats and jet skis were out in full force, the public pier was filled with fishing hopefuls and there were boat rides to and from the island and light house all weekend long. Two houses down seemed to be one of the largest family reunions I've ever seen with games of volleyball, tug-of-war and kayaking.

I love a holiday that can really bring the best out in a family. Memorial Day weekend seems to have that affect on so many people. It may be the weather, it may be the fact that we are thankful for our freedom and the soldiers who help us keep it, or it could be that there aren't too many holidays off work between March and May. Whatever the reason is, I think it's fabulous. A place like Colton's Point really brings that special feeling out in me, sometimes I feel as if I'm on a mini-vacation the minute I pull into the driveway. It's such a beautiful and summery place, it's hard to be there and not have a smile on your face.

Here are a few of the fun things we did and saw this Memorial Day weekend:

(Hung out and relaxed on my pier)

(Drove around different back roads in SMC)

(More back road sights)

(Finally got a picture of us in front of the cottage!)

Friday, May 22, 2009

Memories

Growing up the daughter of a waterman, I've always had a special place in my heart for crabbing. I love everything about it, though I must admit, I'm probably one of the worst crabbers you'll ever meet. Crabbing takes a lot of hard work, dedication and focus-something I truly lacked when I would accompany my dad out on the "Rivah". (I was more interested in laying on the bow of the boat, taking in all of the views and sun, and of course eating the snacks we picked up from Capt. Sams early that morning.)

But back to crabbing, it used to be a way of life for so many people, but is quickly dying out. As times change, it has become difficult for waterman to make a living, but each morning I still see a few boats out there working the water. Maybe it's because I grew up with a father who had been out the water crabbing in his own boat since the age of 12, but there is something about it that just seems so peaceful to me. It's easy to say that as an on-looker, especially knowing how frustrating it can be when the line gets caught in the motor, you aren't close enough and miss a pot, or you have a daydreaming 10 year-old girl helping you cull the crabs and is slower than molasses...

Maybe with any luck the crab population will build back up and all the former waterman can go back to doing what they enjoy. Each morning as I slowly and reluctantly make my way along Point Breeze Road heading to work, I look out over the river and see beautiful sunrises and the work boats of the few dedicated crabbers we have left. It's a stunning scene and just one of the many reasons I adore Colton's Point.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

What is "Point Breeze Palaver"?


It is a culmination of beauty, relaxation and comfort. Technically, palaver means: "a conference or discussion" and point breeze is a road located in Southern Maryland that is rich with culture and history. Point Breeze Palaver is meant to be a collection of thoughts that will spark conversation. With all of the natural beauty on Point Breeze road, many different topics and thoughts are likely to come up.

Anyone lucky enough to live in Colton's Point can understand the inspiration and feeling you get just gazing around the neighborhood. If only the walls of the aged cottages could speak, we'd gain more insight to the lifestyles of those Point residents that proceeded us. Everything about this place amazes me. The beautiful flowers, homes, residents, animals, sunrises - I could go on forever.

This beautiful and inspirational place is home to many different kinds of people. Many are lifelong "Pointers" who grew up here and now have their own families, you have those who own summer homes here to escape the fast-paced life of the city, and then you also have young couples who are fascinated by the beauty and peace of this place.

So when you think of "Point Breeze Palaver" don't think of gossip, materialistic or senseless things, think of a place that is so lovely and calm that you are inspired to be a better and more pleasant person.




Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Changes

It's mid-way through May, and it's time for some changes. First, the weather needs to change...I'm ready for summer. It's hard to look out your window and see the sun shining, only to walk outside and discover that the high is only going to be 63 despite that beautiful sun. It's supposed to start warming up soon, I am just being impatient because, "I WANT IT NOOOOWWW". Any guesses as to what that quote is from? I'll give you a quarter if you're right!

Anyway-back to changes-the second change that will be taking place soon is my hair color. Though I was "blessed" with my fathers lovely lackluster blackish-brown locks along with my mothers thickness and tendency to "poof", I've been changing my hair color since 10th grade. With lighter hair as a child, my skin tone and eye color, I typically stick to the blonde highlights. Recently, over the past year I decided to mix it up a bit, going back to something close to my natural color with some auburn and golden highlights. Pretty, low-maintenance and very nice for the winter months, but like I said, I'm ready for summer so that means back to blonde! I've never been a full blonde before really...the closest I got was probably my senior year of high school when I was so paranoid my roots were showing that I was getting my highlights touched up every 3-4 weeks religiously. But this time I'm taking the plunge, I'm going all blonde! (with some highlights and dimension of course too) This is what I'm going for:

[Cross your fingers, because I've already made up my mind and there's no turning back now!]

This next "bloggery item" isn't anything I really want to change, but is an inevitable change that takes place everyday. The cutest little boy in the world, Jakey, is turning 1 in a few weeks! He changes every time I see him. (I didn't think it was possible for him to get any cuter or sweeter, but does every visit he makes to SMC) So to document and celebrate his 1st birthday, Bubba and I have decided to hire a photographer and let the Smith's have a family portrait day. We want to go with Melissa Barrick Photography, she takes awesome pictures, so if you ever need a photographer, check her out!

"Nothing endures but change" - Heraclitus

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Welcome Home...

As you've seen in some previous blogs, I've been getting pretty into the whole gardening scene around the house here lately. I've worked hard on the front of the house, and am ready to tackle the right side, aka the grassy disaster. It's over grown, and hard to tell where the grass stops and the flower beds start, so I've made it my mission to clean it up and get it looking healthy again. Now to the point of my little blog posting here...as I am coming down the road in front of my beautiful homestead, I glance over to admire the newly planted flowers in the front yard when I noticed something NOT so small lounging in the beds of grassy disaster. So I pull into the driveway, sneak up to the back door and peek around the corner and this is what I saw:




Ok, well maybe this is an exaggeration, BUT I certainly did see one of the largest groundhogs I've ever come across furrowing in the grass and soaking up the afternoon sun. And when I snuck up behind him, he was moving and grooving like he was singing the Caddyshack song in his head, it was hilarious! When I went to get my camera out to document this ridiculous performance, he heard me and scurried off. I was a little annoyed at this dancing fool because I have a sneaky suspicion he is the culprit who ate my newly potted flowers in the backyard, however it was hard not to laugh at him as he was getting down like he didn't have a care in the world.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

18 more days

In 18 more days, this is where I will be!





Hatteras Island, NC- Ever since we decided to take a vacation this summer, it's all I've been able to think about! Family vacations are something that we used to take pretty regularly, however over the past few years, we haven't really had the time to do anything substantial. But, the time has come! This year my mom decided to round us all up and take a well deserved vacation. We've all been working hard at both school and work, and never seem to take the time to relax, so at the end of the month I predict we will be doing nothing but laying on the beach, reading, eating and drinking.

Almost anyone you talk to has probably been to the Outer Banks before, but not the Morris family. We always liked to try different spots like Bar Harbor, ME, West Virginia for some white water rafting or Hilton Head Island, SC (my personal favorite). This time we figured we don't really want to "explore" and have activities planned so much, we really just want to relax and not have to worry about a thing. I've already started working on my iPod, loading it up with all of my favorite beach music so I can lay on the beach with a cold daiquiri and waste the days away. It should be heavenly, and I cannot wait!

This was the last little trip we went on-New River Gorge, WV-for my graduation last year. So much fun, I can't wait to go back and do it again:

Ahh the birds

Do you know what one of my favorite things about living in Colton's Point is? Being woken up by the soft sunlight coming through my curtains and the sound of birds chirping. It's like natures alarm clock, telling me to get up and enjoy the day. A beautiful thing, right? Typically it is, except on work days when I'm supposed to be up before the birds and sun. Shockingly, I was still able to make it to work exactly on time.

On another note, Capt. Sams brought home their first victory last night. 22 - 8 over Dew Drop, not too shabby! Everyone was hitting and that makes a BIG difference for us. It was nice to start the season off with a win, hopefully our enthusiasm and excitement will carry over into the next few games as well.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Mothers Day

Mothers Day was more like Mothers Weekend for us. We were able to spend time with my mom all weekend and it was wonderful. We were even able to get a picture of all of us together for once!

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Throw Back

Today was most definitely a "Throw Back Saturday" complete with yard sales, gardening and ice-cream! Marci and I joined my mom and grandma on their yard sale-ing escapades this morning and actually ended up driving away with some pretty great deals...As uncomfortable and awkward as all of the haggling and digging through other peoples belongings makes me feel, I guess that old saying, "One mans trash is another mans treasure," is still true. I mean, where else can you find a gently used Pottery Barn coffee table for $40? Despite the unusually hot and humid weather this morning, we all had a really nice time.

Next stop - Green Acres Nursery, Loveville -
Apparently every year on mothers day weekend my mom and grandma go to Green Acres Nursery and stock up on all of their favorite flowers. I decided to join in the fun this year since Bubba and I have our own place and want to spruce it up a bit. Living on the point, most peoples main focus isn't their flower garden, it's the view of the water, but I still thought out flower beds and pots could use a little color. So tagging along I discovered that 1.) Green Acres has about every flower you could ever dream of, and 2) Gardening isn't really all that bad. I love being outside, but I've never had the patience for pulling weeds, watering plants every day, just the whole process in general. However, now that I actually know the proper way to go about doing these things and the fact that our yard isn't terribly large, I actually enjoyed mixing and matching the colors how I wanted them and learning about the different needs of different flowers. Of course, I couldn't have done any of this without my mom and grandma, so to Nan and my Momma: Thank you a thousand times over!


Once we started wrapping up the gardening for the evening, we were lucky enough to catch this beautiful sky. I love Colton's Point! Enjoy...

Friday, May 8, 2009

It's Friday

Another beautiful morning in the Point...

It's mornings and days like this that make me so thankful for everything I have. After all of the rain this past week and a half, the sun is like an instant high. What could be better? It's Friday and the sun is out! Better enjoy it while we can, because you never know when it might start raining again. Hopefully the sunshine will hold out for the duration of the weekend! :)


Thursday, May 7, 2009

Another Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my little-big sister, Marci!


Yesterday, Marci turned 25! That's a pretty big milestone...quarter century! Sounds scary, but really I think 25 is probably one of the best times in your life. You're still young, but yet you are old enough to be taken seriously. You are young enough to make a mistake and learn from it, and you are old enough to understand how the world works and what you need to do to get through it. I hope 25 is a good year for you, Marci; Happy Birthday, Little!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Rainy Days

Just a week or two ago it seemed as if spring had been skipped over and we were headed straight into summer, but that was just a tease. It's been raining pretty consistently for at least a week, and I now remember why I'm not the biggest fan of rain. It's dark, dreary and just plain depressing. In it's defense, it has knocked off much of the pollen that turned my black car to a crusty yellow-green shade, however one good day of rain could have taken care of that problem, I didn't need seven!

I don't know how people in Seattle do it; Rain can be refreshing and much needed at times, but day-in and day-out is just too much for me. Hopefully soon it will clear up and the sun will start shinning again. A little sunshine is good for the soul :) In the mean time, check out this list of 15 romantic rainy day dates! Numbers 12 and 14 are my personal favorites...check out the list and give some a try. It couldn't hurt, it's not like you can really do much else!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Happy Birthday!


Happy Birthday, Tasty Cake!

My newest friend Amanda (yes, I think I have more friends named Amanda than most people even know) celebrated her 22nd birthday this past week. We celebrated by going out to Cheeseburger in Paradise and Donovans, and we couldn't have had more fun! Consisting of Electric Lizards, Vegas Bombs, Mr. Wendell dedications and Shakin' it Like a Salt Shaker, our night was a successful one with laughs, drinks, hugs and new friends!

Friday, May 1, 2009

Garden & Gun

(images from gardenandgun.com)
Even though it's true that magazines, newspapers and pretty much any form of print media is dying out, I have found a magazine that I absolutely LOVE. I discovered Garden & Gun when I switched Doctors over the winter, and was waiting to be seen for about 45 minutes...I was annoyed that it was taking so long, but who am I kidding, it's a doctors office, and 45 minutes isn't that bad compared to some other places. Anyway, while I was waiting I picked up this magazine and fell in love. The title, Garden & Gun, is pretty self explanatory, but it goes beyond that. It is a magazine that prides itself on being the "Soul of the New South" and highlights some of the areas, businesses, farms, traditions, restaurants, etc. that makes the South what it is. Garden & Gun portrays the South in such a beautiful and interesting way, it's hard to pick up an issue and not long to take a vacation just to slow down for a weekend and become a Southerner yourself.














I love Southern heritage and traditions, and hope that it is a lifestyle that continues on for many years. Garden & Gun allows me to escape to the South if only for a few minutes and has Bubba on the edge of his seat reading about hunting, guns, cooking, and more hunting! We love this magazine, and if you have any interest in the ways of the South, I suggest you give it a try.