Plastic Bag Ban

On September first a ban on plastic bags on the Outer Banks went into effect.

The bill, signed into law by Gov. Beverly Perdue in June, means stores in Dare, Currituck and Hyde counties will have to offer an alternative to plastic bags. The ban covers stores larger than 5,000 square feet or that have more than five outlets in the state.

The stores can offer paper bags made of 100 percent recycled paper or reusable shopping bags.

Shoppers who take their own bags to stores will be offered a refund, coupon or loyalty points from the store. They also can get credit that is equal to the cost of the paper bag.

I have been using my own bags for a good while now so for me it was really no big deal.
For others well, let's just say you would think they were being asked to donate a kidney!
I have heard it all but most people seem OK with it.
Our local grocery stores are actually giving a 5cent rebate on each bag you use that goes toward your next shop. Hey! Works for me.

The law is designed to preserve the environment and protect wildlife. The bags can be swallowed by turtles that choke on them. It has been estimated that over a million birds and 100,000 marine animals, including mammals and turtles, die each year from plastic debris.
Not Good!

Here's the local news report.



That girl at the end of the video complaining is unbelievable! Honestly, I am speechless on that one.
OK, no I'm not...Katya, Katya. Girl, you look like you have style, buy some reusable bags! Sheesh!

Check this out! Really great idea. I love those guys over at Threadbanger.

Some summer scenes '09

Hi blog....

I've missed you!

Let's see...

Went on a summer vacation for a week to Myrtle Beach. It was our first vacation as a whole family. We stayed with my in-laws at their condo. We had a good time but I'm fairly sure we got on their last nerves by the time the week was over. Lord knows they were on mine! Tee Hee...We were appreciative and the kids had a blast.

The kids...

Jacob went back to public high school this year. He is doing well and I'm very proud of him. Big change, going from home school back to public.
Savannah is taking ballet and Johnathan starts art classes in a few weeks. They are both home with me.

Planted our fall crops last weekend. We got oodles of lettuce, spinach, carrots and cabbage in the ground. Exciting stuff! I love having fresh lettuce for salads.

More later...I have cleaning to do.

Happy Easter

Scenes from the Homestead

First things first, thank you all for your kind words and support. I really appreciate it. It's nice to hear.

Some great news...my mother is fine! In fact, there are no spots on her lungs! To make a long story short, she went into a Patient First for a prescription refill and because of stomach pain. They did an X-Ray on her stomach and that's when they saw the spots on her lungs. Strange, I know. She freaked out and left without taking more X-Rays or anything. About a week or so later she had her X-Rays faxed to a lung specialist and after seeing them they told her there were NO spots on her lungs. It has been bizarre to say the least and I wouldn't recommend anyone going to a Patient First. Thank God she's OK.

Since we have been home I have busy in the yard. I've managed to get some hanging baskets, some petunias for color, 4 new azalea bushes, 2 rose bushes and a few other things. I've tilled the garden and have begun planting again. I've got some pepper plants in, some lavender, some basil, a few tomato plants, lettuce, beets and a few other things. John has been busy raking and mulching. The leaf compost we started last year is amazing!

We also have a new family member! Banjo. He's a sweetie pie.

Here are some scenes from today.

Clarity

So much has happened since my last post it's a wonder I haven't had a nervous breakdown. Or did I? LOL, anyway....

It began with the fire.

After the fire my mother called one afternoon to tell me she had just left the doctor's office and they found two spots on her lungs. I really can't write too much about that right now because I am actually still somewhat numb about it.

About a week after the fire John was following me and the kids in his companies truck. It was pouring down rain and we were heading home. In a flash he had veered off of the road and was heading straight for the woods. I watched the whole thing in my rear view mirror and I gotta tell ya, I honestly thought he was dead. I pulled over, jumped out of the truck and ran down the street to meet him and thank God he was OK. The truck is smashed up pretty bad but he managed to drive it home.

After the accident I had a major anxiety attack. It was inevitable.

Through all of the super stresses that have happened in the last month, one HUGE good thing has come out of all of this and a realization.

The realization was how important family is.

The HUGE thing is that we saved our house and we are back! The Little Beach Homestead lives on.

For some reason, after the fire John went into "attack mode" on our loan company. They didn't want to work with us before and people laughed at us wanting to refinance but this time they actually modified our loan! President Obama's doing? I have no idea but it worked and we saved our little homestead.

Yes, through all of this hell we managed to save our home from foreclosure and that's where I have been.

Moving.

Back.

This time we had help from our parents and hired movers so I didn't have to lift one box. It was truly a blessing because moving is a bitch.

So we are home. At last.

For the last week or so my mom has been coming down and helping decorate and organize the house. We went shopping together and we've had a fantastic time. We managed to get outside on Saturday and work in the yard a bit. It seemed so sad when we first got back but after a little TLC its starting to feel better.
It felt MORE than good to get out there and get my hands dirty. My yard missed me! My house missed me! Things fell into place as if we were never gone.

It's so strange. Life.

It's as if we are all on a giant roller coaster. Ups and downs, twists and turns, screaming, yelling, fear and excitement. And no matter how bad you want the ride to end, it doesn't.

It just doesn't.

I'm still on the ride but I think I am finally feeling some peace and calm right now. I have been taking it easy, trying to get back into a nice routine and I'm feeling better, believe it or not.

So....that's where I am.

Home.

Feeling Better

Some time has passed and I'm beginning to heal.

We finally got the courage to really get in the garage and try to salvage what we could. Unfortunately, we realized we lost more than we first thought. It's funny what you have in a garage. Things you don't even really realize are there! And it's strange the things that were lost.

John had an old box of Grateful Dead cassette tapes that were melted to smithereens. We lost obvious things like our lawn mower, our shop vac, a hammock and tools. We also lost things like luggage, a bunk bed, old cheerleading trophies, a tent, children's toys and miscellaneous junk.

So, we pulled what we could and now we're moving on.

Afterwards, we all went for a nice walk on the beach and it was refreshing to say the least. The weather was amazing and the sun was shining bright.

I have herbs that have germinated and even some lettuce! It's exciting to see things start to grow.

Hopefully the owner of the house (we rent for those of you that don't know) will have the garage removed soon. The smell is terrible and it's a hideous sight.

Here are some pictures of the beach trip.

An update

This weekend John (bless his heart) managed to find all 10 chickens within the rubble and he buried them for me.
My mother bought a sweet yard angel and she is there watching over them.

I'm feeling a little better and wanted to thank everyone for your support and kind words.

Still no word on exactly what caused the fire but in my heart of hearts I feel like it was deliberately started by someone. There are also some rumors about that it may have been electrical.

my girls....

My heart is broken this evening.
All of my beloved chickens are gone and I'm left with only memories of them and everything I learned from having them.
I am so angry and fed up with bad things happening that I honestly don't know how much more I can take.
I loved those chickens so much and I think the constant loss is catching up with me. People have told me it's "God's plan."
I hope my sweet girl's are with God tonight.

A Fire

Last night after dinner we were all doing our thing when Jacob said he smelled something burning. Not a minute after he said that, a woman starting banging on our door telling us our barn/garage was on fire.

I'm so shocked this morning that I had to make myself sit down here and just think.

I lost all my chickens in that fire.

Hoppalong Cassidy, Beauty, Black Beauty, Reaper, Fuzzball, Tweety, Loner, Goosey and 2 hens my inlaws had given me.

The fire was one of the most terrifying things I have ever seen and I thank God that we are OK and our house didn't catch.

The fire spread to a building that is next to our barn. It was a pub but just recently closed down. They have our whole yard taped off with crime scene tape at the moment but I did manage to get out there at the crack of dawn and snap these pictures.

I was praying that maybe some of the chickens escaped but there is no sign of any of them anywhere.

As of right now we have no idea what started the fire.

A sign of things to come

I've been starting seeds galore around here and I'm so excited.

The kids got together and using a kit my mother in law got them, built little flower pots and planted beans to watch them grow!

John started some herbs inside that are beginning to grow and look at my tomatoes! I am so excited. They are doing well.

This year I have 3 different varieties, all heirloom and from Baker's Creek.

Is it spring yet?!

Cape Hatteras drama continues

Last year, a federal judge approved an emergency plan to protect the fragile ecosystems at Cape Hatteras National Seashore from poorly managed beach driving. After suffering precipitous declines, endangered and threatened shorebird and sea turtle populations began to rebound under the new plan.

The National Park Service, conservation groups, the local governments of Hyde and Dare Counties, and off-road vehicle (ORV) enthusiast groups all originally agreed to this plan in the federal courtroom. But now the ORV groups have had a change of heart. They are pressuring members of Congress to to overturn the court-approved compromise plan and want to return to the old system that allowed excessive beach driving.

Congressman Walter Jones (NC-3rd District) has already introduced an ORV favored bill in the House, and Senator Richard Burr’s office says that he will introduce a Senate bill soon. They may try to convince other members of the North Carolina congressional delegation, like Senator Kay Hagan, to co-sponsor this bad bill. Please take action now to protect the Outer Banks:

http://ncconservationnetwork1.org/campaign/beachdriving