Wednesday night, September 9, 2010, in the fabulous AQUA restaurant perched on the Chesapeake Bay shoreline in the historic Town of Cape Charles, Virginia I was enjoying a wonderful, relaxing dinner with my customers to celebrate a full day of touring the most incredibly beautiful waterfront properties on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Little did I know that my last bite of rice might be truly my last bite, ever ! We three had been completely engrossed in happy conversation about the events and places of the day, and especially the sunset walk along the beautiful beach in the little neighborhood of Bay Ridge. I swallowed a small spoonful of rice and tried to wash it down with a sip of water only to find that it lodged in my trachea! Suddenly, without warning, my world turned upside down when I gasped for breath and not a molecule of air could pass into my straining lungs! Richard and Eileen knew immediately that I was in trouble. Unable to talk, I could only signal my crisis by grabbing my throat, bulging my eyes and pounding my chest. Eileen asked me if I could talk and I desparately shook my head while Richard quickly grasped the nature of my emergency, wrapped his strong arms around my chest from behind and administered five quick hugs of the Heimlich maneuver. Finally, on the fifth hug I expelled the blockage and sank back into my chair, taking my first breath in what felt like an hour but only proved to be about a minute or so. Granted a new lease on life, I have determined here to share this experience in the hope that all who read this blog will learn how to perform the Heimlich hug. Check out instructions on the Heimlich webpage at www.heimlichinstitute.org/page.php?id=34 . Take it from me, you’ll never know when you might use it and believe me when I say that it is truly a lifesaver !
Archive for September, 2010
My Customer, My Hero!
Friday, September 10th, 2010Seaside Shore Art Adorns Oyster, Virginia Harbor
Friday, September 10th, 2010
Mural in Oyster, Va.
August proved to be an interesting month for Oyster, Virginia residents when six young artists from the Atlanta, Georgia metro area descended upon this quaint little waterfront village on the Seaside in Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Perched on the deep water harbor overlooking the huge expanse of emerald green marshes, tidal sounds and barrier islands is the remains of an old seafood processing plant. Having roots in graffitti art, these artists were provided equipment and materials by the building’s owner and turned loose to “decorate” an eyesore in such a beautiful natural setting. For almost a week they labored under the hot sun and cloudless days to produce a truly unique vision on a virtually unspoiled coastline. At week’s end, dozens of curious residents appeared to unofficially christen this colorful masterpiece of street art. Even today, a month later, the building is attracting to this quiet, hidden village art afficionados and the just plain curiosity seekers who have caught wind of this special mural project. ( P.S. I have a great waterview house in Oyster which is being offered for sale. Give me a call at 757-331-4558 for details on how you can buy property in this tiny, sleepy seaside town on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.)
It Takes A Town To Grow A Park
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010
Sunday evening my husband and I, along with 2 grandsons, attended the dedication of Central Park in Cape Charles, Virginia. Untold hours of work by hundreds of “Citizens for Central Park” volunteers and thousands of dollars raised by them plus various State of Virginia grants the over the last ten years have “grown” the Park into what it is today– a lovely five acre green area ringed with winding walkways and beautiful landscaping. A flowing fountain greets visitors at the Park’s entrance and a large Gazebo proudly stands mid-way. On the north side you’ll find “Cape Kids”, a large playground with substantial play structures for imaginative, safe play including a short climbing wall with the “rocks” inset over a mural of a mountain. On the other side of the “Cape Kids” playground are two top notch tennis courts with night lighting.
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The history of “growing” the Park is fascinating. In the late 1880’s, when the town was being laid out, the streets of Cape Charles were originally designed around the Park, although the Park itself was not developed. When Cape Charles High School was opened in 1912, the Park served as its athletic field with a football and baseball field. In 1993, the Cape Charles schools were consolidated with the Northampton County schools and the Park was closed. It wasn’t until year 2000 that a large group of residents came together to form “Citizens for Central Park” , kicking off the effort by hosting a “Design Your Own Park Day” to draw in as much community energy as possible in creating the Park. The Women’s Club of Cape Charles planned the “Cape Kids” playgound. The garden areas were planned by the Eastern Shore Garden Club. Leon Parham, a long time resident of Cape Charles and a creative local architect, pulled all these ideas and plans into the beautiful final design approved by Town Council and the various community groups. (Leon designed the Gazebo as well.) The landscaping plan includes many interesting trees, including a Copper Beech, a Golden Rain tree, a Yoshino Cherry and a Gold Atlas Cedar, most of which are memorial trees donated by individuals in honor of or in memory of loved ones. Funds for the brick pavers and the benches were also donated by dedication including the 2002 Commonwealth Award which was presented to the Garden Club of the Eastern Shore on behalf of the Central Park Memorial Garden by the Garden Club of Virginia.
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And so the lovely Cape Charles Central Park, the fruit of so much thought, community effort and participation, receipient of many grants (over a million dollars) was proudly dedicated on Sunday, September 5, 2010 . Speeches were made, children were deputized, members of the Cape Charles Coast Guard Station presented the colors, the Star Spangled Banner was sung, the Cape Charles Fire Department raised the flag and Mayor Dora Sullivan, a long and staunch supporter of the Park, officially switched on the fountain. The waters gently flowed, Cental Park was officially open ! Let the fun begin !
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And so it did. The first official Central Park concert was held in the Gazebo, with four different groups playing throughout the evening– mostly country and rock and roll classics. Along the winding pathways, delicious aromas floated through the air as the food vendors offered tasty wares including crabcakes, BBQ shrimp, sub sandwiches, goodies from the dessert tent and, of course, the official food of kids everywhere, pizza. Being kids or at least kids at heart, the four of us enjoyed some of Veneto’s pepperoni and Italian sausage pizza before heading over to the playground to get into the swing of things — literally. Out on the long, wide Green, people were walking dogs, tossing balls, playing Frisbee, chatting in groups, sitting in beach chairs simply enjoying the music and the sunset — just having a wonderful time, enjoying the spirit of their town and their new Park. As we left, Veneto’s Pizza, its tent strung with twinking lights, was still going strong, the Gazebo’s live band had given way to a brilliant laser light show accompanied by recorded disco music …. Come On, Baby, Let’s Do The Twist. Strolling out past the murmering fountain, my husband and I both agreed that Citizens for Central Park had selected a great motto — “It Takes A Town To Grow A Park”. The town of Cape Charles has grown a beautiful Park, one which will enhance the lives of its residents and visitors for decades to come. To all those who worked so so long and so hard to make it happen, Bravo !
Have You Seen The Muffin Man, The Muffin Man, The Muffin Man ?
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
How many tens of millions of toddlers over the ages may have sung this Mother Goose song, I wonder ? At any rate we have do have a Muffin Man— well, actually a Muffin Lady— right here on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. And you’ll find Beth Flynn, in her sweet glory, not in Drury Lane, but in the Yellow Duck. That would, of course, be The Yellow Duck Bakery Cafe on Main Street in Exmore, Virginia.
What I can never figure out is why Yellow Duck’s muffins always taste better than my muffins ! I consider myself pretty handy with a baking pan when I’m in the mood but mine never seem to be as good. (It’s like fried rice- why is fried rice always, always better from a Chinese restaurant than what one prepares at home ? It’s like a Law of Nature or something ! Or maybe it’s just me…. ) Anyway, Yellow Duck also offers scones, cakes (including some excellent cheesecakes and beautifully decorated special occasion cakes ), pies and pastries but the headline attractions are its 36 varieties of delicious muffins. ( www.yellowduckcafe.com ) Quack if you like muffins !
Watching calories or sugar ? Not to worry — you can choose from their three no-sugar varieties, including the “Morning Muffin”, my husband’s favorite. I, of course, have many favorites. Quack, quack, quack ! Hard to choose between the cranberry orange, the blueberry crunch, the lemon poppy or the toasted almond, maybe pumpkin with a cream cheese filling. And when one cannot decide, there is only one solution — just get one of each ! ( Which is why I try not to drop by Yellow Duck too often– too much temptation, too little will power ! ) And when I arrive at the office toting a large white bakery box with a Yellow Duck sticker, you should see the anticipatory grins and the eager outstretched hands — – it’s a Muffin Morning at Blue Heron Realty Co. , the start of a quacking good day !
Gemini Magic
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
On Friday evening, in the Sinatra Room at Little Italy restaurant ( www.littleitalyhomestead.com ) in Nassawadox, Virginia over a hundred kids and parents were on hand to see the magic of Gemini. Ever a skeptic, I hoped my three grandchildren, ages 5, 7 and 8, would have a great time but expected to be pretty bored myself. Au contrarie, mon amis, all the adults, myself included, had a really good time, if lots of laughter and applause are reliable indicators. And the kids just absolutely loved it !
Dinner in the dining room came first. Pizza, the official food of kids everywhere, and salad all around— everyone happily finished their food and no drinks were spilled (courtesy of Little Italy’s special kid’s cups) so I would rate dinner as a complete success. Then down the hall to the Sinatra Room — we had a front row table with a clear, up-close view of the stage which had a sort of bell, book and candle setting. Before long, courtesy of Franco, owner/chef turned stagehand- for- the- night, the room lights came down, the stage lights came up and the music started. Gemini came sauntering out, lit the candle and we were off to an hour and a half of pure fun.
After a few magic tricks, including burning things and making them re-appear unscathed, came the first of several very popular audience participation tricks and antics. My 7 year old grandaughter was dressed in a sweet little white dress with pink and yellow flowers and wore a very pretty new pink sweater — and it was her new pink sweater that Gemini came down from the stage and asked to borrow ! I could see the internal struggle, she really didn’t want to let the sweater go but she didn’t want to say no either. So back up on the stage went Gemini, with the sweater, which became part of a fire trick, appearing at every turn that it would definately go up in flames. Eyes got bigger and bigger, kids were literally holding their breath to see if that sweater was going to burst into fire. Of course, it was returned unharmed and Gemini was on to his next trick.
Although magic tricks are the foundation of his act, Gemini is like a one-man band — he’s a comedian, a ventriliquist and a magician rolled into one cohesive show, plus two birds and a bunny ! Over-all, I think the favorite was an audience participation trick featuring two younger and two older kids selected to come up on stage where they then donned the funniest rubber masks of adult faces and became a part of several cute magic tricks. The incongruence of these cute kids and those funny, funny adult masks was so hilarious– kids and adults alike just roared with laughter and more laughter !
Gemini continued with three funny ventriliquist skits– the one with the Godfather dummy was especially good, he really had Marlon Brando’s voice down pat . The show ended with lots of applause- – clearly everyone had enjoyed a great time ! But then, to the kid’s delight, he brought the two birds and the bunny down into the audience for everyone to see and pet, up close and personal. Gracious about autographs and happy to pose for pictures with the kids, Gemini brought the evening to a delightful close. It was magic, Gemini magic.
Shopping For Wiley– The On-going Saga Of An Eastern Shore Horse Part 2
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
Harkening back to my July post on my overwhelming surprise at receiving Wiley, my Christmas gift horse…. It wasn’t just a huge surprise, it was also a bit of a shock. A little hard to take in, some quick figuring was needed about what to do next. Easy solution. I always say, when in doubt, go shopping ! So that’s what I did.
A quick visit to Dover’s website ( www.doversaddlery.com ) to look at the latest and greatest in equine equipment and fashions was in order. Wiley was in need of a lot of stuff if he was going to keep up with his stall buddies. ( Wiley hangs out on a beautiful 400 acre waterfront farm near Cape Charles, Virginia and I didn’t want him to embarrassed in front of his new friends.) A new rolled leather halter with a monogramed name plate seemed like a good start. Of course, every self respecting young colt has to have a cool coat for winter. A handsome burgandy blanket piped with gray and a charcoal gray blanket to contrast with his light gray coat seemed to be the perfect fashion statements for stepping into the upcoming show season.
Apparently Wiley thought so too. New halter, new blanket — now he held his head high when people passed in front of his stall. Not just some horse turned out in a field, Wiley’s demeanor changed. No longer when you opened the stall did he turn and face the corner. No, now he looked directly at you and walked forward to meet you, ready to shake hoofs. He was ready for some R-E-S-P-E-C-T ! Women have always known that a new outfit and a makeover can make you feel great but who knew that it was the same for horses ? Wildfire was now on his way and show season was just around the corner ! Next post — Wiley’s first show.