Back In Time for Riverfest

I'm back from Iceland and I have a ton of pictures, stories, and suggestions for anyone who wants to visit this amazing place. But I'll get to that later. I am too jet-lagged and foggy to start with the debriefing today. I will say this: Yes, I tried the whale. (Icelanders have been carefully harvesting whale without depleting populations for a long time. It's traditional and they take only a few animals a year.) No. I didn't eat Puffin (but only because it was out of season). I also met two of Iceland's biggest celebrities and soaked in the Blue Lagoon (pictured). More on all of that later.

I have a couple of bits of news, I want to share right now. You all know that Riverfest starts on Friday, right? The schedule of events is here. And all sorts of information about the festivities, its history, who benefits, and how to volunteer are here. Also note that (my favorite spot on the river) Catalan will open at noon and stay open till they decide to close on Sunday. The Tartines du Catalan are great with a glass wine.

And now for the expected guests...! Suggestions?

My mother and her husband are in town and they are not strangers to this town. But I'd like to have them explore some different places to eat, while allowing the whole family to enjoy, as well. (Read: family friendly!)

Yesterday I sent them to get some soup and a sandwich at Temptations (and, due to a napping toddler, they brought me back a yummy chicken-walnut-mandarin orange salad...which I ate too quickly to have time to take a picture. Sorry, Christina!) My step-father enjoyed it so much he said that Denver should have a place as good as Temptations. And he was impressed with their wine selection, as well.

Last night, in the tropical storm rain and early darkness, they braved a run to a Chinese restaurant for take-out. Later today, we'll pick up Veronica (7) early from school and go to the Wilmington Tea Room. Veronica has been dying to take her grandmother to have tea for more than two years, but the tea room closes at 3 p.m., the same time as her school lets out.

Any suggestions for a dinner place--besides Flaming Amy's--that can handle our gang? (Don't get me wrong, we love Flaming Amy's, but since we live down the block from it, we get our fill.)

If the restaurant is pet friendly, we might just take the turkey buzzard that's been hanging around or Sammy the caterpillar. Sammy, Veronica is convinced, is "either dead or has made his coccoon." So he definitely doesn't eat much.

Unexpected guests

Again, working from home provides all sorts of distractions. Today, besides getting the call from school to come pick up my sick child and planning for my mother's impending visit, I was distracted by a white truck pulling up in front of my house.

When I met the gentleman at the door, he said he was here to deal with the road kill.

(Wow. I didn't even know this town had such a service, did you?)

Side note: when I was a writing student, I had a list of story ideas, one that included a road-kill specialist.

When I explained to him that the turkey buzzard visitor of Monday had taken care of said road kill and I wasn't sure who had called him (although I thought it neat that he received the call). He looked a bit confused, looked up at our house number and smiled.

"I'm the only one in town who deals with this kind of situation. I'm glad to know I have back up."

And with that, with twinkle in his eye, he returned to his van and drove off.

This week is looking up. My second encounter with a road-kill specialist. How cool is that.

Here's my third encounter this week:

I'm definitely changing my night cream. Most definitely.

The Land of Sturdy Outerwear

Can anyone remember how to dress for 40 decrees and raining? That's what I'm packing for tonight. I appreciate the recent cool weather here in Wilmington but it's nothing like 40, right? I need a warm coat, wool socks, and a scarf—don't I? Because, tomorrow, I'm boarding a plane for Iceland where I will be touring a shark farm, eating whale meat, soaking in geothermal hot springs, and hiking unpronounceable mountains. If you have kids who want to be writers when they grow up, don't discourage them. There are definite advantages.

Iceland wants American journalists to think of Iceland as a hip destination. And to get that message across, they are flying some of us over there to check it out. Nice work if you can get it, right? So for the next five days, my Wilmaville posts will all about Iceland. How cool is that?

Anything you want to know about Iceland? Ask it here. Right now, all I'm saying is that it's in the low 40s, on Greenwich Mean Time, and a five hour flight from New York. But I'll have a camera and a notebook. (They sent me a packing list and those were on it, in case I don't yet know how to be a journalist.) So I imagine there will be more information and images coming—right here. Stay tuned for more of "Wilmaville Does Reykjavik!"

Meanwhile, be sure and enter the giveaway for a free dinner at Laterna.

Work from home distractions

Normally I don't complain when my work day is interrupted. It happens so often with three kids around the house that it seems to be the rhythm to my working at home. Today, however, my day was interrupted several times by nature. Somehow children seemed easier to handle after all.


When I moved here from D.C., my Washington friends joked that in moving to Wilmington I should be prepared to go barefoot and pregnant. While that seemed true, for a while we even had the rusted car in the driveway to contend with.


And then there are the chickens kept in our neighborhood. Today (on a deadline and all) I thought I saw one of my neighbors driving slowly as a bird clucked along the side of the road, as if tracking his wandering poultry. Being neighborly, Mac (4) and I went to offer our assistance. (Okay, so I sort had to encourage Mac to do this....)

When we made it to the end of the driveway: no neighbor, no chicken. Just an ENORMOUS turkey buzzard across the road eyeing the road kill conveniently deceased in front of our house.


As I ushered Mac back into the house, I tried to explain nature...of course borrowing heavily from Hollywood and the movie "Over the Hedge" to explain a possum and road kill:


"Remember the father who always pretending he's dead in the movie?"


"Yeah, but he's really dead, isn't he?" Mac said, referring to the flattened animal and wanting to return to the creature before any more of his dignity was lost to the buzzard's mid-day snack.


Throughout the afternoon, we countered our movements to the fits and starts of maneuvering around the buzzard and his meal, as the possum found his way onto our driveway.

I moved the dead animal across the road. The buzzard continued to feast throughout the afternoon.


But, as I write this, the buzzard continues his perching across the street.


I'm sitting here wondering if my new night/beauty cream is having, well, an effect that I didn't consider. Perhaps the buzzard is waiting for bigger prey.


Now that would really give my Washington friends something to talk about, wouldn't' it?

What is your business?

I've been fortunate this week to be able to interview the power-mommies behind Wilmaville's three drop-in daycares: Play Date, Simply Play and Giggles.

As always the case, I've learned a lot. This article will be coming out in Greater Wilmington Business Journal in a couple weeks.

But most of all, I am impressed with these women and the leap they took to start their own businesses.

Do you have a business? If so, tell us about it. Let us know so we can start patronizing your place of business--and profile it.

Wilmaville supporting local businesses. How cool is that.

So, even if you don't have to, drop off the kids at a drop-in daycare. Support these Wilmington mothers and their businesses.

Cutting edge interior design

Now I can't remember the last date night I had and am thinking it may have been in the last century. And, even IF I *could* win Christina's prize, it's beginning to look like we won't be having an out-of-the-house date for a few more months. (The last plan I had was to go see a play with my husband and ended up at Charlie Brown with two-thirds of the brood...while he stayed home and painted.)

And, for our friends who think we've gone mad, we've been rather recluses, busy trying to uncover the furnishings from their plastic wrap. Well, I have been. I was trying to free the children's toys from their bubble of painters' plastic sheeting. Philip went through and re-covered everything over the weekend.

I'm sure that one day, 40 years from now, I'll appreciate plastic on furniture. Right now it's a hassle.

But...we are making progress. (I noticed on my calendar that the first plastic wrapping went up in July...sigh. Here's where I'd like to insert a photo, but, sadly, I think it looks the same as a couple months ago.) I spent the weekend scraping paint in one room, while Philip put paint up in another room. We had to tag-team the work to keep an eye or two on the kids.

Rumor has it that my brother-in-law returns this weekend to finish the unfinished projects, meanwhile my mother arrives next week.

And then it will be Christmas.

Nope, no date night in sight until at least 2010 (unless someone takes pity on me and drags me along on their date night at Laterna...?). I wonder if the plastic will be put away by then? Or if the furniture and toys will just be frozen in time--a futuristic, fossilized interior design statement.

Date Night Ideas Giveaway

I know Monday seems a bit early in the week to be talking about date night, which for me is Friday. But this week I intend to be more proactive. And I need your help!

Last time I posted on this subject, I was headed out on a date with my husband. That night turned into something of a disappointment. We went to Brasserie du Soleil. (Also known as the "really expensive salad place.") I did not order salad, though. And I obviously should have. The organic chicken I did order was a selection of puny legs and thighs accompanied by a gravy that was, in the opinion of someone who made her first gravy at age 9 and is somewhat famous for the stuff, inexperienced. Not to dredge up my Dickensian childhood or anything but I was a latch-key kid in the 3^rd grade. My father was one of those never-in-the-kitchen types so my mother would call me from her office to walk me through making dinner most nights of the week. My 3^rd-grader, Phone-Support Chicken was better than the one I paid good money for on date night. Call me fussy but wishing you'd stayed home and cooked and spent the money on shoes instead does not make for the most romantic experience.

Judging from the comments on my last date-night post, I'm not the only one looking back with regret. So I propose an idea: Let's brainstorm some date-night ideas. Restaurants? Romantic spots in town? Spa dates? Other creative ideas? Post your idea in the comments.

And there is a prize! I will run the Randomator 9000 (or maybe I'll try random.org this time) on the comments and one lucky reader will win a $30 gift certificate to Laterna Mediterranean Grill and Tavern. Did you know there is a full bar in the back of this place? And it quite possibly has the best beer selection in town. Also the Greek Salad is awesome. That right there would have been a good date.

And don't forget that our SitterCity.com giveaway is still going on. Click here for instructions on entering that one.

 

Wilmington for Bikes and Pedestrians!

I could not agree more with Elizabeth and CBToday on that last post. I have started walking to school with my kids this year. Their school is less than a mile away but the only way to get there without walking on a freeway is to walk the railroad tracks. Last year, we debated it but their Dad said it was too dangerous. This year, I just did it.

People ask me if we see homeless people or hobos on the tracks. They look surprised to see a mom and two back-pack toting kids emerge from the tracks and insist we must be in danger. But we feel we have discovered a beautiful car-free trek. (You can see our walk above.) We've seen owls, turtles, (one possible cougar), butterflies, and birds. We go over the river on a cute little bridge where we feel certain we will spot a beaver eventually. We've never seen a single human; it feels like our private nature path. The walk takes about 15 minutes. It cost us nothing and we get to chat, play, and wake up on our way to school. Driving took 10 minutes (because of traffic and lights.) The only dangerous part I can see in our walk is crossing Independence at the end of it.

Why is there no light or crosswalk on Independence (at Park Blvd or at Randal Parkway) for pedestrians and bikes? Park Boulevard is marked as a bike route! And there is an elementary school and a nature park on Independence that no one can get to except by car. I'm pretty sure there are laws governing access to these public services.

We need to start a grass roots campaign to change this. I know I'm not the only one who is angry about this because I've hear every one of my neighbors complain at least once.

Do I have to drive there, again?!

Any suggestions for killing three hours downtown? Every day?

While gas prices may be coming down, one of the reasons I agreed to take this semester's writing course is, since it is online, I'm able to stay home in my pajamas...and Petra in hers...while the family dashes off into the world. Sure, drag me out for pick up at 3 p.m., I thought. But Mac gets out of school at noon.

I've never really enjoyed driving (rather be home in my p.j.s). Lately I've been a driving fool. I've been thinking of riding my bike for at least one of the pick ups and cutting down on the car usage. Since I haven't been able to work out in a while, I figured it would be a win-win.

Of course, the week I'm getting determined to do this and have Two Wheeler Dealer looking at my bike, a bicyclist is killed on River Road, which I've always know as a well-traveled bike path with a plethora of bicyclists.

I would be riding along the bike path along our road that, well, could hardly be called a path. Most people would refer to it as "a road with white lines." Just because it has the Route 1 signs, does not a bike route make.

Now, I'm not a fearful bicyclist (I've ridden in London and New York City), but I think I'm getting psyched out to ride in this town. Just yesterday I spoke with a woman who used to ride her bike--for 15 years--around this town for miles and miles at 5:30 in the morning. She said she had been hit at least three times with some deliberation on the drivers' parts.

So, readers, what are your thoughts about bicycle riding in Wilmaville? What would you do to use up the time between noon and 3 p.m....besides driving back and forth?

Otherwise I'm going to invest in body armor for me and the kids. And it won't be a pretty sight.

Oleander Origami

Sigh.

It was definitely one of those days, when you wake up and are glad to live in Wilmaville, but spend the whole day in the car running from place to place: from Simply Play to Everything Peaceful to Jengo's Playhouse to Thalian Hall to Saint Mary School to Simply Play to home to Saint Mary to Simply Play to the doctor's to Simply Play to home.

It was a day I forgot a number of things...including the doctor's appointment, so Petra had several hours to hang out and, well, play. I'm sure a one-year old doesn't mind *that* much. But I was bummed I hadn't structured my day better.

So, just when I'm finally on my first turn to my last trip to Simply Play, Veronica shouts from the back of the car that something of hers had flown out the window. I don't litter, but I really didn't think stopping in Oleander traffic to retrieve a well-worn copy of a Ladybug was worth life and limb, so I told her to forget about it. And to be more careful next time.

When we arrived home, she sheepishly held up a Ladybug and said this is the one that had flown out of the car. Obviously, we hadn't littered after all.

Fast forward to 6 p.m. as I'm fixing dinner and looking for the doctor's instructions...and my calendar...and the novel I'm reading/reviewing...and one of my notebooks. Next thing I know, I'm on the phone with my meekest voice ever..."Um, Philip, on your way home could you drive past the doctor's office to see if my calendar, novel and notebook are, well, anywhere there?"

[caption id="attachment_320" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Experiment in paper folding on Oleander during rush hour."][/caption]

Surprisingly, he found all of them minus the doctor's instructions and a few other, probably important...but not earth shattering...pieces of paper.

I've learned my lesson.

I promise, from now on, I will stop the next time I see paper swirling around the car, even if I think it will teach my children a lesson.

It, uh, will undoubtably teach me one too....certainly rush-hour origami.

Have You Seen This Cat?

My daughter absolutely insists that she has seen a cougar in our neighborhood. Twice. She is an imaginative creature, my nine year old. But I can usually tell when she is spinning a yarn. On this subject, she is quite sure—and a little scared. She is also an absolute fountain of information on the subject of cats, wild and domestic, since she studied the rare Margay in her class last year and discovered this was her calling. So her description is detailed and involves a lot of taxonomy. I tried to laugh it off as one of those cute things kids says. I joked about how maybe it's Baby from
Bringing Up Baby. She laughed. But then she explained that Baby was a leopard and this one is a cougar—a black cougar. So they can't be the same. She is so sure that's she got me a little spooked.

Then the dogs started acting spooked too. Every evening they ask to go out in the way they do when some trespassing mammal needs chasing off the property. But then they come running back in—terrified—five minutes later. And they proceed to bark at shadows all night like they've had their hides scared off.

When in doubt, do a Google search right? That should settle it. Except it didn't. I found this article from the Star News in February about mysterious cougar sightings in Wilmington.

So, now I have to ask. Has anyone else seen a 50-pound cat skulking around town?

 

 

Question for residents of Wilmaville...

Which has had a bigger impact on your household in recent days: the switchover to digital TV (on Literacy Day, no less...good planning on that one!), Tropical Storm Hanna, the Republican National Convention, or the opening (and Hanna-closing) of the local schools?

Since we're still in renovation mode, we can't even *find* our television.

Did You Notice? We are a Digital Experiment?

There were, apparently, news teams from all over the country in our little hamlet because we are the first market in the entire country to switch to digital TV. We even rated a photo in the LA Times. Oooooh! How groovy is that, baby?

There was a ceremony and everything. I just keep imagining the committee that decided Wilmington, NC should go first in this big switch. Is it an honor of some kind? Do we have a lot of those older TVs in town that won't work with the new service? (Don't panic. Just get a switch box or a new TV.) Why us? I don't have the answer to that question. Do you?

I do have the answer to that question hovering on the lips of all you remote-clutching Lost addicts: No. This does not mean you suddenly get high-definition TV (HDTV). Nope. That's not what it means. It's digital TV (DTV), that's all. As in, not analog TV anymore. Because. Well, it's about time.

I'd be really excited if we were one of those cities getting experimental all-over-the-place (that's the technical term) Wi-Fi. Digital TV? Am I supposed to be excited about this? Are you?

 

 

 

 

Hanna Crushes Mini-Van

 

I was about to say that it seems Hanna left little more than a mess in her wake. But then my son pointed out this scene near our house. It's all well and good to say, "That wasn't so bad. A few trees down." Unless that's your car under one of the trees. Ouch. Or as my son put it, "That sucks for them." It does.

Check it out:

There are probably a lot of images around town like this unfortunately. Don't underestimate mother nature.

What a Difference an Hour Makes

There is a lot of talk. And there has been some rain—for all of an hour. But this shot was taken just a few minutes ago from just outside our Wilmaville.com offices. It's hot. It's humid. And it just rained. Just like every other day in late summer in Wilmington. You can't fly out of here. But the weather is fine. Maybe there will be some weather later. Weather.com is saying Hanna is approaching hurricane strength and still headed our way.

In other news, ILM called to say Dan's flight is back on. We are racing out the door to the airport to see if we can make it.

Flights Out of ILM Also Cancelled

The airline did not call before Dan finished packing for his trip to San Diego. But when he heard that Tina's flight—and all flights into ILM—had been shuttered, he called the airline himself. Judging from the cussing that came out of his office, they gave him a bit of a runaround before they admitted that, yes, his flight—and all flights out of ILM—are grounded. It only follows. If they aren't flying the planes here from Charlotte, they aren't going to have any plans to fly elsewhere in. So if you are travelling, call before you get in the car to go to the airport.

As Dan put it, "@#$@%@ USAirways web site STILL says my flight is on time." Though they have already rebooked him for a Sunday morning flight. That sort of spoils his weekend in San Diego, doesn't it? And I guess I will have to cancel the no-husband-in-sight party I had planned for tonight.

Be sure and sign up for our email or RSS feeds so you don't miss anymore Flapping Windbreaker Reports from Wilmaville.com because, honestly, can you trust anyone else?

Flights Into ILM Cancelled

[caption id="attachment_295" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Rain from the front porch at Wilmaville.com"][/caption]

Just heard from one our readers, Tina, who was flying home today from New York. Her flight into Wilmington was canceled. And she was told that ALL flights into ILM are cancelled. That doesn't mean outgoing flights are necessarily canceled, though. She was told the airline didn't want to fly the equipment to Wilmington and have it get stuck here where it might get hurt.

The Rains Have Started

It's 1:30 pm here in the path of Hanna and it has just begun to rain. I took that photo of our local supermarket last night. They looked ready for anything there.

My husband has been planning a trip to San Diego and his flight departs ILM at 4 this afternoon so we have been watching the approach of this storm with unusual interest. It's not a big hurricane but it was enough to cancel school. Though they cancelled school on rumors of snow two years ago, so that clearly doesn't take much. Is it enough to cancel flights out of the Wilmington Airport? Will Dan get his trip to San Diego? Will they tell him one way or the other before he's finished packing? Stay tuned to find out.

It's certain we are getting a hurricane one way or another because there are two kids home from school in this house and now it's too wet to go outside. That's the kind of hurricane you can't stop.

Stay tuned for Wilmaville's own Flapping Windbreaker reports right here. If we lose Internet and power you will get to watch us figure out how to post from a cell phone. That should be good entertainment!

Looking for a good read or a good reading?

Clyde Edgerton is one of my former creative writing professors. And, he's also a pretty entertaining storyteller. (Sometimes he brings his banjo along.)

I highly recommend, since he has a new book out, that you take the time to go hear him. (I'm planning to go to one of the readings since I no longer get to hear him on a regular basis.

Clyde is local and still teaches at UNC Wilmington...and he has quite a following. His book has a blurb in O, no less. (Will Oprah have him to her studio soon?!)

He's reading at the Pomegranate Thursday (7 p.m., a reception follows) and next Friday at Two Sisters Bookery, at its grand re-opening (from 2 to 4 p.m. with a reception afterward...or maybe it should be after words).

The book he'll read from is The Bible Salesman and his ninth (?!) novel and I'm writing a review of it...I won't even give you a spoiler here. And if reading is not your thing, then rent the movie "Walking Across Egypt"...he wrote that.

And, if nothing else, you will be supporting two locally-owned independent booksellers...and one local author.

Charlie Brown, redux

Fiasco.

That's the title of one of my favorite "This American Life" pieces. And perhaps it has influenced my decisions in recent years to shy away from local theater. (If you haven't heard this tale of a Peter Pan performance gone wrong…you need to because, well, it has to be one of the all-time classics.)

"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" now playing at Thalian Hall and performed by the Opera House Theatre Company is *not* a fiasco. In fact, it is so polished and so warmly performed that I would love to see it again.

[caption id="attachment_283" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="The Peanuts gang at Thalian"][/caption]

Last year at the school's fall festival we won two tickets to see one of the Opera House's performances. Philip's eyes seemed to glaze over each time I mentioned it as a date night treat. Finally, their season is almost over, so I decided I would leave him at home to deal with painting the dining room ceiling and I'd take the two oldest. We scored front-row seats.

The kids were delighted, albeit a little confused.

"Are they kids?" one whispered in the middle of the performance.

At another time, "Are they adults?"

It's a fun musical and the singing is great. Each cast member was determined to channel his or her own lovable youth and did an admirable job.

One of the surprises for me was to see a former colleague of mine from the Star-News singing and dancing in the title role. The other surprise was how many people were at the matinee performance this holiday weekend. Who knew?!

I'm glad we went and hope others will take in a performance: Fridays through Sundays until Sept. 14. Ticket information is available at the Center Box Office at 343-3664.

And trust me, it's not a fiasco….

[caption id="attachment_282" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Veronica in front of the Thalian curtain during intermission"][/caption]

Airlie Seafood Salad

We spent the afternoon of what should have been that last day of our summer vacation—if school didn't start in AUGUST!—at Wrightsville beach. And on the way home, I made the tried-and-true argument that six o'clock was too late to start planning and cooking a dinner and maybe we should eat someplace that didn't mind if we showed up all beachy. Someplace that wouldn't tempt us to go off our new, healthy, low-carb (but not in a crazy way) diets. Someplace that has a great selection of delicious salads. And that is how I ended up eating this sweet-as-desert Strawberry Salmon Salad ($11.99) on spinach with candied pecans and a sweet berry dressing from Airlie Seafood Company for dinner.

We sat by the water. We toasted the end of summer. We ate well. I love living here.