Pony Tails Pony Tales

On Thursday July 28th we took this little pony tail

To see these pony tails.

Let me explain-

I had made a promise to my granddaughter that this year I would take her to the Pony Swim Auction so that she could see and take pictures, after getting her new camera for her birthday. 

 That of course was before the fire.

 But on weds. the day of the pony swim, my husband said they would be busy tearing out the walls and ceiling thursday and putting it back so there wouldn't be much i could do to help them and he encouraged me to take the day and make good on my promise.

The 86th Annual Chincoteague Pony Swim and Auction takes place the last weds and thursday in July and is sponsored by the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company.

Made famous by Marguerite Henry's 1947 book "Misty of Chincoteague", the pony swim and auction draws thousands of people every year to the island to experience the event.

After the ponies swim ashore, they are paraded through the streets of Chincoteague on their way to the carnival grounds where they are corraled until the swim back on the friday following the swim.

The day after the swim is always the pony auction and as you can see there were plenty of people already on site when we arrived. I was told that people had started setting up lawn chairs and taping blankets to the bleachers the week before.

We found a cool spot under the trees,( it was another 100+ day ) right behind a set of bleachers but a few steps away we had a pretty clear view of the action.

As shown in the first picture, a kind man who had a taped blanket, offered for us to lift our granddaughter up there to sit and see and take pictures. Given the fact that she is 40 pounds I was very grateful for the gesture!

My parents accompanied us as they had never been to the auction either.

The auctioneer did a great job of keeping everyone engaged and bidding.

Some of the foals were able to leave right away while some others , as young as a month old, were to be kept with the herd until they could be picked up in October.

When the youngest ones came out they were met with a lot of "AAawww,s"

I guess if you set up your chair a week in advace and are willing to brave the sun and extreme heat , you get the chance to take closeup pictures and maybe pet one or two.

 I believe this is the one they said had blue eyes.

After a few hours I saw it was time for something a little different.

We took a walk around the carnival grounds to the corral where the ponies were and some of the buy back foals had been returned to.

The Mom of this little one was walking around and around it in protective mode.

Then we found a tent and vendor selling everything for horses and their riders.

The day wouldn't be complete without a cowgirl hat, and she spotted the pink one 50 feet away!

I remember getting her Mommy a similar hat when she was about the same age. Feels like yesterday!

We left before the very end of the auction to avoid all the traffic getting out and headed to the Island Creamery for an ice cream lunch.

Smiles from beginning to end!

Further information about the annual pony swim and the history and fundraising can be found at all the links provided.



Bead Soup Blog Party Partner

Yesterday I recieved my official email notification of who my bead soup partner would be,

Kari Carrigan .  I visited her blog,  Kids, Glass, Life and really enjoyed reading all about her and her wonderful family and then I visited her Etsy shop and got so excited because she does beautiful lampworked beads.

This will be the first bead soup party for both of us and we are so excited to be participating this time around! 363 people signed up for this party and Lori Anderson, our amazing hostess, has taken the time to pair everyone up individually and by hand.

I have followed the party in the past but didn't get to signup last time around. It is such a wonderful way to meet new friends in blogland and share work that we otherwise might never know.

I have started working on my bead soup mix for Kari and look forward to working with her!

Beads go out on Aug 17th and the big reveal will be Sept.17th so you'll have to check back to see then!

So Very Fortunate

Last night, after leaving the restaurant for the day tired, my husband and I opted for Chinese takeout.

This was one of the packages of fortune cookies in our bag.

I would say it sums everything up nicely. We are very fortunate. Doubly so.

My glass is half full and my cup runneth over.

To everyone who sent emails and well wishes and prayers, they were heard, they were answered and we are so very grateful for them all and for you all!

As promised, here is a little chronicle of the past 2 weeks with some before and after shots.

On Monday afternoon, 7/25 at about 4 PM we had a fire at our restaurant.

The beer keg cooler overheated and started a fire which burned the bar which had a heavy resin coating and sent up incredible black smoke and soot which was sucked into our HVAC system and sent to every corner and crack in the restaurant. ( to clarify, we are closed on Mon and Tues, no one was there, no one was hurt)

We reopened Weds. 8/3

8 days later

The hot spot.

The fire itself was contained very quickly thanks to the quick response of the alarm system and the efforts of several local volunteer fire companies

A local carpenter/cabinet maker, Donny White, came out that evening as soon as the fire was out and took the old bar top home with him to make a template and a new bar top.

The cedar was replaced on the front and sides as well

Ray and I had to go buy new barstools, lights, shelving, cash register and countless other items lost in the fire.

My husband and SIL setting the new bar top.

the walls behind them had to be painted as well, with a new hand sink and towel dispenser on the wall.

The bar ceiling with melted vents, lights and water spray from the firehoses 7/25

After the disaster cleanup company had a go at cleaning it, it was determined on weds eve that it all had to be replaced. My husband, SIL and a few friends tore it out Thursday morning, had the wood delivered thursday late morning and began putting it back up.

On friday the cleanup team continued to clean the remaining woodwork.

7/25 bar ceiling and walls

7/28 same walls

We reopened weds 8/3  a mere 8 days of cleanup and renovations.

When asked, I tell everyone we worked 48 hours a day to get it done

Ductwork over the waitress station after fire 7/25

Same area 7/28

same area 7/30 new ductwork starting

4 of them to move the old ice maker out, it was running and sucked all the soot in too.

New one in and running

Glancing from the front entryway towards the bar through the dining room. 7/25 right after the fire. the firefighter is taking pix as well. Notice the water he is standing in and the reflections on the floor and carpet.

The tedious job of removing all the flexible ductwork from the ceiling and replacing with new. looks like some undersea adventure.

Getting ready for the fabricated metal ductwork to begin.

Everything has been removed from the shelves and some from the walls that had to be carried to a different location to be cleaned and brought back to us. Decoys, oyster cans, all manner of antiques and memorabilia.

That man right there in the grey is my hard working husband and one of the main reasons we re-opened so fast . They worked tirelessly in the unbearable heat for hours and hours to get the job done in record time. Notice the duct tape on the finger of our friend Aaron, no time for first aid.

He looks like Rodin's the Thinker here but he is actually on the cell phone taking care of business in what we jokingly referred to as his new office!

Coolers of water and gatorade were everywhere.

Tom (on the right) from Tom's Refrigeration was cut from the same cloth. He and his crew replaced 3- 10 ton air handlers, all the flexible and fabricated ductwork and a new ice machine and hooked it all up and had it running in a week!

Josh from BBS sheet metal was a metal master and a blessing for sure!

Paul from Elvie's electric replaced our outlets, ceiling fans(4) all the hanging bar lights, switches and fluorescent lighting and emergency lighting.

My parents, who were nearing the end of their summer visit, helped early on in the initial cleanup and inventory and in the final 2 days were our go getters extraordinaire, running to the stores for everything from more lights and bulbs to flyswatters and clocks. They were indispensable.

Not pictured but hard at work with us was our son and daughter who took off from their jobs a few days to help, numerous employees, my nephew, who all came out to help in the cleanup. In the first few days i was busy working and not taking many pix and unfortunatley don't have any of when they were there.

 But I can see you all in my mind's eye and you will remain in our hearts forever.

Thank you, God Bless and We Love You.

Now, let's EAT!



I Heart Macro

Say a prayer before takeoff.

It's no secret, I love dragonflies, damselflies, skeeter hawks, whatever you choose to call them. they are my favorites in the garden.

They pose so nicely for the camera, never shy away and always seem to be smiling.

Each one with it's individual colors and markings, a work of art.

This guy, with his herringbone tweed pants, found an overripe cucumber that was hiding from view until it turned a bright yellow in the kids' garden.

The foxgloves that I planted this year are finally staring to bloom.

The hibiscus, along with the rest of us, are wilting in the extreme heat.

The figs are liking it though, they are ripening and bursting at the seams with sweet goodness.

It'll soon be time for fig jam and maybe even some candied figs (Sshhhhh) if we get enough before the birds find them!

Head on over to Lori's at Studio Waterstone for the rest of the macro goodness and maybe even join in!



Another One!

Oh My goodness! How very cool is this?

Another treasury with the Hydrangea necklace.

This one was curated by Kristina823 who makes really wonderful paper earrings. The hydrangeas in this treasury are hers.  I like these but then again purple blue and green are my all time favorites!

Guess those new Etsy tags are working! Let's see how it translates into sales now.

My First Treasury!

I'm so excited!
Last week, I FINALLY got my Etsy shop up and running with a few of the necklaces from the series that I was working on to restock in the restaurant for the summer.
The very next day I found that I was chosen to be a part of this beautiful treasury.
I couldn't be more thrilled than to be in a treasury surrounded with everything hydrangea!
The curator doesn't have a shop that I can promote in return but I am ever grateful she included me, thank you Crow1
And thank you Barbara for helping me to learn how to capture the treasury to post here!