Shell Tea…

in spite of our Ocracoke Island vacation being very “damp” each day was special…

on one of the clear days we took our traveling tea cup to the beach letting the Atlantic Ocean waves wash up around it with me squealing and dashing at one point to rescue it from being washed out to sea (Mr Magpie was laughing so hard he couldn’t snap many photos of it happening)… 

we ventured out one rainy night splish splashing through puddles to enjoy a really special concert with Ocracoke Island’s very own Molasses Creek band at their Deepwater Theater and Music Hall…

last year we shared our excitement about the shell “spirit” tree we helped create on the beach here…

and were delighted this year to find a different piece of wood lodged in the sand waiting for us…

so we got busy because we came prepared…

in our efforts to downsize and let go of things Mr Magpie emptied a BIG tin of seashells around the tree that we brought back to the beach from our Outer Banks shell collecting over the years…

we do have a weakness for shells…

and could wander for hours on the beach totally entertained by Mother Nature…

this year for the first time ever I found not one but TWO perfect Scotch Bonnet shells…

it is not uncommon to find tips and fragments from these shells but to find them in tact is a bit more rare…

back to the shell tree…

above you can see some of what other people added (a lone flipflop, toothbrush, colorful sand toys along with a plastic glow stick that was finished and a small plastic oil container that probably washed ashore from a boat … that we removed and recycled)…

it was fun collecting mostly shells with holes in them stringing them onto natural twine that we brought from home to make shell garlands to tie onto the branches…

wish I could send each of you some seashells but you probably have collections of your own…

 thank you very much for all of your good wishes … a broken toe is such a small pain compared to what so many others are going through…

here’s wishing you a very Happy T Day along with everyone over at Elizabeth’s Altered Book Lover…

Stormy Island Tea…

so much can happen in a day and before you know it three weeks have passed…

 I am eager to catch up with everyone and hope that you are well…

our beach getaway was full of the unexpected…

most of it wonderful and some of it a bit challenging…

certainly a memorable time…

midway I broke my pinkie toe by banging it on the wood frame of a bed…OH! it hurt like crazy (if only I’d put those shoes there from the beginning…house slippers are my favorite shoes just now)…

even with being on ice and my foot elevated for three days I did not miss much because it rained and rained and rained some more (dubbed “Ocrasoak” by the local newspaper)…

out of our thirteen day vacation we had three glorious sunny days that we were most grateful for…

we were cozy and comfortable in our rental home away from home with windows on three sides situated beautifully on Silver Lake Harbor with boats and nature coming and going…

and the Ocracoke Island Lighthouse captivated us from every view and angle again this year…

in past years we enjoyed the brilliant sunsets from our screened in porch and we did manage to see a couple this year in spite of the very wet weather…

I have some traveling tea cup adventures to share with you next week…

Hurricane Joaquin sent us packing a day early with a state of emergency and mandatory evacuation for all visitors from the island…

I woke up at 4am on our last day wondering how our stormy 2.5 hour ferry crossing would go…

reminding myself that it is never the things you worry about that usually happen…

we waited in line for hours to secure a place on the Swan Quarter ferry watching the water rise all around us as we were entertained by a large flock of American White Ibis…

it was a memorable vacation and we really have no complaints except perhaps about the design of that ding dang protruding wooden bed frame…

after a really long day of travel we arrived home safe and sound finding a good five inches of much needed rain had fallen here in Virginia while we were away (Ocrocoke Island remained closed for another week but is now open to visitors again)…

here’s wishing you a very happy T day along with everyone over at Elizabeth’s Altered Book Lover…

 

 

build your dreams…

happy to be joining the Art Journal Journey ARCHITECTURE challenge this month after being away for a few weeks…

I worked in a handmade journal that I stitched together and painted a while ago (each page measures 7.5 x 11 inches)…

my inspiration came from our recent visit to Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina using bits of this and that were on my work table (there was even a scrap of map with the Pamlico Sound on it)…

the lighthouse drawing I used is from a photo of a display on the lighthouse grounds...

we have been visiting The Outer Banks for many many years and we continue to be drawn to the Ocracoke Lighthouse…

happy to report that the island still has maintained its quiet and beautiful charm (we do prefer visiting off season) with a full time population of under 1,000 … no traffic lights … no chain businesses or hectic 9 to 5 …

if you click on my finished pages above you’ll find a few statistics and other handwritten notations as well…

this year we headed north on the Atlantic coast for a bit at the beginning of our vacation to visit the Currituck Lighthouse which was also quite charming with a great view from the top…

we like lighthouses!

“An architect is a drawer of dreams.” -Grace McGarvie

Venida rules the waves …

in going thru some of my paper stash(es) lately I have come across some perfect bits for a couple more pages in one of my gesso journals (I am recycling lots of paper in the process too!)…

torn bits of tide chart and map from one of our favorite stateside beach getaways…

the lovely Venida is from the cover of a vintage hair net package that I picked up one year on a trip to Florida…

joining in with Art Journal Journey’s “The Sea” challenge again before it is time for a new theme for June…

I do enjoy the sea especially when I can find a bit of shade…

Beach Treasure T…

if you have a few minutes won’t you join me for a little more day dreaming on Ocracoke Island…

stands to reason that after spending a couple of weeks there we have quite a few photographs (you probably already know that you can click once or twice on the photos for a closer look if you are interested)…

posting here on my blog serves as a visual journal for Mr Magpie and myself (I find I go back and refer to my links now and then for information or helping determine “when” something happened)…

we made an exciting discovery along the beach of tree branches trapped in the sand that had a few shells washed up at its base which inspired us to gather seashells and bits of beach treasure to add to the branches each time we visited…

about midway through our vacation we noticed that other people were adding shells and even some extra precious things like necklaces and charms which moved us to call it “the Spirit Tree” (shells with holes in them were perfect for hanging and made special clicking sounds in the breeze)…

who knows if it will be there next year when we return…

walking back and forth to the beach on two separate occasions enjoying the sand between our toes we encountered some good sized ghost crabs  (the “frown”on this one’s face might be because of the fright of almost being stepped on…try to imagine the look on my face and how high that close call made me jump)…

we did get some nice photos of them as they froze in the sand for a bit…

if you are still with me let’s head for our home away from home on Silver Lake Harbor so I can share some T treats with you (marked by two seashells above since I couldn’t find an arrow to add to the photo) …

would it surprise you to know that I only had tea one day out of the fourteen we were away…

the days we did not make coffee at home in the morning I enjoyed a cappuccino from the local Ocracoke Coffee Company (I am a cheap date and one cup of half caff usually does the trick)… we discovered some scrumptious Fig Cake at the Ocracoke Seafood Market of all places on our last day on the island (there are lots of fig trees on the island)…

each day was pure delight with time in between to slow down and just be…

not easy to leave…

here’s wishing you a happy T day along with everyone over at Elizabeth and Bleubeard’s oxo

 

beach tea …

it feels like I have been away from blogland for a long time…

(the house above was on NC 32 near Edenton…not on the island we visited)

I am joining everyone over at Elizabeth and Bleubeard’s for T today sharing some of our beach getaway with you…

our traveling tea cup came along and got to enjoy some sun and sand…

we had a bit of rain too which resulted in some wonderful puddle reflections in yards and on rustic roads in the village…

along with pretty patterns on the beach…

we visited Ocracoke Island around the same time last year and enjoyed it so much we booked a two week stay this year…

from our rental on Silver Lake Harbor we had views of the lighthouse and enjoyed the boats and ferries coming and going from the Pamlico Sound…

the sunset views are something we looked forward to daily…

each one special and different…

I look forward to reconnecting with everyone again and hope that you have been well…

Limoges Shell T…

why is it that seashells and rocks always look best when they are wet…

making it hard to resist bringing a few home…

we even brought a cup of beach sand home…

arranging it in a fancy large sized cup from my mother’s house…

there was just the one cup and saucer that we are guessing she rescued from a thrift shop…

we’ll never know for certain…

here’s wishing you a very nice T on Tuesday from Virginia where it is finally feeling more like fall instead of summer…

Ocracoke Yaupon Tea

missing the sea air and laughing ducks at our getaway on Ocracoke Island in North Carolina…

snapping photos of the lighthouse kept us busy each and every day…

we could not help ourselves…

we found it winking at us all around the village…

we probably took an equal number of sunset and sunrise photos but I will spare you those…

being on the water with so many shades of blue reflected and dancing all through the day and night was most enjoyable…

Mr Magpie found a duck teapot on a top shelf where we were staying which called for some local Yaupon Tea…

it was very tasty especially with delicious buttery scones on our favorite octopus plate (the best scones we’ve had since our trip to the UK) …

here’s wishing you a lovely start to your October…

as I join Elizabeth and Bleubeard for T today from back home in Northern Virginia…

thank you very much for your visit to my Magpie’s Nest ♥

OK maybe just one sunset…

Ocracoke T

our traveling tea cup is on the road again (our trip to California was so unexpected we never thought to take it with us)…

we are celebrating the end of summer and beginning of fall on Ocracoke Island in the Outer Banks of North Carolina…last time we got to visit was four years ago…

it is a beautiful and peaceful place with its own sweet country charms...

the 1823 Ocracoke Lighthouse is the second oldest working lighthouse in the United States whose light can be seen from fourteen miles away…we find ourselves drawn to it again and again…it is so photogenic…

I am joining Elizabeth and Bleubeard for T today and look forward to catching up with everyone soon…

I appreciate you visiting me here and I enjoy reading each and every comment very much…

thank you oxo

Mandala Monday: Ocracoke Island

after our quick trip to California last week we are happy that we could still go away for the beach getaway we scheduled awhile ago…

the Outer Banks of North Carolina have been a favorite spot for our family for many many years now…

we have the nicest memories of tent camping in the park sand dunes…some years renting a house…even borrowing a co workers snazzy RV when our youngest son was just six weeks old…

this time we made reservations on Ocracoke Island which is a short ferry ride from Hatteras Village…

we are enjoying the peace and quiet of the less than busy summer season here…

 a lovely heron glass topped table inspired me to create a mandala…

using some cutlery and pieces from a couple of games along with some artificial leaves we found…

along with a lovely starfish from our rental home with beautiful water views from all  of the windows…

joining in Dawn’s Mandala Monday and sending you every good and special wish

Come Sit a Spell……Ocracoke Island

Something about the rusty chairs at Ambrosia Farm really spoke to me. It was today that I realized I was similarly drawn to chairs in a row on Ocracoke Island earlier this summer. I love chairs!

Have I said how wonderful breakfasts were with Caroline and Craig at the B&B. It was such a refreshing respite to visit the country. Deciding which I like best, the beach or the mountains is a difficult choice? Can you decide?