food and beverage

You know that old saying that when it rains it pours? Well, this summer has been off to a bang, which is why I have been absent from both my own blog and yours over the past few weeks. Before I get back into the swing of things and share some great food, let me clue you in.

First of all, we had a great vacation at the beach. Our house, which we rented through Sun Realty was amazing- great views, expansive decks, and a great pool and hot tub. The owners really knew what they were doing when they named it A Perfect Escape, because it was exactly that. We had family and friends throughout the week and had some amazing food which I will be sharing in several subsequent posts.


We had just gotten back from the beach (depressing enough) and were putting everything away when I heard my daughter Bridget yelling for me from the kitchen, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I went in. My husband was seated on the cooler we had just brought from the Outer Banks squirting (no exaggeration) blood from his leg. I called 911 and applied pressure trying to stop the bleeding and figure out what happened. While the fire station is only about two miles from our house it seemed like an eternity before the paramedics got there, and once they took over, the rest was a blur of moving furniture to make way for the stretcher, locking up the house and following the ambulance to the Emergency room. The paramedics were incredible using two trauma packs to finally stop the bleeding and Gavin was continually conscious, so I felt that he would be fine, but since he is a diabetic and had already seen a surgeon for really bad circulation, I was really worried about his leg.

It turned out that he bumped the cooler and caused a skin tear above a large varicosity that was close to the surface, so even though it took only two stitches to close, he lost nearly a liter of blood, making my kitchen look like the Manson family murder scene (Bridget snapped a picture on her phone when we came back from the hospital, but I will spare you!) An ambulance ride and two (can you believe it!) stitches later we were on our way back home to clean up the bloody mess. To make a long story short, this made the doctor move up his scheduled VNUS Closure procedure that uses RF (radiofrquency) energy to close veins that just aren't doing their job anymore. This takes the place of the old "vein stripping" that requires a hospital stay and long recovery with an office procedure that uses only local anesthetic and the patient walks out of the office in about an hour. My husband walked two miles the next day. Now two weeks later, his bad leg is about half the size it was, and ultrasound shows that he has very little venous reflux in either leg. Awesome,huh?! A big thanks is due his surgeon, Dr. John Newman, who is an expert in the VNUS closure and one of those rare doctors who takes time for his patients.

Now the bad news. In the midst of all this,our dear friend and neighbor Calvert lost his long battle with cancer (that is him at his birthday wearing one of his wife's famous homemade party hats!). He was an incredible friend and neighbor and a surrogate grandpa to our children since we moved to this neighborhood, and his loss will be felt so much by family, friends, and neighbors. We will be celebrating his life at a memorial this weekend, remembering his sense of humor, his fun-loving nature and warm heart.

Between taking care of Gavin, working, finishing a freelance proposal that was due, and helping our neighbor prepare for the post-service wake there has just been no time to post. But hopefully, we are past health issues and surgeries and any other bad news, and can begin bringing you up to date on the great food that we have enjoyed in and around these crises, and I will be stopping by your cyber-kitchens to check out what you have been up to!

After driving to Corolla three times, talking with four different realty companies and taking about 50 pictures and even video on my husband's new Flip video camera, we are quickly approaching our days in the sun (a pun, since the house we finally selected is managed by Sun Realty, an established firm in the Outer Banks that both rents and sells homes. This will be our first stay both with Sun Realty, and in Whalehead, a community in Corolla, so I will keep you posted about all the food, fun, friends and family that we can cram into our beach week!

If you are interested in vacationing in the Outer Banks (or likely almost any resort area), my advice is to check out reviews or references by others who have rented, and to talk to more than one rental company. The economy has resulted in fewer leases and owners would rather fill their house at a discounted rate rather than having it set empty. In fact some companies are even offering partial week rentals, something virtually unheard of during the "in" or peak season. Also if you live near the area of your rental, select a few you are interested in looking at and take a day to go down and see the property firsthand. Pictures often don't convey either the plusses or minuses of a house accurately. In our case we turned down a great rental deal right across the street from ocean access because there was a house built right in front, completely blocking the view! The house we went with is positioned on its lot to offer a great view from the decks and a straight shot to the beach- a winner for us!

I am feverishly making menus, planning what we have to carry, and what we want to get there... in addition to my regular job and writing a major proposal, so if you have any great suggestions for "beach food" (or drinks) that is simple and delicious, send them quick!