Ft Clinch State Park - beach views!

It’s Monday and I missed my Saturday “dead-line” for getting out another blog. But I have a good excuse, at least I think so. Margaret and I spent all day Friday and Saturday hanging photos for the show. Although the “show” will be on Friday night, Dec. 5th, the photos will be hanging for two months. Originally it was to be just December and January, but the previous artist pulled her stuff out last week on Thursday so we were able to begin putting pieces up on Friday. Fortunately we were almost ready to start. Glad we didn’t have to wait until the last minute to begin.

I had concerns about the “size” of our hangings. Although a 16x20 print, matted and framed in a 24x28 frame seems large to me, when it hangs on a dark, brick wall that is over 10 feet high, the piece seems tiny; well at least too small. Part of that is because most painters feel comfortable spreading paint on a larger surface. They don’t have to worry about “sharpness” or pixels. Getting a large photo from a small image is a daunting task. But we’re happy with the results.

We had really good news today. Last week Margaret spent a couple of days in Jacksonville being poked and prodded for the same symptoms she had seven years ago. Those symptoms resulted in neck surgery for her; surgery that required a neck brace and 4 months of pain and discomfort. Anyway, today she met with the neurologist and he said that after looking at all the test results, he felt they could combat the symptoms with medication. The medication doesn’t fix anything, but it allows Margaret to suffer less. The problem may get worse and eventually require surgery, but for the moment, it’s two pills a day! Margaret is very happy and relieved – me, too.

We had an inspiration last week. After we return(ed) from our RV adventures the last 3 years, the camper sits in storage for 4 – 6 months before our next outing. As I have mentioned on several occasions, we enjoy visiting Fort Clinch State Park. While it’s less than a mile from our house, when you’re back in the trees or on the beach, it’s another world. So we are going to try staying in the RV monthly for a week (more or less) at the beach. It will be like having a beach house – but one that cost just over $10/day (not counting the RV itself which costs no matter whether we’re using it or not!) – and is only a 10 minute drive away! Our plan is to live “normally” during the day, but retire to the RV for the night and enjoy the evenings and mornings at the beach. Should be fun!

The five photos are from a recent outing to Ft. Clinch beach – the beach that is beside the river flowing from Cumberland Sound to the Atlantic. Margaret loves looking for shark’s teeth. I like finding the interesting shapes of driftwood. Plus a few ripples and a passing sailboat. Now you see why we like going there!