10.4- Red Drum

Sandy shows off the Red Drum she and husband Robby caught today

As I was pedaling past her house, my neighbor flagged me down to get me to take some pictures of two Red Drum (sciaenops ocellatus) she and her husband caught this morning from their Mako (background).

They were caught in a local creek, though of course I can't reveal exactly where... The largest measured 25 inches, the smaller 23. Not sure which one was hers and which was Robby's, but both were pleased with the morning's catch!

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1.11- Flute making

(Click on image or here for full size)
Capt. Robbie chisels out a Native American flute he is building

Capt. Robbie took advantage of a rainy Sunday to work on a Native American style flute he is building. With winter weather cramping Capt. Robbie's sailing time, he has undertaken a woodworking project for his spare time.

Robbie is seen here in the workshop of Gil Fontes, a local artist and furniture designer/maker, at the Hodges Street Studio of Gil Fontes and Laura Turgeon, another local artist who does sketches drawings and paintings.

Here Robbie found all the right woodworking tools to begin carving his flute from walnut wood. Robbie works with a lot of wood, but his tools are mainly for hardwood floors, which he installs and refinishes as the owner of Olde South Hardwood Flooring.

See additional photos of Robbie at work here on "The Dinghy Dock."

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12.21- Tamales

Holiday spread at Capt. Ray's

Capt. Ray held a holiday party at his home in "The village," the old part of Oriental, this evening.

Today's picture features my own contribution, San Antonio style tamales.

I lived in S.A. for twenty years, and tamales are an integral part of the season there.

Last year, my first Christmas in Oriental, I went without tamales. I had gotten used to purchasing tamales at some of S.A.'s many tamale houses during the holidays, and there is nowhere to buy them in down-east North Carolina, so this year I decided to make some myself.

I have made about five dozen so far... I plan on making about 12 dozen or more before Dec. 25. Pictured above are some from my second trial batch.

My only previous tamale-making experience has been at a couple of tamaladas when there were six or more women supervising, all of whom had years and decades of tamale-making experience.

Even though I had no Abuelas to show me the way this time (and no tamale stores) I decided to try and make some on my own...

Good consumer reviews so far, albeit from Yankee and down-east N.C. gringos, for what that is worth. So far only two folks have pulled the "Gerald Ford" - trying to eat the tamale without first removing the corn husk.

Besides liking this second batch myself (first batch of two dozen, not so much) I was also pleased at very enthusiastic reviews from a Southwest expatriate gringa from Arizona.

She was all smiles at having ANY tamales for Christmas season, and to boot said mine were quite delicious... Very much appreciated compliment from one of the few folks around here who are familiar with the Norteno/border region style of tamale.

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9.27- Appeasing Poseidon

Captain Tim Rogers waves down the approving "aargh"s from the crowd as he implores the graciousness of Poseidon during the naming ceremony for "Coriolanus"
(click on picture or here for full size)

Sorry, no more C-Dory pictures today as I improvidently promised yesterday... more important event takes precedence:

Capt. Robbie today held a re-naming ceremony and party for his Catalina 25 at "Paradise Cove Marina" on Broad Creek.

In today's picture we see Captain Tim Rogers (a certified Captain with Oriental's "World Wide Marine Training, Inc.) as he pays homage to the ruler of the seas and asks that he guard the newly named "Coriolanus" with his mighty arm and trident and that he ensure her of safe and rapid passage throughout her journeys within his realm.

For my non-boater readers: It is notoriously bad luck to rename a boat... See, the mighty Poseidon/Neptune keeps a register of all vessels sailing in his realm, and if you rename it you might be seen as trying to operate without his knowledge, which will of course only invoke his wrath.

Bad things happen to boats when they are renamed (this has been widely confirmed), unless the proper homage is payed and notification given to the ruler of the seas... and of course liberal offerings of libations into the water.

Re-naming ceremonies are also a great excuse to party with friends, and Capt. Robbie, his wife Sandy along with scores of family, friends and neighbors took full advantage by celebrating the event at Paradise Cove Marina to celebrate.

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9.22- Captain's Quarters porch #2

Visitors gab with locals gathered on the porch of the Captain's Quarters Bed & Breakfast around 4:00 this afternoon.

One of Oriental's informal gathering places, the porch of the Captain's Quarters B&B, today saw the B&B guests outnumbered by locals dropping by for conversation and libations.

Nothing draws a crowd like a crowd, particularly on this porch right on the main road through town, Broad Street (Hwy. 55).

From left to right; Patty, Sandy, Robby (all locals), Tom & Linda (visiting from Greenville, SC, home of the "Greenville Daily Photo" blog I visit regularly) and Tory (on last day of extended summer visit from Iowa). Other locals came by, visited and went on their ways during the afternoon, and the porch party was joined by other B&B guests and still going strong at 8:00 pm when I dropped by again.

Yes, I have featured the Captain's Quarters porch before in my posting of August 28 (featuring B&B owner Capt. Roy)... What can I say, it is a popular spot, pure Oriental, and I just didn't feel like hunting for a picture today.

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9.10- Reading on Hodges Street

(click here to view full size picture)

A neighbor and her son enjoyed some time reading today at the artistic bench installed on Hodges Street at South Water, in "Downtown" Oriental.

Today I ran across Janet and Spencer enjoying a cool, if gray, afternoon reading together at the art bench on Hodges Street.

Spencer was looking through a catalog of audio lectures on various academic topics by professors from around the world... seems interested in the Shakespeare course described on the left-hand page.

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