A Month at the Beach in Winter: Going Deeper

Well, it's Saturday night and Evie and I have just returned home to our little poustinia/desert place/camper by the sea after having gone to Mass on Pawley's Island. Well, Evie stayed in her crate in the car, but accompanied me none the less!

The pastor preached his homily about putting Christ in the center of our lives. He said it is something that every Christian must do. And we are given how to do it by living the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:1-12a).

For me, I was there to receive Christ in the Holy Eucharist. It had been almost a week since I received Him last and I longed to be united to Him once again.

And during my meditation afterward, I felt that Jesus was asking me to step away from my concerns about Evie, to stop writing for a time in my blog, to pull away and unplug from my family and friends and take some time to go deeper with Him.

And so I told Jesus that I would. I would give Him the whole next week and then we would see where to go from there.

Yes, having settled into our camp and into our routine, having shared with you our sunrises and sunsets and times in between, with full confidence that the sun will still rise every morning and most days will go on as they have so far--I just wanted to let you know that...






...no alligators have eaten us up...









...we are doing well...and will write to you soon!

In the meantime, if you think of us, offer up a prayer, and we'll do the same for you.

Sending our love,
Ronda & Evie

Location:Huntington Marsh Rd,Pawleys Island,United States

A Month at the Beach in Winter: Puppies at Play

At 10:00 this morning, my pup Evie and I were walked, fed, dressed, and ready for our playdate with Lily to begin.


Lily's parents Bob and Karen rode up on their bikes at 10:00 sharp and invited us to walk down to the beach for a little golden romp!


Our girls played well with each other and with Abbey Rose the other day and so we arranged this second time together.




They ran up and down the beach.




They frolicked in the surf!



And when it was all over, they got dog treats and kisses.



And then Evie and I walked back home and rested a while in the sunny shade.



We plan to meet up with Abbey Rose again on Tuesday.

Joy! Ronda

Location:Huntington Marsh Rd,Pawleys Island,United States

A Month at the Beach in Winter: Perspective

For inquiring minds who want to know...




(Last night's dinner: grilled cheese toasted in a cast iron pan, romain lettuce and shredded carrot salad with parmesan & peppercorn dressing, and pomegranate herbal tea.)

After a warm dinner and a cozy night's rest, my pup Evie and I awoke to near freezing temperatures and a cloudy sky. I put on my fleece hat and gloves along with a few extra layers and we headed out for our morning walk.

Though we were a bit later than usual, the sun had still to break through.




Soon Evie found a wishbone shaped piece of drift wood to gnaw on.



And then she pounced on a stick.



Next I heard her cough up a crab shell she had found tasty.



Next she found a smelly feather.


Pretty soon I thought, "All she does is go from stick, to feather, to seaweed clump, to the next, best, fragrant/smelly thing. I am going to miss this morning's beauty if I don't look up!"

And there it was, the sun starting to peek through the clouds.



Love, Ronda

Location:Huntington Marsh Rd,Pawleys Island,United States

A Month at the Beach in Winter: A New Leash on Life

Evie and I have been out shopping today. We needed to pick up some more supplies.

For me: dish soap, instant oatmeal, chicken sausages, crackers, and a loaf of bread.

For Evie: some string cheese, two pigs' ears, and a new leash.




As you may recall, she bit through the one I brought.


Then I took out a long rope lead that was knotted and gnarly. Soon the mechanism in the clasp stopped working, and so I had to put a permanent collar with it and slip it on and off Evie's head. She didn't like it.


And so today we took a 25 mile roundtrip to PetSmart to see if we could find something that she could sink her teeth into. We found a leash wrapped in paracord that will hopefully stand up to the job.

And then I decided to buy one to spare.

If at first you don't succeed, "tie," "tie" again!



Love, Ronda

Location:Huntington Marsh Rd,Pawleys Island,United States

A Month at the Beach in Winter: A Contrite Heart

I was feeling sorry about the way I have been treating Evie lately, and so when we woke up I gave her a nice belly rub and the surprise of moist food in a bowl as her paws hit the floor.

I realized that we had gone from zero to sixty in the past few days and were both feeling tired from all of the exertion.

So I resolved to go a little easier on the walking and a little more on the resting so that she and I might have a little less wrangling with (what is left of!) her leash.

After our slower start this chilly morning, we headed out to the ocean to see what was left of the dawn...and were pleasantly surprised!




And so I asked God to forgive me and help me to do better today as we walked along.

"It's a new day!" Was ringing in my head.

And seemingly in answer, the sun popped up over the horizon.




And after 2.5 miles or so, we were almost back, when our neighbor with the beautiful pyrenees mountain dogs stopped to chat.

(Here is a picture I took of them yesterday.)




"There is a wonderful dog park in Myrtle Beach that I take our dogs to several times a week to get all of their running done! You should check it out."

Imagine that, an answer to prayer without my even mentioning it.

A contrite heart, oh Lord, you will not spurn. (Psalm 51: 19)

Puppies will be puppies.



Besides, who can stay mad long with a face like that?!



Love, Ronda

A Month at the Beach in Winter: Morning Prayer

You will seek me,
And when you seek with your whole heart,
You will find me;
--I will let myself be found by you, says the Lord.
I will restore your fortunes.

(Jeremiah 29:13-14, LOH Office of Readings)

Yes! Ronda

Location:Huntington Marsh Rd,Pawleys Island,United States

A Month at the Beach in Winter: Sunrise

I had been hearing about the coming rain for the past two days and joined the other campers in battening down the hatches last night before I went to bed. Then, when I awoke about 6:30 this morning, I was pleasantly surprised to find a new day dawning and no signs of rain. So, I headed out to the beach with Evie to get in a little walk until the inevitable came.

















And all the while, this song was playing in my head:

Bless the Lord oh my soul
Oh my soul
Worship His Holy name
Sing like never before
Oh my soul
I'll worship Your Holy name
The sun comes up
It's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass
And whatever lies before me
Let me be singing
When the evening comes.

Matt Redman - 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)




Love, Ronda

Location:Huntington Marsh Rd,Pawleys Island,United States

A Month at the Beach in Winter: Photos of Food

A shout out to my girls back home (who like seeing photos of my food;)

Today's lunch: homemade split pea soup, crunchy peanut butter and crackers, and a glass of pretty dern good tap water.






And then afterward...afternoon tea!






In Joy,
Ronda

P.S. And for any of you who may be concerned about seeing my poor Evie in her crate, she has pride of place now!

Location:Huntington Marsh Rd,Pawleys Island,United States

A Month at the Beach in Winter: Friends

Friends are important. Sharing our joys with others makes life fun.

Imagine my surprise when my cell phone rang last night as I was winding down and getting ready for a well-deserved night's rest.

It was a friend who happened into my weekly bible study group and heard from them about my retreat to the beach. She said they were so excited about what I was doing and having fun reading the blog.

"She even takes pictures of her dinner!"

And as we laughed I realized how nice it was to be making a connection from my little hut by the sea with them. Though they weren't here with me physically, they were joining me in spirit. And that makes my experience all the more fun.

And so my pup Evie and I set out in search of friends today. We heard that if we walked down the beach to the town limits of Litchford Beach, we would find dog owners gathered there to let their pooches romp off leash legally.

Wouldn't you know that when we arrived, we found two other goldens (Lily and Abbey Rose) just waiting to play.

Yes, God is so good!













Love, Ronda

Location:Huntington Marsh Rd,Pawleys Island,United States

A Month at the Beach in Winter: Reality Check

This is the current length of my pup Evie's leash:


Why is that? Because I took a few minutes to chat with the woman "next door."

We were standing under the tree that separates us, faithful dog at my side, when suddenly I noticed that Evie was about twenty feet away.

So, I inserted into our conversation in the same tone of voice, "Don't let her notice that she has gotten away." And then I crept over to my pup, swiftly taking her collar in hand as I began breathing again.

Now she is learning to relax peacefully in her crate!




:0 Ronda

Location:Huntington Marsh Rd,Pawleys Island,United States

A Month at the Beach in Winter: Walking

As my pup Evie and I were walking along the beach on our first day here, I wondered, "How many miles does it take to tire a Golden?"












The answer today is 5 miles!

Time for lunch and a snooze...



Love,
Ronda

Location:Huntington Marsh Rd,Pawleys Island,United States

A Month at the Beach in Winter: Curiosity

No sooner had I backed my little Aframe camper into my campsite last night and began to fold it out, then a man wearing a red NCSU hoodie came hurrying over exclaiming:

"Let's see how a Carolina grad puts up one of these things!"

"I'll bet someone from NC State designed it!" I replied.



I wonder what gave me away?

And then this morning another man came over to offer me his firewood as he moves on today.

"Are you alone?" He asked?
"Yes," I replied.
"Wow, you're a brave woman!"

No, I am a just an ordinary person who by setting out on a little adventure and leaving everything comfortable and familiar behind, wants to notice once again that I am in God's hands--and He so lovingly provides!

In Joy!
Ronda

Location:Huntington Marsh Rd,Pawleys Island,United States