Remember how I said after living in France for a few months everything back in the states felt so LOUD? Well, we found the quiet. It’s here in Rodanthe (pronounced Roh-DANTH-ee, which I just learned). . .

In fact at this time of year Rodanthe is practically a ghost town. We’ve rented one of maybe 60 condos in this complex, but we usually see no more than five or six cars here at any one time. It is beautiful and roomy, though . . .

. . . which is a nice change after the tiny place we rented in Alexandria, that was barely larger than the bed. Plus, we have this view of the Atlantic from the deck (and the living room and the master bedroom, which both open onto the deck):

Sunday was a bit cloudy but no rain, with temps in the 60’s, so we went for a walk on the beach.

Here’s one of our neighbors . . .

Mornings here so far have been blue-grey . . .

But evenings? Wow! We can see the Pamlico Sound from the kitchen window, but it’s blocked a bit by other condos, so we walked across the street to really see this:

I could not stop taking pictures of this sunset. I promise these sunset photos are not enhanced in any way. These are the actual colors.

We’ve finally unpacked the car and reorganized everything. It was feeling like we just kept cramming more into every corner, which is NOT a restful feeling. So now we’re able to relax a bit, walk a lot, and admire the sky in all its moods. I’m loving the warmth and the peace, but three weeks in Rodanthe will be long enough, I expect. No one to laugh with here, at least not so far.

I hear it has been crazy cold in Fort Collins this week, so my heart goes out to all of you experiencing winter before winter even officially arrives. You know how fond I am of cold! So here’s wishing you warm blankets, toasty fires, and steaming cups of . . . well, whatever you enjoy drinking steaming hot!

The week in Alexandria visiting Chelsea went by in a flash, but we managed to fit in lots of fun, beginning with the fabulous birthday dinner at Chart House mentioned in the last post, followed on Sunday by the not-nearly-so-fun watching the Broncos get trounced by the Patriots. Ouch.

Monday, we all had to work, but David and I had time for a walk down King Street and lunch here . . .

. . . where everything was so picturesque I snapped away like the tourist I am . . . .

See what I mean?

Tuesday night we met Chelsea and Will and his parents at Los Tios Grill, a fabulous Mexican restaurant in Alexandria (technically “Tex-Mex-Salvadorean”). WOOHOO! The one thing nigh near impossible to find in France is Mexican food, and I LOVE Mexican food. Forgot my camera, but I was pretty busy chatting and enjoying my dinner and margaritas. Yum. And bonus, spunky-charming waitress who kept us all laughing. Love nights like that.

Thursday night Chelsea had invited a few friends to meet us at Top Golf . . .

. . . which turned out to be super entertaining. It’s like a driving range, but not so boring–and a pub, but not so sedentary. Perfect combination, if you ask me.

Chelsea has almost zero previous golf experience, so she was just thoroughly having fun.  But after Jen soundly beat us the second round, I started thinking, “Game On.”  And although Jen’s shots continued to be absolutely beautiful and straight, she very kindly missed a few of the targets during the third round (and, okay, the counter cheated her out of a few points, too). Anyway I managed to score highest. Be very impressed. So instead of a highly unflattering shot of me, I’ll show you this . . .

But now really look at it, and be sure to admire the impressive consistency of my scores. Sheesh. Truly stunning. After my first six balls, as you may imagine, I was NOT HAPPY. At all. Interesting that once Chelsea reminded me to just relax and have fun, I started nailing the targets. Disturbing that I needed that reminder while chatting with friends and drinking Man-Mosas (Mimosas with a bit of beer to cut the sweetness–better than they sound).

Which brings me to today’s little lesson for Sunny: Perfectionism does not create perfection. It just sucks the fun and life out of whatever you’re doing imperfectly.

Here’s wishing you a joyfully imperfect week! (Unless you’re the Denver Broncos. You Broncos can feel free to be as perfect as you’d like!)

Thanks, Chelsea, for the fun and the wisdom!