Lighting Up Mount Holly

seahorse lantern

Last night was the 8th Annual Mount Holly Lantern Parade, and for the 5th year in a row our community had an entry in the parade. Also for the 5th year in a row we took 1st place in the Group category. This year's theme was "Into the Deep Blue Sea". 

As we plan what we want to do we take a couple things into consideration: What is going to resonate with the kids who line the parade route?, and how can we involve the large number of people who want to walk in the parade with us? We have a core group of 8-10 people who consistently show up each week to build the lanterns. But we normally have 30+ folks who want to walk down Main Street with our group.

This year we decided to do "Baby Shark", the wildly successful YouTube video featuring a family of sharks and a few sidekicks. Mommy, Daddy, Grandma & Grandpa sharks were five feet long, not including their tails. Baby Shark was four feet and his buddy William the pilot fish was three feet. The other main character, in our minds, is Pink Fong who is kind of the mascot for the show. 

Once we built those lanterns, we moved on to ancillary items. We made a seahorse, three jellyfish, three schools of fish containing twelve fish each, seven starfish and four clams that were our first attempt at hand puppet lanterns. A crowning late addition was a coral reef that was worn around the waist of the carrier. It could have been an entry all by itself.

coral                                                banner

An Imagery banner led our entry, followed by a baton twirler with a lighted baton, then a decorated wagon with speakers playing the Baby Shark theme song on repeat. Two residents dressed as the little boy and girl from the video came next, running away from the sharks. We also had four people handing out shark-shaped small bags of candy. At the end of all of our lanterns was a wall of wavy blue streamers complete with lighted bubbles to signify the end of our group. All in all, we had 39 folks in our unit including two of our own parade Marshalls to keep us in order.

Imagery Lanterns

Though the night was a little cooler than previous years, it was a beautiful evening to be out. The parade went off mostly without a hitch. Baby Shark decided to act up and his pole disconnected inside his body. This caused him to drop down on top of my nose. Ouch! I was able to get him somewhat situated before we passed the judges station, but after that I just hand carried him for the rest of the parade. Bad Baby!

It was rewarding as always to be named First Place as we have been working since April to pull this project together. After the winners were announced, the organizer released the theme for next year - the "Wide World of Sports." All I could think was, ugh. The theme does not excite me, and I wonder what we can pull together that makes sense with the theme but will still engage the kids. What a challenge!

Picture Perfect

gorgeous sunrise

Our son, daughter-in-law, granddaughter and granddog came for a visit last weekend. It had been over a year since they have come here, so it was very exciting to see them. Not that we haven't gone to their home, but it is always fun to be able to show off the grandbaby in our neighborhood.

So many people were generous in lending us the items we would need, like a crib, booster seat, extra toys, etc. That is one of the things I love most about living in Imagery - ask and you shall receive.

Despite a dismal forecast, the weather cooperated while they were here. We were able to visit parks, take her to the community pool, play outside and go on walks. We had a fabulous time, and can't wait to see them again in August. I'm not allowed to share photos of A on any social media, but trust me when I say she is so cute and at a lovable age.

Imagery cornhole tournament

In other news, we played in the community cornhole tournament in the same sex divisions as well as the couples division. Suffice it to say we did not win any medals. The last time Imagery held a big tournament, we took first place in couples. We probably haven't tossed a bean bag since then, so there you go. 

The flowers at our house have been loving all the rain we have had this spring. The front in particular looks gorgeous. The heat is coming in this week, so hopefully the natural beauty will hold up to it. We had a drip irrigation system installed last fall, so we are counting on it to do its job.

front yard

 

Mount Holly Lantern Day Parade

Lantern Parade

With all the drama surrounding the theft of my rental car (and there are zero updates there), I forgot to post about my community's entry in the 7th Annual Mount Holly Lantern Day Parade. This was the fourth year that Imagery has entered the parade (our community was only formed in 2019).

The theme was "The Fantastical World of Flight", and the options of what to build were endless. Our design team takes into account the fact that we have many people in the neighborhood who, while they may never help in the building process, want to walk with us in the parade. So obviously we would not choose to build one large lantern, like Dumbo for example. We like to have a number of lanterns in our entry. The second consideration is that we want to appeal to the kids, as there are many of them along the parade route. For those reasons we decided to go with Santa and his reindeer.

We constructed a six foot long sleigh for Santa, and built his nine reindeer, each of whom was five feet long. We added ten twelve inch square gift boxes, four lollipops and four candy canes. All of these were constructed of wire, lit with fairy lights, then covered with two layers of tissue paper. We also have a lit banner with our name - Imagery - in from of our entry. We had 32 people in our unit, including two of our own parade marshalls to keep people in line and five of the Singing Elves from our community. 

We had requested to be last in the parade, and our wish was granted. What better way to end any parade than with Santa? We were greeted with many claps and cheers, as well as spontaneous renditions of "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" along the parade route. And we won First Place in the "Group" category for the fourth year in a row! 

Imagery Lantern Parade entry

Next year's theme is "Into the Deep Blue Sea". We have our thinking caps on...

July 4th in June

fireworks

Our community of Mount Holly has their 4th of July fireworks show on the Thursday before the 4th, which meant that the fireworks this year would take place on June 27th. That seems pretty early, but that's how they roll here. We decided to go to see them since the weather was not too hot.

But some residents of our community were going to go to Muddy River Distillery at 7:00 that night. Muddy River is the oldest legal rum distillery in the Carolinas. It used to be in Belmont, but the owners purchased the oldest mill in Gaston County and renovated it into a beautiful bar and event space. It happens to be located in Mount Holly, which is great for us as we love their rum.

Muddy River Distillery

We parked on Main Street around 6:20, and walked the short couple of blocks to the distillery. A food truck was there so we grabbed dinner and settled in with rum cocktails. Then our neighbors began to arrive, and we ended up with about 14 people there. It was fun to catch up with everyone.

As it began to get dark, we walked back to our car, grabbed our chairs and some water, and crossed the street to the Mount Holly Community Garden parking lot. It was a good location on a hill, and we had a nice view of the fireworks. The best part was that afterwards we were able to make a quick u-turn on Main and head home. No traffic jam for us this year!

Mount Holly fireworks

A True Friendsgiving

turkey cheese and meat tray

Because we had just driven up to the kids a couple weekends ago for the first birthday bash, we decided to stay at home for Thanksgiving this year. Our neighborhood had a Friendsgiving dinner on Thanksgiving Day, and we participated in that instead. It was perfect for those of us who do not have family living in the Charlotte area.

The HOA provided the turkey and dinnerware, and those attending signed up for either appetizers, side dishes or desserts. I made the turkey appetizer as shown above. It was super easy to put together, so I got off pretty easy this year. Thirty people attended the event, and there was lots of great food. But more importantly, it provided us with an opportunity to meet new people, including two couples who only moved in three months ago. 

At the end, we each told our name, what street we live on, and what we were thankful for that day. It was so heartwarming to hear so many folks say how happy they are with our community and the new friends they have met. That is why we moved here, and our opinion hasn't changed in the four years we have been part of Imagery. It was a great way to end Thanksgiving Day.

Remembering on Memorial Day

Memorial Day

It's always interesting to me that people don't seem to know what Memorial Day is all about. From decorating family members graves to barbecues, we often lose sight of the fact that the this day was set aside to honor U.S. military personnel who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces. 

For the second year in a row our community chose to remember by having a parade, and I was proud to participate again. Led by residents on bicycles (the first of whom was a veteran), the decorated golf carts followed as the parade wove its way through the neighborhood. Patriotic music played, and residents lined up in their driveways to cheer us on. It was heart-warming to see all the flags on display, and to see the community come together. It was our chance to show that we understand that freedom is not free.

Memorial Day Parade

Happy Anniversary Baby

wedding anniversary

Friday was our 44th wedding anniversary. It's hard to wrap my head around that. We met at Iowa State University when we were 18 years old, and started dating a few months later. We married shortly after graduation, and relocated to St. Louis where Jim had secured a job. In St. Louis we completed master's degrees, raised a family and built a good life.

When we retired to the Charlotte area nearly three years ago, we didn't know anyone or much about the area. It was a huge leap of faith to come here, and only a strong marriage could survive the stress and upheaval of the massive move. During one of our three years here we buried both Jim's mom and dad, and my beloved sister. Having someone to share the grieving process with made all the difference in the world in how we coped with the huge losses.

The support network within our new community is phenomenal as well. Because we are in a 55+ community, we have experienced many deaths already. But I think most of us moved here in the hopes that the community will wrap us in a loving embrace when we experience a severe health issue or death in our family. That has certainly proven to be true so far. I am confident that when something happens to me or Jim, our neighbors will rally around the survivor. And the community will share in the grieving process.

Getting back to our anniversary, we didn't do a lot to celebrate this year, save for going out for a meal at one of our favorite restaurants. It offers waterside dining, so we always know we can sit outside. But as next year will be the 45th anniversary, we are already thinking of something big to do in honor of that occasion. We are both eager to cruise again, but there are still so many people getting Covid on the ships that it just doesn't seem worth the risk yet. Maybe by next summer it will be more under control. Who can say?

Memorial Day 2022

Taps for the fallen

Yesterday was Memorial Day, and it always fascinates me how many Americans do not understand the significance of the day. Known as the unofficial start of summer, it is typically celebrated with barbecues and family gatherings. In some families it has been called Decoration Day, as that is when they went to decorate the graves of deceased relatives. 

In fact, it is a day set aside to honor the men and women who died while serving in the United States military. It is not to be confused with Veteran's Day, which honors all those who served in the military.

Our community held its second annual Memorial Day golf cart parade yesterday. As you can imagine, the golf carts are all decked out in patriotic themes. Last year the parade was led by a group of bicyclists, but since then Phases 2 and 3 of the community have been built out. It is very hilly, and this year's route was nearly 6 miles long. The Lifestyle Director decided to invite the e-bike riders to lead the parade this year. Seven of us signed up, and most of us put at least a little decoration on our bikes. I believe there were 14 golf carts who participated in the decoration contest, plus 4 more that were on loan from Carolina Carts, one of our community sponsors.

Before the parade, we gave thanks to those who have kept our country free through their bravery. As we rode through the community, with patriotic music sounding from the golf courts, neighbors waited on their front lawns to wave and cheer us on. I'm proud to be an American, and happy to call Imagery home.

Memorial Day 2022

The Great Toilet Paper Caper

No Toilet Paper

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has certainly dominated the news as well as our lives - and the lives of people worldwide. This virus is unprecedented and unpredictable. What makes it and our response to it so different from other mass illnesses in the past is, in my opinion, social media. There is so much information out there (some correct, much of it incorrect), and people spread it like wildfire. I feel like the world as a whole has not made it easy to find in one reliable place facts about the virus, steps to prevent the spread, items to have on hand, and how to treat the symptoms if someone in your house falls ill. It is for that reason that people are failing to take the precaution of self-quarantine seriously, as younger people think it is only the elderly who will get the virus and/or die from it. And people of an age to know better are still congregating under the misconception that "it won't happen to me."

Lack of proper information and greed has also led to hoarding, at least in the United States. You cannot find hand sanitizer, anti-bacterial soap or wipes, congestion relief medications, Kleenex, paper towels or toilet paper in the stores or online. Many people bought up huge quantities and are selling them on Amazon, eBay, and other resell sites at incredibly marked up prices. One man, who was finally shut down on Amazon, was found to have 17,000 bottles of hand sanitizer in his garage!

A residential construction project in the US was suddenly without workers, but it wasn't because they had the virus. Someone had stolen all the rolls of toilet paper from the porta-potties. By federal law, all construction sites must have at least two rolls in each one of them, and it is such a huge problem that the john vendor could not replenish the toilet paper.

We have been to many stores over the past couple of weeks and have yet to find any toilet paper. We scored a couple boxes of Kleenex and a couple rolls of paper towels, but no TP. We are not hoarders, so our linen closets and pantry are not stuffed with an oversupply of anything. While we have enough to get by for awhile, it is a little disconcerting to think that down the road we may have to beg a neighbor for food, medicine or TP. Because this is a new virus, it is unclear how long we will be asked to stay in our homes, only venturing out to go to the grocery store. These are scary, unsettling times which may deteriorate before they get better. A few of us have commented that it is not unlike the days following 9/11 where we were all braced for something worse to come. Hopefully, cool heads will prevail and we will all work together to help each other instead of thinking only of ourselves.

In the meantime, it is not a hardship to weather this in place at our new home, surrounded by a great view and a wonderful community. Especially when I wake up to a sunrise such as the one we experienced this morning.

Mountain Island Lake