Monday Blues (maybe green)

The Village Craftsmen is not open on Mondays this time of year so I took the opportunity yesterday to do a little cleaning and painting. The VC's building has been here for give or take thirty years and I believe that's the last time the front door was painted. A colony of spiders had taken up residence on the front porch and was making for great Ghost Walk ambience. So I dragged out my ladder, bucket, two brooms, paint, hammer, drop cloth, rags, paint brushes, screw driver, stirrrrers, water bottle, grapes and some peanut butter pretzels. I was ready. I brushed and banged, swooshed and swished , sipped and nibbled. Now there are five columns holding up VC's porch roof but only was ever painted. Don't ask...I haven't a clue. So, I repainted it too. It looks swell. The old paint was kind of a yellowy pea green and the new a lovely deep rich green. It looks great on the column and the door, my pants, shirt, hands, left ankle and ahhh yes....my hair. It'll all need a second coat. That will be next Monday's job. I had Frank drive the wrong way down Howard St. on the way home to show him the paint job. Blanche (Howard ) Jolliff was out by the graveyard raking leaves. It was just starting to sprinkle as we stopped to chat a minute. "What are you doing out here working in the rain"? I chided Blanche. She gave me her slow, sweet smile. "Well, you know Jude, as a friend of
mine used to say, there's always something to do around the plantation". I guess that about sums it up.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is a reprint of the eulogy given at the funeral service for island native Muzel Bryant who died in February at the age of 103. You can read it here.