Dabs.

Sometimes a blogging photographer (or a photographing blogger) can wind up with a lot of loose ends in regards to stories and pictures.  A dab of this and a dab of that and no specific post into which to deposit the dabs.

So I am hereby dubbing today’s entry as The Dab Post where I will feature photos and snippets and stories that didn’t find a home elsewhere.

So let’s start dabbing, shall we?

 Dab 1

Manteo has several wonderful ice cream shops and locals and tourists alike love to stop in for a cold treat on a hot day.

A couple of weeks ago, Steve asked me if I wanted to get some ice cream and sit by the water to eat it.  I almost said yes but then it occurred to me that getting even the smallest servings of ice cream available, we would still end up paying around $10.  And to me, $10 is an amount to be spent on lunch for two—NOT ice cream for two.

So I suggested we scoop our treats at home to save some money.  Steve dished out some of his favorite toffee ice cream and I had some vanilla yogurt with homemade granola on top.

We put an ice pack in the cooler, added our pre-scooped dishes and off we went to sit on a bench on the waterfront in downtown Manteo.

A lovely evening.  Great company. Good eats. Ten dollars saved.

Dab 2

Steve is like most men in that he doesn’t like getting rid of clothes. He will wear something over and over until it just falls apart. (See this post about his unintentional southern exposure for an example of this trait.)

But eventually all good things must come to an end and sadly, the end finally came for this beloved pair of  shoes. They’re about to disappear into the dumpster never to be seen again so let’s have one last moment of silence for them, shall we?

Dab 3

Recently Steve was invited to perform a sunrise wedding on the waterfront.  That’s Steve, peeking out from behind the couple.

(Photos by Sarah D’Ambra.)

The really cool thing about this couple is that the groom is a recent graduate of Dare Challenge, the faith-based substance abuse program in our area.

Steve serves on the board at Dare Challenge and also teaches  there once a week. Sometimes instead of teaching, he will take the residents out on a field trip.  Last week’s field trip involved going to a nearby bombing range where jets were practicing dropping dummy bombs; when they passed the control tower (where Steve and they guys were), they were going about 500 mph.  Pretty wild!

Anyway, back to the wedding photo.

Devon is currently enrolled at a Bible College in Dallas, TX and he and Jessi are planning to be missionaries.  It is such a cool thing to see someone take the steps  to go from a life of heartache and brokenness to wholeness and joy.

Godspeed, Devon and Jessi!

Dab 4

Last night I had a last-minute invitation to go on a sunset cruise. 

We have a community sportsmen’s group that meets at our church once a month to enjoy a meal and a speaker. This month they decided to do something different and take a boat ride. Since they realized that they had some extra space available, they put out the call for any women or kids to come along.

We ended up with about 40 guys and 4 women–talk about the roses between the thorns!

The woman in the middle is Mary Ann, who is our associate/youth pastor and is due to give birth to her first child at any moment.  It would have been exciting to have had a boat baby!

Here are a few more shots from that fun jaunt.

These two guys are from Dare Challenge.

I loved seeing that battered, old notebook in the wheelhouse.  Anything having to do with writing just fascinates me.

Dab 5

This is Summer in her Happy Place, tucked in next to her very own personal mama in the writing chair.  (In fact, even though I took this picture a couple of weeks ago, she is in that very same pose  at this very minute.)

I’m not sure if I would even be able to write without a small white dog filling up the Doggie Space of my recliner.  And since that is the case, you have Snowy and Summer to thank for all the blog posts you have enjoyed over the years.

You can tell Summer is really, really relaxed when she pokes her tongue out while she’s sleeping.

Speaking of Summer, when Nathan was here, he thought he’d try the carrot trick (that he always did with Snowy) with Summer.

It worked!

(And if you haven’t read the post about Snowy and the carrot, it is one of my favorites.)

Summer loves hanging out on Steve’s and my bed and she especially loves it if a piece of our clothing is on the bed.  She will go and lie down on that piece of clothing . . .

even if it means she’s about to slide off the bed. Such a dear and funny doggie

.

We could name this photo, “Can you find the Yorkie?”

Dab 6

Last Saturday, we had a Church Board dinner at the home of one of our board members.

Such loveliness!  I can’t even keep one kitchen plant alive at my house but Steve and Debbie keep hundredsof plants alive—everywhere!  I’m impressed. And also amazed.  Green thumbery is not my gift. 

 Debbie is known for her cooking and we were not disappointed.  Bar-b q-chicken, roast beef, potatoes, gravy a couple veggies, rolls . . .

and a finale of strawberry shortcake. 

It featured a homemade pound cake replete with every calorie and fat gram in existence east of the Mississippi. But it was worth every single bite.

Dab 7

I’m not one to take a lot of selfies but I nabbed one of myself before church this past Sunday. The shoes were the most expensive item—they were $9 at the thrift store but still had new tags on them.  The skirt, sweater, and shirt were about $3 each, so I got the whole outfit for under $20. Not too bad!

And The Final (and Littlest) Dab. 

Awwww . . . 

What about you?  Has your summer also been replete with dabs?  

I really think that’s what adds to the richness of our lives–it’s the dibs and dabs much more than the big events that make up the precious fabric of each day.

Do you have a dab to share?  A trip?  A reunion?  A funny thing your kid said?  A life change? A special joy?

Let’s celebrate our dabs!