ocean | Apothecary Shed

Decompressing at the Stick

August 1, 2025

gem cooking, dogs, ocean, travel, wedding anne, april, gøran, lisa, noelie, rhine, the stick, wedding Leave a comment

After all of the planning, and then the actual event itself, we were ready to put our feet up. So we did.

The Stick with Göran, Anne, Noelie, Lisa, Rhine and April—hosted by the newly married McGraws! Late May is perfection at the beach. No people.

Oh yeah, the dogs came too. We rented a huge vehicle in Pittsburgh to cart everyone and all their stuff down.

Now back to those feet…

About the only complication was figuring out the state of the improperly-installed dishwasher. We built our own sign to signify state. It was good in theory. LOL.

As always, cooking was an important part of our beach time. Romey and Lisa made a delicious meal indeed.

The dogs felt left out.

The view from the porch leads to inner peace.

We did make a few cocktails.

Tranquility…unless you are a ball.

Just add more olives.

Starts like this…

Ends up like this. Thanks John and Joan!

The Stick 2024

June 21, 2024

gem cooking, mixology, music, ocean beach, cocktails, dogs, howitzer, krispy kreme, maybelline, moonshine, ocean, ocean isle beach, the stick, where's aubrey Leave a comment

Some pix from the Stick. OIB, NC.

T.C. Boyle memorial howitzer

Krispy Kreme factory frier

AHHHHHH….

Moonishine loves the beach

Bikes in the Beach in Venice (LA)

February 14, 2024

gem cute, fashion, ocean, travel beach, bikes, biking, LA, nora, romey, santa monica, socks, walt Leave a comment

Oh yeah, bikes on the beach.

These socks were not there. Tell no one.

Hiking Topanga

February 14, 2024

gem hiking, mountain, nature, ocean, travel hiking, LA, nora, pacific, panorama, romey, topanga, walt Leave a comment

Oh yeah, a morning hike to the top of the bluff. All told we may have hiked four miles. We started at Walt and Nora’s house and walked up to the Pacific overview. The weather was standard issue California — perfect.

Panorama

The crew (gem, nora, walt, romey)

Art?

It was a great opportunity to spend some time together.

Sugarloaf on the Last Day

January 16, 2024

gem fashion, mountain, nature, ocean, who knows black diamonds, fiancés, gem, red beach, rio, romey, sugar loaf 2 Comments

Our first trip as fiancés was our last sidetrip in Rio. Up sugarloaf. Leaving this for last was a good plan. Make sure to get tickets on the net in advance and definitely spring for the VIP thing.

It all starts at the red beach on a 90+ degree day.

Fortunately there is Casa Que Doce nearby for some respite before the ascent.

And then it’s up up up on a guided tour.

First station.

And then more up to the top. We walked around the gardens and had a bite at the sunset grill (where our news leaked when Noelie called). Yes, we were engaged.

Black diamonds drip.

Then back down to reality, the metal tube home, and winter.

Home to Chez Georges, where a last Caipirinha, and a trip to GIG were in store.

October beach: Sun Down, Moon Up

November 1, 2023

gem nature, ocean, travel beach, moon, moon rise, moonie, moonshine, NC, ocean isle beach, OIB, sun, sunset, the stick Leave a comment

Because this beach faces South, the sun can go down and the moon can come up on opposite sides of the beach.

Sun down

Moon up

And then the next morning, the sun can come up while the moon sets.

Sun up

Moon down

The Stick in October is ideal. What people? We’re not in Norway anymore, moonie.

Hot Summer Doldrums at the Stick

August 27, 2023

gem ocean beach, beach house, ocean isle beach, the stick, uhaul Leave a comment

Sometimes the doldrums strike even at the Stick. Intensely hot. No wind. The Stick is usually a place of respite with crosswinds blowing through the house, but we up and left when it was just too hot. This is likely to be more common as climate change unfolds. That is, until the Stick is eaten by the Atlantic ocean.

We flew the usual flags.

In any case, we dragged a bunch of stuff down from the cabin. So that was accomplished.

Which also means we got to get rid of some stuff. UHaul at the dump!

All gone.

The dogs had fun when they were not completely overheated. Maybe loves the beach.

Check out the baby puppy Maybeline in the water!

Life is but a bowl of dog food.

Oh yeah, there were cocktails too! Served up on the new bar.

Dark and Stormy

Gin and Tonic

Colt’s Neck

Of course, more dogs in the ocean. Which sometimes means the baby has to be dried off.

One of my very favorite views. We will, of course, be back. Two visits slated for the Fall.

Dogs at Play: Ocean Isle

June 17, 2023

gem animals, dogs, ocean beach, dog, dogs, maybelline, moonshine, ocean, romey, the stick Leave a comment

The Stick with two dogs! Including the new puppy Maybeline and Moonshine (who has already been to the beach this year).

Digging in the morning!

The sand and the ocean sans leash.

Where’s Aubrey Recording in Wilmington

May 25, 2023

gem art, music, ocean charles, charles arthur, dogs, gem, music, ocean isle beach, original music, recording, rhine, studio, the stick, where's aubrey, wilmington Leave a comment

All work and no music makes gem a dull boy. So we fixed that. Music refactoring at the Stick followed by recording in Wilmington. Here are some highlights.

Where’s Aubrey was joined by the incredible Charles Arthur in the studio.

And yes, we started at the Stick (on Ocean Isle Beach) where we practiced. Our schedule was tight, and sleep is for the weak. But first things first. Since Rhine flew into ILM, we set up an impromptu rendezvous with Adrian and Julie. Dinner was excellent, and Moonshine made a fast friend of Ralph.

We ended up at the Symphony with those fine people come Saturday.

Practice on the porch.

Industry sour with the last bottle of Green Chartreuse in NC.

Moonshine got in some fine music time.

The Wilmington Symphony played Shostakovich 5.

Moonshine, meanwhile, destroyed the screen door.

Turns out I found a musical sibling (same teacher, Linda Case, as Suzuki kids).

The bassist from NY. Hella talent.

NC sippy cups for the concert. LOL.

The after party was a blast. But then it was time for even more work.

Each night before a recording session we crammed on the music.

There was also some beach time. Moonshine was a hit at doggie day care.

Studio day one.

Hope in time for sunset and breakfast for dinner.

More cramming. And more studio time.

Followed by more beach and more cramming. We were very efficient, but the work was intense.

Studio day three (the last).

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And then it was time to get into the Liberals.

All in all a great experience. We bonded as musicians and friends.

The Stick (Fall 2021)

October 29, 2021

gem animals, dogs, ocean beach, home improvement, mr skaggs, ocean isle beach, OIB, photography, romey, the stick Leave a comment

Sunset and Moonshine (by Romey)

Who knew that installing a new washer/dryer combo thing could be so fun? That’s the nature of the Stick, I suppose. Now that I properly own it again, the time has come to spruce it up (a constant battle in the elements provided by the nearby Atlantic). We also fixed the ridiculously installed electricity, added some lights in the kitchen and over the bar, and installed a beautiful shelf in the bathroom.

Special thanks to Mr Skaggs for the help, as always above and beyond the call of duty. Anyway, here’s how all that unfolded over two visits

Moonshine and Rosie demonstrate how it feels to arrive at the Stick.

Mike learned about pickapeppa on cream cheese. A serious YUM.

The ocean is great when you are under one

Look at that professional grade piping!

The new shelf

Kitchen lighting. Now there is no excuse for not properly cleaning the kitchen.

The bar lights

Claudio and his family are going to do some major work next year. But first they need to see what they are getting into.

A second trip down with the Shepardsons and Romey was required to install the W/D (on order for several weeks).

Installing this thing required taking the entire closet apart, cleaning out 25 year worth of dryer lint, and putting it all back together (without improving the design one tad…LOL). Gotta say that drying sheets and towels is a thing.