Although he’s lamented many times selling this 1972 Chevelle Super Sport, he’s still got the girl climbing into the front seat all those years ago. February 28 marked our 46th wedding anniversary.

That classic car has appreciated in value, and I like to think I have too!

To celebrate our 46 years, we went to the beach for a four-day weekend. It was pretty quiet at Emerald Isle during the last days of February, which meant it was easy to get into one of our favorite restaurants for lunch, Rucker Johns.

We split a grilled mahi sandwich with sweet potato fries, but we each ordered a side salad with Ranch dressing. I think we always get the salad just for that delicious sweet roll that comes with it.

After all these years of eating together, it seems we often order the same thing. How long will it be before we start looking alike, something else I’ve heard said about people who’ve been married a long time? I wonder too: Is splitting an entree a geezer thing?

Back home, I took inventory of the yard. The daffodils that bloomed so early and robustly are now spent. Hard to believe since it’s only the first of March.

The pink camellias are still blooming, however, and the red camellia bush that we bought and planted last year on our 45th wedding anniversary has started to put forth blossoms.

The Japanese quince that my middle daughter gave me a few years ago is showing some promise although it was severely “pruned” by hungry rabbits last summer.

Potted pansies have perked up too with the warmer temperatures. Often, my pansies seem to languish during the cold months of winter only to revive during spring before succumbing to the summer heat. Do yours look better now than in December?

This groundcover, alyssum I think it’s called, provides a spot of fairyland white in early spring each year.

The alyssum wasn’t the only magic in my week. Getting out of my car at Planet Fitness, I heard a violin. Someone was playing classical music in the parking lot, much like I’ve heard in the piazzas of Italian cities. But this was Rocky Mount. Across from the Dollar Tree. Oh my word!

I stopped to listen, put five dollars in the kitty, and was treated to a rendition of Ave Maria. Best money I spent all week.

Incidentally, the GIF below was meant to be a video. I guess I was so excited I hit the wrong button on my cell phone. Sorry. You’ll just have to imagine you’re listening to Ave Maria.

I’ll end with an important announcement: Book 3 in the Narrow Creek series will soon be sent to the publisher. Yes, I haven’t posted lately on this blog because I’ve been busy with editing. This cozy mystery is titled Money and Murder in Narrow Creek and picks up the story of Dee Ann Bulluck’s small-town life two years after the conclusion of Life and Death in Narrow Creek . What’s this new book about?

Here’s the first paragraph from the inside cover blurb:

“It’s October in small-town Narrow Creek, North Carolina, and Dee Ann Bulluck is set for a fun morning of picking pumpkins when five-year-old Heather discovers a lady “taking a nap” in Elmer’s Pumpkin Patch. The attractive, well-dressed woman in stiletto heels isn’t asleep—she’s dead—and amateur detective Dee Ann wonders about the identity of this stranger and who strangled her.”

Of course, our feisty heroine feels compelled to investigate–aggravating both husband Joe and Police Chief Roger McSwain–and so the adventure begins. Many of the quirky characters from the first two Narrow Creek books are back to add to the action and humor.

I’ll be doing a cover reveal soon. Hope my readers will be excited about this third book in the series!

Happy March!