It was a strange New Year's Eve. The weather was so warm that we went out on our deck and watched the local fireworks while no even wearing a coat. It was a beautiful night, much more like a spring night, that a mid-winter night. We ended up sleeping with the windows open once again. I think last night's low temperature was 65 degrees. This morning, it was sunny at first and the temperature quickly rose above 72 degrees. When I checked the Weatherunderground site tonight, it looks like the 72 degrees Fahrenheit is a new record for Cape Carteret.

Earlier today, just as I started thinking about going fishing at around eleven am, the showers rolled in. We were pelted with rain for a good portion of the rest of the day. The temperature, however, stayed above sixty all day, and once again we have the windows open trying to cool the house so we can have some good sleeping temperatures.

Other than an early morning trip to the grocery store, we had a very relaxing day watching football games. There have definitely been some good games on and with rain outside, it wasn't too hard to dedicate time to soaking up some of the last of the college football for the year. It's a little hard to believe the last bowl game isn't until next week. Maybe with a few more, football can compete with March madness.

Since today was the first day of the new saltwater fishing license, I went online and purchased a license. I was not sure what the residency requirements would be, and was a little worried that I might have to have my NC driver's license first, but it turned out that I didn't. I only had to be "domiciled" here for sixty days so residency was no problem. You can get your saltwater license online at this link. You also get to print out a temporary license which you can use until your permanent one comes in the mail. At least this way I won't have to stop fishing, Of course the fish are in no danger since it has been a while since I caught any.

Today being the first day of the New Year, we had to honor our family traditions by having greens (spinach in our case- no collards allowed), black-eyed peas, and pork for a meal. Now I really hope the good luck works for this year.

I am also excited to have my first article in the "Dropping Anchor" magazine. It's the winter weather article on page 24. I guess I get to be a mystery author since Will forgot to include my name. Anyone familiar with my background will recognize my Canadian stories. If that is the worst thing that happens to me this year, I won't have many complaints.

I am looking forward to my first full year on the Carolina Coast. If the weather will stay this way, at least the heating bills won't be very challenging.