More on today’s adventure to come… stay tuned!
Smiling in Time With the Seals
Month: August 2020
Sunday’s are Fine
“Today’s goals: Coffee and kindness. Maybe two coffees, and then kindness.”
Nanea Hoffman
Mornings are the best time of day – don’t you think. At least I do. It’s by far my favorite part of the day, especially on weekends and in the summer.
I like the quietness, with only the birds singing and the early morning breezes rustling the delicate leaves on the trees. The day isn’t hot yet, the sun still managing to rise up into the sky, all the while watching the silent cottontails sitting still and occasionally nibbling on the dewy grass. Sometimes I’ll use the time to read some chapters of whatever book I want to get into at the time. Other times, it’s spent doing a crossword puzzle, the ink from my pen spilling and spelling out the letters into the blank boxes. My coffee cup steaming next to me.
I spent the afternoon reading and finished the book I’ve been reading, Motherless Brooklyn (the second half is a totally different story than the movie version , really a different story totally. Almost like the movie melded parts of the novel and The Power Broker of which none of that is in the novel. Totally different stories and characters that have no relation to each other! So if you’ve seen the movie, read the book – the story is different.) Now I’m looking for new reading material. Any suggestions – non-fiction only please.
Tonight I grilled up some shrimp, salmon, carrots, and a yellow zucchini squash. Something simple. A nice relaxing and lazy kind of a day.
Best Birthday One Could Have Right Now
I swam in the ocean. I ate steak. The sun was warm. I went on a 3 mile walk. The sea breeze was invigorating. I got presents. We talked of things. We got one of the two chairs back. It was great.
It’s My Birthday!
Heading down to the south shore to pick up the Adirondack chairs we got last week and for a little get together. More later…
Song Sparrow Sings of Love
Saw this little guy on a hike a couple of weeks ago and he was singing up a storm. Seemed pretty friendly too! I think it’s a Song Sparrow. Did you know that they learn to sing by imitating their fathers? And that by the time a young male is a few months old, will have formed the basis for his own courtship tune? I believe that is what I was hearing from this little guy!
This morning I went ahead and cooked up a new dish for us to have a little brunch: Charred Tomato and Ricotta, with roasted walnuts, some minced herbs, and topped with a balsamic glaze, all resting on top of toasted sourdough bread. Have to say, it wasn’t bad!
I’m currently reading Motherless Brooklyn. Come to find out LD had it on her bookshelf from way back! I really like it. It’s different then the movie in so far as I love the way it delves into the mind of the main character and his Tourette’s Syndrome. Also the time period is the 1980s whereas the movie is the 1950s. Also, I’ve yet to see the Power Broker in the novel. Perhaps that was only in the movie? Either way, this book is really great, two thumbs up from me. The movie could never solve the most common problem with any adaptation: The internal cannot be made external.
Schools Reopening. Yeah, right.
I just don’t see how kids going back to school in the fall can really be done. I’m just talking about K-12, never mind the university kids, which is a whole another ball of wax. Can they really deep clean every high-touch surface as much as may be needed? Most school buildings are old and the ventilation sucks. Paying the price now for not keeping up infrastructure. Can’t use fans to blow anything around either. Could try to teach outside but how many days aren’t going to be cold or inclement? Again, most places probably won’t have the space – especially in the metro-urban densely populated areas. Kids are going to wear masks all the time? Good luck. Don’t really have the space to social distance. A classroom is going hold, what, like 8 kids per class? Some elementary classes have 25 students. Who is teaching the students that are remote while others are in school? Also, how does this work with upper elementary, middle school and high school students who see multiple teachers for different subjects? Limiting interactions is almost impossible in some buildings, especially with limited bathrooms. Teachers don’t want to be exposed. School nurses cannot work remotely and some have small children or work in Boston hospitals, their hands are full. Group activities are out. What a depressing time to be a kid (adults too for that matter)! Sounds almost like prison. And what about transportation? Going to need a lot more buses or take the kid yourself, there goes the traffic counts. That’s even assuming it won’t affect the job you might have and need to get to or try to do. I’m not even taking into consideration the special-ed kids. School budgets for school needs will now need to be spent on PPE. Plus, there’s nothing coming from the Federal side, a real disgrace in my opinion. The whole thing is just one big mess. Finally, what happens when a teacher or student tests positive? Does the whole class quarantine? What about siblings, do they quarantine as well? What about teachers that have health conditions which deem them high risk? Do they risk it or are they forced into an unpaid leave?
Yes, we all want kids to go to school. They need the classroom, their friends, the social and emotional growth and development and structure that comes what all that. But it has to be safe, and I just don’t see it happening at this time, and that’s going to be very detrimental too. This year needs a do-over!
Gametime! Lifespan Candle – cute little game!
Thanks NECN for featuring another one of my seal photos!
I really like how this site looks on an iPad! Best way to view my photos on the web I’d say.
Powerful Ladies
Just spent the morning with a hatchet hewing down all the fallen tree limbs and bagged them up for disposal tomorrow. Good little workout! (must have been how Carrie Nation felt back in the day – the inspiration for this blog name!) I’m not against alcohol (in moderation of course), I had just happened to be reading a biography of the woman at the time I decided to start the website and I couldn’t think of any other name at the time. Plus the thought of a bible-thumping, 6 foot tall old lady all dressed in black coming in with a hatchet smashing things must have been quite a sight. Anyways everything’s back to the way it was pre-storm.
Houses in a Row
More info later tonight. I’m off to Brighton for an adventure…
Meanwhile here’s a history of the cute little cottages shown above. I’ve shot them before but for this one I decided to go around the back of them, which I think is an angel that is not seen too often (at least I’ve never seen it). All 22 beachfront cottages are 420 square feet, with two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a living space with windows facing the water. The cottages are numbers 1 – 12 and 14 – 23 along the beach – no unlucky 13 among them. I want to stay in one someday! (although it might be a little cramped!)
I’m back! Took a jaunt over to the New Balance Factory putlet and got a new pair of much needed sneaks.
Looks like I’m going to have to do some yard cleanup around here tomorrow. Some tree limbs are down and I’ll need to chop them up and put them together so the town can take the yard debris in a couple days. Luckily I had spent time earlier securing most of the little things that could blow away. So far, so good. Keeping fingers crossed for the rest of the night. I was getting really nervous when a gust of 75 mph winds came thru and one of the tress in the yard was really swaying but thankfully it didn’t last very long.
Swimming in the Bay Surrounded by Beautiful Hibiscus
Had a great relaxing Sunday. Went down to the Fairhaven beach house again and swam in the bay at low tide this time. I find it so much better, you avoid all the rocks at the shoreline and once past that it’s smooth sailing all the way out with a perfect slow incline and you can go out quite a ways before you’re up to your neck – similar to Skaket but not as flat as that. Plus there were some waves which was awesome. Not enough yo bowl you over or anything, but felt just right to me. The best part though is that no one else is there so it’s like you have to whole ocean to yourself. Truly magical and feel so blessed and lucky to have the opportunity be able to experience it. Beautiful this time of year with all the hibiscus plants everywhere in full bloom also. Our friend has done a really spectacular job with her property and deserves full props.
Afterwards we went to the Adirondack chair place and ended up getting two cute teal ones that they just happened to be on sale and wanted to get rid of. We left them at the beach house since they wouldn’t fit in the car as it currently is so we’ll have to go back to pick them up, which is perfect, because that means we’ll get to go down there again! Hehehe!
We had a couple of Little Libraries while in the area. I didn’t fins anything good but I was able to unload just about all the remainder of the books we wanted to get rid of. We left a couple of locations still on the list for next time to check out.
Coming home we were wiped out, after swimming and being in the sun all day (it was only supposed to be a morning stay, but as usual, time flew and didn’t leave until late afternoon/early evening). I cooked up some Juicy Lucy Cheddar burgers for LD and I as she was too tired so I took the lead on this one. I daresay I did pretty good on this one! To finish out the night I watched two new episodes of Autopsy.
I think tonight I’m going to have to bring some stuff in from the back deck for safekeeping. We have a storm coming our way and I don’t want anything that could fly away, flying away in the winds. Oh, and I lied about making those cocktails, the last two days I was going to but ended up just being too tired, shooting for tonight though!
Pineapple Coolers
Still in a Cape Cod mood so tonight I’m brewing up some Pineapple Coolers. I think the little guy above might approve. Here’s the recipe:
- 4 cups Pineapple Chunks, chilled
- 1.5 cups ice
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 1/3 cup rum
Combine all in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more ice for thicker frozen cocktail. More mixture into glasses and garnish with a pineapple round, lime wedge, and sprig of mint.
We got a lot of things today! Got rid of a lot of old books that were on the bookcase in the den and deposited them in a couple of Little Libraries about town, moved the new freezer into the unfinished part of the basement (after cleaning it up and making some room/neater) and other miscellaneous things. Planning to cook some steaks on the grill for tonight’s dinner after which I will imbibe on the Pineapple Coolers.