Recentering

The forecast for the weather for the last two days has been ever changing. Yesterday I went to church with Warren at his sweet little church. Since it was not so rainy Russ and Carter stayed behind to do their own spiritual renewal.

Warren was the Deacon in charge for the day so I helped him open the windows of the little church and prop them up with wooden dowels as the grayness of the morning lifted. The building was built in the 1800’s and has boxes instead of pews with the straight backed, small bench type of seating that made early parishioners feel no comfort in earthly worship and made me wonder how church survived at all. I was greeted warmly by the forty to fifty people who made up the congregation for the day.

Warren told me the regular pastor was away, but that I would love the guest pastor. If there ever was an understatement it was that. Kate Braestrup, the pastor for the Maine Game wardens and a four time book author was the guest preacher. The service opened with a welcome and a call for announcements from the congregation. People stood up to announce flea market sales and a note about donuts. There was the masked singing of familiar hymns, and then Warren gave a moving prayer and asked for concerns and celebrations where the congregation parcipitated, including me asking for prayers for a friend’s child.

Then Kate stood for her sermon. She echoed the words of the Hymn There is a balm in Gilead as she brought the congregation to tears as she spoke about the women of Afghanistan. It was a heart wrenching talk about mother’s passing their girl babies through the barbed wire fences to the arms of awaiting soldiers who they hoped would take their daughter’s out of a country that was once again a dangerous place to be a girl. I quickly forgot how uncomfortable the slightly forward leaning back of the pew was as my body tried to hold back the wrenching sound that came with my tears. It was a powerful morning.

Warren and I drove back towards the coast as the sun was trying to break through and I felt the huge appreciation for the luck that I was born here and to the people I was born to. Sometimes it is hard to have that perspective.

I was sorry Carter had missed a chance to listen to Kate. She would have felt a kinship with her feminist point of view. But she and Russ had their own chance to commune with nature, one that gave them that rest from work to renew themselves. Maine seems to recenter us all in different ways.

Uncontrollable Laughter

One of the best things about our old fashioned Maine Vacations is that Warren, Carter and I love to play games together and Russ gets out of having to play games because we have a third. Today we played Ticket to Ride, which Warren did not love, so he taught us a card game called Pitch, aka High, Low, Jack, Game.

Carter has never played a lot of cards, so she is unfamiliar with common game terms, like what the suits are called. Clubs are referred to as clovers in her games. As Warren was teaching us the rules, which involve bidding a suit, commonly called, “the Trump suit” I commented that Trump has even ruined cards. Carter quickly shot back, “As if that is the worst thing he ruined.” We laughed until we fell off our chairs.

Speaking of laughing, there came a point in the night, after dinner and dessert and lots of game playing that Carter looked over at the table next to her and noticed a tiny tray displayed on a plate stand. She asked Warren what this “tiny tray” was for and it just struck a funny bone in us and we started laughing. The laughing was so uncontrollable that I actually was worried that Carter had stopped breathing, but I was to paralyzed with laughter so I could not do a thing about her. Eventually we all took a breath and got back to the game. We still don’t know the tiny tray is for.

It was a very eventful day in many other ways, but as we were busy from early morning until late at night I will have to save all the other stories for another day so I can post this before midnight and try and get some sleep.

We are all safe in sound here with no Henri action. Thanks for the messages of concern from far and wide.

Back to Howard Johnsons

It has been two years since our last visit to our favorite HOJO’s. Our friend Warren has been obviously despondent over our absence because he has pulled out all the stops for our visit.

Last night he made a lovely dinner and this morning the breakfast was divine, especially the grapes cut in half. (There is never a need to cut my grapes in half.). After breakfast we went to take my favorite walk, the Rockland breakwater. It was slightly misty at Warren’s, but only foggy at the breakwater. Russ and Carter, with their long legs were way out in front of us. Thankfully Warren had no issue walking at my pace. By the time we finished the walk things cleared up a d we could see the islands.

Not satisfied with just one walk we went from the breakwater to the wellness trail in the woods. Again Russ and Carter were off like deer and I brought up the rear. Nonetheless it was good to get 12,000 steps before lunch.

We lunched at home with the famous hojo’s tuna melt and that prompted the need for naps for us all.

Tonight we went to our favorite restaurant in the mid-coast, Primo. They make the farm to table seem like the only way restaurants should go. They never disappoint us. It is a good thing we got all those steps, but it is our first vacation in months.

Finally Vacation

I left home on Monday and I just arrived at our vacation spot. It was a fun journey, but not a vacation. The last bit from Boston to the mid-coast of Maine seemed the longest. I think I am just extra exhausted, perhaps my big day of walking yesterday wore me out. I have no excuse because unlike Russ and Carter I was not working right up until the minute we left Boston. Actually they both worked In the car.

As soon as we crossed into Maine we headed to Kittery for lunch at a spot Suzanne suggested. It was wonderful to sit looking at the boats on the water and have a lobster roll. That’s vacation.

We avoided the coast road and drove the backroads to Warren’s house. He greeted us with his usually over abundance of snacks, offering us a choice between superior Cheddar or Vermont Cheddar. When I asked what the difference was he said, “Green label or red label.” I likened the cheddar choice to scotch brand tape; Red plaid or green plaid, both the same tape.

We had a delicious dinner after cheddar time on the front porch watching the tide come in to clam cove. Russ and Carter are doing the dishes as I write from the cool night’s air of the porch in the dark so as not to attract bugs. For now I need sleep so I can rest up for vacation.

City Living

Russ and I are staying in a hotel in Boston because I promised Carter I would not stay with her until she had a guest room, which I am not counting on anytime in the next decade. Last night as we slept on the twenty sixth floor I was rudely awakened by a bright flashing light and loud voice in our room repeating, “Potential Emergency, await stair evacuation instructions.” I was up like a bolt, but Russ barley moved and resumed a light snore. For two hours I awaited instructions, planning what I would take down the 26 flights of stairs.

I went to the door and smelled nothing and heard only the opening of other doors, wondering the same thing I did. I looked out the window and listened for sirens; Nothing. I lay down and tried to not go back to sleep thinking about what an orphaned Carter might do. We never got follow up instructions and eventually I fell back to sleep, only to awake prematurely when Russ got up to have a very early work call.

Since I was awake I went ahead and got up. It was raining, but not too hard. I was going for a Pedicure at Carter’s nail place, it had been 18 months since my last one and I did not want to subject my regular nail person to these feet. Russ gave me his tiny travel umbrella and I walked the six blocks in the rain.

When I was finished with fabulous feet, the rain had significantly picked up. The howling wind came around corners flipping the tiny travel umbrella inside out so I stopped in a CVS and bought an equally small and flimsy replacement. There was no way to keep my thin white button down shirt from being totally soaked, providing a sheerness that no one wanted to see. I finally made it back to the hotel only to discover that the wind had pulled my reading glasses off their chains around my neck. So much for my favorite glasses.

As I had not eaten anything yet, and Russ had a one hour break we went to find lunch in a way that we did not have to go outside. Since our hotel was not serving lunch we traveled through some overground tunnels until we found one open restaurant. It was huge with no customers. We were sad for the, but happy for us.

After lunch the sun came out. Russ went back to work and I walked to the MFA for my planned visit. Along the way I passed the Christian Scientist Mother church, which has been under renovation since before we looked at Northeastern with Carter seven years ago. I got to wondering if there would be any Christian Scientists left due to Covid to pay for finishing the renovation.

After a good mile walk I arrived at the Museum. Thankfully museum goers are good rule followers and everyone had their masks on and did excellent social distancing. A whole afternoon of fabulous art fixers all other problems, as well as the 14,500 steps I got today.

After working all day, Carter joined us for dinner at Salty Girl where we had a most fabulous selections of various seafood dishes, but by 8:30 my middle of the night interruptions were catching up with me. Carter went home on the T and Russ and I walked home. Praying for a solid night’s sleep since we finally get to Maine tomorrow.

Friends and Family

Today’s adventure of Dana’s New England Friend tour started out with a yummy breakfast of homemade blueberry scones and fruit at the Bed and Breakfast of Nancy and Peter. Friends really go all out when you visit them for two meals. Stay longer and you might get hot dogs, but two meals and they put on the dog.

When I visit you there is no reason to make home baked goods, but for some people it is a good excuse. Nancy’s scones were hands down the best scones I have ever had. Very light and flavorful. The Brits could take lessons from her.

Sadly I had to say goodbye right after breakfast as I had some miles to go up the coast to Rhode Island. I was off to my friend Sally’s in Jamestown Rhode Island. Sally is the best thing to come out of Covid for me. Although we went to college together we did not hang out that much there, but we have become fast friends thanks to regular Zooms this past year.

I had never been to Jamestown and found it to be an absolutely darling seaside village. Sally lives in a beautiful shingle style house with the most fabulous hydrangea tunnel and perfect gardens. She gave me the whole tour of the small town with so many gorgeous homes and gardens. New England is so hard to beat in the summer.

We had lunch on the water at her club where we talked about the fun of visiting old friends and how much we liked road trips. It was a short, but sweet visit, because I had to get back on the road to get to Boston to see Carter.

One of the objectives of this trip was to deliver to Carter a rug, painting and lamp she got from my mother. While I was bringing those I also threw in a bunch of other things, like a pot of mint from our garden, some new good knives and a Costco lifetime supply of trash bags. After unpacking Carter’s stuff we delivered a box of China that Carter sold to her boss from my parent’s estate sale.

We went to our hotel for me to check in and Russ joined us from his day of working up here. Off on the T to the North end for dinner and I will say it has been a very full day. Friends and Family what could be better?

Timeless Friendships

My favorite kind of days are when I wake up at one old friend’s house and drive to an even older friends house. My darling friend David flew home today from Ghana just in time to see me at breakfast before I departed his and John’s house. I would have loved to have had more time with David, but after his flying all night and my need to get on the road I had to go.

Driving north on I -95 was a very familiar thing for me to do. Covid is still having some affect on traffic in a positive way, until I hit Connecticut. Then it was just one Range Rover after another jockeying for a one car advantage and putting all the rest of us at risk. But they do own the road.

I got to my friend Nancy’s house before either she or her husband Peter were back from their haircuts. I really love friends who step up their personal grooming just in time for my visit. I am sensing a theme here as I cut John’s hair yesterday at his house and now Nancy and Peter.

I got a chance to spend time with their wonderful daughter Sarah who is about to go to grad school. I love talking with my oldest friend’s grown children because you see so many qualities repeated in their offspring. I knew that when I met Nancy when we were both fifteen that I would be friends with her for life. Then when she introduced me to Peter before they got married and he had a sticker in the back window of his car that just said, “college” I knew he had the kind of sense of humor that was well above most.

Nancy and Peter, of newly coifed hair, came home and we got a good gab on while Nancy slaved away cooking us a Spanish extravaganza of tomato bread, cheese, paella and salad. My friends I impose on to visit during my drive really go all out cooking for me and I really appreciate it. Considering Covid, going out to eat holds no joy, but sitting outside on a beautiful cool Connecticut summer night with friends is glorious.

After dinner we went inside and on Nancy’s coffee table was an unopened game that I had just read about YESTERDAY, as the best game ever made. It is called Wingspan. So we decided to play it. There is nothing I like better than a whole family of game players.

Nancy started unpacking the box of small colored eggs, 170 game cards with birds, little tokens, game boards, a birdhouse you have to build and hundreds of other small bits and bobs. There were two instruction manuals and an appendix. She started reading. It was way too confusing. Then she saw you could watch a video to learn how to play. We opted for that and crowded around her computer for the fifteen minute video, pausing at every instruction to set things up. After watching the whole thing none of us actually had any idea what the object of the game was and what we were to do with half of the bits and bobs, but we started anyway.

One thing we did know was it took four rounds to play a whole game. We barley got through one round in over an hour of actual play. Sarah beat us all, with Nancy coming it a close second, followed by Peter and I was dead last. I am not sure who wrote the article about Wingspan being the best game ever, but I think it definitely needs to be played a few hundred times before you understand all the options of the game.

Nonetheless, it was one of the most fun evenings I have had all year. Forty-five years of friendship is just a timeless thing. Breaking up my driving by going from one friend to another is the best. Thankfully they welcome me every time.

Thanks Be to Friends

Today is day one of my great northern migration. Last year was a sad year without a trip to Maine. Thanks to wonderful and safely vaccinated friends I am not missing another Maine summer.

One of my favorite parts of making this trip is stopping to see kind friends along the way. Today’s stop is with my friends John and David. Sadly David is not here tonight as he is flying back from Africa, just in time to have breakfast before I leave. John has more than made up for David’s absence. He runs the best Bed and breakfast in the capital, but just for dear friends.

I arrived this afternoon just after he had finished doing all the cooking for our dinner. The house is immaculate, especially my bedroom apartment, with it’s own living rooms kitchen. We had a grand time catching up, telling stories and enjoying their garden. As part of my thank you to him I gave him a haircut cutting off some of his founding father’s hairdo.

We enjoyed a refreshing watermelon gazpacho, spinach quiche, zucchini fritters and green salad. If that wasn’t enough John made a to-die-for strawberry pie with fresh cream. I am certain to sleep well tonight.

Breaking up my drive with the fun of friends makes the journey a vacation. Thanks to John and I can’t wait to see David in the morning.

Rationalizing my Catan Addiction

Some Pre-pandemic years ago my friend Suzanne, whom I was visiting, said to me, “I can’t believe you have never played Settlers of Catan.” Being behind on a game craze was tantamount to not liking Apple pie for me. So she got the game out and gathered her two game loving sons, Jack and Oliver and they introduced me to Catan, as it is now known.

It was the start of a true addiction, and not one I am sad about. First, it Is not fattening and second I can do it in fifteen minutes. See I left Suzanne’s house and quickly discovered an online version where you play against real people, but you do not have chat capability, so there is no fighting or insulting, as long as you ignore the face emoji.

So now I have to admit it has been at least four or five years that I have played online Catan at least once a day, but more likely three times a day. I wake up and play a game while I am watching the news, drinking my tea and waiting for my daily medicine to take effect.

I might play as a break from the mundane chores of the day, while Shay snuggles with me and gets her ears scratched. Then right before I go to bed I play one more game, although I have nodded off in the middle once or twice.

The first step to dealing with addiction is admitting you have a problem. And I do. I could give it up cold Turkey, but since I spend only between 30-40 minutes a day partaking I am not sure I have to go that far.

It doesn’t cost me any money outside of the $4.99 one time fee I paid years ago. I do have some suggestions to improve the online experience and would be willing to pay another $4.99 to get them, but it does not appear that anyone at the game company seems to care.

So I think I am going to hold the status quo on this addiction. It is one of my healthier ones and it certainly kept me sane during the lock down. As Delta rages I may have to go back to all online game playing and Catan is right up there. The way I look at it is no gambling is involved and as long as I am not losing money I can justify this. As Jeff Goldblum said in The Big Chill, “Rationalizationis more Important than sex. Have you ever gone a week without a good rationalization?”

Sheep, Not The Brightest

August 13 came and went and amazingly 45 was not reinstalled as President. This despite all that the My Pillow idiot said. I wonder what all the followers thought was going to happen. Whatever it was, it didn’t.

I think a lot about why there is a huge group of people who don’t believe science. They scorn the Covid vaccine and don’t believe in climate change, despite all the evidence around them. If there was a Venn diagram of the people who thought that 45 would be “reinstalled,” which in it’s self is not a thing, and the non-science crowd, I bet there would be a large overlap.

Why would people believe something so fantastical yet not anything so factual? Perhaps the whole idea that 45 was not “reinstalled” makes these people not believe anything. But wait, they also tend to believe that they are chosen, but chosen for what, other than an offer for a car warranty, I do not know.

Please believers, stop following the likes of My Pillow Guy, or any Governor who signs anti-mask mandate laws. So far they have been wrong more than they have been right. It’s time to make them face the consequences of leading sheep to slaughter. So stop being the sheep.

Oh Yeah, very few sheep read my blog. Preaching to the choir again. Baaaa.

Processing the Harvest

It never fails that when my time is running short the garden produces a huge amount. After doing so much work to build this garden, plant it and nurture the plants I hate to let any of the harvest go to waste. So today I made two quarts of pesto. I still have a huge amount of basil, but I only had so much Parmesan and pine nuts. I hope my plants last two more weeks.

Then I replenished my Refrigerator Pickles. Russ and I have discovered the love of having a few slices of pickles with every dinner. The sourness helps cut any other rich food we might have on our plates.

The biggest thing I had to make today was something with eggplants. I needed to come up with an item that could be frozen since we don’t have anytime to eat all this eggplant. I didn’t want to make something as fattening as eggplant Parmesan. Most eggplant dishes don’t freeze well. I eventually found a vegan dish that was called eggplant meatballs. I found that a misnomer, since there is no meat in the balls.

I made three dozen big balls and now they are in the freezer. Now that Russ has given up meat I hope he likes these. It will bring him right back to those Fridays when we were engaged. He ate frozen meatballs after he had had driven from NJ to my house in DC after work and I would already be asleep. At least now he has homemade pesto to go on the “meatballs” with a side of pickles.

Shay’s Beep, Beep, Beep Sound Effect

Shay is ten years old. You can’t tell by looking at her, if you ignore her home haircut. She has primarily remained exactly the same size for the last nine and a half years. When Russ comes home, she still stands up on her hinds legs and jumps up like a kangaroo. So she appears to have no problem with agility.

The only place Shay shows her age is when she wants to jump up on our bed. As a younger dog she jumped up with no issue, but through the years she has had a fail or two. Those experiences have made her skittish about trying to jump up. If we had carpeting she could do it, but hard wood helps with Russ’ allergies, so Russ wins.

Just because Shay does not want to jump on the bed does not mean she does not demand to be on the bed. So she has developed a routine to get us to pick her up. First she comes in the bed room and faces the bed, then she backs up to sit on the bath mat in the bathroom and sits properly, looking at the person on the bed. If she had sound effects you would hear a beep, beep, beep, like a truck backing up.

Shay will stand there and wait patiently until someone gets up and picks her up. Her plan has worked perfectly. She can stare us down and no one can get in the bathroom without noticing her sad helpless look.

We tried dog stairs, but they did not have railings and she felt very unsafe. So she would just beep, beep, beep backup into the bathroom. It is amazing how well she has trained us and how consistent she is in her actions. She has disproven the old adage, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks,” as she has totally trained me and Russ.

Farewell To John Woody

Last month my dear friend Judy Woody’s husband John passed away. I was teaching Mah Jongg at the beach on the day of his funeral and sadly missed it. Judy spent some days after his passing with her children and grand children in Raleigh.

I missed my window to bring her my “Somebody died? fried chicken” as I was not home. Rather than bring it to her house we invited her to come for dinner tonight with our friends Jan and Rex. It was a much nicer way to get to celebrate John’s life with stories while we ate.

Judy was one of my earliest friends in Durham as I was invited to play Mah Jongg with her group when I first moved here. She is my only constant Mah Jongg friend as others have moved away and some have come back. It is hard for me to believe that John has passed on. I feel like I am too young to be making friend chicken for my friends husband’s passing.

We just never know how long we have with the ones we love. This reminds me to make the most of the opportunities with the people I really like and just skip the ones I feel mediocre about. Judy is a good one. Such a funny and kind friend. I am sad for her loss of John. We are just going to have to play more Mah Jongg and enjoy our friends.

The Best Part of the Lime

For most people the juice that comes from the inside of a lime is the part they use. They cut the fruit and squeeze the juice out and throw away the limiest part; the zest.

If you are cooking something that calls for lime, ignore the recipe if it doesn’t call for zest and add it anyway. For the non-cooks out there, the zest is the green thin skin on the rind. To harvest it from the fruit all you need is a microplane which you rub the tiny blades over the outside of the fruit. It is best to do this while the lime is still whole.

Once you have rendered the lime naked, then you can halve it and squeeze it or cut it into wedges for drinks. If you are squeezing the lime in a drink add a tiny pinch of zest. If you are making a soup or dressing add a table spoon of zest.

To make life really easy you can zest a bunch of limes and freeze the zest. Then juice all the limes right away. The zest keeps the lime safe from air so once you have removed it you do need to juice as the lime will not last without the green. But lime juice will keep in the fridge for a very long time. So zest and juice away.

That Last Tuition Bill

It started twenty years ago, paying tuition for Carter’s school. When she got that first acceptance letter to Westminster School for young children we were thrilled. Paying that $1,000 for a whole year was money well spent. Her first two teacher, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Pyle were the most excellent introduction to school Carter could have ever had.

I will never forget our first parent teacher conference, sitting on those tiny chairs, knees up to our chins. Mrs. Smith excitedly told us that Carter was better than any student she had ever had in twenty years of teaching in one particular skill. We held our breath, please be math. “Cutting with scissors,” she told us. What were we thinking? Two year olds don’t do math.

We were not surprised by the cutting with scissors since we did a lot of arts and crafts at our house, but we took it.

Today, I got the last tuition bill for Carter’s undergraduate education. She is on a five year program, but will finish in December, saving me one semester’s bill. It is should be a happy day, the last big check of many years of big checks, but I am a little sad.

Carter has loved college. She excitedly educated me on some of the more interesting things she has learned and classes that inspired her. She has worked 20 months at Bain Capital while at school, learning so much about the bigger world. I think her equally valuable learning came as a student leader in the Explore program, the place Northeastern places undecided majors. Carter has been a TA and Coordinator for that program since her second year, even while at Bain, helping other students find their paths and passions.

I am thankful that Carter will just be in school and only working in Explore for her last semester. Working full-time while going to school full-time is just too much working and not enough fun. She certainly took after her father in the work/school life balance and nothing like me in the school/throw some parties life.

As soon as the parent portal is back up and running, as it crashed with all the parents looking at their bills, I will pay that last bill. It might be tomorrow. I thought I would be more elated about finishing paying for school, but 20 years of doing that is a hard habit to break. Great job Carter. Finish strong.

There’s Hope in The World

I am writing as I watch the closing ceremonies of the Olympics. I always have this let down feeling when the Olympics are over because I have just spent two weeks watching the great achievements of the best athletes doing things I could never dream of.

This year I was drawn into the stories and felt a sadness that their families could not be there in Tokyo with them after all those years of training. But what I saw were athletes supporting each other and it made it seem so pure. The celebrations at the end of races, where competitors were congratulating each other. It was inspiring and I wish America could come together the way the athletes do. The Olympics always give me hope that the world can be a supportive and kind place.

In a totally different example of hope for world today while I was in the mountains at our friend’s Jan and Rex’s house I witnessed a grist of hundreds of bees enjoying a beautiful hydrangea bush. The sound of the bees was definitive. They had no interest in me, but certainly were getting their pollen fill on the flowers.

Not only were the bees happy there, so were the butterflies. I tried to capture it on video, but I can’t do the swarm Justice. The reason that made me hopeful is that we desperately need bees to sustain life. I plants flowers to support bees and they in turn pollinate my vegetables. Seeing bees in the wild on the top of a mountain, far from any man made hives means they are surviving in the wild.

Bees and Olympians are both my hero’s. Thanks for all you give to the world. We need all the hope we can get. I am going to hold on to this feeling.

The Mountains Are Calling

We came up to their house in Todd, which is better than going to any resort. It was Russ’ first visit here and he fell in love with it immediately. There is nothing better than a man and his devoted dog getting to hike to the tree house while I got to play games with Jan and Rex. Everyone was happy with that.

There is hardly anything better than having wonderful friends who invite you to their mountain house. Then when their house is at the top of a cool mountain it is a bigger bonus. We are so lucky that our friends Jan and Rex are those friends.

The whole gang took a hike around the lake with Shay in the lead the whole time. The only issue was Shay did not like to walk across the wooden bridges with slats just a little to far apart from each other so her feet fall through. She quickly learned how to walk stiff legged on the center of the slats.

We had yummy meals, lots of laughs, and great out door time. Hooray for great friends and mountain time.

Dog Tired

Today Shay spent time with her much larger labradoodle friend Crocket. Crocket is triple Shay’s size, but Shay can hold her own. They frolicked in the yard running and chasing each other.

I love watching Shay chase Crocket and then as Crocket turns he chases Shay and they never quite catch, just pass by one another.

So after all that running they come inside and collapse. Dog tired. I was tired just watching them run.

I can tell someone who will sleep well tonight. Two someone’s.

Have Soup, Will Travel

With an abundance of cucumbers from the garden I decided to make some cold cucumber soup to give to my friend Jan. My cucumber plants are about spent and I am waiting to see if the last few fruits flourish before I rip the plants out. Thankfully I have lots of good fresh herbs to add the flavor to this soup.

2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped

5 table spoons minced onions

1 large clove of garlic

1 cup Greek yogurt

Handful of each, fresh dill, tarragon and flat leaf parsley

Juice of a lemon

2 T. Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Put all the ingredients less a 1/4 cup of cucumber in a blender and blend well. Add the last chopped cucumber. Chill. Enjoy.

Lost, But Not Forgotten Friends

I finished listening to a great book, The Midnight Library, recommended by my friend Suzanne. In it the protagonist is able to visit other lives she might have lived if she had just made one different choice or another. You can imagine how many choices we each make everyday and how if we changed just one of them we might lead a totally different life.

I loved the book, although I am not one to have remorse over a path not taken. What the book did do for me is make me wonder what happened to people I have known over the years, but lost track of.

Suddenly, I was washed over with names of people I haven’t seen, heard from or perhaps even thought of in years. It started with my fifth grade friend Gayle Hemingway, whose mother taught piano lessons in their living room. I always wanted to take piano, but we did not have one at home until the day I went to boarding school, when my mother bought herself a baby grand. Talk about timing.

Then there were two favorite teachers. Dale Stoelting, who was both my fourth and sixth grade teacher and Ruth Farrell who was my seventh and eighth grade art teacher. I would love to see both of them.

The next person who came to my mind was Lori Hand, a friend from Wilton who went to Kent school with my friend Tom Hurdman. I lost total track of her once I went to college. We spent everyday together for a couple of summers.

Then I thought of a Washington friend, Felicity, who lived next door to me in DuPont circle, my first year there. She was an English Barrister, who came to do some work for a year in Washington. She hardly had any furniture in her apartment, but had a big Irish Setter dog.

I am normally good at keeping up with people, but before there was Facebook and the Internet it was just harder. What I really wonder is if I have crossed paths with lost friends and had not realized we were in the same proximity. It is not like we go around with a big name tag above our head. Sometimes I wish we did. I would love to talk to old friends just to compare memories and see where they ended up.

Re-embracing Masks For The Long Term

Yesterday I read an article that there was a study done on four major U.K. transportation systems checking the surfaces on trains, buses and escalators for Covid. The study found that there was no Covid on surfaces, meaning it is safe to touch things.

More and more evidence shows that Covid is transmitted through air droplets that get right in your nose. So wearing masks is absolutely your best way of protecting yourself in tandem with the vaccine.

Masks are not that big a deal. Health care professionals have been wearing them all day at work for years. I am happy to wear my mask when I go to public places. I am just happy to get to go places. Yesterday I went to Trader Joe’s and without any kind of mandate or requirement every person in the place was wearing a mask.

Not only is the mask protecting us from Covid, but also the flu and the common cold. Seems like a no-brainer to me that we stop fighting it and just get used to wearing the mask. As long as children can’t get vaccinated we have a huge reason to be a good example and not make a big deal about wearing it.

The FDA is going to try and approve the Pfizer vaccine for full approval by Labor Day. The reason it is taking so long is they have to write all the logistical rules about transporting and storing it for regular doctor’s offices. The approval has little to do with making sure it is safe. They have two million data points about the safety already. It’s just about doting the i’s and crossing the t’s on the paper work.

Once that approval is done then employers can mandate it and we can get on with making a vaccine a requirement to live a normal life and those who refuse can be banned from anything fun.

Only once we get 85%+ of all people vaccinated can we even consider not wearing masks. Don’t fight it. It protects you and hides any double chins you might have. As for the anti-vaxers who also fight the masks, I have no time for you idiots.

Repair Diagnoses Super Power

When I got dressed this morning in my pseudo workmen’s overalls I had no idea I was actually getting dressed to play pretend plumber. A couple of days ago I discovered that the spare toilet paper holder had gotten water in the bottom, thus ruining a whole roll of perfectly good toilet paper. Thank goodness this did not happen a year ago when toilet paper was more valuable than gold.

I chalked it up to condensation since it sat right beside the air conditioning vent. Then again today I noticed some water next to the toilet paper holder. It was a clean wet spot, but definitely wet. This was not condensation.

I dried the floor off and cleaned it with bleach cleaner. Then I put a dry piece of paper towel next to the base of the toilet and flushed the toilet. Sure enough a tiny amount of water wet the edge of the paper towel.

Proud of my detective work I called my wonderful brother team of plumbers and left a message saying, “I know you all are the professionals, but I have a leak at the base of my toilet and my best guess is the wax ring has failed.”

The plumbers were at my house within two hours and I got a gold star for my correct diagnosis. They said that it was great I called when I did, because most people don’t catch this issue fast enough and it can do major damage.

I am thankful to forty years of watching This Old House and learning what a wax ring is. If you don’t know it’s literally a big circle of wax that goes on the waste line pipe in the floor of your bathroom and the toilet sits on top of it. The wax ring makes a seal that keeps the water going where you want it.

I guess my overalls are like my superpower workmen’s cape. When I put the. On I can diagnose a home repair in a single bound, but I still need to call the experts to fix it.

A Food First

After many long years waiting for their new house to be built we finally got to go over and have dinner at our friends Lynn an Logan’s. To say that cooking is not their thing is a bit of an understatement, but their new house has a beautiful kitchen, prep room and outdoor kitchen. So tonight we used all of them to make homemade Pizzas.

I had brought some veggies from our garden. I precooked some eggplant planks only to discover that Ellis had never eaten eggplant in her 22 years. I think she had some tonight, but I am still unsure if she likes it.

After grilling the crusts on the grill the pizzas were topped and went into the oven. I had to get a photo of four pizzas cooking in Lynn’s new oven. Mostly I wanted to remember what it looked like for food to be cooking in Lynn’s house because it is just to beautiful to mess up with actual cooking.

We ate outside on their beautiful terrace and it was a memorable evening. Especially as the dogs, Shay was invited, clamored around Russ begging for crusts.

The night could only have been better if Carter were there to laugh with her sister E. But we loved the new discovery of eating food that has come to the Tom’s house.

I am going to keep an eye on Lynn’s perfectly clean oven and see if it ever gets a splatter in it. I don’t want tonight to be an aberration for it was so fun and yummy. Thanks to the Toms!

Not a Normal Night’s sleep

I am not a sleep walker. I don’t think I talk much in my sleep. Last night I had some crazy dream and in it I was doing something with fabric, that much I remember. I woke up and one of my really good embroidered pillow cases was totally off a pillow and it was torn in half all the way around the outside edges.

I had a vague recollection of doing this in my sleep, but have no idea what I could have been dreaming I was doing that involved ripping fabric. I guess I should be thankful that I did not dream I was filleting a fish or cutting my hair, but still I had to be fairly violent to rip the pillowcase all the way around every seam.

At this point I am a little afraid to go to sleep and see what happens tonight. If I could choose I guess I wish I would go walk on the treadmill in my sleep, or vacuum. I don’t want to destroy anything else in my sleep.

Summer’s Bounty

When I left home Monday morning there was no rain in the forecast for the whole week. This meant I had to depend on Russ to not only harvest the garden at least once while I was gone, but to water twice. He did an excellent job of keeping things alive. He did harvest, but told me when I got home I had a lot to do.

This morning, as the hottest day of the year was just beginning to pre-heat I went out to take stock of the garden. Being away from my garden for four days is a little nerve inducing. I was greeted by an abundance of Japanese eggplants ready to cut. The yield today was eight nice fruits. Enough to make into a freezable meal or two.

I cut some of the ever present birds eye peppers and jalapeños. Picked two quarts of pole beans. And started in on the tomatoes. This was my largest day of tomato harvest for big tomatoes. I picked at least 20, Roma’s, Rutger’s, Campari’s, along with a pint of Cherry and grapes. These tomatoes will keep me busy this weekend.

I got my first two mini butternut squash. I look forward to seeing how they cook up. I picked some left-to-long okra because Russ did not know you have to cut it everyday.

The only thing I think might be spent are the cucumbers. The plants are not as robust and there are just a few small fruits growing. I can hardly complain as I have harvested easily over 100 cucumbers from my four plants.

One bit of information that is never on a plant tag or seed packet is how long a plant will produce. They all tell you how long it takes a seed to germinate and how long until production of the first fruit, but nowhere does it tell you how long the plant will live. Of course that variable is dependent on so many things, but some where I would like to know the average. Am I able to get the most out of the plant or has it lived it’s useful life and it’s time for me to pull it up?

Every fall I hear stories of people who have tomatoes on the vine well into October and have been getting fruit for four months. I don’t think my cucumbers are long for this world, but I am hopeful for my tomatoes.

I am praying for some rain because this heat is mighty hard on everything, especially me as I water. It has been an excellent year in the new garden. I have been well pleased with it’s bounty. I have not taken a photo of every basket I harvested, or anything I just picked and handed off to a friend, but here are some photos of my baskets as I have picked.

Why We All Need More Mah Jongg

Today was the culmination of four days of Mah Jongg classes down at the beach. First, I have to thank my friend Kate who hosted me. I just couldn’t go and teach classes without a great place to stay. Staying there is a dream. My friend Reba has had me so many times and now Kate has done it twice. What generous friends they are.

As my last two beginner classes wrapped up today I got the best compliment I have ever gotten from a student, “Besides teaching Mah Jongg are you also a stand-up comic some where?” Mah Jongg is fun and I try and make learning it as fun as possible. It is hard to learn at first so making light of things makes it easier.

The other thing that happened today, that has never happened in 24 years of teaching Mah Jongg, is a group of four of my students, who sat together at one table, gave me a tip. It wasn’t a tip like, “Buy Apple stock,” but actual cash. I tried to give it back and they stuck it in my purse and insisted. They had already paid for the class, tips were unnecessary, but those students for sure will all get A’s on their report cards.

As I drove home after classes ended I realized one thing that was most positive about teaching for four days, not one person mentioned, politics, the state of the world, Covid or anything else that is unpleasant and tiresome. No one disagreed or fought, it was all cordial and fun.

It was interesting that I sat next to a duplicate bridge director while I had lunch yesterday. He told me his goal was to be feared by the players he was directing. I thought that was a terrible goal. Games should be fun. Now I know many nice bridge directors, so I am not commenting on bridge as a whole, but I do think Mah Jongg is a kinder game. At least the students I have are kind. I feel like if we just played more Mah Jongg the world would be a happier place.

I forgot to take photos of the afternoon class, but here are the ladies in the morning group. Great job to all the new players. I wish you many Jokers.

Time to Put the Hammer Down

I hope you didn’t throw your masks away. Looks like the Delta variant along with the selfish people who chose not to be vaccinated we are going to have to go back to wearing masks inside. If only every person who was eligible had gotten a vaccine as soon as they could we might have starved Covid of hosts, but all those science deniers prevented that from happening.

Tomorrow the federal government is going to announce that all civilian government workers will have to be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing. New York and California are doing the same thing for state workers.

Google is requiring the same thing for their employees. Thanks Google for doing the right thing. Hopefully all other companies will follow suit. OSHA said weeks ago that companies could require employees to get vaccinations. It’s time that companies protect us from the unvaccinated.

Facebook, Netflix, BlackRock, Morgan Stanley, Saks Fifth Avenue, the Washington Post, ascension Health and Lyft are all requiring employees to be vaccinated. I am going to support as many companies who are doing that as possible.

On the other hand some states are banning mask mandates. What a ridiculous way to govern. They have no idea how bad Covid could get. Why would you say we are not going to help prevent our own citizens from dying, ever. So I am not going to support any of these states; Florida, Montana, Arizona, North Dakota, Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee and South Carolina. Considering that Florida and Arkansas have the worst numbers of cases by population you would think they might want to do SOMETHING to curb Covid, like masks and requiring vaccines.

God Loves Teachers and We Should Too

Today was my second day of teaching Mah Jongg. Yesterday I drove three hours, taught six hours and ate lunch with my students. Today I taught six hours, but had lunch with my friend Reba, which was a chance to rest. This is just two days of work in a row and I am exhausted.

Part of it is that I had ten students yesterday and today 22 different student so I had to spend extra brain power just remembering all their names. Today’s two classes were also both beginner classes so I have to do a lot of talking as well as reading all their faces to judge their level of understanding. Not that I don’t love doing it, but it does make me appreciate what real teachers do day in and day out.

Even though I am teaching the same material to both the morning and afternoon classes I am constantly adjusting and readjusting how I try and convey the information based on how well people are taking it in. I am only able to do this because we are doing it in person.

I think about all the teachers who were trying to teach over zoom this year. How in the world can you tell if people are learning when you can hardly see them. Carter told me about the class she is taking this summer at college. She is one of three in-person students and the 12 online students don’t often have their cameras on. It has to be frustrating for her professor. I am happy that Carter makes the effort to spend her work lunch hour going to campus to take the class in person, if for no other reason to show respect for the professor.

Here’s to all the teachers of all kinds who impart knowledge in all their creative ways. You deserve so much more than you get. I am in awe of you. Now I have to go to bed early so I can get up and do it all again.

Mah Jongg Last Beach Hurrah

I’m back at the beach teaching four more days of Mah Jongg as my last group of classes for the summer. Originally I was supposed to teach a beginner class Tuesday, Wednesday and a Thursday morning and a strategy class Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. But when they told me we had more than a whole class of beginners on the wait list we moved the strategy class to all day today and added whole new beginner class.

This meant I had to get up this morning at five and drive down to start teaching at 9:30. I was very thankful that the strategy students could handle an all day class. Normally I don’t like to keep the same students in class more than three hours because I think it is information over load, but these ladies did great today.

After class I came to my friend Kate’s house where I am staying this week. Kate is a fantastic hostess. She provides everything a guest might want, but my very favorite thing is her guest room bedside clock with plugs on the front of it. There is nothing better than not having to crawl on the floor to plug in my chargers.

The next best thing Kate provides is a sweet dog to sit with me when we watch TV. Lucy, her fourteen year old lab jumped up to snuggle with me while I wrote this blog, but she was very coy when I went to take her photo.

Kate and I went to my favorite Beaufort Grocery for dinner. True to all things North Carolina I saw someone I know. Sitting at the table next to us was my friend Debbie Aiken who served on the Food Bank Board with me. North Carolina is a small world full of really nice people.

Thanks to all you wonderful Mah Jongg players and Kate who make my spending a week at the beach the most fun work anyone can do.

Tomato Compote

Tomorrow I’m back to the beach to teach my third week of Mah Jongg. I am teach four full days and so I will be leaving Russ in charge of the garden. Please pray for rain this week because he does not have time to hand water the garden the way I like it.

This morning I watered and I did a big harvest. It is ideal to pick everyday, but I can only get Russ to harvest one day while I’m gone. I did my best to search for all the cucumbers because nothing gets out of hand like a hidden cuke.

The tomatoes have been super producing. I gave a bunch to my Mom, but still had a big bowl of cherries so I made this tomato compote from the New York Times. It is made in a slow cooker, but the recipe gave no information about cooking it with the top on or off.

So I put all the ingredients, tomatoes, thyme, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, honey, salt and pepper in the crock pot and cooked it on low with the top on for six hours. It cooked down, but there was still lot of liquid. So I am going to continue to cook it overnight with the top off on low.

Russ and I enjoyed some of it on a grilled piece of rosemary sourdough, topped with ricotta and the compote on top. It was very tasty. The best part is it will keep in a jar in the fridge for a few weeks, thus lengthening the life of the tomatoes.

We Think We’re Young

Tonight our friends Lane and Jon came over to Durham with two of their dogs and we met up at Ponysaurus Brewing. We were easily the oldest ones there sitting at the outdoor picnic tables surrounded by young people, many with babies.

Our Babies, Shay, Petunia and Rosie were just as cute as the human babies and oh so popular with the under two feet crowd.

We had a fun night drinking beer, although I had kombucha which I really liked. We had pizza and then walked up the road to Two Rosters for ice cream where more children admired and petted our dogs. We were the oldest people there too.

It helps you stay young if you hang out where young people are. We watched as one good mother of an eight year old tell him not to kick a ball near two year olds. Made my heart feel happy that their are good disciplinarians out there.

Downtown Durham was hopping with young people. Makes my heart happy to live in such a vibrant place.

Fiction Sport Vs. Real Sport

Ted Lasso is back…oh yeah and so are the Olympics.

I feel guilty about feeling so underwhelmed about the start of the Olympics while feeling so excited about the return of my favorite coach, Ted Lasso.

My guilt has not been relieved by watching the opening ceremony, of course it is still airing as I write, but the lack of a full audience in the giant stadium and the low key Japanese style in the first half of the opening is not building hype in me.

I feel sorry for all the athletes who have trained most of their lives for their Olympic moment, only to go through it without the presence of their families. Families who also sacrificed for their athlete, not getting to make the once in a lifetime trip.

I do like the cool wooden Olympic Rings made from wood grown from tree seeds brought to the 1964 Olympics by teams from all over the world. The rings feel more Scandinavian than Japanese but have lots of symbolic meaning.

I am sure I will eventually fall into Olympic excitement as the sports begin.

On the other hand I can hardly stand it that I have to wait until every Friday to watch my beloved Ted Lasso. It is by far the best TV Apple TV produced, or any network for that matter. The positivity of Ted is something I hope continues this season because I can really use more of Ted’s wisdom.

So welcome to sports High Season. Let the games begin.

Relative Hilarity

I wonder if there has ever been an academic study that shows that people who are related find the same things funny. I have spent the last two days laughing with my cousin Mary over all the same things.

Our morning started earnestly as Mary came out in my garden and helped me do the daily harvest. We packed some things up to take to my parents and promptly left them on the counter and drove up to my parents new house, down the street from the farm. My mother greeted us with distress as she could not get her TV or Netflix working. While Mary visited with my father, I fixed my mother’s TV, gaining many “best daughter points.”

My mother left to go to play bridge and Mary and I took my father out to lunch at a new restaurant in Danville. Having Mary around my parents put everyone on good behavior. We pulled into the restaurant and despite the very full parking lot I got the number 1 parking spot. This is not an usual occurrence, which Carter is always furious about my never ending luck when it comes to parking.

After lunch my Dad needed us to stop at his new pharmacy. Since his walking isn’t great Mary got out of the car and helped him into the store, which has an old fashioned lunch counter in the pharmacy. As my Dad conversed with the lady there Mary looked around.

We went back to my parents and Mary found four painting’s of my mother’s she wanted to buy so I sold them to her, getting me even more, “best daughter points.” We packed up the car said goodbye to my Dad and made a stop to visit my Aunt Janie Leigh. After those hours visiting we meandered our way home.

Once all the old folk visiting was done Mary asked me if I knew what the “Beaver Bots” were. Not wanting to suggest it was some mechanical sex toy I confessed I had not idea what she was talking about. She went on to say she saw a schedule for the “Beaver bots” in the pharmacy a few hours before, but had not idea what that was.

Not knowing exactly I told her to Google beaver bots, Danville because now I was really curious what it was that would be advertised in a pharmacy. Turns out is was not Beaver at all, but the Otter Bots, a new minor league baseball team. In Mary’s defense Beavers and otters could be confused.

We got ourselves into hysterics about how anyone could come up with such a crazy name, be it Beaver or otter connected with bots.

We told Russ about this at dinner tonight and Beaver bots quickly morphed into Beaver butts and Beavers and Butts and then we had devolved into thirteen year old boys and fart jokes. If someone not related came into the conversation half way through I am sure they would not find the same things funny that we did. I would just love to know if humor is genetic.

It has been so much fun to have Mary here and our laughter filled visit will sadly end tomorrow morning. Just in time for me to take my mother for eye surgery. Don’t I already have enough “best daughter points?”

Best Cousin Visit

It only took 27 years to get my cousin Mary to visit us in Durham. Today is the day that she finally arrived. It’s not that we haven’t seen each other regularly through the years. In fact I have seen Mary, a second cousin, ten times more than I have seen my first cousins on the other side of my family, just not at my house.

So when Mary FaceTimed me at my mother’s estate sale we hatched up this plan that I would bring her loot to my house and she would have to come pick it up.

She arrived this afternoon with gifts for us and Shay since Mary is an excellent dog Mom. Then we sat down to catch up on all the family news. As dinner time approached my cousin Leigh and her husband Peter arrived so we had an actual mini Michie family reunion. Sorry to other close by cousins.

It was great to all be together. Leigh had missed Mary’s mother’s memorial service so we had to make up for that.

We told stories, and laughed and voted who had the most outrageous story. Mary said I won, but it’s not a contest you want to win.

Russ’ introversion kicked in and he went to bed and Mary and I stayed up talking after Leigh and Peter went home. Tomorrow we go up to visit my parents since they could not make it to the memorial service either.

At least we will have plenty of car time to tell more stories that hopefully make us laugh more than cry. It’s just great to have her her, finally.

Rejection of Uniformity

I think I was in all girls boarding school in the seventies the first time I heard the acronym NOKD. It stood for, “Not our kind, darling,” best said with a Long Island lock jaw. I was wholly offended because I am certain I was more NOKD than I was TK, (their kind).

For the record, I think I heard the phrase from an Alumna, not a classmate. For the most part people, and certainly all my friends were a friendly welcoming bunch. Somehow all having to wear the same plaid indestructible sports kilt day after day was a great equalizer. But hearing someone say out loud that she was not interested in being with people who were not just like her sounded dull and overtly snobbish.

Overtly snobbish is something I try and shun despite being brought up a WASP in the rich white enclave of Fairfield County, Connecticut. There was nothing to be learned from only knowing people just like myself. Nothing exotic about white bread.

So today when I was having lunch with a friend and she complained about a relative who moved to a gated community so they could live a life with PLU (People Like Us) I was immediately brought back forty five years. PLU is the cleaned up, but no less offensive way of saying NOKD.

How sad an existence it is to discount whole swaths of humanity as not being worthy to know. How boring a world it is to not expand your knowledge of all kinds of communities, people and cultures.

I don’t live in the most diverse neighborhood, but to counter that I try to get to know many different kinds of people. Even as a child, I would search out the person who was “not from here.” I am not saying I don’t love people who are a lot like me, just that I also like “the other.” Fear of “the other” is a great divider. Getting to know people different from yourself makes you realize we are all more alike and we can learn from each other.

So like my friend at lunch, I am not interested in just PLU, quite the opposite. Unclench that lock jaw and talk to someone not in your group. You may make a new friend and discover that a different kind is just as good.

Grooming Matchmaker Needed

For the most part I like to let people manage their own relationships. There is hardly any upside for me to be involved, but there is one that requires my constant intervention and it is no win for me; that between my dog and her groomer.

My dog is very picky about who does her hair and where it gets done. Clearly she can be deemed a prima Donna in this area. She has had at least dozen different hair dresser relationships. Most fraught with issues.

When Shay first came into our family I would take her to a groomer that had a store. Being left for the day with a room full of yapping dogs was not good for Shays nerves. Getting the actual grooming was not the issue, but the noise, oh the noise. Shay would request a martini upon arrival home.

We tried many different store fronts, driving Shay all over central North Carolina. Then I learned of an at home groomer who came to our house. This was ideal for the princess. We had to change out the shower head in one bathroom so there was a hand wand, and had to find a good spot for the groomer to set up her table, but after trying different places we found the right one and it was a relationship that worked. Sadly, that come-to-me groomer decided to sell real estate so Shay lost her best groomer.

Once Shay had a taste of at home beauty care that was all she wanted. No going back to those noisy store fronts. The pandemic hit and Carter came home and did some home grooming, but it was not the best thing for their relationship.

I was back in the hunt for a new beautician for the pup. We found a different mobile groomer who came with a truck. Shay only had to leave the house for the driveway and that was acceptable to her. It was pricy, but everyone was happy.

Then one day the groomer did not show up at the appointed time. Apparently he had left one company and was going to another with no notice to me. We waited for him to give us a new appointment in his new truck. All good, Shay actually had her to best haircuts ever in that new truck.

I thought I had finally found a relationship for Shay with her hairdresser that made everyone smile. Then I got a call from the owner of the new truck (not Shay’s actually guy) telling me the truck was in for six weeks of repair. Ugh! Are you kidding? You can’t tell a girl who gets her hair done every six weeks and is due for her next do, that she will have to wait at least another six weeks. What’s a girl to do?

So now I am back in the market for a new person to provide Shay with her day of beauty. Ideally a mobile or at home person is best, but I may have to settle for a store front in a pinch. I am really looking for a labradoodle grooming match maker.

If you have suggestions please send them our way. Shay is not happy with me cutting things off of her and is in need of a summer refresh. I am happy to be the driver, but want to be out of the groomer/dog relationship after that.

Don’t be a Denier

There are so many science deniers these days. It used to be that only people of small religious orders did not believe in things like medicine, putting their life in the hands of god. I on the other hand, put my health in the hands of doctors who God made.

I understand that not everyone understands medicine so rather than expanding their minds they just close down, but what about science when it comes to weather? I feel like even the least educated can see how weather has changed over the years.

As a child growing up in Connecticut we did not have air conditioning in our house or our cars. I can’t think of any friends who had air conditioning so it was not just those of us who lived in drafty barns. Summer would come and we had our windows opened with screens in them. If it got particularly hot we had box fans, but for the most part it never got so hot that we could not function.

In the worst part of August we would leave relatively cool New England and make a two day drive to South Carolina for our beach vacation with no air conditioning. I take that back, we had air conditioning in the Holiday Inn’s we stayed at on the drive down one night and the drive back. Even in Pawleys Island August we just had fans and the ocean breeze. If the middle of the day had a land breeze we might go in to Georgetown to go to the movies, but most of the time it was bearable.

That was fifty years ago. Today I do not think I could survive a Pawleys Island summer without air conditioning, even with a good ocean breeze.

My cousin who is a Astro physicist told us 30 years ago not to move anywhere west of the Mississippi because there would not be enough water. She predicted serious droughts. This morning on CBS Sunday morning there was a scientist talking about the 22 year drought that is happening in the west. My brilliant cousin was right, but even knowing it then, no one listened enough to change quickly enough.

We can’t do anything about what we did not do yesterday. We can only do better today and tomorrow and everyday after that. It is time to pay attention to scientists. They don’t have a reason to lie, in fact most scientists I know are almost incapable to lie.

We can’t air condition ourselves out of climate change. We have to embrace all the little things we can do to reduce global warming as well as all the big things, which starts with embracing science and electing people who care about not just next week or next year, but fifty years and two hundred years from now.

In my lifetime I have seen everything get warmer, longer. My life has not been that long so far. If I can measure in a part of a life imagine how bad it will get over multiple generations. Don’t be a denier.

Garden Lessons

This morning I did a big harvest as my tomatoes are ripening on the vine. Since I have so many I let them stay on the vine until they are really red. This is providing us with the sweetest and most fragrant fruits. You know that real tomato smell is something you can’t get except when you just pick a really ripe tomato.

All the meals around hear have been tomato centric. Yesterday I made gazpacho and tomato pie. Also BLT for lunch and Russ put cherry tomatoes in his eggs this morning. I did make some okra for dinner tonight to go with our leftovers from last night. It is so easy to be a vegetarian when you have a prolific garden, except for that perfect candied bacon on the BLT. So not quite a vegetarian.

I pulled out my zucchini and yellow squash plants this morning. I had gotten a boring worm in the stems. Apparently my organic ways had not worked. I replanted a few zucchini and am doing my best to keep the worms off the stems. We shall see how this round does. I did get plenty of zucchini, but only a few rounds of yellow squash.

My lettuce is bolting, but since there is nothing else for me to plant in its place until next month I am just keeping it. The peppers are prolific as well as the cucumber.

I am very happy I put the fence in a foot an a half from the back wall because I am able to walk along the back of the fence and pick all the things that are growing over the fence. The very best plant I have is a cherry tomato plant I bought at the farmers market for $1.50 at the end of March. So far I have had at least 15 pounds of tomatoes from it and there are at least 200 tiny tomatoes still on it.

Pole beans have been good, except on the front where the vines grew outside the fence and the deer came and ate them. I need to buy some more Parmesan Cheese because the basil needs to be turned into pesto. I have already made a few quarts that I have frozen into smaller portions, but there is always more basil.

I am most thankful for my beautiful zinnias. They have been a huge attraction to bees who have done a great job pollinating everything. I leave the seed heads long after the flowers are spent, rather than dead heading them because the bees adore those spent flowers. Anything we can do for bees we should all do.

I should have weighed my harvest everyday, but didn’t think of that idea until today. Most of the time I take photos of my basket. Today’s was especially beautiful.

Nothing Sweeter Than a Kitten

My friend Kristen is a life long animal lover. She comes by genetically as her mother has been saving animals Kristen’s whole life. I remember a story she told me once about a hurt fawn who her mother kept in their house until it was safe.

Kristen is mostly known for her love of Chihuahuas. Presently they make up ten of her dozen dogs that live in their own special room she built in her house. During Covid one of the animal rescue organizations that Kristen helps asked her if she would foster a pregnant mother cat. In a weak moment Kristen agreed and took in the single mother and helped birth a family of kittens, a first for Kristen.

Due to her superior cat midwifery, less than a month later, the shelter asked if she would take in another knocked up mother cat. Now a pro, she brought another littler into the world.

Kristen turned a sun porch on her guest house into a chattery and the kittens and mothers have been living in the lap of luxury. This also separated the dogs and cats into their own houses. One by one,some of the kittens and one of the mothers have been adopted. Currently Kristen has three black kittens, Okra, Gravy and Biscuit, born on April 11 available for adoption.

There are two darling Grey kittens, Eclair and Eggplant, born on May 11 still looking for forever homes, as well as their Momma the 8 month old Elsa.

If you have been thinking about getting a pet please consider adopting one of these sweet kittens. They have had all their shots and are fully socialized. You can contact Kristen Teer if you know her, or me if you don’t and I will out you in touch with her. Or you can go to the animal rescue site for www.beautifultogethersanctuary.com

There is nothing better than the love of a sweet animal. It fills that place in your heart you did not know needs filling.

Hope For North Carolina

Tonight Russ and I went across the street to our neighbor’s Mark and Mary Eileen’s house to meet Chief Justice Cheri Beasley who is running for US Senator to fill the seat of retiring Richard Burr. Beasley joined Mark’s Law firm of McGuire Woods after being a two-term Chief Justice of the NC Supreme Court.

This Senate race is one of the most important races in the midterm elections. Eyes are on North Carolina. Watching the current members of Congress I think it is high time we add people with brains and experience. Talking with Beasley tonight it was clear she has both, although her experience is with the law and not politics, which I see as a huge bonus.

Beasley has only recently decided to run so it is important to let North Carolinians know that she is a candidate for the Democratic Party in the primary in March. She and I talked about the work of the Food Bank as she and her husband have been long time supporters. She is clearly a bright and skillful orator, as well as being thoughtful in responses to questions about issues that she thinks are important to all North Carolinians.

As we have seen in the last five years, elections are important. We can’t be spectators in democracy. It is up to all of us to educate ourselves about the people we chose to represent us in all halls of government, from school boards, city halls, state legislatures and US Congress.

I am very impressed with Cheri Beasley. I invite you to learn more about her too. We can’t wait until March to leave the decision on who the candidates will be to a few people who come out to primaries.

Yesterday it was reported that Fitch, the people who rate governments for bond ratings announced that the US government AAA rating had a down grade warning and the reason given was the reduction in good governance of our government. Literally, legislatures who are dishonest are going to cost us more money when we issue bonds. A bond rating organization is officially telling us our break down of democracy has to be accounted for.

Now is the time to ensure that we elect people with great integrity and a firm grip on the constitution. Cheri Beasley has that experience to help ensure that good governance is the norm as well as representing the needs of all a North Carolinians in Washington.

Liberty May Give You Death

I am so tired of states where really stupid politicians are doing really stupid things. This week in Tennessee, the head of public health in the state, Michelle Fiscus was forced out of her job by the Republican lawmakers there because she was letting young people in the state know their rights about their health care and vaccines, a law that was passed 34 years ago.

These law makers took her informing teenagers of their rights as a step to far to offer young people vaccines and not only did they dismiss their own public health Dr., but they cut all funding for outreach about all childhood vaccines, like the regular MMR vaccines kids must have to go to school. These politicians, who are not health care providers themselves are making Important public health issues into political issues when they have nothing to do with politics.

The idea that giving people information is something that should be outlawed and is going backwards hundreds of years. Vaccinations have saved more lives than we can ever know. There is no reason to let measles, mumps and rubella to get a strong hold among our children ever again. Without vaccines polio would still be a common thing. Thanks to Dr. Salk and all the people who took the Vaccine sixty years ago it has practically been wiped out.

Cases of Covid are rapidly rising in States where the populations are far under vaccinated, Like Tennessee at 38%. That is a ridiculous number. Republican politicians should be begging their constituents to get vaccinated because right now the people who are dying are the unvaccinated, who happen to be their voters. Why would you want to kill your own people?

I happen to be related to Patrick Henry, who is famous for writing, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Well, liberty to not get a vaccine may give you death. Don’t be a fool and think, “I’m not letting any government tell me what to do.” Sure, stand on that right to die prematurely. In Tennessee, your politicians don’t even care to have actual Doctors give you information that might save your life. What fools, you are sheep being led to slaughter. You can have all the liberty you want in the afterlife.

I Just Remembered How Much I Like Making New Friends

There was one thing that Covid stole from us, the ability to make new friends in person. Now I feel blessed with lots of wonderful old friends. During the pandemic one of the highlights for me was a deepening friendship with some college friends. Two I really didn’t know that well in college, but we have had regular zooms that never would have happened if it weren’t for the pandemic.

The last two days I have had the fun of teaching MahJongg at the Coral Bay Club. It is my fourth or fifth year teaching at the beach, the second time this summer. This week’s class is strategy so I have many students from previous years beginner’s classes. It is fun to see people I have taught still playing and loving the game. It is even more fun to get to know new friends.

I am so thankful for my friend Kate who is hosting me. I have hardly seen her in the last 18 months. Tonight we went to dinner with her best friend at the beach Lynn. There is nothing I like more than meeting the friends of my friends. I feel like if I like you and you like them then I will like them too.

I can hardly think of a friend of my friend’s who I don’t like. It’s kind of like a friend stamp of approval.

The last two days spending time with new people and old friends alike reminded me how much fun it is to make new friends. Old friends are still the best and thanks goodness for them, but you really can’t have too many friends so meeting new ones is just a bonus.

Spreading the Mah Jongg Love

I’m back at the beach today for more Mah Jongg classes. A cute group of women from my last beginner class had me come and do a private lesson with them today. They had just learn last month and had played a couple times already so I was thrilled with their progress. Learning to play Mah Jongg can turn into full blown love of the game, but you have to keep at it in the beginning. These ladies have caught the bug.

Tomorrow I am teaching two groups of Mah Jongg strategy which is an upper level course. There will be fairly new players along with more experienced players. The trick is to teach it in a way that both groups will get the most out of it. I am so excited that so many people want to take their Mah Jongg to the next level.

One of the nicest things about coming to the beach to teach Mah Jongg is the friends who generously let me stay with them while I am here. It is the only way I can make this work.

This trip my friend Kate is hosting me at her house 12 Paws. Her two labs, Lucy and Salty greeted me as soon as I came in. It is dog heaven here at 12 Paws.

I am ever thankful that Kate is such a generous hostess. I will have to get a good night’s sleep to be ready for tomorrow’s class.

Limited Reservations Means Life’s Back

In an attempt to relearn how to be social we asked our friends Sara and Dave if they would like to go out to dinner tonight. We asked a whole day in advance which seemed so far in danced compared to how we have been living. Thankfully they were as free as we were so Russ went to make a reservation.

34 hours in advance for a Sunday night dinner and our only option was 5:15 or 8:00 PM. That sounds like prepandemic reservations to me. I consulted Sara and we agreed we were more on the blue hair schedule than the hipster and took the 5:15.

With such an early reservation it meant we only needed two meals today so by 5:15 we were actually hungry. We were eating on the terrace and many other tables were already occupied at 5:15 and by people much younger than us. So much for our blue hair designation.

We had a yummy and leisurely meal, swapping stories of broken down cars through our lives. After a good three hour meal we went back to Sara and Dave’s where we were invited to sit in the living room to continue our story telling. The pandemic has made us decide to use the good rooms in our houses since there is no reason to save them anymore.

It was a most glorious and normal evening of fun with friends. Something we have gotten out of practice with and am happy to do again. We are going to do this again, but now we know we have to plan more than one day in advance if we want to eat at a normal time.

Four Homegrown Items in Every Meal

There is a rule in our hose during high garden output season; except for breakfast, you have to eat a minimum of four items from the garden at each meal. Without this requirement some lovingly grown vegetables might go to waste.

Some meals are easier than others to ensure four different vegetables make it. Last night I made a base of grits, with some crumbled goat cheese top with a melange of vegetables; okra, green beans, cherry tomatoes, red pepper from the garden and an onion and a handful of corn not home grown. (Russ actually added a bird’s eye pepper to his so he had a bonus vegetable.) It was delicious and a great way to eat okra since I don’t have enough plants to make a whole okra dish.

For lunch I had a BLT, the reason to grow tomatoes. I don’t grow wheat and therefore can never count bread as home grown, even if it was homemade. I don’t raise pigs because they would just be a pets. I don’t have an avocado tree ( yes a BLT is better with Avocado). But My big tomatoes are finally ripening so there is that most important part of the sandwich from the garden, I still needed three more garden items to get to four. The answer was two types of lettuce, both red leaf and green leaf and a leaf of basil gets me to four.

Tonight, being Saturday, we had lobster rolls again like we did last Saturday. No that is not a rule, just that I got lobster tails on sale and why not. The only home grown item in the lobster rolls were chives. The chives were certainly needed for the lobster roll, but not to get me to four vegetables. We had my favorite summer Greek salad, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, basil (all from the garden) with avocado, feta and balsamic vinegar. So the total tonight was five items.

Russ is a good sport about eating some of the many refrigerator pickles I have made with the abundance of cucumbers. Just eating some of those pickles gets you four items because I also put homegrown dill, coriander and bird’s eye pepper in them.

Thank goodness I grow so many herbs because that really helps get me over the finish line on my four item rule. I think I may have to make some soups or else Russ is going to tire of that Greek salad.

This is Going to Take a While

Summer is a great time to work on a quilt. When it’s too hot outside to garden and friends are away on vacations I steal away in my sweat shop. Despite it’s moniker, the sweat shop is the coolest room in the house since it is on the lowest level in the shade of the pine forest. I have great lighting and a big TV so spending time there day or night is a pleasure.

I have been wanting to make a scrap quilt that doesn’t actually look like it is made from scraps. I have many tiny pieces of fabric from the many projects of the last few years. So I decided to make these small three inch squares with a star design. It is a slow process that involves lots of cutting and ironing.

Since I am making a king sized quilt I estimated how many of these little squares I will need at 180. 180 three inch squares would hardly make a crib quilt, but I am going to put them together with lots of larger white squares. On most days I make only about five squares. So far I have about forty. At this rate it will take over a month just to do the squares with color, given that I have some planned days away from home teaching Mah Jongg.

I guess I need to set a goal to get this top done before I go to Maine so I can have it quilted while I’m gone. I am going to have to up my daily output by fifty percent. Being such a task master I am going to order myself to spend more time in the sweat shop. Frugality in wanting to use my scraps is exhausting, but satisfying.

Back to Lipstick?

To me, one of the joys of the last 18 months has been the lack of makeup. With masks donned there has only been a need for mascara, nothing else since it would just get wiped on the inside of the mask. I have not missed lipstick one bit.

As a fully vaccinated person I have embraced not wearing my mask in public. I like being able to smile at people, but today I realized how colorless my naked lips are. I searched my pocket book for some remedy to this and only came up with floss, a nail file and a chapstick.

Buying lipstick is not a favorite task of mine. The thought of all those previous customers touching even the tube is more than a little gross. Spraying alcohol on the actual lipstick does not give me comfort. Just swiping the color across the back of my hand never seems to give me a good idea how it will look on my lips.

When I was a little girl my father worked at Avon, the door-to-door cosmetic company. Avon used to make tiny lipstick samples in little white one inch tubes. My father would bring bags of samples home and I would have a heyday putting lipstick on dolls.

Oh how I wish companies would make those kind of samples now. I wouldn’t even mind paying for them, just so I could try out colors at home. It has been so long since I have even been in a real store, other than the grocery, and I am not interested in going back.

Maybe I should just keep permanently wearing a mask. It solves the pale lip problem and hides all sorts of chins. Even colored lips doesn’t do that.

I’m Sick and Tired of the Unvaccinated

Today I learned of four people I know who are all unrelated who have not gotten the vaccine. One claims an unknown medical condition, but the others have no excuse other than they don’t believe in them.

Since the beginning of the year when it was apparent that the US was going to have enough vaccine for the whole country there were skeptics. The line was to be nice to them and let them come around in their own good time. At first, when it was hard to get a shot I was fine with the anti-vaxers holding back. Let them see how we all do with the shot.

Then the lines slowed down and the people who did not want to get vaccinated dug in their heels. Before the Delta variant had taken hold the numbers of Covid cases was going down thanks to the roughly half of the country who got vaccinated.

There were very few side affects of the vaccine and the big news was the only people getting Covid and dying from it were the unvaccinated. The real life data is overwhelming that the vaccine is safe and keeps you alive. That should be enough to convince the skeptics. It is not.

Now cases are going up, especially in areas of the country when the number of vaccinated are well below 50% of eligible people. Lottery’s to win millions of dollars were started to convince people. Governors, especially Republican Governors begged their citizens to get the vaccine . It is falling on deaf ears.

I am tired of having to be nice to people who are playing Russian Roulette with the health of the country. Not getting the vaccine give the virus the opportunity to mutate and grow stronger. Your hesitancy is nothing but selfish. Yes, there are a small group of adults who can’t get the vaccine and unless you are one of them you should, because they can’t. There are also all the children under 12 for whom the vaccine is not approved yet. You should get the vaccine for them.

I am not a health care worker, but if I were, I would be sick and tired of taking care of people who get Covid because they couldn’t be bothered to get the vaccine. Especially the ones who still deny Covid even when they are dying of it.

Mostly, you should get the vaccine for yourself and your loved ones who will miss you if you die or get very sick and have to be cared for. At this point you are nothing but selfish if you don’t get the vaccine and I am tired of being nice to you while you think about it.

Covid is not a political issue. It is a public health issue. Stop reading conspiracy theories. You are being duped. No one will feel sorry for you if you get sick because you didn’t get the vaccine. The data is fairly strong, the people dying of it are the unvaccinated and the numbers are going up thanks to the Delta variant and we still don’t know what this new Lambda variant is going to do. Whatever worry you have about the vaccine should be a lot less than the worry about Covid. Over 600,000 real Americans are DEAD. I bet most of them would take the vaccine if they had the chance, but they didn’t. You do have the chance. Do it.

Tomatoes At Last

For years I tired to grow tomatoes in my garden. I could get the plants to grow, produce a tomato or two then the plant would suddenly fail and die. I tired year after year. I had my soil tested, I tried different varieties. Nothing worked. In my heart I thought it was something in my soil, but never could figure it out. Last year I bought a potted tomato plant and kept it on our patio and it succeeded.

This year I tired again, but now with new raised beds full of a raised bed soil mix. It was all new. My tomato plants have grown huge. I have hundreds of tomatoes on each vine and they have finally started ripening. Today I even had my first BLT for lunch.

Growing tomatoes is really the whole reason for my new fenced in vegetable garden. My friend Kathi gave me two tomatoes from her fenced in garden from her mountain house last year. They were so delicious I knew I had to figure out how I could grow tomatoes.

I have tried six different varieties and can hardly wait to see which ones I like best. For now I am just thrilled to have produced some vine ripened tomatoes.

What to Watch

As a vegetable gardener on a tiny scope, I have always had great respect for farmers. When wildlife eat my unfenced vegetables I am only out a few dollars worth. Those vegetables were only going to be consumed by my family, they were not my income. When we go days without rain, I can hand water, but I think about farmers who are at the mercy of the weather.

This long weekend Russ and I binge watched Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon. It is an amazing eight episode show staring the bombastic, right-wing Jeremy Clarkson of car show Top Gear and car journalism fame. Jeremy has long been unapologetic about burning lots of fossil fuels driving ridiculously expensive cars at high speeds across the world.

Despite his great difference in politics from me I find him to be entertaining. The education he gets trying to farm his 1,000 acre cotswold farm himself is transformational. Not to miss a chance to capitalize on his ignorance, he pairs up with Amazon Prime to share his first year of farming with the world. It is the number one show on Amazon in the UK and worthy of that rating.

I highly recommend watching Clarkson’s Farm if for no other reason than to get a real appreciation for how hard farming is. A real treat is also the introduction of Kaleb, the 21 year old farm hand who saves Jeremy all season.

Russ and I were very interested in how much Clarkson was paid by Amazon and as of yet have not been able to suss that out. We also could not figure out if the supporting farm workers were also paid for appearing in the show. We think they must have been given that Kaleb showed up with a new car half was through the show, to the pleasure of Clarkson.

Of course after binging this season I am waiting on pins and needles for season two. We will see if Jeremy gets to be a better farmer along with having a better grasp that climate change is real, softening his right-wing ways just a bit.