The days are a blur of death and nachos...

I could make a lot of excuses for my blog absence, but they are largely boring, so I will spare you the details.

We have been spending huge chunks of our lives at our local beach, where we arrive with beach chairs, and snacks and murder mysteries. The mothers settle in together and chat while the children splash and swim and dig. Summer in my town is a very sweet kind of suburban perfection. I am keenly aware of how blessed my days are and how lucky I am to be keeping such great company. I will not forget the flavor of this summer or the evening light flickering through the trees.

I am also not likely to forget the old man at the beach who completely undressed in front of Amy and me. There we were chatting about laundry, when an elderly man took off his speedo and spent five long minutes getting into his underpants. I learned a few things about age and the human body that day. Things I had only suspected, but thought I would not witness for decades. Nature is not kind to the elderly butt. Nature wrinkles the cheeks and well, I don't want to really tell you what nature does to the testes. You'll have to trust me when I say that nature and gravity are a nasty pair.

In spite of the magic of summer, some things never change and it was the smell of decomposition coming from my basement which so clearly exemplified this truth. Last week I made my way down to my scary basement and smelled something which I have previously only associated with the death of baby birds in my bathroom vent. By no small miracle David was home for this animal related misery and so I demanded that he go to the basement and find the source of the odor. He appeared after a few minutes with a completely desiccated mouse. He was happy with his find because it was neither stinky nor maggoty. I was unhappy because I knew that we had not yet found the source of the smell.

So convinced was I that there was another corpse to be found that I hunted around and sure enough, I found a very freshly killed mouse. It was in the early stages of decomposition. It was not maggot infested yet, but it was surely on its way. David kindly disposed of the mouse and I felt a peace and satisfaction which was doomed to be short lived.

Last week while in the basement to do laundry I was startled by a sudden movement at my feet. I screamed in spite of myself, sure that I was about to find a pile of baby rats under the sink. Instead I found something which surprised even me. There was a toad in my basement. How the toad got in, I do not know. He was alive, so at least he did not smell. I scooped him up, took him outside and gave him a very stern talking to.

Yesterday was my birthday so I did what any other 39 year old housewife would do. I went junking with Amy and we had nachos for lunch. The nachos were perfect. They were crisp and warm and the cheese was hot and melty. Nachos are perfect food, and very soothing if you are entering your 39th year and have had a summer filled with ant infestations and dead animals in your basement.

To those you you who still stop back here hoping for a post, I will try to do better. I appreciate your time, your comments and your gentle nudges to write.

Last day at the beach...

Every year our family meets up with some good friends at Skaket Beach. Skaket Beach is on the bay side of Orleans and has the most spectacular low tides I have ever seen.



The tide goes out for miles leaving tide pools full of hermit crabs, small fish, snails and pinchy crabs. That's the technical name.

We meet my very dear friend Nina and her family every year for a full day of beach bliss.

My kids were thrilled to have friends to play with since their bickering with each other had reached a rather ugly level.

When my kids bickering is really annoying me I give them the worst punishment that I can think of. I make them hug. That's what happened this morning before our friends arrived.

It's a little awkward at first.


Then the silly starts. I told them they had to hug for 2 minutes.


They've forgotten that they're being punished. Rotten children.


Sometimes instead of hugging I make them list five things that they love about each other. It works every time. One of them will start laughing or compliment the other on their burping talents. Sometimes it's a talent for farting. I'm sorry, but I have to tell you these things. This is not a fancy blog.

Once Nina and her family arrived I got to ignore my children for hours. Benign neglect is the cornerstone of some of my best parenting.

The kids got right to work capturing hermit crabs and digging in the sand.

Cobi and Rebecca are hunting crabs and fish. It is very serious business. Do not call it play.


Rebecca is stalking a fish. I do not stalk fish. I do stalk junk at thrift stores so maybe that it where she gets this particular trait.

Lily has spent at least 80% of her time on this vacation digging.


She is with her buddy Ruby.


So much love between these two.

These two have a lot of love, but 10 year olds do not call it love.


That would be embarrassing.

You know who I love? This woman.



Nina and I have been friends ever since Lily and Ruby were newborns. We met at a singalong at the library. (She was changing Ruby's diaper and I asked her if her baby's poop was always that green. I suspected a breastfeeding latch problem. I was right.) Asking a person about their baby's poop is a great way to make a lifelong friend. No topic is too personal after that.

Nina has an amazing business helping people get healthy. It's called Body Alive Body Aware. She was eating an amazing salad at the beach today. I actually had salad envy. It had lettuce, avocado, raisins, pine nuts, sunflower seeds and salmon. Lucky for us she has recipes on her website.

Just sitting next to her inspired me to get more creative with food.

We were at the beach for six full hours today. It was wonderful, but I can't wait to get home. The truth is that I love tending to my house, preparing meals and working in my garden. A comfortable home, my family and my dogs are really the best part of every day I have and I am so grateful to be so simply made content.

The miracle of sun...

Today the girls and I left Boston where it has been raining for the past 10 days. Some days it was a downpour and others it was a constant mist.

When we arrived on Cape Cod it was still grey, but the sun was clearly trying to appear. We are hardy New Englanders so even though we weren't certain about the weather, he headed off to the beach.

Guess what? The sun came out!

I'm not lying. Just look at that shadow!


Guess what Lily is doing?


Sand. The beach version of mud.

Rebecca hates to be left out.


What are they talking about? The economy? Boys? Astrophysics?


They were especially sisterly at the beach.



Rebecca takes her job as older sister very seriously.

Here she is saving Lily from waves.


You should be impressed that they are this far in the water

Look at them!



Check out the water temperature.


54 degrees. That's how we do it here in New England.

If the thought of all that cold water has you shivering, this picture should make you feel better.



You're welcome.