Dear Nickerson State Park and Cape Cod, We love you.

I always wanted to be one of those young moms who strapped her wee babes to her back and took off for the woods. Alas, my mom-martyrdom only goes so far. And waking up to give mabubbah to a hungry baby in the wee hours with pine needles clinging to my back and sand on my front is not my idea of fun camping. But now, the little monsters are the perfect age. Of course there were moments when they were ruining "nature" with their squabbles and shrieks, but mostly it was a fabulous time.

Matt and I both grew up spending time at the Cape. Matt had a few summers with Rufus on the their private island. I had many summers with my family staying at various cottages and a few enormous houses, courtesy of the cousins and my aunt and uncle. I remember these times fondly. Lots of beach time, plenty of lobster redolent with butter, corn on the cob, enormous candy bars, movies we weren't supposed to watch when the moms went shopping, hubba bubba, sand everywhere and laughing a ton with my sibs and cousins.

We made friends with some dogs. Henry wants a German Shepard now, of course...

We loved Cold Storage Beach for it's quietness and gentle waves. Coast Guard beach was a bit more exciting, with much larger waves.

This cairn's for you Emily..

We can stand up in our tent. It is amazingly large and has lots of windows which is helpful for a person who doesn't like to sleep in a bedroom with the door closed.

Ezra is growing so fast that he outgrew his shorts on our trip. Or maybe I have been negligent and ignoring the fact that his trunks were a size 2. I'll let you decide. I bought these shorts at a used clothing store in Eastham, with ridiculous prices. I haggled for them. I offered her 5 and she was asking for 9. Proud of me mom?

Rock Harbor was a place we always went to on the Cape. At low tide, you can walk for ages and collect buckets of hermit crabs. Endless fun for the kids.

We ate out once but mostly cooked our own food. Our last meal was an amazing one, with grilled mussels, corn on the cob, hot dogs and baked beans. We finished it off with s'mores.

We concluded that we are gonna do this every ear. Nickerson Park is amazing. The sites are beautiful and the park is dotted with Kettle ponds, freshwater ponds created eons ago by the glaciers and dependent entirely upon rainfall for their water. The ponds are sandy and the water is clear and the perfect temp. The rail trail goes right through the park and every site has close access to showers, sinks for dishes, bathrooms and spigots for drinking water. Nickerson is located in Brewster, which is right in the middle of the Cape, so you can easily get to any beach and Ptown without much time in the car.

Next year we would love to have friends and family join us. We could easily get a string of sites together and have a blast....

Summer Daze

Eau De clover, mache, chives, rose scented geranium, lavender, rosemary, thyme, calendula, catmint etc.

Yesterday was one of THOSE days. But it ended well. My children were in bed by 8. They were showered and well fed with farm fresh veggies. They had spent most of the day outside playing with friends. They had worked in the garden with me, weeding and picking veggies and they had also visited our CSA farm. But there was an hour in the middle that felt like PURE HELLL to me. E was naughty and then I spent 30 minutes trying to get him to sit in T.O and of course he wouldn't. Then I cried and couldn't find a beer in the fridge. Then I felt guilty for being angry, for looking for a beer, for not LOOOVVVING being with my kids all the time. For being BORED to tears sometimes with them because I want to be doing something else. And I know that when ezra is a few years older it will be different, but sheesh.

On a more positive note....

The boys were making perfume the other day. How cute is that? Henry spent quite some time, picking and sniffing things in my garden. Ezra mostly picked whatever and then dumped a bunch of water and bugs on top and called it a day, in true Ezzie fashion. Gotta love his spirit!

boats

Curt is nearly finished with boat building school. And for two years I have been saying we would take the boys there to see him and Rockland, ME, which is supposed to be gorgeous, but with no money and two kids who are not always pleasant travelers, it has not happened. Thankfully Maggie has snapped photos of his two beautiful boats launching.

The Link

Our trip, in a nutshell...

Can ya tell that I like my salt shakers?

We had a wonderful time in NY. The boys and I went early enough so that I could visit with some special people, including Constantina and her husband Mark.

My friend Marianne, who I have known since we were four yrs. old, came with her family from Indianapolis (on the way to their annual trek to the Adk.s) and we had our annual barbecue and cocktail party. This year's menu included grilled salmon, grilled sweet potatoes and a big salad. Our cocktails were pomegranate liquer spritzers with lime and mint.

Laurie and I went to Dano's Heuriger, a fabulous Austrian restaurant on the Wine trail. We even gave the chef/owner a ride home.

The boys and I went to the lake 4 times and swam in the Otis's salt pool twice. All this swimming contributed to Henry swimming for the very first time in his life!!!!

I took a bath in the lake for the first time in a decade, there is something very special about washing with soap in the lake.

My childhood cat (Phoebe) died, she was sixteen and had a good life.

My mom and I got to do all of five minute of work on my latest quilt. Thanks for fixing my many mistakes, mama.

All of the Ferrari's came home. Cian and Imri enthralled their older boy cousins. They have fans for life now. Cian is like a wood elf. All arms and legs with big brown eyes and silky hair. His fingers and toes curl with excitement when he sees something interesting that he wants to touch. Henry can't wait for him to talk more and run around with him. Imri is half Cians age. Imri has a near-constant grin. Henry and Ezra were ecstatic when they were allowed to "hold" him.

Matty and I were given a tour of the new Ferrari abode by Mark, WHICH. IS. AMAZING. When pressed for words to describe what I think about it, I am speechless. Anyone wanna see me do an interpretive dance? No really. The Palatte is perfection; dark earthy black walnut, "white washed" walls, golden wood of ahem I can't remember the tree, blue gray tile floors, Other um wooden floors. The uh thing of cement that hangs of over the uh gorge with invisible support? Exquisite. Rustic/Earthy modern? Like I always say, I wanna live in the barn. And, I wish I had taken pictures.

The day before we left, we went to two parties. The first party was for the Lebanese side of Matt's family. Lots of great food; mishis, kibbeh (including"real" kibbeh made with raw lamb which I unknowingly ate a heaping mound of), hummos, and of course mahmouls. Henry ate everything but was most excited about the soda, of which I let him have two small cups.

The second party was Zachs bday party. Which translates for me as: Howard's homemade ice cream party. Of course all of the Friday night clan was there with the next generation of babies. I had the coffee ice cream with a side of chocolate chocolate chunk. And I got totally obliterated with a water balloon in the water balloon toss.

The next day we left for the Pioneer Valley pretty early. And got home in time to do a bit of work in our garden. Like picking a TON of beans, three summer squash and our first TOMATOES. There is nothing like getting STUFFED at dinner with fresh vegetables from your own garden. That certainly helped tame our post trip blues.

This weekend we are off to Cape Cod for some camping in Nickerson park. We had planned to go later but it turns out this weekend works best for us. Next weekend my mom visits and Matt and I take off for NYC to visit some friends and my cousin Rebecca (if you are around Reb?). and the following week is all about the Berkshires and the Carlisle FR. Hayes Pond Camp, here we come!!!!! So our summer is pretty wrapped up now.

Goes by fast. Yikes.

Heaven

Today, Heaven is a plate of steaming hot summer squash and zuchini (brought home by bike from our CSA farm), perfectly sauteed in olive oil with a pinch of salt, eaten in a quiet house all by myself until my belly is absolutely full.

Peace.

Lake Wyola

Wholepaycheck or Vortex of Delusions of Privilege

Today I went to Wholefoods. I rarely go there, I mean it. There are many reasons not to go there. The biggest is that as soon as I enter I begin to suffer from this strange malady. I begin to believe that I deserve organic cherries, smoked paprika, freshly ground and honey roasted cashew butter, healthy charcoal lighter fluid, organic cotton tee- shirts for my children, kefir made from local, well-fed and ruddy-cheeked peasants who milk their cows and goats themselves and drive fuel efficient cars. I begin to be seduced by the cheese counter and the handsome young boy with the mohawk and homemade shoes who can articulate the difference between a young smoked gouda and a 5 yr. My eyes glaze as I walk by the sweet smelling shampoos and creams. My mouth waters as I walk by the $ 15 a pound coffee. And then, I leave. I leave with my iron enriched vitamins that I buy for my son, who I fear has the same predisposition to anemia that I have. I leave after I take a deep breath and throw in the sunscreen that hopefully won't cause cancer as it protects my kids from the cancer causing rays of the sun. I leave after I buy a few items that I can't find anywhere else. That I can't find any cheaper. And yes, I buy the cherries and the smoked paprika. And then, I leave. And I don't feel angry as I walk by the people in 6 figure cars who have carts loaded down with things that, really everybody, should have access too. Because the are people too, and they have kids who deserve the best. And, because, my kids have healthy sunscreen, at least this month. And they have cherries today and I put smoked paprika on my rice and beans. And it was good.