Yesterday there was a lovely surprise waiting for me at the Post Office.  This little package was wrapped so beautifully and smelled heavenly.

Back from my days in the dog world I frequently worked with a woman when I was the Registration Supervisor for CKCSC,USA.  We quickly became good friends over the years.  This friend, Gerri, never forgets my birthday…her thoughtfullness has always made me smile, even when it was hard to smile on such a difficult day.  Over the years I have come to terms with that day and have learned to embrace and celebrate again.

Over the summer Gerri has been dabbling with making soap and has been having great fun with it…..and she is doing a great job too.  These soaps smell wonderful and give a nice bubbly lather.  Mmmmmm!

What you can't really see is the label on the soap.  The Honeybadger Soap Co…haha! This gave me a good chuckle the minute I saw it, because as you know…that Honeybadger is one bad boy. 😉

In true Gerri fashion, the card was the best part.  Gerri has always made me laugh.  As difficult as our jobs within the dog company could be at time, she always helped me keep my sense of humor.  Thanks Gerri!!!
(PS…you need to get a website…just sayin')

So now that I have eased my way back into blogging, I am going to try to keep up with it.  Carole's Ten on Tuesday question is Ten Things You Love About September.  This one is easy peasy for me as September is my favorite month of the year.

1.  My birthday 🙂
2.  Warm days and cool nights with much less humidity. (Still a summer feel, but you can definitely feel and smell fall in the air)
3.  Weekend drives with Ken (next weekend will be a beach weekend)
4.  Tourists go home (I live in a tourist community)
5.  School and schedules.  I love the freedom of summer, but I welcome the structure fall brings.
6.  The colors of autumn start showing up at the end of the month.
7.  Football (thank GOD because baseball this year has been dismal!)
8.  Crisp fall apples and soup
9.  Whale Watching (although we did this in August this year so that the kids could join along with us.)
10.  Fryeburg Fair

There you have it….my second favorite month is October….what is your favorite month?

 

of my vacation was spending time with the people that I love most. (I wish that the others could have been with us)

We went on a whale watch….you know how much I LOVE being with my whale friends.

….and we visited Provincetown….that is a story all in itself.  I really enjoyed watching people celebrate who they are in an environment that embraces them.

Ken and I had the opportunity to let loose and have fun…. to pretend. 
I loved pretending when I was young….as we age we lose some of our imagination, but if we wish it……..will it happen?  I think it will…I know it will!

…and we welcomed Courtney into adulthood….well….she is legally allowed to enjoy a cocktail just sayin'.  I was so happy to share this with her, but I am sure she was secretly wishing she was with her college friends. I know I would have felt the same.

At the end of the day this vacation meant so much to me on so many levels.  Time to remember the past, time to embrace the present, time to envision the future, but most importantly it was time to enjoy the moment with the family and friends that I love so much!

I am excited for next year!

…..here comes one now…..

So…..I know a lot of people do not like seagulls.  They are scavengers, opportunists and all of those other negative words you can conjure up, but they are my favorite bird.  They belong to the natural environment that I love most….the beach, the ocean….and they always make me smile.

This particular gull was a very sneaky guy
(insert Pink Panther music here)

…he flew in and landed in between our set up and our close neighbors.  He seemed to be a younger bird with his fluffy feathers, but he was a patient soul.  He looked at us, and them….at us and them…and then….they got up for a swim. Eureka! It was his lucky day!  He strolled right over to their bag and scooped out a bag of goldfish.  Such a bold little scoundrel!

Here he is running away with his prize.  I SO wish I could have captured a picture of Ken chasing after him…LOL. 

I am going to share a little secret with you, now that you know that these little scoundrels are my favorite birds.  Years ago when my days included daily trips to the beach, I had 3 kids who HATED the crust on their sandwiches.  I bet some of you had those very same kids (I think I was one of them too…shhh)….well….I used to let them toss their crust to the gulls.  Now, I know that there are some who would severely reprimand me, but why toss that crust in the trash when these birds would happily enjoy it…right? 

Of course the seagulls were not the only birds that we enjoyed.  There were these absolutely adorable Sandpipers.  Having grown up very close to Plum Island, I know just how special these little birds are.  Parts of South Cape Beach are protected in the same way that Plum Island is so that these little birds can raise their babies safely.  I loved watching them run back and forth in between the waves…so.darn.cute!

…and the Osprey….
Almost every day, Ken and I went on a 2-3 mile walk discovering the neighborhood around us.  On one of those walks we saw this huge nest.

Such a magnificent bird the Osprey is!  We were fortunate enough to see both parents in the nest feeding their young…and their call is the sound we heard as the sun went down each night….amazing experience!

Of all the birds we saw over the week these 2 were my favorite.  I wish I could have videotaped their interaction…it was hilarious.  The smaller one kept trying to interact with the larger gull….kind of like a fruit fly diving for your wine (yep….an example I am relating to).  The larger gull would fly off a little bit and the smaller one would follow and yap at him…over and over. 
Whether I am in my yard at home or at the ocean, my little bird friends always offer me endless, free entertainment. 
I just love our little friends. 🙂

 

 

You know the saying…..Pink sky at night, sailor's delight.  Each night of our stay at the Cape we were enveloped in an amazing sunset, which in turn made for an equally amazing day at the beach.

Most of the pictures that I am sharing with you were taken by my daughter, Courtney.  She has taken a real interest in photography and I think she has a great eye for the angles that make a great photograph.  The longboard in this picture was her birthday present.  She turned 21 over our vacation….have I told you how much I enjoy my adult children…because I do. 🙂

The evening that I enjoyed the most on our stay, was our sunset night on the beach…I have always loved the beach at night and this week did not disappoint. I had my camera with me and snapped a number of pictures and this was my favorite.  As a child I loved reading a series of childhood books that dipicted women in history and the pictures in these books were always silhouettes.  I loved those books and I love this photo of Hannah and her boyfriend Shawn.

As we headed back to our beach home while the sun was setting, I knew in that moment that someday I would call this place home…..

Pattern:  Carole's Picot Edge Socks
Yarn:  Claudia Hand Painted Yarn
Needles:  US 2.25

These socks were finished just a few days before we left for vacation, but knowing that the stone blue and sandy colors of the yarn would somehow feel at home at the beach, I decided to wait until we were at the beach for pictures. 
A few years ago I picked up a number of skeins of Claudia Hand Painted Yarns and thought it was about time to use them up….this is the first pair. 🙂

Carole's simple pattern is one that I love to use because I can knit and chat all at the same time and you all know how chatty I can be at times. 🙂
If you look at these socks you can see that there is a little something different….click and you will definitely see it.
The first sock is completely done with one Claudia skein with just a few mere feet of yarn to spare…..the second one I was not that lucky.  I had to dig into my WR stash to find a yarn that might match.  I chose Pearl Blue Moon and it doesn't look too bad.  The thing is….I have pretty small feet and a skein should work, but in this pair it didn't….boo. 😦

 

Of course I used very little of the skein of Blue Moon, so I quickly cast on a new pair of socks, otherwise that wound skein of yarn would get lost in the rabbit hole of yarn here.  The pattern that I chose was Anne Hansen's Rimefrost….a lovely pattern that I really have to pay close attention to as I knit along…..so…..

as we were driving to the Cape I cast on another mindless sock with another yummy shade of Claudia's handpainted yarn (using up the stash).  This is not the best picture, taken from my daughter's phone, but now that the first sock is finished, next week there should be finished pictures. 🙂
Not everyone loves mindless knitting but me….I LOVE it. 😉

This is the house that we called home last week isn't it lovely? 

Ken and I have never taken time off for a real vacation since we have been married.  Over the years, we have taken a long weekend here and there and we sometimes squeezed a mini trip in with the kids during a dog show, but we have never spent a week on a dedicated vacation.  Why is that you might be asking?  Well, with 5 kids any time we had a little extra money something would come up…..braces times 4, house/car repairs, college etc….you know the drill.  This year however, I was determined to make it happen….and it was wonderful.

I thought I would take this week and share a photo or two each day of our time away.
This is the beach front that we enjoyed almost every day.  Located in Mashpee Massachusetts, South Cape beach is a lovely family beach that we not only shared with our family, but with our friends as well….so much fun!

The actual
Is only actual
In one place
And one time.
Deng Ming~Dao

Remember when I told you I was going to do some companion gardening this year?  Some of you asked to report back, so this is what I have found.
Rosemary in with the broccoli did not keep the cabbage moths away as you can see all of the chew marks from cabbage worms.  I have hand-picked them off and have not seen any new ones lately….which is good.  We will have broccoli for dinner this week…yay!

The lettuce/onion grouping on the other hand has worked fabulously.  Not one single bug on the lettuce so far all summer. 

We have been enjoying tender, tasty lettuce now for a number of weeks.  I just planted a second crop as the cut and come again plants are looking like they want to bolt.  It's been pretty hot.  If the new batch doesn't come up, I will start some inside for a late August planting and in it's place I will toss in some radishes or something else that will mature quickly. (any ideas?)

The corn is growing wonderfully!  I am seeing a little bit of yellowing, which is telling me it needs some nitrogen.  The beans hiding behind the corn does add nitrogen to the soil naturally, but the corn will need a little boost this weekend.

The tomatoes on the other hand have been very slow to take off this year, which is surprising as we have had a pretty hot summer for us up here in the north…also blowing the theory that basil helps tomatoes to grow bigger.  I took this picture last weekend and they have started to sprout since then, so hopefully we have turned a corner…..at least, knock on wood, I am not seeing the dreaded fungus.  They will be getting some added nutrients this weekend as well.

Even though they are not as tall as they usually are at this point in the summer, there are plenty of tomatoes growing.  Sungolds are a particular favorite in this house. 🙂

The carrots have been thinned a few times and will probably need one more thinning, but they are looking very robust.

The herb garden has been very productive this summer.  I have harvested and processed the different herbs a few times and have been able to use my own cilantro in our Corn Salad. 🙂

All in all, so far the garden is doing well.  Using raised beds makes for much easier weeding even though they need more frequent watering as they dry out faster.  I think that the consistent watering does help the plants along as well though…..but don't leave home for the entire day and leave your sprinkler on….oops (thankfully that happened only once).  Next week I will do a post on harvesting Calendula for herbal uses….until then, Happy Gardening!!!

….when you see this yummy dish on our table.

A few years ago Carole brought this dish to a spinning event that we both attended and ever since, it has become a summer staple in our house.  It's a dish that I frequently bring to parties and it is always well received.  Perhaps you might like it too. 🙂

Corn Salad
(This is how I make it)

3-4 ears of fresh corn, cooked and cut off the cob
package of sweet grape tomatoes (cut in half and seeded)
3/4 c. of feta cheese
1 can of black beans

Combine all above ingredients and top with dressing
Dressing
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Small handful of cilantro
small amount of sweet onion
pinch of cumin
Toss it all into a blender and pour…

Enjoy!!!  Have a wonderful weekend!

It's been a while hasn't it?  Yep….that fabric is going to be something awesome very soon. 🙂

~
I am still here and hopefully posting more often.
A while back my friend Margene and I were discussing how we don't think with our blog minds any longer.  That blog mind included a camera that was always available, but as my interest in photography increased the heavy Nikon DSL camera arrived and there were less photo opportunities because I was always leaving the big girl behind…..she.is.heavy.

In all honesty I miss the connection to my near and far friends that my blog has always afforded, so I picked up a small, toss in my bag camera that will always be available for "that" blog moment, so look out….I will be posting soon and often. 😉

…and if you were wondering…..

I'm still knitting. 🙂

Talk to you soon! xoxo