Once Upon A Tide – Page 4 – This Old House 2

The K List

*the K list is my lazy way of finding a post title for a real rambler. Here goes… grab a cup of coffee or tea if you’re willing to get through this whole post.

So.. when we bought Stella by the sea, we initially thought renting it out for a few weeks of the summer would be a grand idea because owning a second home, even a little one such as Stella… costs money. We weren’t keen on the idea of renting to strangers, but perhaps just people we know, or people who know the people we know.

Our first “guests” came to stay for just three days. We didn’t know them, but we knew their relatives and they are indeed a decent crew. Good way for us to test the waters, right?

The three days went by and the following day I returned to Stella to clean up. By “cleaning up” I mean.. I assumed… washing sheets and towels. Vacuuming and dusting and disinfecting bathroom just because “guests”.

What I found was a little different. There was leftover food left out and open on the counter. Empty drink bottles too. We have a white curtain on the inside of the bathroom door, which is an old glass pane door, so the curtain is needed for privacy. That curtain was filthy from little boy hands with dirt.. and blood. Bandaid wrappers also strewn. Thankful the cut wasn’t too big, apparently. One bed was left without being stripped, the other bed stripped and sheets left on our little Edith Chair with wet towels. On the chair. Wet. There were crumbs left on the kitchen table and the kitchen sink was filthy with some dishes left there too…

A lovely thank you l note was left in the guest book saying it was obvious we had put a lot of thought and time and creativity into resurrecting Stella, thank you for letting us stay. .

We won’t be doing that again. I don’t think the “guests” intended any disrespect at all, to be clear. I think they are just a little oblivious, perhaps due to their affluence or the way they were brought up. Someone else will take care of this. I’ll leave it for the service.

While my husband dismissed it as “the typical way people leave hotel rooms”… I don’t really think so. That’s beside the fact that our little cottage is not a hotel, not even a true rental property. When we stay in a hotel, before we leave, I put the wet towels in the bathtub or a neat pile on the bathroom tile floor. I make sure we have not left any garbage strewn about, including drink bottles, crumbs from snacks, papers, etc. My mother really didn’t have to teach me these things…. it’s just common courtesy. She probably did teach me that, common courtesy. People who work service jobs such as waitresses and waiters, bus boys, maid service in hotels, for example…. they deserve the respect of any other person – their job is thankless, truly.

Now that I got that off my chest… the stress that pounds my body when I take in the daily news has crescendoed and I am taking a hiatus from it.. just a peek here and there at the headlines instead of devouring it and trying to make sense of the nonsense. The world is going to have to sort this all out and I am just going to hope for the best.

We continue to enjoy Stella in between work hours and farm responsibilities. Most days I load Frasier and Sally into the car, we ride past farms and stop at the stands along the commute, grabbing some summer sweet corn, with tomatoes and cucumber salad from the home garden. We walk the little island roads down by the sea, and prepare a meal for whomever shows up after work at the end of the day. Occasionally we go for a swim when the tide is high. There is a long list of people we would like to host for a relaxing evening and seaside supper… That will take some time.

My nephews as we celebrated a birthday…

My son and I are the most avid swimmers…

To give you an idea of the difference in water level at low and high tide…

This is high tide. My son is standing, I’m floating.

At low tide, the water is at our knees in the same spot.

We don’t stay overnight just yet … often leaving in the peak sunset hour…. too many animals at home depend on us for their evening meal and tucking in. Someday when we have fewer animals to care for, we’ll spend summers living in the cottage. For now we’re very content to commute.

Meanwhile, back home… another farm market in the books – and it was a good one.

I bought this apron, it’s now hanging in my kitchen. One of our vendors makes aprons out of vintage feed and flour sacks among other things – I love them!

Mom and my Aunt, her sister. While the circumstances behind my aunt’s relocation are very sad ( her husband recently passed) , I love that they live next door to each other now and get to spend quality time together. If there is a heaven, my grandmother Elsie is smiling big.

Not only does my family support my farm market efforts by attending market and buying from local farmers and artisans… mom treated me to this recycled dress by one of my favorite vendors. Marylynne of BH Upcycle Designs uses old sweaters, t-shirts, sweatshirts to make new pieces of clothing like skirts, dresses, shirts, etc. This is one of those..

Speaking of Markets.. our September market will include an installment of The Kindness Rocks Project.. have you heard of it? I believe it’s happening in areas all over the country – but it’s in full swing for sure on our shoreline. People are painting rocks with words of inspiration or kindness and pretty designs and placing them in random spots where others will find them. They are showing up in places like post office drop boxes, town hall steps, benches in parks, on hiking trails, in doorways to shops, etc… My market partner, Linda, and I will host a rock party at the market – I’ve gathered smooth rocks from Stellas waterfront and painted them an undercoat. We’ll provide the paints and brushes for whomever wants to show up and create their own “kindness” and place it somewhere in the world for another to find. It’s the little ripples that fan out into the sea, creating change, right? Rock on..

These are a few that I have already sent out …. message on back, design on front.

These were found on the ‘net –

Great idea, no? Something positive anyone can do –

I’ll end this post with a few shots of my beloved coneflowers –

they are so happy this year – must be all the rain and humidity. – bleh.

Whew, that was a long one. Are you still with me? It’s a new day, all. Let’s not look at the newsfeeds. Not once. Maybe for a few days even. I need to stay put this morning and catch up on cleaning duties here at the homestead – This post is clearly a procrastination effort. I’m particularly good at that.

Till soon, friends –

The K List

Pickles wrapped in bacon – Yuck, right? Nooooo.. it’s the bomb!!… Seriously, try it. All you have to do is grab a jar of your favorite dill pickle – either the little whole ones or the long slices… and wrap them in bacon – maple bacon especially! … bake them in a 425 oven in baking dish of your choice until bacon is done – about 20 minutes or so.. ovens vary. oooh man, are they good. Make a dip of your choice to dunk them in, even better.

Little Sally is part of the family now, all the dogs get along, although there are the occasional sibling jealousies. And K’s new pup, Rex is just a love bug – already adored by us all. For a brief little while I said to myself several times a day….. What.. Did you DO!?…. but I’m over it. I just love her, and so does the husband (BIG bonus right there). I think I can say for certain though, not doing a puppy again. Adult dog adoptions only from here on out.

We’re having dinner tonight at my daughter’s condo…

we’ll get to play with this adorable scruff too.

In between farm and work related chores and errands, we’ve been scooting

down to the shore for dinner and a swim…

I have a little plaque down there on the wall that reads..

The Ocean Fixes Everything

I do believe it’s true.

Isn’t this a cool idea?… bird bath – glass top, sand and shells – BOOM

Awesome seaside table for porch/ patio/sunroom..

I just finished a great read – well written, fascinating true story. I highly recommend it for all my book loving friends – Thanks, Hilary.. for the recommendation. I’m looking for the next great read – what’s on your nightstand?

It’s a beautiful thing

So.. some happy news here to start off. My daughter had to put her much loved rescued cat down last week after Phoebe had developed a rapidly growing mouth cancer. While she is still grieving the loss and wasn’t looking to replace her, a friend’s relative was in a tough spot with housing and school schedule and needed to find a home for her also much loved dog. They asked if Kristen might be interested in adopting, as he was a very friendly dog who was used to apartment living and might be a great fit for K. My advice was that while she was still hurting over her loss and this was not intended to be a replacement for Phoebe, she should at least go meet the little guy in case there was a strong connection. K loves to be a care giver to her animals and I knew she would miss having a critter at her feet to love on.

So, they met… and just look at this precious face. Needless to say it was love at first sight, and they are living together very happily as I type. Rex is thrilled to be getting attention and regular walks, etc.. from not one, but two people – K’s BF loves him too…. and he’s even sleeping on their bed at night.

The BF, “D” is a big Star Wars fan.. and he sent me this… .. Our Dog, the Ewok.

We had company here at the farm the other night and a visit with Florida cousins… family and friends we don’t see often.

This picture is with my MIL, still a beautiful woman in her mid 70’s –

Our Florida Peeps…

Best Friend Cousins here since the very beginning…

We all smothered Baby A with cuddles. Oh, those precious little toes…

The cousins went out on a double date adventure…

Wishing this new little family the very best.

Great to visit with them 💖

In between visits and work chores, etc etc… I’ve made my first ever peach blueberry jam, and I gotta tell ya, it is DELICIOUS. So simple too, except also a lot of work preparing the peaches… the peaches are fresh off our tree in the yard. The Ingredients are simple – many many peaches, blanched and chopped, blueberries, Sugar, Pectin, lemon juice. All cooked together and put in sterilized jars, then processed again in boiling water for ten minutes. I am loving that combination. Are you a canner or do you love jam? What’s your favorite combination? I’d give you my recipe but I really did just wing it.

We’ve had some beautiful summer days, and have been taking full advantage of Stella being so close by. After work or farm chores or whatever is on each of our agendas, we head down there for an evening swim and dinner on the deck frequently. The kids often drop in after work, too. Mom is staying down there for a week right now and will have some friends join her as well.

If you’re contemplating a second home, a little getaway somewhere for respite, I highly recommend finding something not far away, believe it or not. I’m finding we get much more use out of it because we can get there and back quickly. It’s also easy to include friends/family as they are also nearby. For us, anyway, that works.

Thanks so much for stopping by. It’s a new day, all – let’s make it a good one.

Life Boats

Yesterday started out kinda lousy- just about every part of my body hurt from this damned fibromyalgia nonsense. I was also concerned for my daughter, who was away for a few days with her boyfriend and family and would soon return to a cat sicker than just a few days before, her much loved Phoebe.. a cat she had adopted from a shelter several years earlier. in the past month she had developed an aggressive mouth cancer. Surgery would mean removing her lower jaw and then chemo and radiation. Prognosis, 6 months. K made the wise decision not to torture the cat with all that nonsense, but that meant soon, a time would come to end her misery.

The husband suggested we go down to the cottage after farm chores were done – to cut the grass and chill out for a while. We did just that. The humidity had disappeared and the temps were in the high 70’s, lovely breezes. As soon as I saw the water, I decided to get in it. Donned that bathing suit again!.. ( so proud of my new resolve to live every day fully and without apologies for my less than perfect self. That is SO silly and a waste of time – if you’re doing it too, stop. Be. Do. LIVE).

The water was so refreshing, my muscles eased as my body relaxed into the salt water.. and I floated. Stared up at the sky and said.. whatever will be, will be. Let go or be dragged – so I let go.

We sat on the platform as the water lapped at our feet (high tide) and the neighbor asked if we’d like to hop on his little boat and head out to tour the Thimbles…. and So We Did. What a treat! With the wind in our hair and the salt spray on our face, we cruised out and then slowly motored through the thread of islands – a fascinating place with so many houses, all different styles, and beautiful rock outcroppings – a few bridges spanning one island to the next too… These pics below are not mine – taken from the internet as I had no camera onboard…

It was the shot in the arm I needed – a life boat for the day. We came home refreshed.

Today, I accompanied my daughter to the veterinary hospital with her beloved cat. She made a very humane and selfless decision to end the cat’s suffering, even though she would miss her terribly and hated to let her go. The veterinarian and her staff were so caring, so compassionate. Another life boat. Miss Phoebe is now resting eternally among the pines on the side of this old house, with no more pain. My daughter is hurting, but grateful for the ability to release Phoebe from that awful disease.

Rest easy, Phoebe girl. In your last years you knew love.

Spoiled, pampered, Love. That – is a beautiful thing.

Salty Dogs

Yesterday was one of those sweltering July days here in New England. The humidity is what gets me, bleh. I took Frasier and Sally down to Stella in hopes of a swim, but when we arrived – the low tide was the lowest I think I’ve ever seen it.. .and believe it or not – walking all the way across the cove to the other side would only get me less than waist deep. So, only wading – no swimming. We did that anyway.

Our beachfront consists of sand and muck and seaweed, oyster and clam shells. Lots of rocks too. Water shoes are necessary to get out into the water to swim. Frasier likes the water and will walk around in it shoulder deep – Sally? Not so much. She was in my arms when I snapped the pic below and she continued to “paddle” until we were back up on the grass. Here you can see the high tide mark – the dark coloring along the stone, steps and seawall. The difference between low tide and high tide in the cove, in a matter of hours!.. is 6 feet. That’s amazing to me.

M Jr. came down for supper and went clamming to enhance the meal..

K showed up after work too and together they began our next project – clearing the many rocks that have accumulated on our little tiny beachfront so that the water can push in more sand when we want to walk out to swim or sit in a chair there. There are two oyster beds on either side of our little stretch of “beach”. That’s where we’re putting the extra rocks – they fortify the oyster beds.

While Jr. was clamming, he pulled up this little guy – whom we tossed back in the ocean after taking a few pictures… His body is about the size of the palm of your hand, so he was a BIG hermit crab.

Little Sally is getting used to cottage life too – (who remembers Blueberries for Sal? One of my favorite childrens books) She’s got salty breeze-naps perfected.

Meanwhile, back in Tr*mpland, the mysterious ties and lies deepen. I don’t even know where to begin here, so I think…. I won’t. Drip Drip Drip…..

It’s a new day, all. Let’s make it a good one – thanks for stopping by.

Sometimes you just gotta say it….

F*ck it.

Let me start off by expressing my utter disgust at my little self – I have been less than stellar in my weight loss journey this year. Oh, I’ve given it the old college try every now and again ( like, back in college, when I was young and fit and could drop ten pounds with a few extra sneezes) … but it’s been now… and again… ever since. My husband has lost 60 pounds since January… 60!!! SIX OH. He looks and feels fantastic. I’m so happy ~~and jealous~~ for him. What’s MY problem? FOOD. The general love of it, the preparing of it for others, STRESS. Having fibromyalgia doesn’t help matters either. When you hurt 24/7 and an hour of every single day is spent doing physical work out in the barn/coop/garden/yard shoveling sh*t among other things, it’s kinda hard to say… “Body? I know you just did all that for me and I thank you profusely for soldiering on despite the constant pain and ache while we together care for the 200 animals I insisted on taking in over the years. But.. can we just push it a little further? Like four miles on the treadmill? Let’s lift a few hundred more pounds, shall we?”

…. you know what Body says, right?

This had me laughing out loud…. ’cause you gotta keep your humor, hear me? –

To be clear, I’m not saying F*ck it to the diet or the exercise . No, we all need to keep doing that, even when it hurts. Use it or lose it, right? This is something different, and equally important…

We had some glorious weather this weekend and spent a good part of it down at the cottage once farm chores were done. Both sets of kids came and went as their schedules allowed and I love the time we all spend there.

On Saturday I watched as others swam, water skied, cruised in boats, on paddle boards, bobbled on and around giants floats – there are several in our cove neighborhood. It was hot. A great time to jump in the water. A great time to don a suit and just jump in. What did I do?….

I stuck my feet in the water off our cement dock pad and wished I hadn’t been such a slouch this spring in the eating and exercise department.

Sunday.. another glorious day… THIS TIME… I took a good look around, saw (damn it) the neighbors were all in attendance and entertaining guests, even(of course!) And I thought of how foolish I’ve been. I’m 52 years old, damn lucky to be here. I’m 20 lbs overweight and I don’t look as good as I used to in a suit. WHO CARES. WHO… CARES. And if someone does care? It’s their problem. I’ve got enough of my own.

My son was sitting in my kitchen the other day and I did the standard complaint – He said Mom, you say that all the time, you’ve been saying it for years. “Jeez, I’m so fat, that’s it, I’m gonna diet starting right now”. Stop the complaining, mom, just do it. He’s right! I don’t want to be the complainer. I want to be the doer. Change only comes if you change what you’re doing.

So… Sunday,… to start… I said F*ck it. I went inside and put on that suit and marched right back out, head held high,soaked up a few rays before slipping into that cool blue water. The kids joined me and it was SO refreshing. – the water, the letting go, the moving on. I’m not abandoning my health goals – some weight loss, more exercise, better eating habits. But I’m done beating myself up and missing out on some of the real pleasures in life, like enjoying the water on a hot summer day.

What.. you thought I’d give you the full body shot? Not.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch… I made a BIG decision and it feels right.

Till soon, friends –

Have I told you lately that I love you….

Have I told you lately that I love you? Seriously – that sounds weird coming from a stranger, doesn’t it? It’s even weirder for me than it is for you to read it coming from me, because actually saying those words out loud, or even typing them here, is not an easy feat. Never has been. It’s not that I don’t LOVE things. It’s not that I don’t show it with my actions to those whom I love. But the actual speaking of it has always been hard, doesn’t come natural. I’m no shrink, so I don’t have the answer to that, it is what it is. I suspect it has roots in my relationship with my father, he who really doesn’t know how to show love and when he does, it just feels wrong. Or weird. Maybe weird is the right word there.

I love those of you who stop here and join in the conversations. We are each other’s cheerleaders, we are a indeed a community – bloggers and blog readers. We commiserate, we give helpful tips, we agree and disagree and help each other be open to another point of view. We pray for each other, even if we’re not religious. In an ever changing world full of strife, disheartening events, negativity… we bring out the better part of our world through sharing the better (and worse) parts of ourselves. We are never alone – there are others who share our experiences – it’s truly a beautiful thing.

so Thank You.

Yesterday I loaded Frasier and a bunch of buckets and a good shovel into the back of the Jeep and drove down to the “island” where I met up with a good friend, BJ, at her island cottage. She and her family have been summering there since 1965 – the year I was born. Now in her mid 80’s she is a dynamo. Her beloved husband passed some years ago and two of her three children moved out of state. She returns to the cottage each year for the summer, tending her extensive gardens throughout the season, hosting friends on the deck overlooking the water. We walked around the garden and determined which plants I should take some of to rehome around our cottage yard. I dug them up and brought them over to Stella down the road and spent the rest of the morning replanting, watering, and weeding.

I love having some of BJ’s glorious garden planted here around Stellas little space. The plants will always remind me of friendships, of sharing, of community. We could get lost in the negativity we are bombarded with regularly through various forms of media, through the reckless and selfish behavior of our own government, the list goes on. Or, we can adjust our focus, clean the lens, fine tune…. and see all that is truly wonderful in this world, because there is so much of it.

In closing, I ask that you say a prayer for blog friend Vicky – she is an amazing, giving, generous soul who has been beating cancer to the curb for almost six years now, living all her moments full, teaching all who read her what grace in the line of fire looks like. You can find Vicky HERE.

Till soon, friends –

Of the Little things, and the bigger things too

The sun decided to peek out from under all those rain clouds yesterday so I took my traveling buddy down to Stella with the intention of a good walk for both of us and as I suspected, her grass was tall. My son bought one of those hand mowers, the kind our grandfathers used to have with no motor, just manual push. He’s been so busy with our company work, and some of that is real manual labor, that I haven’t wanted to burden him with yet another work chore. So, I have been doing the little lawn myself with that push mower – and I have to say – I’m liking the manual work. It takes about 45 minutes to get all around Stella’s little self and across the street on our little “parking lot”… or really just the spit of grass. I have to say it though, I am not Type A with these things, as my two guys are. There are lines, there are missed blades, the trim work ain’t happen’n through me.

Frasier and I sat down and gazed out over the cove once finished, and the smell of fresh cut grass mixed with a salty breeze was heavenly.

I saw this quote on instagram, typed it up and framed it. My plan for this little cottage I call Stella is -respite-. When you visit and look around, your eyes should be able to find little messages of inspiration, of love, of hope, of peace of mind, enjoyment and appreciation for the little things that can bring big joy in life if you remember to look, to really see and appreciate them. We get so darn busy in life and we do a good job of complicating things, we could all use the reminder. What are we here for, after all.

A lovely blog friend of mine recommended a post she thought I would enjoy. I checked it out, read the most recent blog entry, and loved what the blog writer had to share… her love of old things in particular. She is also a New Englander, like me. Here’s where I’m going to be honest although it is not something that pleases me in this case. It’s poignant because of what we are all dealing with on some level if we’re not avoiding the political scene altogether.

I decided to scroll through more blog posts by this same blogger to see what other “old” or “New England” things she might be sharing. What I came across was her opinion on our current President. To be clear, she has every right, and I certainly blather on here about my own opinion. In it’s most basic interpretation, she is thrilled with 45. She feels we finally have a real president she can be proud of.

That stopped me in my tracks. I don’t know this person at all, she is probably a lovely person I would enjoy talking to regarding old things and New England in general, family, whatever and so on. My feeling toward wanting to read any more of what she has to share immediately changed, though, once I read that political opinion. For the life of all that is holy I can’t fathom how anyone can be proud of a man who has shown such awful traits, and yet there are many who approve of him whole heartedly. I’m not proud of my own judgement of someone who feels that way. I’m just being honest here even though my reaction certainly is not something to be proud of. This whole thing makes me sad. I see people pitted against each other, turning away from each other, shunning each other… because of this situation we are all in. In my lifetime so far, anyway, never has there been such bitter division over an elected official, let alone the POTUS.

I wish we didn’t give one man such power… to do this to all of us. We the People… we need each other, regardless of political affiliation, regardless of who sits in the Oval office, which party holds more power. We need to be a part of the series of checks and balances, we shouldn’t turn away from each other. And yet, as in the case of the blogger above, I am compelled. Sad deal!

I love this picture shared on FB. When I look at it, I see two men who have the grace and dignity and knowledge and caring to be world leaders. I don’t see perfection when I look at this photo, that is simply not possible given human nature to start with… but… they are free of scandal, they have never in my opinion been disrespectful to the office they hold/held. While some of their policies may not have had my support, I never once felt they had any bad intentions and at the very least, have the welfare of We the People as their core concern. Someone else might look at this picture and revile, just as I do when I see support for 45. How is it we can see things so differently? And yet we do.

That statement above either pisses you off because you agree,

or pisses you off because you don’t. Right or wrong?

Who’s to say. Regardless, awful that this comes between us,

We the People.

May we all get past this great divide and come back together as

a Nation, for the greater good of all.

I thank you for stopping by to read my simple musings – it’s a new day, all, let’s make it a good one.

And the rain came…

I cannot remember the last time we had so many days of dreary drizzly grey weather all strung together. It’s downright depressing. The gardens are drenched and although very green, also very near drowning. My tomato plants are on the verge of needing replacement and I just spoke with one of my farm market vendors and they’re having a horrible spring growing season.

About the only thing in my gardens that are happy are the perennials.

The paddocks are mucky, the chicken coop murky… the horses don’t mind the light rain because it keeps the bugs away, but the mucking, quite frankly, sucks.

We have babies everywhere…. baby bunnies under the bushes in the backyard, nests all around the outside of the house – this is the porchlight purple finch nest which once held a cowbird egg but it mysteriously disappeared almost as soon as it appeared. *ahem. Mama bird is happily sitting on these eggs as I type.

Remember the chickadee babes just a week or so ago? …

See how they’ve grown! Almost ready to leave the nest…

Here’s a robin I discovered in a pine tree on the edge of one of the hay fields out back…

Frasier and I have visited the cottage in between the raindrops to get some exercise in – thankfully Stella is less than 15 miles from here and I’m able to get down there easily whenever it behooves me. The island neighborhood is perfect for walking….

By the way, this is not my photo… but it IS our cove – the Thimble Islands are out in the distance, there are over 200 of them, some as small as a very large boulder, some have multiple houses on them. Stella is not visible here, she’s tucked in to the shoreline on the right side mid photo-level.

Below are a few images (not mine) of homes on some of the Thimbles… they range from tiny to huge and each has it’s own charm. Each also has it’s own funky commute – small boat access only! Ugh, think of when you’re baking a cake for company and realize you’ve run out of eggs or milk or toilet paper or garbage bags. On a rainy day.

For that reason, I’m grateful Stella’s “island” isn’t really an island.

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Here’s a new recipe share – Cheesecake cookies, recipe found HERE

And last but not least…. If we’re friends on FB you’ve noticed I am not spewing quite so much political exasperation lately – there’s just so much of it, all the regurgitating of the offenses is getting really.. really old. It’s still there, the news is reeling…. what news is fake, what news is worthy, … round and round it goes, and when it will stop, nobody knows.

What I do know is… we all need to keep a little sense of humor. Today’s humor served up by none other than the Commander in Chief himself in a late evening sleep-deprived tweet… his new word , of which is already very popular – it’s gonna be great, it’s yuge, believe me!

(Sigh*)…. You can’t make this sh*t up.

Celebrations and Cottage Life

Last night was the perfect example of what I have envisioned Cottage Life to be… simple pleasures, family togetherness, good food, laughter, easy conversation, relaxing. A charming little place to celebrate all that is good in life. Mission accomplished.

Happy Birthday, Mom 💗

I’m proud of this guy right here – He started the Nutrisystem plan on Jan. 1st and as of May 28th he has lost 50 lbs. He’s looking and feeling so much better – It’s a beautiful thing.