Pam – Page 135 – New England's Narrow Road

I’m Obsessed With The Beaches

The oil spill (ha – spill???) is on my mind all the time.

Even though I am in New England and far from the gulf coast, I know the beauty of the place and I can’t get my mind off the devastation happening there. It will be far-reaching and disastrous for everyone, yet I don’t feel like most of the country has a good grasp on how bad it is.

It’s hard to imagine the size of it, the depths of the oil – it’s not just floating on top of the water – and if your life revolves around the ocean, as it does for so many in the south, this means the end.

I hate to be full of doom and gloom, but I think I am being realistic. And I am sad.

New Smyrna beach florida — New Smyrna Beach, FL

This is a typical beach scene along the Florida east coast. Early in the morning the venders show up in their various trucks and vans and set up to sell food, rent bikes, umbrellas and boogie boards. Then the beach begins to fill up with cars and everyone does the beach thing.

The kids build sand castles while moms and dads sun bathe (as if you couldn’t get enough sun in that state), while the young people play frisbee and football or do some skimboarding.

Watching people walk by was always a favorite pastime for me. From the leathery older people, who look like they live outdoors, to the young girls in their “almost” bikinis and “not quite there” thongs, and the ones who should NEVER go out in public with a swimsuit of any kind on their bodies – it’s never boring.

Some people fish, but surfing isn’t allowed in areas where lots of people swim, so the surfers have to go up the beach to their area, but we would see them carrying their boards to of from wherever – or maybe just to show off. I think it’s a combination.

My son lives in central Florida and like most Floridians he enjoys hanging out at the beach. What will Florida do when all it’s beaches are black with oil? It seems inevitable.

Already dead wildlife is washing up on shores and I can’t imagine how bad that will get. The sunshine state will be changed forever if all it’s beaches are gone. It is far too hot to spend time at the beach and not be able to cool off in the ocean and probably the smell alone will keep people away.
I follow this blog that is written by a lady who lives on Sanibel Island on the Gulf coast. It is the third best place for shelling in the WORLD, and she doesn’t mention the oil, but I am wondering how long before it reaches her area.

My son keeps saying that he is enjoying the beach while he can.

My New Breville Juicer

My business has been doing well and I decided it was time to do something nice for myself.

Now that I am getting a bit older… ahem… I am trying to eat better foods and do more to keep myself healthy. I thought that the kids might like a juicer too, so I splurged and bought a juicer.

I scoured Amazon, reading all the comments on many different juicers and eventually decided that this one was affordable and had also had great reviews.
So far, I love it. My problem is in finding decent fruit (haven’t done the veggie drinks yet) to use for my drinks.
I love the apple and carrot combo and even my daughter thought it was good (after turning her nose up when hearing “carrots”).

I also love the pineapple (I cut up a fresh one), and strawberry combo.
It’s very easy to use, and must be cleaned right after use. The little mesh basket has it’s own cleaning brush and the entire thing is easy to clean, but I wouldn’t want to try it once the fruit is dried on.
I also bought a book with recipes, but haven’t tried too many of them yet.

juice drink — Apple & Carrot Juice - YUM

Summer Planting In A Rental

I bought my geraniums – a pink one and a red one; planted my pansy’s and tomatoes and cukes.

In fact my garden planting is just about done. It’s pretty small and holds three tomato plants and two hills of cukes. I am trying to grow some summer squash from seeds and have a few strawberry plants.

The cosmos from last year have self-seeded and I threw down some of my saved seeds so I should have a good bunch of them growing.

I don’t do too much since the yard belongs to my landlord. Even though it’s in my blood to plant and garden, my heart is just not in it.

I used to love riding around and seeing what types of flowers and shrubs my neighbors were growing and visit the area garden shops searching for a new perennial addition to my yard.

Now I pay little attention to what homeowners do.

If you rent too, and feel like I do, just grow what you like. I am fortunate enough to have a deck and I plan to fill it will herbs for cooking and drying and maybe a few of my favorite flowers.

Pansy dog planter — Old gift from my daughter

My daughter gave me this little puppy dog planter years ago for either my birthday or Mother’s Day. It’s not easy to get something to grow in such a shallow holder without drainage. So far, the Pansies are doing okay and it brightens my deck.

I planted a peony last year and it has a couple of flowers coming – they are my favorites – so the investment was worth it to me.

I feel like it’s here for me to enjoy for as long as I’m here, and when (and if) I leave, I have made this spot a bit prettier for whoever lives here next.

Veggies and Simple Dip

vegetable party platter — This is the way to eat!

I made this veggie platter to take to a neighbor’s 50th birthday party. It looked so pretty that I got a photo and thought I’d share my dip recipe.

Here it is:
Buy a container of whipped cream cheese and chives. Stir in a few big spoonfuls of sour cream and some onion powder and/or garlic powder. That’s it!

Pretty tasty.

My thoughts these days: In fact I would now use plain yogurt in place of the sour cream. I am getting away from eating dairy and Greek yogurt is a better choice. And goat’s milk yogurt is even better.

And don’t worry about finding non-fat. The type of fat in yogurt is not all that bad for you. I look at it this way, avoid the things that are really bad and fattening, and include the fat in foods that are basically good, like yogurt. My homeopathic doctor taught me this philosophy and it makes sense. I also buy mostly organic veggies these days. I try to grow my own if possible, but with a short growing season here in the northeast, I eat my own crops for only a few months. In fact I can grow everything shown on this vegetable platter, except the broccoli. I’ve never tried to grow it. My carrots do not grow nice and big, but they are edible. Summer squash and zucchini is super easy to grow, as are the cherry, or grape, tomatoes and celery.