For the past twelve years or so I have not taken a vacation. I haven’t planned a get away and just relaxed at a nice place for at least that long. This year is no different. My kids came to visit me, which has been so nice, but not at all relaxing. Siblings quarrel and eat lots and are constantly on the go.
My second to oldest son came up from Florida where he had just spent a weekend in St. Augustine with his girlfriend. It’s one of my favorite places to visit and not too bad (tourist wise) if you choose an “off” time to visit – whenever that might be. He took some photos of the old houses there as well as the much photographed Castillo de San Marcos Spanish fort which was built using coquina rock.
As this page was written many years ago, my favorite blogs from back then, apparently no longer exist. I don’t want to delete the page because people are finding it, so I’m adding some links below for those of you who live in New England and do gardening. I’m in Florida now
The photo here was taken when I rented a duplex in Antrim and managed to get a little garden going. So here’s the blog notes from back in 2009? How do I tell when a blog post was written?
My small garden
We’ve had a hot summer so far in the northeast and the tomatoes and cukes in my garden are loving it! After having a tough time last year with the full month of rain in June, I was reluctant to plant. But my neighbor came by with a rototiller and made the garden twice as big (yes, that’s it in the photo) so I felt like I had to try to grow something in the space.
I’m very glad I did. I’ve eaten a few cherry tomatoes and 3 cukes so far, but the larger tomatoes are numerous and all the plants are green and happy!
Gardening Blogs to Read and Follow
This is being updated now in 2020 and they look like worthwhile places to visit. Since my daughter, who lives in NH, is planning to raise chickens next year, I included a blog about that.
My neighbor and I have noticed how small the hydrangea blooms are this year. I am wondering if it’s just happening in our yard or all over.
I kept thinking that they would grow bigger, but it doesn’t appear to be the case. Most of the flowers on my shrub in the front yard are a pretty blue, but the ones growing out back have more shades of lavender. I need some new photos to update my “BlueHyd” store with new products and I depend on the shrubs in my yard to provide the flowers to do so!
I’d love to have a white shrub to photograph, but these colors give me lots of options. In fact, last year I had a greenish flower that I used to design with and it has been a good seller.
Recently I helped a customer design her wedding invitations and reply cards for a wedding on Cape Cod in August when, as she said, the hydrangeas will be in full bloom. I hope the flowers are larger down that way and I bet that her wedding will be lovely.
My firefighter son always comes north (from Florida) to visit at least once a year. He arrived this week, which means that three of my kids and myself are sharing space in this small house. We are on top of each other inside, but the weather has been fairly good – if you call 80’s and humid good! – so we go outside a lot and sit around my new table (that only seats two – first come first serve) or the kids go to the beach and swim. I am not so much into doing that. Crowds of summer people and local kids are not my thing. I prefer the lake in any season but summer.
A glass of Midori while I grill
It also means that I am spending large amounts of money on food and large amounts of time in the kitchen and at the grill. I always have a hard time remembering which kid likes what food. None of them are horribly picky, except the 12 year old, but I always have to ask, mostly about onions. One likes them cooked and one likes them raw. No tomatoes for either. One loves seafood, like his mom, and the other doesn’t. One loves mushrooms….and so forth. I eat just about everything, so I grill and bake around their likes.
My oldest son lives in Kentucky and we have been trying to convince him to come up too and he called the other night to tell me he is coming!! I am so excited. I haven’t seen him in over 3 years and it will be the first time in that long that all my kids have been together too. My oldest was 20 when my youngest was born so they have never all lived together. It’s very odd, but the way it turned out.
He is driving here in his Porsche and bringing an old guitar of his for my youngest son who seems to have inherited the musical talent that my other boys have. The kids are just as excited at the thoughts of spending time together. I’ve warned my landlady that it could get loud next door.
He is on his way… and they will be heading into Boston for the weekend to see the Red Sox play and just enjoy the city. Maybe they will share their photos for me to post.
I have been trying to find an air conditioner – just a small one for the front room where the sun beats in every afternoon – but there are none to be found. I hope the humidity stays reasonable, but it won’t matter really. I’ll have all my kids together, which is a rare thing for sure. I imagine they will all get on each other’s nerves and we’ll see if the oldest will actually stay the whole week or hop in his car and head back to the quiet life in Kentucky!
New England's Narrow Road 