Photos of the Day: Sacred Spots and Spaces

P-Town Library

Wellfleet Preservation Hall

  The Majestic Oaks

 Nature's little monuments

 Cape Cod, October 2013

Photo of the Day: Surfside

Cape Cod National Seashore, October 2013

The sea has a way of making you feel so small. Even when you are riding the waves.

Photos of the Day: Sun, Sand, Sculpting

 

 Cape Cod, October  2013

Whilst we wait for Mother Nature to put on her nightly show, Mother waits, and I take Nature's bounty and create more of a tribute in the sands - with streamers, ribbons and purses from the sea.

Photos of the Day: Black & White & grey

Cape Cod, October 2013

When the Cape gives you a cloudy day, you get photos with which to play in photo effects. Playing with the shadows and contrasts, you can finally see the grains in the wood and illusions of auras.

Photo of the Day: Illuminating Island in the Sand

Cape Cod Beach, October 2013

A Tiny Grain of Sand

By Pearl Sturgis

I'm just a tiny grain of sand
upon the beach of life.
It's hard for me to understand
my part in peace or strife.

What service could I render
contributing my all?
How could I help or hinder,
for I am just so small?

Full poem can be found here.

Photos of the Day: Trees

 Cape Cod walks, October 2013

Was I in the New World -- or on the moors of the old?

Photo of the Day: Up & Down

Cape Cod Beach, October  2013

If tourists on a beach can follow directions to come up and down the dune stairs, why can't New York's subways have similar arrows to direct foot traffic?

Toy Society Drop #1915

Dropped: Playground near Mayo Beach, Wellfleet, MA
Number of toys: 1
Made by: Auntie Nettie
Dropped by: Auntie Nettie
When: Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Comments: There were lots of kids enjoying the beautiful fall day. I barely had time to tuck this little package up onto the playscape and get away before we both were discovered. I walked around later and I"m pretty sure someone picked it up that very day. Hope the monster mutant bear/bunny found a good home.

Please see The (Secret) Toy Society page to see if this is ever found.

Photos of the Day: Cape Cod Cottage

October 2013, Wellfleet, MA

Artists Cottage/Gallery/Display of the Prettiest Mermaid's Purse EVER

Photos of the Day: Moody Moon Flowers

 Wednesday, October 16, 2013, Orleans, MA

Photos of the Day: Looking Forward while Looking Behind

Thursday, October 17, 2013, Coast Guard Beach, Marsh Walk, Eastham, MA

Same view. Looking West and Looking East

Photo of the Day: Tide's out

Tuesday, October 15, 2013, Wellfleet Harbor, Wellfleet, MA

Dreaming Out Loud - By the Seashore

Photo found via here

I'm drawn to the sea.

Maybe it's because I'm an Aquarius.
Maybe it's because I spent summers on the Cape.
Maybe it's because I love all shades of blue.
Maybe because my ancestors are from an island.
Maybe because I work on one now.
Maybe because I grew up in the "beside the long tidal river" in a town called the "land of swiftly moving waters."
I'm not quite "shore."

If I can't get to the ocean, a river is fine. If I can't get to a river, a brook will do. If I'm stuck in a cubicle, I stare up at photos of the ocean. My meditation ritual is envisioning my favorite beach as the tide goes out on a sunny early fall day as the sun sets. I also have other mental meditation rituals involving water.

I don't know what it is, exactly, but for me - there's something about the combination of sky and surf that is a balm to my soul.

I love the push/pull of the tides; the waves that offer and retract new discoveries with each wash up on shore. I love the breezes and the gales; each satisfies a different need for me. I love the differing colors of the sea, from its browns, greens, to its azures and blues. I just ... love it. I need it.

Despite the inherent risks of living so close to nature, lessons learned with the tidal surges, hurricane havoc, tourist torrents, and ever present errosion issues, I dream of having a little place by the sea.

Maybe a little classic cottage that has weathered the weather on the Bay, with a private dock, decking for cozy Adirondack chairs for reading away the afternoon, or a cozy conversation with friends. Something like this, though I would have to paint the fanciful trim another color, say a deep green, to reflect how it was all through summer visiting the Cape as a teen and/or to be like Anne's Green Gables.

Mayo Beach, Wellfleet, MA

Or maybe a classic shingle- clad cottage with backyard access to the beach?

Lower Cape, MA

 A place close to the beach where you could run down the stairs, past the "parking,"

walk the sands for hours, or sit and watch the tides go out over the flats for miles,

 Or park a chair and watch the skies put on a display.

I don't need much. Just a little Cape, with room maybe for a piano, lots of room for bookshelves, a sunny little eat-in kitchen, with lots of light, a little back deck with room for a lounge chair, maybe a pergola for some wisteria or a combination of moonflowers and honeysuckle. The yard needn't be large, as I'd be there for the beach -- to walk at sunset (let's be serious, I'm not a sunrise person), or on nights of a full moon.  So I could meander, collect sea glass, sea shells, driftwood, take pictures, ponder, relax, and enjoy.

And good 'Net access.

If I could work from the beach, the deck, or my Adirondack chair -- that'd be perfect! A girl can dream, can't she?

Photos by me, from various recent Cape Cod Girls Trips (2010-2011)

40 Diamonds for 40: Capers with Christine

Today is a very momentous day. Not only is it Christine's contribution to my 40 Diamonds at 40 project, but today is Christine's special "diamond" birthday as well. It's almost ten years to the month that Ms. Christine wandered into Caramoor, was assigned a desk in a shared office with me, and the merriment began.

Have you ever met someone and they fit in to the group as a whole, and your life in particular, like they were always meant to be there? Their humor, work ethic, ideology, and interests just sync up and it's like you always knew them?

I look back and can't believe it's only been 10 years since I met Christine. I can't believe that I haven't known her longer. I actually think we must have known each prior to this realm of existence, and it took until that fork in our life paths to finally cross. After all this time, we're still learning things about each other and probably will for the next 40 years. When we pass on to the next stage of this crazy cosmic conundrum, I really hope I'm assigned a cloud near hers.

I miss not working in the same place and City with Christine, but it's probably just as well. We used to rock the building with our laughter, to the point where we needed to be separated and certain GMs would bang on the floor to get us to quiet down. Even now, I can call her on the phone and leaves voice message of dubious distinction and cause her to crack up. Conversely, she can call me at the Big J and people down the halls come by to see why I'm laughing so loudly. They say laughter is healing and I think we're saving each other from the ridiculous, the incompetent, the bridezillas, WMD disguised as FMB, and people who are absolutely sure that she is their wedding coordinator.

My friend, I cannot thank you for saving me, tolerating me, humoring me, indulging me, traveling with me, driving me, schleping me, feeding me, housing me, amusing me, dealing with me, working with me, and rescuing me.

But enough about me ... You deserve the best. You are the best. You are wonderful, lovely, delightful, and really a true gem of a friend. You are one of the best diamonds in the whole world. May the sun always shine on you, east of the sun, west of the moon, and at the foot of the mountain.

Happy Birthday! I can't wait to party in Avalon in you. May it be the place of rest and enchantment that it's always been to this English major. Now, are you Arthur and I'm Merlin? Actually, I think you are Gawain.

February 21, 2012

Today is an important date for Auntie Nettie and me (well, at least in my opinion). Today marks 9 years and 11 months since we met at Caramoor. Little did I know that she would be and remain such an important spirit in my professional and personal life. Looking back at our almost 10-year history, I can’t help but chuckle out loud and often. I guess you have to be there for most of our adventures and moments of hilarity that only two friends can understand and instantly recall with just a certain look in the eye or gesture. She became my immediate friend and partner in crime. Such a title doesn’t come without a bit of abuse – I still have scars from all the rubber bands she shot at me while I was on the phone! But the comic relief was necessary when work became too stressful and one wanted to bang their head against a very hard surface. I believe in one of the policy and procedure manuals written by Auntie Nettie, there are specific instructions on where and how to do such a task. And when the going got really tough, she bought me lots and lots of potato chips and Diet Coke (what a temptress!)

It’s best that I don’t go into detail about my feelings of dreadfulness and sadness when Auntie Nettie decided it was time to move on from Caramoor. After the dust settled and Auntie Nettie landed at the Big J., our phone conversations continued as if nothing changed. We made plans – lots of plans – and traded work meetings for road trips! I can’t imagine all the experiences I would have missed out if it wasn’t for Auntie Nettie. My birthday weekend in Newport (the laughter, silliness, braving cold ocean waters in March); all the trips to the Botanical Gardens (the walks, the talks); Montauk escape (Manucci’s seafood stew, climbing to the top of the lighthouse, trying to find the Big Duck); and a couple of trips to Cape Cod (bike riding – which I still think she hasn’t forgiven me for, sand between the toes, dreams of another lifestyle, never wanting to leave). But the most memorable moment for me will always be how my dear Auntie Nettie unknowingly fulfilled a 24-year old dream of mine to see one of my favorite music groups – the Norwegian band a-ha! Every song of the “Ending on a High Note” concert performed by Paul, Mags and Morten still runs through my mind. This concert has forever bonded us. There will be times Auntie Nettie is hundreds of miles away and she will text me “just heard ‘Take On Me’…” Of course during all the adventures, it would be wrong of me not to give a shout-out to the Shushing Librarian who’s been a great companion on many of our trips, including ‘rushing the stage’ and getting quite friendly with one of the bouncers at the a-ha concert. Aw, the memories!

I hope that Auntie Nettie and I continue to plan many adventures during the next 40+ years. My travel partner she will forever be. I also hope she is loves her birthday present, which of course is another trip! Here are some of my favorite photos from the times we’ve shared together (which I hope she doesn’t delete!) Auntie Nettie, I love you and wish the absolute best birthday!

(Auntie Nettie says, don't make me stab you with this crochet hook

or I will strangle you with this yarn!)

A very happy girl getting ready to see a-ha!Embracing life on the Cape

Doing her thing at the Botanical Gardens

If Auntie Nettie had a Facebook page, this would be her profile picture.At her favorite beach on the CapeThe two of us chillin' on Montauk

Our favorite view: Sunset on the Cape