How could I not when I was off on Friday and saw a truly spectacular sunrise over a raging ocean? The sky was different every way I looked. My head was on a constant swivel.
After taking arty farty photos on the way back to the house, I packed my things looking like I was setting out to kidnap someone or bury a body and was out of the house by 7:30 to get some to go coffee and a honey glazed at Drip N' Scoop.
I drove down to Sunset Beach on Cape May Point to see the
shipwreck of the S.S. Atlantus and the
WWII Lookout Tower. The sea was churning and tears were running down my face from the wind. It was wild out there! I collected some super smooth rocks and got caught in a gaggle of a photography group that peeled out of the parking lot one by one like they were storm chasers.
I picked up porch railing stuff at Home Depot, got caught in the 34th Street Bridge single lane BS for a few lights, and had breakfast at the
Airport Diner. THEN. Then then then I got my library card for Ocean City. I was super pumped and had to text Jana immediately. I have no idea why I didn't do this before now since it was free and made me so happy.
Back at the house my Amazon Fresh order had arrived, so I put groceries away, then I hauled all the porch shit out of the car and moved all the furniture that needed to go down from the top floor to the ground floor. When I laid down to take a break after a flight I noticed a hole in the ceiling I need to fix (see my there's a fucking hole in the ceiling face below) and when I stepped onto the porch saw that last week's weather FUBAR'd the light. Add them to the project list. I walked to
Bennie's to get a danish and to
Piccini to pick up pizza and salad and sat my ass down for the night. My Dad & Carol arrived around 7:30 and Stephen, Aubrey, and Lola came in a little after 10.
So basically I spent my day off on Friday like I would have spent it if I lived at the shore full time. And it was awesome.
Saturday morning my Dad and Stephen stood out in the cold wind for four hours replacing the rotted out porch railings with new vinyl railings. I died inside every time I looked at them so the finished project made me SO, so happy. I'm grateful I could just stand around and watch and pick up trash. They rocked this project. I'm so relieved it's done and I don't have to worry about my niece or the dogs poking their eyes out on splintery wood this summer. I'll continue painting the wood poles and beams and of course I have to paint the concrete.
When Lola got up from her nap, we walked down to the beach for the Easter Egg hunt. So did a shit ton of other people. Lola got some eggs, we walked down by the water, and then we got ice cream - first Kohr Bros of the year. We were going to go out for my birthday but I wasn't feeling it so we ordered from
Mario's and waited for MFD and the dogs to arrive. We were all in bed early.
Sunday's ocean was very serene, which makes the top look like glass at a certain point during the sunrise.
I cooked up some pork roll and eggs then we took a walk down to the beach. Aubrey was saving horseshoe crabs, MFD brought a bleeding shark up to everyone's dismay, and Lola wanted to walk Mae by herself. I always bring a few extra poop bags to collect shells and trash in. I hate seeing trash on the beach. Dog poop bags save the day yet again.
My Dad fixed the screen door, brought the mirror down from the third floor, and caulked the shower. He's not for hire, sorry. He also hung hooks on the third floor after I investigated if my contact paper scheme would work to cover up the peeling fish on the wall in the back bedroom. It will, so I ordered the rest and will finish that next weekend. I sent my Dad and Carol and MFD home with cars full of old furniture and rotten wooden railings which I don't think MFD had time to drop off before his first appointment with clients. Whoops. I spray painted crates while the dogs supervised, primed and painted some porch beams, poles, and new wood from the railing install, vacuumed our apartment, moved food out of the house, took the crates up to the top floor, and moved furniture that didn't get home this time inside.
The dogs were pooped and so was I so we retreated inside so they could pass out and I could paint my nails (wet n' wild Megalast in Undercover - seriously, this shit does mega last). I need a pedicure but in a series of unfortunate events the green spray paint pictured above is all over both feet in the shape of a flip flop and that has not come off yet.
I got home after 5 and portioned out my weekly food prep, which I did fit in this weekend: iced coffee for the shore; egg bake with broccoli & pork roll for breakfasts; baked chicken thighs over rice and roasted veggies for lunches; and two pork tenderloins (one Italian, one some flavor I can't remember, maybe honey chipotle?) for dinners. I'll serve that with mashed sweet potatoes and parsnips. Behold, my container of meat for easy transport home from the shore.
Other Sunday things: laundry, running the dishwasher, work work, started
The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy, and attempted to scrub paint and spray paint from myself. I am super pumped that both of my major spring projects at the shore (third floor bedrooms and apartment porch area) are well on their way to being completed. Thanks Dad & Stephen for kicking ass this week. It was awesome that the big porch railing project was knocked out quickly in less than desirable weather so we could all hang out and enjoy the beach and boards. Lola Jean is a star and the best behaved child. She's also totally enamored of MFD.
Tomorrow! Show Us Your Books with me and Jana!
