TWTW - the one with the girls

I don't often straight copy from Instagram, but that's what's happening today because catching up from a day off with another day off coming up, time waits for no one. This blog is evolving anyway, in that it's getting less. I still want to stow some things here for now as touchstones of memory for me.

Girls Weekend 2022. Staggered arrivals and departures, barely any photos and no full group shot; lots of cheese, wine, laughter, dips, driving, rain, fog, one beach opportunity, strolling in drizzle, solving the world’s problems, and sharing. I wish everyone had true blue to the bone friends of 30+ years. I cannot overstate the importance of female friendship and the value I place on it. 

#foreverfriends #femalefriendship #lovetheseladies #throughitall #allmeansall #goodandbad #takeittothegrave #getabidet #Comfyclub #makeawill #thisiswhereweare #isthisonthelist #tuckahoe #buymyfissures #winniethepooh #pussywillows #lovethedoctor #riskreward #winefordays #morecheeseplease #crossfaded #isthatjasonbateman #porchsitting

Happy Monday! 

I hope some people running for office in primaries will actually address white supremacy, inequity, hatred, conspiracy theories, misinformation, dangerous fascist rhetoric spread on Fox News and elsewhere, and violence. No one is safe, and Black people and people of color are the least safe of all of us. It is every person's responsibility to reject racism within themselves and then in their personal relationships, politicians, political parties, government, judicial systems, education systems, and media. Stop acting like racism is a thing of the past or something not to be discussed. A fine fucking time for the fucking idiots in government to be banning books that address racism and for fucking idiot citizens to be supporting that, while 18 year olds are writing terrorist, racist, white supremacist manifestos and murdering Black people in a chilling, premeditated domestic terrorist incident. But hey, as long as the domestic terrorist racist murderer with a deadly weapon in his hand didn't resist arrest, amiright?

The domestic terrorist is not widely panned, he is actually encouraged by people like Tucker Carlson, Matt Gaetz, and an entire party of republican senators voting as a block in order to uphold white supremacy and destroying the country from every angle in the process. 

The "Replacement Theory" Tucker Carlson speaks of freely and Matt Gaetz supports is racist and antisemitic and a lot of you believe it despite it not being based in facts or logic. Wake up. People are dying and this is on everyone who does not reject racist and antisemitic rhetoric and demand their pundits and politicians stop engaging in it. 

TWTW - the one with the birthday

Friday I eased into the day with some fall nail painting, worked, made krauty chicken for dinner, and took the dogs back to their beach for the first time since April 30. Dog on people beach season again. Aubrey and the kids arrived around dinner and my brother later and MFD after him. 

Saturday Happy sixth birthday to my niece! I had the best friends on the beach at sunrise and came back to a fully decorated house. Aubrey killed it. My brother got the requested donuts and we all hit the beach. Lunch for adults from The Farm Stand at 14th. We biked down to Wonderland and saw some tremendous surf along the way due to Sam churning off-shore. Rides were ridden, and I did the swings which I will not be doing again. Vom. Aubrey made delicious pot pies and salad, we had cake and did a pinata and watched the new Addams family movie. I was dead ass asleep by 8:37. It was great to spend the day doing Lola's chosen things for Lola's day.

Sunday I made mimi's breakfast muffins (excuse the icon, I was not remaking the collage) and my Dad and Aubrey made eggs and pork roll and bacon. It was another stellar beach day. Angelo's pizza for lunch. Mae even made it down for the end and Lola walked her all the way back. Leftovers and porch time before Stephen, Aubrey, and the kids took off. 

Monday I was off to come down from my five month project and had no agenda and it was glorious. Porch and reading and walking the South End with Carol and the best friend dogs, then a trip to the Marshalls and Aldi in Rio Grande with Dad and Carol and clearing the fridge dinner while MFD did his driveway pedicure. Hashtag shitmfddoes

Happy happy birthday to Aunt Carrie today! She is the best. 

Here we are at Tuesday and mine is jammed since I was off yesterday. Have a good one!

TWTW - the Memorial Day one

Friday started with sunrise + final house walk through. I was working by 8 and the first renters of the season were here by 9.

Early dismissal at 2 had me on the beach by 2:15. I had frozen yogurt, took a ton of walks, had a rest, hung with the dogs, and read a book.

Saturday we were up to walk at 3:30 am then again at 7 am. I fawned over my new water cooler with reusable five gallon jugs, made Gus a king bed, and realized Bruce can get in and out of the window when I lift up the screen. This dog is too smart. 

Debbie and I hit the beach and it was perfect weather and people watching. Michelle, Bob, and Amelia came down for a bit so we had dinner on the boards with them.

Face and eye masks where we could not look st each other because we would laugh and our masks would come off. Michelle and Bob got to see that fright show also. Hilarious.

Sunday we took Bruce to Asbury Avenue for donuts, coffee, and shopping at our favorite Blue Lotus. Bruce met Ollie. We love Ollie. We followed our outing up with porch time and people watching.

Gus started acting weird so I took him to the emergency vet. His anal gland ruptured and he might have a tumor, we’ll follow up in a few weeks with his regular vet. MFD was on his way down and met me there while Debbie stayed with Mae and Bruce. We had shredded buffalo chicken sandwiches and veggies followed by naughty snacks while watching Jersey Shore Family Vacation. Gus is doing okay now but is unfortunately in the decline of his life and we will be watching him and his comfort. 

Monday we were up at 5 then back to sleep until almost 10. It felt decadent. Dog walks and Band of Brothers, house cleaning when guests left, and a late lunch st Ike’s thanks to Debbie. I painted my nails (OPI This Color’s Making Waves) and read while the town quieted down, then we went to Aunt Betty's Ice Cream Shack and MFD went fishing and The End. 

Weekly food prep: still eating weekend food today. I'm heading home tonight, hair appointment tomorrow night and back to the shore after that so I will pick up again down there. I know burgers are on the menu for the weekend. 

How was your weekend?

TWTW - the one with Memorial Day

The unofficial kickoff to summer that felt with non-summer weather at the shore. Let us begin.

Thursday

1 - Grocery store, made macaroni salad, marinated london broil, packed a bag, packed the car, and I was touching up paint in the bathroom at the shore by 10:30 pm.
2 - You know when you shouldn't paint trim paint? After 11 pm after you've worked all day and driven through the worst rain and hailstorm in your 23 year driving career.
3 - Finished The Story of Arthur Truluv and passed out at 12:40

Friday

1 - Sunrise and a bike ride before starting work at 7. Can every day start like that?
2 - Hung out with the dogs on the porch
3 - Made london broil in an electric skillet because I couldn't get the grill on. Seriously.
4 - Actually freaking napped
5 - Long walk down to the bay around sunset

Saturday

1 - Sunrise and a very long bike ride followed by a long dog walk down to the bay
2 - Finished It Happens All the Time
3 - Another nap - project learn to nap this summer is already successful
4 - Porch reads, I started and finished Roses of May
5 - Crunchik'N for dinner, a new Korean fusion place on the boardwalk
6 - An hour on the beach when everyone else was off of it
7 - A truly glorious sunset we caught by accident because my dogs are slow pokes

Sunday 

1 - Spectacular sunrise with lots of reflections
2 - Long dog walk to tire them out
3 - Saw a huge pod of dolphins at the Music Pier and followed them all the way down to 5th Street
4 - Today's book is My Sister's Grave
5 - Awesome clouds and some sun with coffee from Local's mid-bike ride
6 - Skies cleared to blue but reflections stayed
7 - Caught the flag raising ceremony at the water park, which happens every day the water park is open at 9:20a

8 & 8.5 - MFD arrived around 12:30 and we took the dogs for a long walk. By day three down here Geege needs a stroller if he's going to make the long walks. MFD kept his distance from me when I was pushing it lol
9 - Late lunch at Ike's
10 & 11 - Board and beach walking
12 - Mae got a bucket bath and we settled in for a rainy night watching the Godfather saga. I finished a book too.

Monday

1 - Pork roll, egg, & cheese on an english muffin at Bob's Grill
2 - With a seat by the window, we had a nice view of the ocean and the boardwalk Jesus guy rolling his show out
3 & 4 - Rode bikes down the boards, stopped at Local's for coffee, saw a high school friend's mom and chatted for a while, and stopped at a few points to observe the frothy, angry ocean
5 - Reading and relaxing on the porch
6 - Our renter for the weekend is a baking instructor at a college and she left us delicious treats that we devoured like wild animals

7 - Relaxed, started The Sun in Your Eyes, and watched Saving Private Ryan, appropriate for Memorial Day
8 - Biked over to pick up dinner from 16th Street Seafood
9 - Nails: Sally Hansen Insta Dri Cherry Fast
10 - Tried one of two new ice cream places on the boardwalk: Sweet Charlie's rolled ice cream (there's one in Philly but I've never been)
11 & 12 - Biked to the bay for the sunset with MFD incessantly ringing his bike bell

Reason for the Weekend

So many have died to protect the freedoms the American flag represents. If you are ever in Ocean City, I urge you to go to the flag raising on the boardwalk. It's good to stand there and reflect on what the flag means to you, and know other people are doing the same. I think a lot about my America, and it definitely includes stopping to observe the flag being raised because to me it represents the freedoms we talk about so much - the ones that belong to ALL of us, not just some of us - and it also represents all the people who have died to keep that flag aloft. I took a video Sunday but I was crying a little so here's a better one LOL. I'm standing over by the stairs.

Weekly food prep: breakfast is breakfast burritos from the freezer; lunch is PB&J on Dave's good seed bread with a side of cucumbers; snacks are yogurt and carrots with hummus; dinner is TBD but I'm trying to go through my freezer and pantry so it'll likely be a chicken dish and a pasta dish.

Sleeping at the shore tonight means an early rise tomorrow. Short week. Let's ride. 

Linking up with Biana at B Loved Boston for Weekending

Thursday Thoughts - some nights I call it a draw

1. Jesus crapbag this week has been nuts at work and home. Lots going on, one of those weeks you skid into the end of out of breath and happy to be alive.

2. Monday night errand fails: Went to Target #1 to pick up bedding I ordered online, which did not look like it looked online. Strike one. Only dull coir doormats strike two. No 3 foot extension cords. Strike three. Went to Target #2. Coir doormat score. No 3 foot extension cords. Who knew they'd be so fucking hard to find? And then to Marshalls, where I was delirious and bought bedding that was too expensive and is being returned. Regretskies.I came home and ate a cupcake. No regretskies. Tuesday was mildly better with success at Sherwin Williams and Home Depot, fail at two different TJ Maxx stores, and a blessed massage at 9 pm. Amen.

3. Wednesday I took off to hang with my niece, the inimitable Lola Jean. We had a fun day playing outside and reading Madeline books that were my grandmom's while laying on the floor in her room. She makes me laugh and I'm so glad she is in this world. We also listened to music, of course.

4. While she was napping, I painted my nails terribly (Zoya Sia, and there there the excess came with hand washing) and MFD dropped off a coffee. I also took a little snooze myself and didn't wake up in a troll mood. SUCCESS, you guys. After I left there, I got a pedicure (OPI Innie Minnie Mightie Bow) and brow wax using a birthday gift card from Debbie. It was a great day off and I was home over 1.5 hours earlier than I would be from work so I got 40982 loads of laundry done too.

5. I actually don't think the world is getting worse, but I do think social media makes it seem like it is. We have the power to share all the negativity we can find in an instant, which we do, relentlessly. The news cycle is also focused on the bad. Look, bad things have always happened and will always happen. In those times we should not only look for the helpers, but condition ourselves to BE the helpers. If all we do is lament online about how things are going to shit, we are not being the helpers. Being the helper is simple. Be aware. Be open. Be compassionate. Be present. Be the change you want to see in the world. If you see a need you can serve, don't overthink it. Just fill it, no matter how small of a thing it seems. Small gestures save lives and ease situations every single day. People who have good in their hearts need to be putting themselves out there. When we don't, people look around and can't see the helpers. Our energy and presence is needed. It's okay to get discouraged, disgusted, upset, weary, or afraid. We all do. But we shake that off and we get back out there because we are helpers and that is what helpers do.

6. Can meme creators watch the grammar? It pains me to share this given that an should be and, but I have to. If Mae looked like a fawn pug, this would be her. It cracks me up when she runs and leaps with the zest of a mighty dog.

7. I have not gotten so many laughs out of one thing in a long time. Thank you man rompers. You are giving me the grins.

8. Oh except this. I have watched this a million times. And I typically hate gifs because they give me motion sickness but this...this is gold. Call me petty but it brings me joy to watch this white supremacist architect of the Muslim ban appear so uncomfortable in Saudi Arabia.

9. No matter how much strife this country is experiencing at any given time, one of my favorite things to photograph is our flag. I believe in what is stands for. I am humbled by the true meaning of this three day weekend that kicks off the summer. My personal pet peeve is that it is treated like Veterans Day. Listen, every day is the day to be thankful for our veterans, but Veterans Day is a day in November specifically dedicated to the appreciation of veterans. Monday is not Veterans Day. Monday is MEMORIAL Day. It's a day dedicated to those who have died in service to this country. Monday is for the ones who did not come back.

Last Memorial Day weekend in OCNJ

10. E-card of the week: appropriate for a three day weekend ahead, no?

I'll see you back here with a late weekend post on Monday night and this month's recommendations on Tuesday. Follow on Instagram this weekend! My account and the shore house account if you're not following there! I don't duplicate, but I do use the shore house account to do more OCNJ-centric things. 

Enjoy your long weekend and remember the reason for it. 

Linking up with Kristin & Joey 

TWTW - the long one

When I have an extra long weekend that's more like a week, TWTW is so rote and lacking personality because by the time it comes to write it, I'm just tired and bored with myself (Bruce Springsteen, anyone?). So excuse the drollness and maybe just look at the photos?

Wednesday night MFD and I biked to the north end of Ocean City to see where I used to vacation with my family before eating at Cousins. Huge portions, good food and service.

Thursday was MFD's birthday. The sunrise was rained out, but it cleared up soon after. We had breakfast at Ready's, which was okay. The waitress we had the night before at Cousin's was there, but she wasn't our waitress. She did bring MFD a birthday corn muffin though. Our waitress was sort of rude to the waitress we had the night before and that annoyed me. After breakfast we rode our bikes and sat out with the dogs. They didn't like the stroller for walking but Mae and Geege did best sitting in it.

We spent the afternoon with Lucy the Elephant in Margate. Lucy was built in 1881.  I've been coming to the shore since I was born but had never visited. We got in for $1 thanks to Staci sending us a Groupon. The stairs made me sick but the story of how the town saved Lucy made me cry a little, which balanced out the laugh I got seeing the Welcome to Lucy sign right over Lucy's ass. 

Bay sunset and birthday dinner at The Crab Trap in Somers Point. Really good food set to a background of loud, bad Muzak. Then when exiting we came upon what appeared to be a scene from an 80s movie: an old band playing too loud in an unintentionally brittle bar area, high hair, tight jeans, and dancers clasped together amid the lingering scent of desperation.

Friday sunrise. 

Friday beach day, first at 19th Street then at Corson's Inlet so MFD could fish. Both times we had to leave the beach because I had to pee and was too cold to use the ocean bathroom. I got halfway through this book and abandoned it.

I went to ShopRite then headed home at 10 for Gamma's funeral on Saturday. Right after the lunch we grabbed the dogs and supplies at Home Depot and headed back to the shore to prepare for Hermine. All the efficiency furniture went up on blocks and we moved upstairs into the house. We went to see the ocean, saw a proposal set up, ate at Angelo's, and finished the emotionally and physically exhausting day with frozen yogurt from Yoassis.

I expected to wake up to tropical storm winds on Sunday but alas I did not. We biked up 10 blocks to 23rd then the entire length of the boards to St. James place. The North End beaches were pretty much all ocean and no beach.

Lunch at Yianni's (really good food) and shopping on Asbury to pump some cash into small businesses who lost a lot of money over this holiday weekend. 

Relaxing during the afternoon, in which all the dogs lay with me and MFD gets the big couch to himself, and then a trip down to the beach. I was going to toss these flip flops, but Hermine waves took them out in a rush and brought them back again so I figured I'd keep them. The tops of the two poles are what are usually sticking out of the sand.

Dinner with friends at the Lobster House in Cape May followed by some ice cream and bullshitting at Washington Square Mall. Other Sunday night news: MFD dropped his wedding ring down the shower storm drain (retrieved later, just typical as we are the worst with rings, him dropping his and me barely wearing mine) and Gus wanted to jackass around with squeaker toys at 12:27 a.m.

Monday sunrise, some hausfrauing, putting the efficiency back together, making a list of work to be done in the off-season, taking a trip to the used paperback bookstore, and a solo lunch at Bennie's. I read, lounged, zoned out in front of the TV, and napped while MFD and Jimmy were fishing. We got hoagies from Voltaco's and I was super lazy all night. Perfect day.

Tuesday I woke up on the wrong side of the bed as I knew a return to reality was coming. I did some more cleaning, then we had a late breakfast at Varsity Inn and rode down the boardwalk, buying some home decor along the way. My aunt Dawn and cousin Gabriella were down for an overnight, so we visited with them in between errands and napping and reading.

We got home around 8, and we're back in the swing of it today.

My second three day week in a row. I'm not mad about it.

Linking up with Biana at B Loved Boston for Weekending