A little bit of this and whole lot of nothing!

It's been a while since I checked in here so I thought I would give a brief update of what we've been doing.



...insert the sound of crickets chirping...




Well, that about sums it up!

Ha!

I feel like I don't do anything anymore.  I get groceries, cook meals, and do laundry and that's about it.  I really need a hobby or something to do with my time.  Any good suggestions? 

Every time I pick up a book, I get bored and can't seem to focus. Maybe I just need a better book. I've tried painting and I find that very stressful. The fact that I'm not artistic and paint like a toddler is probably the reason. I see a closet or a drawer that needs to be organized and it all seems pointless. It's just going to get messed up again. 

I do try to walk 3 miles 4 or 5 times a week but again it seems pointless as my weight remains high.  Every morning I think perhaps I should do Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred again but I get annoyed at the mere thought of that. 

Does anyone have any good hobby suggestions?  I really probably should just get a job and I most likely will sooner rather than later because my kids are practically GROWN and don't need  me any longer.

Speaking of getting a job - Sarah started work at a pool over the weekend.  She was nervous on her first day but she said it went well.  Yesterday, today, and tomorrow she is taking an SAT Prep Class at the community college but will head back to work on Thursday. 

She drove herself to her class and like I said, my kids are practically GROWN and don't need me any longer.

Peter continues to apply for jobs but has had no luck so far.  Part of me just wants to tell him to give up at this point because school will be starting in less than a month.  But, another part of me thinks he should keep looking because if there is no football season, he will need something to do in his spare time and a part-time job would be good.  Although applying for college will practically be a part-time job so again, I'm torn.  He is taking a boot camp in a couple of weeks at school to get ahead of the application process, the essay writing process, etc.

Speaking of school - the first day for my kids is August 25th and yes, they will be going back to actual school.  (At least for now.  I hope they are able to stay open.)  There is a remote learning option for kids who don't want to be back in the actual classroom.  This week, the school will be sending us an email with all the protocols and what being back in the classroom will look like.

Dan continues to work from home and because all of the public school systems in our area are starting with remote learning, I imagine his work will remain remote as well. 

Our tomatoes are just starting to turn red and I was able to have my first tomato sandwich yesterday for lunch.  I also made this delicious Caprese salad as a side dish.  Tomatoes with a side of tomatoes is normal, right?

I wouldn't be a good southern girl if I didn't make my tomato sandwich with Duke's and drink it with a glass of sweet tea!

Dan and I continue to keep the local brewery in business with our Sunday evening dates.

And that is pretty much all we've been up to.

Cape Cod 2020 - Part 2

On Tuesday we headed to Boston. It's nice that the Cape isn't too far and it makes for a nice little day trip. Peter found a shoe store he was interested in going to so we dropped him off there and drove around while he looked. (Didn't want to pay for parking becasue parking in Boston is expensive!) We didn't have to drive around too long because the store he was in was small and very expensive. After that we decided we would end up staying in that area as it was near where we stayed when we went to the Patriots game.

We parked in the garage at the hotel we stayed in and went into the shopping malls that were attached to the hotel and the overstreet bridges.   The mall is pretty high-end and Peter wanted to just look around the Versace store. 

We were greeted at the door by an employee and I told her we just wanted to look around the store.  I'm sure she could tell by the way we were dressed that we weren't actually going to be purchasing anything. She said that was fine but that due to Covid-19 we would have to be escorted around the store by an employee who would be wiping down anything we touched. 

Um, no thanks.  So after doing a little window shopping we left and went for a walk through the Boston Common and the Public Garden.

Then we went to the Nike store where Peter wanted to browse the latest shoe offerings and Sarah went to Anthrolpologie.  After visiting those stores we had lunch outside on the sidewalk at Mangionne's Italian Restauarnt. 

When we got back, we biked over to Seagull Beach and enjoyed a nice windy walk by the ocean.

On Wednesday we were up bright and early because Peter and Dan were going fishing!

Sarah and I drove them to Hyannis and dropped them off at 7:30 to catch the boat they were going out on.  They spent the morning fishing for porgy and scup while Sarah and I enjoyed coffee, breakfast, and shopping in Hyannis. 

We picked them up around lunchtime and headed to The Skipper for some lunch. 

Clam Chowdah!

Trying to be healthy after the chowder!

On Thursday, Dick and Jillian came to visit and they brought Uncle Bob!  It was so nice to see him looking so good after his bout with Covid-19!

We went to lunch at Captain Parker's (more chowder!) and then went to the beach.

After they left we headed out for some Mexican food!

It was very humid on this day!  Look at that wild hair!

  We also drove out to Gray's Beach to watch the sunset.

On Friday we spent the day cleaning, packing up, going to the dump, etc.  It was a cloudy day with nothing exciting going on but we did manage to go to Dunkin Donuts for coffee drinks (the kids both have their favorites), and we ordered pizza for dinner which is our last night at the Cape tradition and of course, ice cream. 

We had a great time at the Cape.  It was definitely different this year with the masks, all the restaurants with tables set up in the parking lot, and just a lot less people than normal.  I am thankful we were able to go and I'm hopeful that next year will be more like we are used to. 

Cape Cod 2020 - Part 1

We are back from vacation which means a nice long picture-filled post - or two.

We headed out on Thursday morning and made good time with no traffic or weather issues. We spent the night in Newburgh, NY and headed out bright and early on Friday morning to our final destination - Cape Cod!

Due to the pandemic, traffic was lighter than usual.  The pandemic also meant that while our hotel room felt super clean (although I've never had a problem with any of the Hampton Inns we have stayed at this, time it seemed really clean and shiny - even the tv remote control had been cleaned and santized) we didn't get to enjoy the normal hot breakfast.  They handed us each a bag with a Nutri-grain bar, a bottle of water, a can of juice, and a muffin and sent us on our merry way.  Oh well....

Snapped this picture during our drive.  I thought the clouds and the reflection in the car looked cool.

When we go to the Cape had our normal take out pizza dinner on Friday evening (which is our tradition whenever we get to the Cape) and also had the first of 8 stops for ice cream (which has also become our tradition).  I promise not to complain too much about all the weight I gained on vacation.

It was cool and cloudy on Saturday (the 4th of July) so we decided to visit the Bangs Hallet House so we could take a picture of the kids under the weeping beech tree.

 And just to make me a little nostalgic, here is a picture under the same tree in 2011:

My adorable babies!

The weather cleared off later that afternoon and we were able to enjoy some time at the beach.

And then Peter grilled some steaks for us because it was the 4th of July and on the 4th of July - you grill!

 

All of the professional firework shows on the Cape were canceled but someone set off a glorious display that we just so happened to see while we were at the beach.  It was short but it was really wonderful!

On Sunday morning we headed to Mass then ran some errands.  That evening we went go-karting.

Mask selfie. 

Might I add that everyone was waiting in line for the go-carts with masks on but the people running the go-karts DID NOT WIPE DOWN ANYTHING between sessions.  We definitely used the hand sanitizer when we got back into the car. 

On Monday we went for our bike ride on the Shining Sea Bike Trail.  Dan was interested in doing something different this year but I wasn't so sure.  He wanted to drive all the way to Provincetown to do some bike trails through  sand dunes.  The website said the trails were "strenuous".  That word put me off a little. 

I'm not the best biker.  For some reason, I'm very unsteady on a bike and always feel like I'm about 2 seconds away from falling off .  In fact, last year and the year before I did fall off my bike on the Shining Sea Bike Trail.  Both times I tried to hop off my bike while it was still rolling forward a little bit.  Both times, it did not end well.  :)

So because I'm out of shape and not too great on a bike, we decided to stick with the Shining Sea trail.  I think the kids might like the other one for a change of scenery so maybe we will do that one next year.

But this year - we stuck with what I know I can do - a nice flat, scenic trail.

And we always eat lunch in Woods Hole after the first part of the bike trip.

We stopped at Falmouth Light on the way back to Yarmouth.

And when we got back, we headed to the beach before dinner.

And that wraps up the first part of our Cape Cod vacation.  I'll be back tomorrow with the rest.