Small Town Charm

If you live in a small town, chances are you’ve seen these gentlemen before. They’re the ones who gather round the coffee pot to share their day and catch up on the goings on of small town living. You can count on them to greet you with a hardy welcome as you walk through the door, and they will shake your hand or give a quick wave as they wish you a good day when you leave. You will overhear their ramblings of local politics and baseball scores (or football, depending on the season), the weather report and their many opinions about this week’s editor’s note in the newspaper.

As I walk into my local diner, I am comforted by their presence. I'm reminded of simpler times when crop reports would have trumped politics, when you would have known who these men were because you knew their parents and grandparents before them. A time when sitting down to enjoy a cup of coffee was an essential part of your day.

And I realize that regardless of where you live – whether city, suburb, or in the country – we all have that local place where we can come together and connect with our neighbors and friends, acquaintances, and those familiar faces you've come to know. A place where even if you didn’t know a soul, you could count on a simple nod of a head when complaining about the weather.

These familiar faces are just one of the reasons I like living in a small town.

Photo: yankeemagazine.com

Scenes From the Cape {Series}: Subtle Color

Inspiration comes in many forms. When I talk with people about the decoration of their homes, I'm more interested in the "feeling" they want to evoke more than anything else. If your idea of home is a tranquil haven, a place that makes you feel refreshed and relaxed, is filled with light and air... then this particular color palette - inspired by the beautiful Cape Cod scenery - may be just what you're looking for.

Color inspiration from Sherwin-Williams...

Whole Wheat SW 6121, Sand Dune SW 6086, Breaktime SW 6463

Upward SW 6239, Supreme Green SW 6442, Rice Paddy SW 6414

Now it's your turn. Take a good long look around. You never know when you'll be inspired.

What's For Supper?

Have you been drooling over all of the fresh produce at your local famers' market? I certainly have. My family can't get enough berries for the fruit shakes we all love, and I can't get enough tomatoes! I could easily live on a Mediterranean diet, with tomatoes and olive oil leading the way.

If you plan to hit the farmers' market or pull a tomato or two out of your garden this weekend, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite recipes with you.

Spicy Tomato Soup

2 cans whole tomatoes with basil or 10 fresh tomatoes

1 quart chicken stock

1 1/2 cups sweet onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon thyme

2 teaspoons basil

Saute onions in oil until soft, add garlic, red pepper, black pepper and salt until mixed. Coarsely chop the tomatoes. (I like a chunky soup, but you can process them any way you like.) Combine all of the ingredients together and finish with thyme, basil and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to taste.

Tomato Shooters (Cocktail)

Prepare individual shooters by placing a cherry tomato on a cocktail stick, followed by a bite-sized ball of mozzarella cheese and a sprig of basil. Place this in a glass and drizzle with a good extra virgin olive oil.

You can also use an herb-infused oil if you'd like.

If it's too hot in the kitchen, try this cold tomato soup from one of my favorite cooking shows.

Image via flickr.com

Family Ties

Meet the Grands... One drove cross country, another jumped a ferry, several drove in from the north, the west, and the deep south. If you can imagine, we still had 8 missing! Yep, we have 24 grandchildren in our family. (The grands are now starting to have their own children, but I can't count that high yet.) We all got together last weekend for my father-in-law's surprise 80th birthday party. Even with the 200 odd guests, we still managed to stick out from the crowd. I was lucky enough to capture this shot as they grouped together to chat about their lives and to see who was taller than whom!

Belonging to a large family can be difficult at times, but I am very grateful that I do. You see, I come from a family of four... I have one sister; I had my own room; I didn't really have to share; I could hear myself think. These things are unheard of in a large family. It took me some time to get use to, and truth be told, it still overwhelms me at times. But I have learned a lot too. I know that in times of need, these people will be there for you, no questions asked. And whether you like it or not.

As I sat back to take it all in last Saturday, I was reminded of all the times we've shared together to celebrate holidays, the birth of another child, weddings, family reunions, countless birthday parties, and everything in between. These kids have (almost) seen it all.

I listened to their stories of boyfriends, girlfriends, school, and work. I marveled at how this next generation slipped back into big family mode – their own secret club – as easily as they glided in and out of their flip flops. I laughed as I heard them exchange remarks about their aunts and uncles, sharing secret glances or a roll of the eyes as if the rest of us didn’t know what they were up to. But what really made me happy was to know that in 5 years, 10 years and beyond, they will still be there for each other.

And that’s what a big family is all about.

(P.S. We had waaay too much salad.)

Small Town Fun

Wednesday nights is cruise night at a local drive-in restaurant, so we spent some time last week catching up on a little small town fun - a real slice of Americana.

Our family traditions mark the passage of time. Soon we'll head to the fair, go apple picking, make Halloween costumes... hopefully for many, many years to come.

 

Scenes From the Cape {Series}: Colors of the Night

We were lucky enough to catch this beautiful sunset one night and I took oodles of pictures. Once again, this photo was taken on the bay side of the Cape at a beach not too far from where we stay. We joined friends as they prepared a nice cozy fire right in the sand, and then we all settled in to watch the sea slowly swallow the sun.

I was amazed at all of the colors I captured with each and every frame. The sun looked blazing hot as it tried with all of its might not to fall into the clear, cool water. This is just another example that proves nature leads the way - you can mix different hues and temperatures with ease.

Here's my interpretation from Sherwin-Williams...

Gypsy Red SW6865, Glitzy Gold SW6691,

Exuberant Pink SW6840, Armagnac SW6354, Habanero Chili SW 7589

Saphire SW6963, Steely Gray SW7664

Purple Passage SW6551, Indigo Batik SW7602, Monorail Silver SW7663

 

Scenes From the Cape {Series}: Rainy Day Fun

So what do you do when Mother Nature decides that all God's creatures need a little drink? You have your hubby drive you around so you can take pictures of course. The seagulls certainly weren't complaining.

Then you read.

This hammock would have been a perfect spot to curl up and read a good book, but not in this weather. That's okay; I found several perches inside that suited me just fine. I read an awful lot while I'm on vacation, and this year I managed to finish 12 books. (4 weeks divided by... well, you can do the math. It's a lot for me at any rate.) The girls and I went crazy buying any and every title we could get our hands on. And if you think I read a lot, then you'll be surprised to learn that my girls read even more. In fact, daughter #2 won this year's contest by reading 3,617 pages! Hubby has since put a cabash on my book spending. Go figure.

I started with a good deal of non-fiction titles, and then to lighten the load a bit, I filled in with very fluffy reads that took place in some sort of beach setting or were written by local authors...

Non-Fiction: I re-read Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert, so it would be fresh in my mind when I see the movie, and then two writing books that I won't bore you with all the details. In addition, I finally read three books from Harwich resident and author Joan Anderson - A Year by the Sea, An Unfinished Marriage and A Walk on the Beach - which I had picked up years ago, but never read. (I highly recommend the first.) I had been toying with purchasing Slow Love by Dominique Browning since it came out, and then finally procured my copy from Yellow Umbrella Books. I'm so glad I did. Her view of living a slow life coincides with my philosophy behind beautiful living.

Fiction: My fluffy books included The Writing Circle by Corrine Demas (wanted to love it, but didn't), The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand (a fun look into the restaurant business, but not so good if you're on a diet!) , Summer House by Nancy Thayer (okay), Summer Shift by Lynn Kiele Bonasia (also okay), and finally The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. Now I'm not a big NS fan, but I did enjoy the movie and I wanted to see how all that drama was played out in print. It's a surprisingly small book, but I enjoyed his lyrical prose along with his anguished look inside Alzheimer's. This one tugged on my heart strings.

To Be Read: I managed to steal away several more books that I saved for when I returned. They include... The Passage by Justin Cronin (1400+ pages - so far, so good), Sea Escape by Lynne Griffen, South of Broad by Pat Conway (I'm having trouble with all of the flowery language), and The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo by Stieg Larsson. (Everybody and their brother has recommended this book, but since I was alone a lot of nights... I waited until I could bring it home and read it in bed next to hubby.) I know, I know - I'll read it.

Scenes From the Cape (Series): A Quick Re-Cap

Warm, sultry days turned into cool, crisp evenings with only the moon and stars to guide my way. I lived my days not by the clock, but by the ebb and flow of the tides and the pull of that moon. I am still under its spell.

My family and I enjoyed some much-needed quiet time away from the real world. Although I'd be lying if I said I've had enough vacation, it's good to be back writing for my blog once again. And since a picture is worth a thousand words, I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos of my adventures at sea with you all this month.

In addition to this new series, this month's posts will reflect a more introspective, quiet approach to living. I'll share my thoughts, beautiful pictures, and give you a glimpse into my summer life back in the woods.

The picture above was taken on the bay side of the Cape at high tide. The light was just right as I snapped die-hard beach goers waiting for the sun to go down.

Seafood is the name of the game around here. This small fish shack features all kinds of goodies straight from the boats less than 50 feet away. You'll meet all kinds of characters behind the counter as you select your supper.

Natural shingles and a few lobster buoys are all the decoration you need. The colors and patterns denote whose buoy is whose when collecting the traps at the end of the day.

The girls went deep sea fishing this year. They didn't catch anything, but they did get up close and personal with the seals. (Seems the sharks are doing the same!)