It was chilly & drizzly at the beach that day.

Jamwall and I went to Cape Cod for a mini-getaway together, and played with our camera and umbrella one windy, drizzly day at Race Point. The rest of this photo series is quite idiotic, so I am only sharing this one.

Sea Potatoes (Leathesia difformis)

When I was in Cape Cod last week, I kept seeing these little Styrofoam-like "eggs" on the beach. They are about 4 inches long and fairly hard. I have been going to the Cape since I was a child, and I have never seen/noticed these things before. I asked the ranger at the Visitor Center, and she said they are brown algae; I broke one apart to see the insides and to take a whiff. They are definitely plant-like, that is true. They are like hardened foam on the outside, spongy green on the inside. The smell is a bit like low tide; not horribly unpleasant, but very biological.

I did a hurried web search to read up on them; I discovered their Latin name and also that there is a second "sea potato" that is actually a species of urchin. So much for common names (thanks again for the binomial nomenclature, Linnaeus!).

But I am left deeply unsatisfied with the information out there on the web about these objects. I want to know why the brown alga creates this structure and why there suddenly seem to be so many more of them. Do they bunch together like this in response to some sort of environmental stresses, or do they naturally grow like this? I must research further.

Not even a quick game of Clue?

This sign was spotted at the Stony Brook Grist Mill & Herring Run in Brewster, MA. I had no intention of playing with the herring, even if they had been running, which they ain't.

Due Date: August 17

Assignment: Unlock Your Inner Artist!

While I am visiting my favorite place on earth, I am borrowing a page from The Artist's Way and giving you an assignment. Simply fill in the blank with a word or phrase that answers each of the following questions. You may do it here or on your own blog, in your journal, or on a maxi pad. Just as long as you do it! You have one week.

I, meanwhile, will be picking sand out from the spaces between my toes, and thinking of you.

Here we go:

1. My favorite childhood toy was ...
2. My favorite childhood game was ...
3. The best movie I ever saw as a kid was ...
4. I don't do it much but I enjoy ...
5. If I could lighten up a little, I'd let myself ...
6. If it weren't too late I'd ...
7. My favorite musical instrument is ...
8. The amount of money I spend on treating myself to entertainment each month is ...
9. If I could get anything for my inner artist, I'd buy him/her ...
10. Taking time out for myself is ...
11. If I start dreaming ...
12. I secretly enjoy reading ...
13. If I only could have grown up to be ...
14. I wish I could make/write/grow/ create a ...
15. My parents think that I ...
16. What makes me feel weird is ...
17. My most cheer-up music is ...
18. My favorite way to dress is ...

(loosely adapted from The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron)

Time for a tea partay.

(Thanks, Martha!)

Timeshare Opportunity

We are selling our timeshare week in Falmouth, MA (Cape Cod). 2 bedroom, full kitchen, 1 1/2 baths, condominium unit. Facilities have outdoor pool, tennis courts. $5000. Week 33 (Aug 18-25); can be used for exchanges to other resorts through RCI, II, etc. Please share this info with anyone who might be interested. Email me if interested. Serious inquiries only, please.

The things that emerge when I am left to my own devices.

Walking on the street in Manhattan (on the big night), I spotted this window. After urinating spontaneously, I snapped a picture so that you could share in my horror. What the crazy blue f*** is this world of ours coming to?!?

Why would anyone give a baby such a rattle? They are fuzzy amputees. Mockeries of the full-bodied animals they could be. That they long to be. Trapped in limbless bodies, to be grasped in a fist and shaken, gummed, lactated upon. It's sick!

I've been playing round after round of hold my pint. I can't get enough of it; it's the closest I can get to being drunk, myself.

By the way ... Estonians would never name a child Nina, because it means Nose.

I must learn to knit, if only to make these wonderful little egg caps for keeping my soft-boiled egg nice and cozy until I bash it open.


These are my mother's. A childhood memory emerges, of eggs in egg cups, each with its own hat; mine had the yellow; for it was my favorite color.


My twin sister's egg cap was blue. Later, when Tuuna Taco came along, she had red or green.


Now here's the best idea I've seen in a while. Wheelchairs for the beach! Check out those tires. Leave it to Coast Guard Beach to know what's what. Kudos to the Cape Cod National Seashore!!

Countdown Meme; Something relatively mindless (thank god) to do on a Monday

10 Favorites
Favorite Season: Autumn
Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Time: Early evening
Favorite Food: Lasagna
Favorite Drink: Apple Cider
Favorite Ice Cream: Ben & Jerry's Mint Oreo
Favorite Place: Cape Cod
Favorite Sport: Volleyball
Favorite Actor: Mandy Patinkin
Favorite Actress: Juliette Binoche

9 Currents
Current Feeling: Content
Current Drink: Iced Tea
Current Time: 10:04 PM
Current Show on TV: Off
Current Mobile used: Razor
Current Windows Open: Outlook, Blog email, and iTunes
Current Underwear: None
Current Clothes: Guess (PJ pants and a tank top!)
Current Thought: My desk is a mess.

8 Firsts
First Nickname: Pizza
First Kiss: Some 21-year-old Swede (I was 15). Unless you count Jenny (grade 2)
First Crush: Clem
First Best Friend: Jenny
First Vehicle I Drove: Ford Pinto! Yeah!
First Job: Babysitter (age 10)
First Date: Some Estonian dude named Hillar who drove an RX-7
First Pet: A cat.

7 Lasts
Last Drink: August 5, 2003. Oh, you mean just a drink? Then ginger ale.
Last Kiss: My baby nephew
Last Meal: Panini with grilled chicken, brie and asparagus
Last Web Site Visited: Bed, Bath & Beyond
Last Movie Watched: Pride & Prejudice (for the 9th time)
Last Phone Call: My best friend
Last TV show Watched: The Apprentice

6 Have You Ever...
Have You Ever Broken the Law: yes
Have You Ever Been Drunk: yes
Have You Ever Kissed Someone You Didn't Know: no
Have You Ever Been in the Middle/Close to Gunfire: only a gun I was firing
Have You Ever Skinny Dipped: yes
Have You Ever Broken Anyone's Heart: You tell me.

5 Things
Things You Can Hear Right Now: The train, rain, and Gorillaz
Things On Your Bed: Feather comforter and gigantic quilt, 4 feather pillows
Things You Ate Today: Oatmeal, cheese, a pear, panini, ginger ale, unidentified pastry, beans
Things You Can't Live Without: Air, water, food (in that order)
Things You Do When You Are Bored: Sleep

4 Places You Have Been Today
my school
choir rehearsal
Greek market
Borders

3 Things On Your Desk Right Now
Hot rollers from this morning
Make-up brushes
Lord of the Rings Page-a-Day calendar

2 Choices
Salt or Pepper: Salt
Hot or Cold: Cold

1 Place You Want To Visit
Ireland

The Freiya Meme

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being surrounded by the splendor of nature while with a favorite person.

What is your greatest fear?
Being forgotten.

What vehicles do you own?
A sporty little mini-SUV, a kayak, and a bike named Mona.

What is your greatest extravagance?
Starbucks coffee and hair products.

What is your most unappealing habit?
Soaking my dirty dishes in a sink full of hot soapy water for days on end (I keep changing the water but I won’t wash the dishes).

What is your most treasured possession?
My leather chest full of photos. No, wait, my box of old letters. No, my retainer. I give up.

Where would you like to live?
Cape Cod.

What makes you depressed?
Lonely old people.

What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My gadonkadonk. Oh wait, I thought you said which part of me is the most fabu? OK then … Dislike? Hmmm. I don't dislike my appearance.

Who would play you in a movie of your life?
Margaret Cho. Except, with penises.

What is your favourite smell?
Lilac. No, Lily of the Valley. No, fresh-brewed coffee. No, the wind before a thunderstorm. I give up! This is harrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrd! (said in that whiny teenaged voice)

What is your favourite word?
Currently, "shit-ton". Previously, "torque", "vajayajay", and "ergo". Also, "flail."

What is your guiltiest pleasure?
I don’t feel any guilt about my pleasures. Life’s delights are fabu, seize them all. Among them: Wine (alas, no more for me), fresh flowers every week, painted toes, bouncing curls of hair, good cheese, walks in the rain with a Monet umbrella, fresh-ground-fresh-brewed strong coffee with half and half, big flowers on your pocketbook, reading in the sun … shall I go on?

What, or who, is the greatest love of your life?
What: Music, and teaching. And my family.
Who: Ahhh ... don't touch that spot, it's tender.

What is your greatest regret?
.

What single thing would improve the quality of your life?
Being passionately in love with someone who loves me back just as much.

What keeps you awake at night?
The train. Oh, wait, is this supposed to be deep? Well then … being aware of my own nostrils.

What song would you like played at your funeral?
"Answer” by Sarah McLachlan, followed by the middle movement of Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto (listen and you shall know why).

How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who touched your life.





Thanks, Freiya! Now you play.

One Last Splash in the Surf

The final countdown to The Day has begun. Teachers & kids everywhere look for one last chance to celebrate the beautiful summer. I've packed my bags and I'm going to one of my favorite places on earth:

Gonna let my hair down and pull out all the stops! Gonna shout into the wind! Gonna ... lie on the beach and finish reading The Other Boleyn Girl, and take some naps.

By the way, if you ever find yourself in Cape Cod, Anchorage on the Cove is simply lovely. Perfect location, cute cottages, and a huge deck just the right size for a party.

I'm hoping that in my absence I can curb my blogging addiction a bit and maybe find some activities that actually involve getting outdoors; but I know I'll come back and see what wonderful things I missed. I hope that my devoted readership won't stray too far, and we can all reunite in a week or so.

While I'm away, feel free to poke around the tender-bud days of my blog, and study how it has grown into the behemoth that is today's 11.5!

And if that doesn't hold ya, maybe this will: