Downtown Sandwich

Boardwalk & Town Neck Beach, Sandwich

Birdies and Some Snow

Was able to get a few pics of the birdies that visit mom's birdfeeder.  There were lots of greedy grey squirrels around too, including one that scared me twice when I was in or near the old shed at the back of the property.

This was all the snow that was left at mom's house when I got there.  It was clear but very cold, in the 40's.  I got out right before they had another 3" of heavy wet snow.  Ah yes, spring on the Cape.

Birdie on the cedar tree.

I love how this chicadee is looking at me with an indignant look on his tilted face.

Fluttering

Home

I'm back in Washington, after my whirlwind trip to Cape Cod.  It was a week long, but not long enough.  I saw the town through new eyes, and I realized how much I do miss it.  The lack of traffic on weekdays in the winter is pretty cool, but summertime is another story.

This is my childhood home in East Sandwich.

This rhododendron has been here since I was a little kid, but has grown into a massive tree over the last near-half century.  I've never seen one this big in my life.

Looking up the driveway from the mailbox.

The dirt road to cranberry bog across from my parents' front yard.  The train tracks are at the other end and I grew up with the peaceful sound of the trains going by and the whistles at every crossing.  When I was a child, my mom got me into the habit of watching for the little red caboose at the end, and that's a habit I've carried into my adult life.  There's also a killer breeze that kicks up every evening in the summer & cools down the house, even on the hottest, most humid day.

Looking east on Old County Road, in front of mom's house.  This area has remained completely unchanged since they moved here in 1953.  It's one of the quietest places I've ever been to.  And so dark at night that the stars stand out like diamonds.  There is no light pollution in this part of town.

This building is affectionately known by everyone as The Chicken Coop.  There are several of my friends who remember 'The Coop' very well too, and have told me that one of their fave memories of getting together with me, was us playing & listening to records in The Coop.  When my parents bought the property in 1952, it was a small farm, and this was a chicken coop.  My dad renovated it into a cool little recreational space, with a half bath and a wet bar.  If those walls could talk, they'd tell you that, in its hey day, my parents hosted parties for their friends that lasted deep into the night with the sound of raucous grownup laughter drifting into the house as I slept upstairs. When my mom was a Blue Birds and Campfire Girls leader, we had our meetings there.  I had summer sleepovers in it, as it had air conditioning and a stereo.  My cousins and I would do crafts at the picnic table, or play our records and pretend we were The Partridge Family, and eat candy aaaaaall night long when they slept over.  I may end up living here temporarily when I move back.

Mom's glass collection which I attribute to my intense and obsessive love for coloured glass too.  I used to look at the sun shining through the pretty colours and get lost in them, as I munched my cereal before going out to the bus stop.

Mom loves her glass cup plates!  

It was my job to cut the massive lawn, with a (gas powered) push mower.  Took 2.5 hours to cut.  And then I had to rake the clippings into piles, put said piles into the wheelbarrow and take them way across the yard to the compost pile.  Then I had to use the weed whacker around the brick walkway and around ALL the trees.  Needless to say, my parents taught me the value of a hard day's work.  

Dad kept all his plumbing tools, supplies and equipment in the barn.  It was always a sight to see the huge 18 wheeler trucks from Snow & Jones having to back up the driveway, avoiding the trees & rock walls, to make the deliveries of water heaters and pipes. 

Cranberry bog across from my mom's house.  This was one of the centers of my childhood world and subject to a great deal of imaginary play with my friends and cousins.  I'd dream about it at night when I was younger and I have written many of those dreams down.  I still have dreams about the bog to this day, and they are among my fave of my recurring dreams.  I played here all the time, and in the winter when it was flooded and frozen, I skated on it.  

When we were in our teens, my cousin Diane and I would walk the tracks west, towards the train bridge, and either climb up the bridge and walk back home on Old County Road, or walk the tracks all the way to almost the end of OC Road and back.  I also had quite a few coins squished by the sightseeing trains, which ran on a tight schedule, so I'd walk over about a half hour b/f the train was due, put a coin down, wait for the train and wave to the engineer and the passengers, then grab my newly flattened and very hot coin from the track.  One time in high school, Di & I built a snowman on the bog but close to, and facing, the tracks, so that the engineer would see it when he zoomed by. 

There are a ton of no-trespassing signs which I didn't shoot pics of, because they are pretty over the top and intimidating, and which threaten to shoot trespassers on sight.  However, I admit to feeling a sense of entitlement to this piece of property as I mean it no harm and I grew up playing here looooong before the current owners bought it.  Therefore, their signs clearly don't apply to me.  lol

Mom's house from the bog.

Looking west down Old County Road towards where my cousin now lives in my uncle's/her grandfather's old house, which she bought a few years ago.

I spent a lot of time in my youth wishing I was anywhere but here.  Now that I'm pushing 50, I have seriously reconsidered my position.

Perigee Moon - March 19, 2011

I hope everyone got a chance to see the Perigee Moon that came up on Saturday night.  The last time it looked this close on a full moon was in 1993.  

I went out to my shooting spot but the Cascades were covered in clouds so I gave up and went home.  About 40 minutes later I was on Facebook when a post from KIRO-TV came up saying that the Super Moon was here and visible in many locations, so I went upstairs and looked out my kitchen window.  Much to my delight, it was there, coming up through the clouds.  It was very Halloweeny/Harvest Mooney.  

First couple of shots were a bit too bright and blurry.

Then I just started messing around with different shutter settings.  I'd already shipped my new zoom lens back to the Cape but was able to get the old one to work.

Cape Cod or Bust!

Hello peoples!!  Sorry I haven't been updating much but my life is getting a bit nuts w/ my upcoming trip to the Cape next week.  There has been a lot going on for me here in Washington, and I am really looking forward to getting out of town for a few days!!! 

My mom has been having a lot of health problems, mostly related to her back, hip and legs.  She fell the other day and apparently tore a hamstring.  So for the most part, this trip will be much more low key and less go-go-go like my past trips to visit, when we go to Hyannis, Chatham or just buzz around Sandwich.  I was hoping to get to see some friends on this trip but that may not happen as I will be hanging out at mom's, although I will get to see one very special friend in particular, and I am very much looking forward to that.

Tonight I have to pack up the box of my stuff that I ship ahead of my trip, so that I don't have to check a suitcase.  That way I can bring my light carry-on bag onto the plane.  I also ship my stuff back to Washington a day or so b/f I fly back so that the box is waiting for me when I get there, or arrives the next day.  One year I had gone beachcombing and had picked up some really cool rocks.  When I brought the box of my stuff to the PO to ship back, the clerk, Paula, who has known me and my family for years, lifted it to put on the scale and she said, "My god Joanne!  What have you got in here?  Rocks?"  I said, "Um....well....as a matter of fact, yes.  I went beachcombing at Sandy Neck."  She looked at me over the top of her glasses and said, "They don't have rocks in Washington?" 

I'm flying first class both ways.  I'm not going to tough it out with the plebes in coach on a long trip like this.  I hate flying as it is w/o the misery that is coach.  I still haven't decided if I am going to opt for the incredibly invasive body scanner or the incredibly invasive molestation  pat down, courtesy of the TSA.  To be honest, I've had a lot of other things on my mind, than the draconian security procedures into which we are now forced in this post-9/11 world, so I haven't quite made up my mind as yet into which line I should succumb.  My boss said that the pat down isn't that bad and he is concerned about what we are being blasted with in the scanner.  Still, as a very prudish shy person, neither option makes my socks go up and down. 

I leave on March 24th and come back on March 31st.  After that, some major changes are coming in my life.  Talk to you all when I get back!!!!

A Fun Afternoon in Seattle

I met a WONDERFUL woman and friend, Charlotte, on Facebook from playing Hatchlings.  We clicked right away, along with our third bff, Moriah, with whom I had dinner & did Ghostly Walks in Victoria, in October.  We're the 3 Musketeers, despite being geographically separated.  But Char and I are talking about taking a quick overnighter up to Victoria on the Clipper to visit her.  

Char lives up north of Seattle, in Everett.  We decided that enough time had passed before we met in person, so we made plans to get together on Saturday!  It's so hard to believe that this was the first time we met face to face because it was like we'd been hanging out all the time for years.  

After I picked her up, we headed back down to Seattle to have pizza at Tutta Bella, in the Wallingford neighborhood.  I've been dying for some decent pizza and she highly recommended this place.    

Char's pie was prosciutto & arugula.

Char and pizza

I went for the traditional Regina Margherita, which is my fave.  Fresh mozzarella, basil and tomatoes.  Nom nom nom nom  The crust was razor thin in the middle, puffy & crunchy on the edge.  This is the way pizza is supposed to be made.  No sweet sauce EVER. 

We shared a tiramisu but we dug in before I remembered to take a picture of it!!  It, too, was AMAZING!!!!!  We both thought that there was a little too much espresso on the bottom, but it was still unbelievably tasty.

She got a fancy coffee.

And I think this is a shot of espresso

She's a wicked good egg.

After lunch, we decided to find the Fremont Troll, which has been on my "Seattle Bucket List".  I never would have found it if Char didn't know where we were going.  That city, and this whole region, confounds me.  Nearly all the streets are designated by number and then compass direction.  If you suck at math like I do, and can't read a compass either, you are so screwed.  

This is a view under the Aurora Bridge, looking down the hill.  

The Fremont Troll under the Aurora Bridge.

Char posing with the Troll.

Climbed up for a peak over his shoulder.

It's a popular attraction.

I think that's a headlight for his eye.

That's a real Volkswagen Beetle.

I had a great afternoon and am very grateful to have Char in my life too!  Thanks for a great day my friend!