I'm swimming in the rain!
Greetings from Cape Cod where a whole group of us is spending the 4th of July weekend and where the weather changes every hour or so. Mainly it has been switching between rain and no-rain today, that is as best as I can describe it, grey skies, humid, not too cold, but kind of blah. I actually got here Thursday by myself, spent an afternoon of cooking like a banshee so that the contingent arriving on Friday morning would be welcomed by some tasty dishes (I must recommend the Sweet Potato Bread Pudding which has whiskey as one of the ingredients.....). I also studied for my citizenship test before the crowds plowed in here, and then proceeded to ask my fellow vacationers bizarre and unusual questions about US history. Who wrote "America The Beautiful?", huh, huh? When did they built the White House? What was the name of Paul Revere's horse?"
We have been incredibly active since we got here, I think we covered most of the Cape Cod Bike Trail yesterday and today, went for a hike (and almost got lost in a conservation area across the road) and hopped in the pond whenever possible. I love swimming in the pond, and armed with goggles one can actually see what's on the ground and this makes the lake less scary. I don't know what I am expecting - a dead body maybe, a monster lurking below?? I also discovered that I love swimming in the rain!! We came back after the bike ride and the hike today, and I could not wait to hop in the water and go swimming. I just loved the way the rain drops pelted the water when it rained - very cool. Among the group of visitors this weekend are a bird (Marge, who has the sun room to herself and seems to enjoy herself) and four dogs, Phoebe, her mom Annie, her half sister Addy and Addy's daughter Sidney, who is a nine-month old puppy. It was so much fun yesterday to have the dogs jump in the pond, chasing after sticks and trying to out-swim each other. My colleague Steven, who just bought a house on the next pond over, also paddled by and visited with some friends, and the big floating turtle was used to make a little boy very happy floating on the lake. Not a dull or boring moment around here.
We have been to at least one ice cream place ("Short and Sweet" on the bike trail near Chatham) and may go to the Sundae School in Orleans tonight (http://www.sundaeschoolicecream.com/ ), there are some fireworks there as well, and there is also the option of seeing Dave's brother in law (who is in an Irish band) play at a pub. Not quite sure what the plan is, right now we are waiting for the Spaghetti to finish, and then we'll take it from there.
Rick wants to kill me
Of course, the mosquitoes got me today, and now that the plate-size welts don my neck and arms, the group sitting here with me, especially the lovely Joanna, encouraged me whole-heartedly to take Benadryl. I am a little miffed that Rick enthusiastically supported this action, knowing well that combined with Valium I may ever wake up again. I must discuss this with him some time, most likely in a dark alley.
Tapas! Tapas!
A little while ago we had a dinner that I forgot to tell you about - at the most wonderful Spanish Bar and Tapas Place in Somerville, Dali ( http://www.dalirestaurant.com/), where one can comsume some delectable food, white and red Sangria, and is greeted by a very enthusiastic wait staff. Georgiana, you see, is getting married and so got a whole gang of girls to go out and start the celebrations. We then moved on to Christina's Ice Cream (http://christinasicecream.com/) where we met the groom-to-be, Will, and then the ladies headed over to the Bukowski Tavern to wash down the dairy treats with some exotic beers (http://boston.citysearch.com/profile/36411553/). What a lovely evening that was (and all right in my neighborhood)!
Where the Hell is Matt?
This is just cute and great to watch - http://www.vimeo.com/1211060
The Hike that Broke Petra
This last weekend I spent in Peterborough, New Hampshire with the Maclaurin family, who hosted family member and author Roxana Robinson for a reading of her newest book "Cost" (http://www.roxanarobinson.com/), which you all must read (just as you have to buy my cousin Rebecca Barry's book which is now in paperback (http://rebeccabarry.net/). The event at the Toadstool Bookstore (http://www.toadbooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp) was wonderful and after some lolling around, a reception took place at the Maclaurin house with some exquisitely delectable food and spirited conversation. Well, Sunday came along, and with it the invitation for hike that I certainly was not prepared for. There were four of us to start with, Rob, Kathy, Ken and I, and we attacked North and South Pack, both mountains along the Wapack Trail. Well, let's just say Ken and Kathy attacked the mountain with speed and as if it was a stroll in the park, and I was huffing and puffing along and giving them well-deserved breaks while I was trying to catch up. At some point, we scaled down a cliff, and I was coached by the two of them on where to exactly place my foot. I held up through the hike, but during the lunch afterwards, I was in serious danger of keeling over with my face in the soup bowl, I was that knackered. This was the first time I had hiked a distance that long (7 or 8 miles) and I was a pile of sweat, and exhausted as can be. For the next three days I could not go down stairs without saying "ow, ow, ow, ow, ow....". (Note to self: Work out, for cryin' out loud!). Of course the drive home did nothing to help me relax, as I got into the biggest thunderstorm of all times - I was driving 35 mph with the emergency flash lights - there was so much rain, it was like driving through a swimming pool and I was so glad when I was back at home in Cambridge. Phew!
Permanent Vacation Needed
Working in a hospital, in particular a cancer center, turns you into a total hypochondriac, and I am the queen of that club, so whenever I have a test done, even a fairly innocent ultrasound conducted recently, I worry like crazy (yes, I admit it) and call my poor girlfriends, because I am now convinced I have several diseases at once, and feel like I am heading down the plank ready to be pushed in the ocean. Of course, the test came out well, and I am not required to go postal, haywire or fall into a deep depression. Why do we, myself in particular, worry so much about things we absolutely have no control over? I am the wrong person to ask that question, that is for sure. Interestingly enough, I never worry when I am out in the mountains or on vacation - which makes me think that I should just be on permanent vacation, and I think the donation of large sums of money may help me reach that goal. So, if you have some extra cash lying around, feel free to direct it my way. I will use it wisely. Swimming in the rain and such! Actually, according to recent news report, Americans (and I am pretty close to being one, soon), are pretty darned happy, and rank 15th on the happy-ness scale of a group of nations surveyed. Denmark was the front runner, but there were 80 nations behind us, so we did not do too bad I say. http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111725&org=NSF.
On that note, I am going to bed now, it was an evening with a very animated discussion around the living room table, we did not go to the Sundae School or the Irish Pub, but it was just as lively here, especially with the demonstration of certain hand signals that only Princeton graduates seem to understand.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
pet:)
Congrats to my friends Mat and Christelle in Bath, UK on the birth of their son William Philip!!!
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