Monday, May 28, 2018

Salt Air and Painting

5.28e

We learned last year that Memorial Day weekend is when most people officially open their seasonal properties on Cape Cod.  The weather around here is still sketchy this time of year so you never know what you're going to get.  First thing Saturday morning, Rich had practice for the Dads Who Dance routine that will be in the recital in a few weeks.  Then it took us forever to pack up for the Cape.

Last week was not a good one for me.  I was dealing with anxiety and negative thoughts and add to that the fact that Abigail's due date was Memorial Day.  By Friday night, I was drained.  I quickly ate dinner after my tap class and then we headed to the home improvement store for paint.  I would have loved to have had everything packed up and ready to go but there was too much going on.

Saturday morning, we grabbed sandwiches on our drive and stopped to eat lunch at the canal.

5.28a

It was such a nice day.  A touch humid, but I'll take it if that means warmth.

5.28b

The girls wanted to stay and hang out but Rich and I had things to take care of at the cottage.

5.28c

While Rich cut the grass and assembled the hammock, I cleaned the kitchen of winter dust and quickly mopped the tile floor.

5.28d

Then it was time for the beach.

5.28f

5.28g

5.28h

5.28i

5.28j

We ate dinner that night at Cleat & Anchor in Dennisport.  This restaurant opened last year and, initially, seemed to be more a bar serving food than a restaurant serving alcohol.  Some family members ate there last summer and said it was good so we decided to check it out.  The menu is on the smaller side and while they don't officially have a separate menu for kids, they will make certain items for children - mac and cheese, pasta, chicken fingers and fish and chips.  Two of the girls ordered the fish and chips and they weren't entirely happy with it.  Instead of one piece of fish, it was a bunch of smaller fried pieces.  They really wanted a big piece of fish, not all that fried breading.  Now we know.

5.28k

Rich and I ordered two pizzas, margarita and BBQ chicken.  They were okay.  Rich had a good way of describing the food.  The first few bites were really tasty but after that, it was just okay.  It also took forever to get our food and they were not crowded at all.  Maybe we'll give it another try later in the season.

So while it was supposed to be 90 degrees at home on Saturday, it only reached the upper 70s on the Cape.  We woke up Sunday morning and it was a frigid 52 degrees outside with rain on the way.  This was all good because we had planned to spend the entire day painting and that's what we did.  Rich finished priming the walls in one of the girls' bedrooms and we painted the living room walls and one side of the hallway.  There's trim at the top of the walls in the living room that still needs to be painted white, but it's all primed now.  I also used a painter's caulk and filled in all the seams.

It will be interesting to see what it looks like in natural light.  It was a dark day to begin with and we didn't finished until late in the late afternoon.  I couldn't believe how much of an improvement just painting those walls made.  The living room, kitchen and sunroom were all painted a practical off-white and it looked dingy.  I don't have any photos to share because it was a dreary day.

Because of the chill and the paint fumes, we had planned to drive home Sunday night.  We also beat Monday traffic with this plan.  It was a productive weekend.  The dance teams at the girls' studio usually walk in the local Memorial Day parade but didn't this year.  Regardless, Rich brought the girls to watch the parade this morning.  They were so cute dressed in red, white and blue with flags to wave.  It seems like the meaning of these days of remembrance wasn't really discussed when I was their age, but thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case now.

No comments: