Vacation Food

We ate a lot of good food while on vacation.  Heather had planned out most of the dinner meals ahead of time and that enabled us to know what to bring from home to augment the rental's kitchen.  I brought donut pans, baking supplies, and my some of the spices my hubby tends to use.  We made huge shopping runs to the market over the bridge for fresh produce and dairy.

I tended to bake before breakfast.  The cottage really heated up in the afternoon, and I took advantage of the morning coolness to be in the kitchen.  While I baked, Heather made chai.  Yum.  On the morning when we were drinking the remnants from the night before, the late sleepers missed out.  I did not document the sad faces and slumped shoulders when they realized their loss.

One morning I made two batches of scones -- blueberry and chocolate chip.

Blueberry and chocolate chip scones

The first morning I made donuts.

The fruit makes it a healthy breakfast, right?

On the Wednesday of the vacation, Nedim was in charge of dinner for the extended family.  With help from Heather and Stan, there was a feast.  I forgot to take pictures of all the food before we dug in...but I managed a few of the aftermath.  The food was delicious and the company / lively discussions were just as fine.

Lots of 2nd trays and empty dishes

Can't see from here Todd and  Jen's homegrown grilled mushrooms.

Chairs set out on the front lawn.

The conversation groups kept shifting.

A break before dessert.

Ice cream buffet!

On of our last days, the men-folks trusted me enough to grill fake chicken patties and buns.  How hard could that be?  Not very -- and I even managed to turn off the grill by myself.

I didn't burn anything

And while I was out with the grill, Heather was whipping up some fruit salad.

Up close, Selim style

I'm so lucky to have an organized sister who can think and plan ahead for a crowd. There was room for everybody to contribute with prep work, cooking, grilling, or dishes detail.  We worked well as a family and enjoyed our meal times very much.  Back home, our dinner's don't have the flair that we enjoyed that week.

At the Cove

Temps reached at least 98 today at the coast.  Add the humidity, and it felt like a wall of heat hit me when I went outside after work.  Made me wish I had a body of water really close where I could go for a swim.  That got me thinking about the Cove...

We instituted a no electronic policy for our boys during our vacation week.  Every afternoon the personal electronic devices were put on their respective charges and their owners had to find some other way to amuse themselves.  Mostly, we hung out at the cove.  Water and sand play is good for hours on entertainment as long as you slather on the sunscreen and reapply frequently.  It helps if you are raising a fish, like I am.  A few times I had to check him over for gills.  He doesn't have any body fat to keep him warm (and I have plenty), however, he stayed in the water longer than I did.  As a parent, I was happy watching his exuberant water play.

When not in the water myself, I played with my camera and tried to keep it dry.  May be next year I can buy a zoom for it.  I sure missed long distance shots that I could get with my previous long lens.  Still, I managed to capture some images to help me remember the hot afternoons at the Cove.

Getting warmed up in his Olympic towel.

I see a quilt pattern here...

Ready for water action!

Warming up in the sand; constructing some engineering masterpiece.

Pose 1

Pose 2

All is right in his world.

All the tankers passing by remind me of Istanbul.

Cousins.

A moment of calm before the keep away games begin.

Still life on steps.

Here I am! 

Snorkeling with Robert

Still life with shoe.

Golf ball and wood treasure found when snorkeling.

Hand stands while waiting for the tennis ball game to continue.

Bottoms up!  3 ducks go down and show off their tushes.

Perfect water bubble shot.

Admiring our pedicures.

Mom - do you like your new hat?

Turn about is fair play.

Sporting our nifty headgear.

It has been so dry in that area, that the water level in the river was down, noticeably and considerably.  I thought a foot, but Doug said more than that.  The low water level allowed for easier play for the shorter set.  They could stand with their heads above water almost all the way out to the dock.  They weren't the best swimming conditions, but the boys had a great time.

May be, at some point in my life, I will be able to walk to water.  That would be amazing.

Vacation Recap - Sunsets

We got back Sunday evening after a week on Wellesley Island in the St. Lawrence River.  The drive home included miles of stop and go traffic on the Mass. Pike. Not muck fun.  But the tan on my arms and legs reminds me that I had a great week that included lots of swimming, baking, family visiting, ice cream, and sunset watching. I also took an hour lesson in Tai Chi and in quieter moments, worked on two embroidery projects.  I tried to stay away from the TV, radio, newspaper so that I could forget, for a few moments, the political drama that unfolds in an uglier and uglier way, every day.

Rather than do a daily blow by blow, I'm going to post pictures in a more thematic way.  Today's photo session is the sunset watch.  Every night, no matter how we spent the day, we would gather down at Doug and Sue's dock to watch the sunset.  In total, there were 20 members of the extended Schongalla clan.  Some nights we would eat dinner all as a group, or maybe just dessert.  We might have spent the day in small group kayak adventuring, long bike rides, or hikes, cove swimming, or just relaxing.  Around 8:00, we would be drawn to the water's edge to watch the sun go down.

Here are some of my favorites:

One of my favorite weather vanes

Not happy about the forced march to the dock to watch the sun go down

Heather and our boys

Sun dipping down

Sunset canoe and fishing experience

The color show begins

Relaxing and conversing

Picture viewing in the low light

The docks in soft light

Pink kayak

 I wasn't the only one taking pictures.

My nephew loved photo-bombing

All together, including the dogs

Group view

Clouds and colors

Loving the pink and gray combo

Can't quite capture the pink and violet reflection on the river

 I feel more relaxed just looking at these!  That hour between 8:00 and 9:00pm was a daily favorite.  Brings me back to Laguna when I was little and sunset watching over the ocean was a frequent activity.