Cape Cod Post Mortem

Just back from a glorious week in Eastham on the Cape: 7 days of sunshine, great mother/wife moments, a gorgeous beach in walking distance from the house we rented, my youngest caught his first striper (25 inches long!), and the best friends a girl could ask for!

While it is still fresh in my mind, I share my critique of the places we visited. Hope it helps your next visit to the Cape!

Hopper Real Estate: though they have a user friendly website, their staff (polite, but not out of the way friendly) didn't seem to care when Paul told them there was a short in the outdoor light.

Moby Dick's: an exceptional seafood place in Wellfleet! Great ambiance, friendly servers from all over the world (ours were Russian and British), and a BYO policy that makes the evening affordable. Paul recommends the grilled striper and I say try the scallops!

The Wellfleet Drive-In: Very nice people. They gave my puppy a biscuit and told him to enjoy the show!

Cape Cod Potato Chip Company Factory Tour: While their chips are great, the tour is just terrible. Literally, you walk down a hall and read some signs. Don't waste your time.

Hole In One: Yum, yum, yum. I confess that I am a tad Homer Simpson-ish in my complete adoration of donuts...all donuts, even the boxed ones that Hostess makes. However, the donuts from Hole In One are simply out of this world. Each variety had just the right texture and level of cakey-ness, the jelly donuts were soft like pillows and the toasted coconut was crunchy on the outside and firm on the inside. The highest marks go to the sour cream donut and the glazed. If you are anywhere on the Cape, go here. It is worth the trip and the wait in line. The staff gets poor marks for curtness, but if I was dealing with the masses of people that they see each morning, I might get out of patience too.

Nauset Ice Cream: This placed kicked the butt of the Ben & Jerry's that is right down the street. It is really flavorful ice cream that isn't too creamy. Lots of interesting flavors to try. Paul had coconut almond, I had coffee heath, and T had a vanilla milk shake; all were exceptional. The servers, all high school or college kids, didn't show any love for slinging scoops, but they gave us generous portions so they were immediately forgiven. And they were still nicer that the snotty people working at B&J's. Oh, and the prices were reasonable; $2.85 for a small which was anything but.

Russ and Marie's: This was by far the worst restaurant experience I have had in the last 10 years (I can't remember farther back than that). The food was lousy and the service was even worse. Our waiter was rude and screwed up the order. It would have been more pleasant to light the $95 we spent on fire.

Eastham Superette: This little convenience store has been family owned for about 55 years. It has everything from a nice little deli, to produce, to spare wiffle balls. Their is an adjoining liquor store with knowledgeable staff who helped us find just the right bottle of wine for dinner. The people who work there are exceptionally nice to tourists, not only making recommendations for nice places to visit (they recommended the local winery tour which we didn't have time for) but also cracking jokes while cutting deli meat (Why did the turtle cross the road?). The building is quaint, their location is convenient. The superette gets two thumbs way up from me.

Cape Cod Beer: Located near the Cape Cod Chip Factory, this little brewery has a laid back vibe, friendly workers (we were greeted by the brewmaster and president Todd) who offered us a beer tasting just for stopping by, and a nice little gift shop. They promote shopping locally for produce and the like, of which I am a fan. And their gift shop sells an all organic soap for pets...as the brewery has a brewery dog named Buster. Paul liked their Cape Cod IPA and Pat was partial to their amber, cleverly named Red Right Return.

Red Barn: A totally ticky-tacky-shmacky tourist trap with mini-golf and a gift shop featuring everything you'd expect, the Red Barn is most known for its pizza. In fact their pizza restaurant does a booming business. Locals told us Red Barn offered the best pizza on the Cape. Every time I have pizza anywhere but the New Haven area, I am grateful that I grew up in CT and know what excellent pizza tastes like. That's all I'm saying.

All in all it was an exceptionally fun week in Eastham. While I'd like to attribute it to the glorious weather and the excellent local provisions, mostly it was due to great friends and total relaxation. Can't wait to go back.

Captain Destruction

Hi my name is Brutus. I am a Halloween baby. Right now, I am just over 9 months old. I was adopted by my family one week before Christmas and in addition to offering an abundance of kisses and cuddles, I have reigned a daily dose of destruction down on my home.

Here's the list of items I have destroyed so far:
• I chewed the linoleum in the kitchen off the floor in large sheets...so much so that we now have a new kitchen floor (you can see the beginning of the wreckage in the top right photo). Secretly, I think my mom is happy.
• I gnawed on the hose that connects the toilet to the plumbing coming out of the wall. Mom was having a party. I heard her say to dad, "Is something running?" When she came in the bathroom and saw water spraying from the hose all over the walls she wasn't very happy.
• I have worked steadily on all four corners of the wooden step stool my mom has had since she was a kid. I think it looks very rustic now.
• I also enjoy the feel of the wicker laundry basket between my teeth (I am sitting atop it, above middle). Whenever mom takes the lid off, I am pretty sure she is handing it to me to consume.
• Whenever I am not in my crate, I like to chew on that too...all aspects of it actually: the clips, the sides of the opening (it's all good).
• The toilet plunger was also quite yummy. I shredded that baby!
• My latest project is peeling the wallpaper off the walls in the downstairs bathroom. Not only does it taste good and provide some fun for me, but also I think it is time for a change in that room.

Ugly Dolls, Part II

As promised (see the original post here), here is Samantha's finished original Ugly Doll. She named hers Eeedos. At left, she makes the same face as her new friend.

Pet Peeves

We all have them. I have decided to collect mine and share them. I am not sure if this is some sort of confession, a plea to the rest of the world to adapt to my point of view, or simply cathartic. Here goes...

1. When "ya know" routinely gets inserted into random spots in a sentence.
2. Bickering during backyard sports.
3. When the paper towel dispenser in public bathrooms is hung directly over the trash can.
4. Being interrupted.
5. Being made to be late because of someone else's poor planning.
6. Going to a drive through and then, because the service is too slow, being asked to go park and the server will walk the food out to you. If I had the time to park, I would have done that in the first place, right?
7. Whining. Enough said.
8. Pants that are too tight. Can you say muffin top?
9. Being asked what I want to give or receive for Christmas, birthdays, etc. In my view, getting or giving a gift is being observant and sneaky enough to both discern what others would truly enjoy and drop enough creative hints to be the recipient of treasures I adore. If I fail on either side of the equation, well...that's on me.
10. When a dog's waste isn't picked up by the animal's owner in public places (parks, sidewalks, etc.).
11. Poor communication that leads to misunderstanding...it's so avoidable.
12. The norm that says wearing sneakers with dresses/skirts to take a walk while at work is OK. In my book, it is never OK.
13. Men/boys who pee on the seat. I don't care if you have the aim of a self-guided missile, there is always spray. C'mon now...lift the seat!
14. When children are sent out in public with fevers, sore throats, etc. It is one thing if an adult chooses to do that, but making that choice for a child irks me to no end.

Feel free to comment and add a few of yours. I am quite sure I will have a part two to this post at some point, so don't feel bad if your list is longer than mine!

Photo from Blog Goggles, thank you!

Homemade Ugly Dolls

My son Hayden loves to do projects. Over the years we have made bird feeders out of soda bottles, bird houses and wind chimes out of found objects, designed and beaded myriad necklaces and bracelets, and have painted, sculpted, and drawn countless creations. Today we tackled sewing.

Hayden loves Ugly Dolls and wanted to design his own. His friend Samantha thought that sounded like fun so she joined us. They drew their prototypes, then made the patterns. I think the most fun part was devising the face. Samantha had to leave early to go to her guitar concert so hers isn't assembled yet, but Hayden's is finished and is shown below (the red checkered one) sitting with two of the Ugly Dolls he already owned.

My Yardstick: Bathrooms and French Fries

After spending about 90 seconds with me, you learn that from June to August easily 80% of my spare time is spent alongside baseball diamonds. Both my boys are fortunate enough to play on summer all-star teams and that means I travel all over CT to watch. At the end of last year's season, I realized that I had begun to rate the little league fields I visit. My criteria? Bathroom cleanliness and how good the french fries are. Today, I share my findings.

Rec Park in Southington: Home of Southington South
They win the prize for the yummiest ballpark fries I have yet to taste, but have the least pleasant to use bathrooms. The facilities are behind the outfield and one tends to feel like psycho-killers are lurking around every corner. There is also never, ever any toilet paper or soap. Not good.

Parker Farms Fields in Wallingford: Home of Yalesville Little League
Our home fields get the spic-n-span prize. Bathrooms are always clean and well stocked with all the necessary tools. While the fries are acceptable, the true finds at this stand are the chicken nuggets (the best I have ever had anywhere) and the fried dough (quite yummy and not fried—it's cooked in a convection oven so you don't even have to feel guilty about eating it).

McCabe-Waters Little League Fields in Bristol
These bathrooms are even dirtier that the Southington commodes, the bowl overflowed every day we visited the field, but they did have soap and towels. While it was way too hot to eat during the week the Yalesville 10s played here, others sampled their fried oreos and raved. I enjoyed their raspberry blue slushie cups profusely. I did not enjoy the poison ivy that surrounds their outfield.

Memorial Park: Home of Southington North
Very nice fields. Bathrooms are clean, but their sink is annoying. The water only stays on if you hold the button down, making it difficult to actually wash both hands. Plus, if your attention gets diverted by the big, creepy spider's web in the corner, it can actually distract you from doing your business. Again, it was too hot to eat their french fries, but this field has a big plus: there is a Rita's Italian Ice right around the corner.

Breen Field at the Giamatti Little League Center in Briston: Home of Edgewood Little League
Gorgeous fields with the best stands for viewers. The bathrooms are immaculate, but there are no paper towels...just hand blowers (which I detest). Their fries were delish but they had the slowest service I have ever experienced.

Blackham School Fields in Bridgeport
Gross, gross, gross. Enough said.

Unity Park in Trumbull
Huge complex of fields, too bad the fields are in such bad shape. The bathrooms were tolerable, but their food was alarmingly over priced.

Berlin Little League Fields
Very nice fields sort of nestled down in a cozy spot. They get low marks from this sports fan because they lock their bathrooms, requiring that you have to wait in line and ask for a key every time you have to tinkle. Very inconvenient.

Plainville Little League Fields
These fields will always have a special place in my heart. While the food is good and the potty rooms are adequate, what makes them important to me is that this is the spot where my family gathered the night my father-in-law passed away. That night, July 9 2008, Turner ripped a line drive up the middle showing us shades of the hitter he'd become.

West Haven Little League Fields
The beautiful ocean breezes make this a nice place to watch a game, even though overall the feeling of the site is a bit grubby. There is litter everywhere. Their food stand is immaculate and I hear the egg sandwich is to die for. I did not partake. The bathroom facilities are totally acceptable. I am a fan of their league president who openly berated parents from Guilford for drinking beer at a little league facility (which is not allowed!). These same parents were making bloody marys in the parking lot of the Yalesville fields this summer.

Old Tavern Road Park: home of Orange Little League
This is a large complex of 6 fields, made to look even larger because their parking is in the middle of all the fields. They win the prize for strangest bathroom experience. The commode is adjacent to one of their big diamonds. Because it has been so hot, the bathroom door and roof vent to the out building were propped open. As the sports fans were cheering "go, go, go" to the action on the field, this potty-goer couldn't help but feel like they were cheering for me.

What's a Girl to Do?

A small thought for today, motivated by Real Simple magazine's column that features new ways to repurpose items in your house:

What do you do with plastic bags? I mean when you are done with using them for their original purpose?

After having radically reduced the amount of plastic bags in my house by religiously carrying by canvas shopping bags with me everywhere, I find myself pondering ways to make the most out of the few plastic bags that now make their way into my house.

I have even stopped using the smaller plastic bags that the grocery store offers for produce. Instead I load hard fruits into one canvas bag that has a zipper. And for soft fruits I use an invention my mom made. She has repurposed the mesh bags that onions come in (see photo) and now I carry those with my canvas bags.

But what about the plastic bags that rice cakes come in? And what about the plastic bags that line cereal boxes? What's a girl committed to helping mother earth to do with those?

Here are some of my ideas. The rice cake bags go with me when I walk my dog. I know there are products you can buy that package a scroll of plastic bags that attach to your dogs leash, but i forego that expense and fashion convenience in favor the economy and ecology of reusing bags I have already paid for. And the cereal bags make great liners for my guinea pig's cage.

What about you? What are some of the inventive ways you are reusing plastics that come into your house?