More Snow - Cold Coming

It's snowing like crazy out. It's beautiful light fluffy snow - classic January snow, and it's all Cape Cod's. Nowhere esle is getting this storm. Special.

I'm missing the whole thing because I'm in the basement at work. The rude building manager just came down and made us all move our cars so they could plow the lot. So, I at least got to see it. There's a TON of snow! I have the Prius, so should be a wild ride home. Hoping to get out before dark.

Starting the Year off Right - and Props to Juno

Ugh... on New Year's day our Microwave stopped working. It wasn't the fuse, it wasn't a bad plug... it just stopped. It's been sick for a while, and recently it couldn't even handle finishing a bag of pop corn without crashing the power to the kitchen. Come to think of it, it's had symptoms like that for a while... just more pronounced more recently.

Well now it's dead. I took it off the wall yesterday (its one of those over-the-range deals) to see if I could find a fuse on it anywhere within its guts. I only found little signs all over as I dug deeper that said "DANGER!" and something to the effect of "Microwaves can be dangerous... only professionals should delve any further..." So, instead of wasting time trying to find someone to pay $100 to fix what I can buy for $200, I went shopping.

The sales guy at "Sears" had such bad breath I almost puked. Really! My throat went into this auto-heave-motion and I had to retreat quickly. I then tried "Best Buy" at the complete opposite end of the mall. They had a whole bunch, but NO ONE was interested in helping me. I went to Home Depot. No one was there... it was spooky. No shoppers I mean. I've never seen the store so empty. Three salespeople fought to help me. No kidding. They took me to a row with a $200, a $250 and a $300 machine. The $200 was just cheesy - it looked like the screws I'd hang it with would pull right through the metal. The $300 I'd have to have delivered, but it was nice. But, I didn't want to wait - I settled for the $250 one. It looks like it should cost more than $250 because it's made of some stainless steel-like material. I was told it's not really stainless steel. Who cares. It was shiny. I bought it. Now it's on the kitchen floor. I watched a movie instead of hanging it. Great movie... Juno. (Chase - rent it!)

Big Weekend for Will

Wow... The holidays are over and now it's time to relax. I almost got all of my Christmas cards out this year too. Good thing. I don't think I'll do it any more. It's just too time consuming and now too expensive. A hundred cards and a hundred stamps and I'm well over a hundred dollars. Everyone I know well enough to send a card to, I keep well enough in touch with for them to know I'm thinking about them at Christmas time. I'll probably do some kind of digital deal this year. Not sure what. Hey... save paper, printer ink, plastic, less photo chemicals, stamp glue, shipping boxes from the distributor, pen ink.... it all ads up to less waste. Digital it is this year.

But that's now what I was going to blog about... I was going to blog about Will. He has reached several milestones this week. He cut a tooth, moved from the bassinet to his crib where he now has almost learned to put himself to sleep. He rolled over onto his belly, ate rice cereal and got baptized. All at roughly the turn of four months. Good job little guy!

Storm Cancells 2009!

One more day of 2008: We are in the midst of a classic coastal blizzard. Its now 20 degrees out, blowing 30mph and snowing like a bastid'. Its supposed to go down to the single digits overnight and the wind is supposed to pick up to 50 to 60 mph. Cool storm, BUT, I just heard on the radio that the town of Chatham has cancelled it's New Year's Eve celebration. Us too. For our small group of friends, those of us who were going to gather at Keith and Evangelina's, we put 2009 on hold. We'll all wait a day to ring it in. Single Digits! That reminds me... I better bring in the beer and the Cristalino. I stuck it in a snowbank when I got home from work (the drive took me almost two hours). At that point it still we were still planning on going out.

Will Cuts a Tooth: It's been a big couple days for Will. He got home from his 4-month doctor's appointment with the blessing to go ahead and eat real food. Yesterday, he ate his first rice cereal, sitting in his highchair and a day later, that's today, on New Year's Eve, he cut his first tooth! He also is trying to learn to put himself to bed. It's a horror show. He's not happy now and I'm going to go help him out...

Running Again

On Friday, we hit 45 degrees and I've been feeling pretty much like an old shut-in vampire for the last two weeks. So, I got out and ran. I think I went about 5 miles: From the house, I went down Main St. to Paynes Creek Beach (~1.5mi), then over sand to Saint's Landing (1 mi), up Robbins Hill Rd, down Lower, then up Swamp, back to Main to Alden (1.25 mi), then up Alden (with it's nasty hill) to Tubman, and back to our house. (1.25 mi). I had planned on only going out for 3 miles, but it was so nice I just kept going. Now... I'm feeling the pain.

It's been a relaxing 4 days . I'm glad I took Friday off. Now Monday looms. Tomorrow, while Chase is skiing... I'll be back at the desk.... ugh. (Will you be getting some footage chase? I saw a helmet cam mount on E-bay)

A Snow Day - Lucky Kids

The kids had a snow day today (Friday). I'm not sure what kid is whispering in the right ear but there was NO snow. Not a bit. It was barely even a cloudy sky. It was, however a beautiful sunrise with lots of RED in it, so maybe the decision maker was a sailor... "Red sky in the morning sailors take warning..." At any rate, as we waited for the bus that never showed (on dry pavement), our neighbor pulled up in his car on his way to work. "You know there's no school today." he said. The kids went bananas and it was even exciting for me. I love a good storm.

Well, it took all day before the first flake fell, and the kids certainly could have gotten in a school day in. Huh... in Rockport, we used to have to have a good 8 inches AT LEAST on the ground at daybreak before they even thought about calling off school...

(This is where the power went out last night, and killed my computer. - I finally got the pc running again. I'm not sure if I dare turn it off again though)

So, to finish my thoughts from last night...

Good for the decision makers! It was always so exciting to get a snow day. Thanks to the guy who said... ah what the heck, it's Friday... give the kids the day off. And they did! What a thrill.

We finally did get our snow. A lot of it, starting around 2:30 in the afternoon. The heavy stuff, and it pulled a wire down somewhere. Our power was only out for an hour I hear. I don't know. I took the opportunity to go to bed after lamplight card writing became too much of a pain in the ass. Power to Abe Lincoln!

Christmas Decorating - "Oh Joy!"

Every year I hang a very simple line of fake evergreen swag adorned with tiny white lights. At each hook, there is a red bow. It usually looks pretty good and has just enough holiday tackiness to save me from looking like I was really trying to make it look good. This year, just after I got home from the dump, I couldn't find my bag of "ready to go" decoration. I looked all over and even found a bag marked "Outside Lights." This bag, I'm now realizing must have been marked from a previous year and stuffed with something else. At any rate, the swag is gone. I'm all but certain that it went into the bottom of the transfer truck's bin. 40 feet of lights, swag and bows, not to mention all the sanity that slipped away with it while I was searching for it...

So, this year there will be no swag. Oh well. I put up the remaining lights around the edge of the new porch and put two more strands on the bushes outside the front door. I even hung the REAL clippings from the bottom of our Christmas tree under the garage lights, but Amy told me I should take them down. "Don't overdo it" she said. And one look around at my make-shift second-"string" plan with it's sparse glow and wires all over the place and I knew she was right.

Remembering (Great) Grandma Merrill

This is a photo of Great Grandma and Great Grandpa (Kay and Arthur Merrill) at Cape Hedge Beach in Rockport. It was taken in July of 1938. They are the two that are sitting up toward the right side of the photo. Grandma died last week at 94 and we will all miss her very much. She always had a big smile on her face and loved to see her kids, grandkids, and 11 great grandchildren. I'll always remember that smile, and sitting with her looking through one of her many photo books(all way out of any chronological order.) Sometimes my kids would be wedged in between us, sometimes it would be just Amy and me; sometimes just me. She'd pick out a photos from somewhere in the middle of the book and captivatingly tell us the story of it. Sometimes she'd get to laughing so hard she would have to stop talking.

Hey Rockporters... Where's the Madras Shop?

In case you didn't know, the old Madras Shop is GONE! Yup, they finally tore it down to make way for the new Symphony Hall. Kind of cool to see the empty lot. Imagine what the whole street looked like at one point. (click the image for a bigger view)

Cold Thanksgiving

Happy TG Everyone! (well mostly to Chase and Keith... the only people who read this)
It's a cold grey day here on Cape Cod. Just nasty out. It's at this time of year that I start counting months (not days) until spring. I always have wishful thinking that it will be one of those years where the crocusses come out in February. So... 3 more months of this crap until Spring! Better get the fishing gear ready... wait.. I never cleaned it up yet from this year.

Oh... and the moths are back!

Temps Down and so are Gas Prices

Last Tuesday, November 18, the gas prices dipped below $2.00 per gallon on Cape Cod. Of course we're not getting any breaks in our home heating oil... It's going UP of course. As I'm writing this, I keep hearing the furnace kick on, then for a short period, the room warms up a bit, but quickly cools down as the the 30 mph winds blow cold air through the 16th inch gaps around my windows. In my garage are the final 8 storm windows that need to go up. They still need to be painted first. I'm guessing they'll be in place just in time for summer 2009. (Today gas prices at that station were $1.93. I wonder if I should invest in oil??)

Last Day for Oysters

For me anyway, oyster season ended today. It was so DAMN cold and windy out there!

Smart people waited 'til the tide had gone WAY out then only ventured into the shallows (about up to their ankles). Really smart people went to the store! I clomped into the winter North Atlantic up to my waist and WAY before low tide. Of course I was covered with neoprene; waders, boots, gloves and even my old yellow sleeves from the old 3-mil surfing suit I used to wear in Rockport. It helped a little, but not nearly enough. The air temperature was 31, but the 30 mph winds out of the North West made it feel so so much colder. It just cut through everything.


Waves were a foot high and choppy, and the water visibility was really murky - 2 feet at best. The only reason I was in so early was that I had an afternoon commitment (a sudden birthday party for Max to go to, and because Sophie had a play date already scheduled... I was Max’s ride).

In the first half hour (12-12:30) I found about a dozen by half-blindly striking out at pinky-white blob shapes on the bottom, snagging them with my barbeque tongs. Most shapes I grabbed were just empty shells. Others I couldn’t even get because my non-responsive hands, which froze instantly, had no feeling left in them. At 12:30, when my hands stopped working altogether I retreated to the beach. Plopping down my tools, I hastily peeled off my gloves off with my teeth and shoved my hands down into my waders and into my pants underneath. I waited for my hands to warm up and then put my gloves back on. I figured I take another stab at it now that the tide was out. It looked like people were finding them in the 1-inch to 2-inch depths, which would be much better for seeing though the murky water and dealing with the cold and waves. Within 20 minutes I had my limit of 5 quarts (between 4 and 5 dozen oysters).

I checked out with the warden, raced home and got max to the party (only a little late)

I didn’t bother to take my camera out today, but up top is the finished painting of Day 3 – earlier this year. (click it for a larger view)

Brrrrrrr, 'Twill be a Frigid Oyster Hunt

It's Saturday night. No wait, its Sunday morning, twenty something degrees out, and windy as all hell. Tomorrow is the pre-Thanksgiving Oyster Hunt in Brewster; the day they put out the last of the oysters for the year. I'm geared up to go, but we'll see what the weather brings. The Oyster Egg hunt was the theme for my first painting in 8 years. It's coming along... will be done tomorrow, unless I screw it up.

Hey Denver Boy!

First Snow. Not much... but FIRST SNOW!

Its snowing like crazy now, but it looks and feels like ocean-effect snow. Probably will be gone by the time I get home... then again, I remember saying that in Rockport as a kid once.. Let's see when was that... February 1978?

Indoor Weekend

I've been offline for a while... with blogging at least. After a long weekend, in bed due to the surgery that all loving husbands/fathers must go through when they've finally attained the full family they'd always hoped for... I'm finally feeling back on track. And, maybe due to the drugs and monotonous downtime (no pun intended), I got my act together to drag out my old art bin. I emptied it out, cleaned it up and got ready to paint something. It's been over 8 years! Now, with three little ones in the house, the question is can I find the time and keep to it? Time will tell. (Note the little "binky" or pacifier in the corner of the photo)

The Last of the Oysters

About 30 people (including me) were out on the rockpiles yesterday, hoping to pluck what was left of the fall stocking of oysters. With three weeks of Sunday harvests behind us, I figured there wasn't much chance of getting another full limit, but I just wanted enough to serve for appetizers when our friends, the Kreegers came over. After 2 hours on the water, I had 22 oysters (which would be just enough).

I could have gone to the store and bought two dozen instead for FAR less than I feel like my time is worth, but I've become weirdly addicted to going out there, and at least I'm on the water. I also know how fresh the oysters are. In two weeks, the town should put out the remainder of the stocks for Thanksgiving. That's good because I won't be leaving the house this weekend.

(click photo to enlarge it and note Keith's stylin' phone -who needs an I-phone?!)

Bakugan Brawl!

I guess this is the new craze... Bakugan! Have you seen these things? Little plastic balls that, when they roll onto a metal surface, pop open into little "monsters" . There are hundreds of different ones, all named and numbered, and packaged randomly so you don't know what you're getting. Retail, the little balls sell for... sit down... $5 - $7. On ebay, the retired or hard to come by models are averaging around $18 - $20. LITTLE PLASTIC BALLS...REALLY! They look like something out of a happy meal.

Yeah I know it's a fad, but this is the first one my kids have gotten swept up in. Max has a few and so do most of his friends. They make him happy and he has a blast playing with them. He got 3 for $15, and I guess that's OK for all the joy they're bringing him.

Today though, he emptied his piggy bank and painstakingly counted out ALL his bills, change and pennies, coming up with a well earned and carefully saved $24.37 which, he announced, was enough for him to buy one of the Brawlers he found on Amazon.com... ONE PLASTIC HAPPY MEAL TOY, $24 bucks! He's willing to spend ALL his money on this thing. Kids can't afford these! Good Grief!

I told him to put it on his christmas list. (UGH) (below are actual size)

Obama Wins!

I am so hopeful of our future and that of our children.
This is a day to remember.

Sunset 4:30pm.... Ugh..but again... OYSTERS!

And so it begins today that we crank our clocks back to get another hour of daylight in the morning. For me, I'd trade the morning hour for an extra hour in the evening any day, but who am I...

My day began on the Brewster Flats at 6:15am. 6:15 was sunrise and that's when, in Brewster, you are allowed to start shellfishing. "No shellfish shall be taken in Brewster between the hours of sunset and sunrise." Another rule is that... " NO shellfish shall be taken when the air temperature is less than 32 degrees." That almost put everyone off the water because it was 37 when I left the house. Low tide was at 7:30, so by the time I was in the water just after sunrise, the tide was well out and there were lots of oysters to be had at barbeque-tongue-grabbing depth. I barely got my sleeves wet! The usual crowd was a bit smaller today, in part I'm guessing because of the early tide and also partly because of the cold weather and northerly blow. DAMN it was cold out there.... and my right-hand wetsuit glove (which was really my left-hand glove turned over) was leaking, making it absolutely useless. I kept it on anyway. (My right-hand glove had floated away a year a go to the day and I never got another)

The rough conditions were well worth it. I got my 5 quarts quickly and spent the next half hour or so taking photos. It was a beautiful morning and the light was great. For dinner tonight, I had 14 raw oysters and some crackers. Since cranberries are in season right now too, I tried garnishing the plate with some. I ate a raw cranberry between oysters, kind of like you'd eat pickled ginger between bites of sashimi. I think it worked well. If I had a restaurant I'd serve it like this... but with a lemon of course, and some of Keith's fresh horseradish and mignonette but I didn't have any of that tonight. I like them plain anyway... fresh from the sea.

No Waders for This Water

Unlike my flats-forrays after oysters these days, I wouldn't need waders for tonights adventure. Tonight, Amy and I went to the Cape Cod Symphony's production, "Water Impressions." It was a great concert with some modern stuff along with a couple classics. These were my favorites:

Tan Dun - Concerto for Water Percussion
You may have heard the name "Tan Dun," He composed this year's Summer Olympics opening theme music. Tonights concerto was a very modern piece with special percussion instuments that used water to create the sounds and change the pitch of the notes once they were struck. There were 3 percussionists; one soloist in the center and two "backups" if that's what you call them, on either side of the stage. Each set of instruments had, at its center a large clear glass bowl filled with water that the instruments were worked in. Lights were shined on the bowls and up from under the bowls, creating moving patterns of light on the ceiling that reflected the water's movements as the players and their instruments interacted with the water. Pretty cool.

Bedrich Smetana - Moldau from Ma Vlast (My Country)
I don't know much classical music, but I recognize this tune. It was indeed a very "watery," piece. Jung-Ho Pak, the conductor, was outstanding and you could tell he got the orchestra charged up with his directing. I'd say this was the best piece in the show.

(I, along with the web development company I work for, built the symphony's new web site. My role was creating the "look and feel" of the site, and I worked extensively with Esther Owen (the marketing director) and Jung-Ho Pak to come up with the look they were hoping to achieve. Our tickets were compliments of the Symphony:

Thank you Esther and Jung-Ho - They were great seats and we thoroughly loved the show. )