The Lavender Fairy

Wednesday morning.
It's a beautiful day. The sun is hiding behind the clouds. It's there and it's trying to get out but for now it's hiding.

Cherie, J, Elle & I are starting our morning early and heading out to visit some fairy's. There is a family owned Lavender farm quietly tucked away in the woods of Harwich.

http://www.capecodlavenderfarm.com

J, Elle & I visited this farm a few years ago and discovered an amazing little secret. This farm has fairies! Down a path to the lavender farms is a little garden. Among the garden are cleverly hidden fairy houses. In the center of the garden is a 4' fairy castle. The best part of this garden is finding the fairy homes. We found 4. If there are more we'd be amazed!

We bought some lavender chocolate and Auntie brought some of her vacation home with her to her own garden and bought a lavender plant of her own. We did the same a few years ago.

As the sun worked it's way out we worked our way over to a pottery studio. This was in another section of Harwich also in the woods. The studio was open and so was the store. In a clearing in the woods was a gallery store with no walls and the pottery littered the property. We saw some of the coolest castle bird feeders we've ever se before!

All this trekking into the woods was making us hungry. We headed back to the cottage for some much needed lunch. And sure enough the sun cam out! I was wiped out so I needed to lie down. The girls decided to hit the beach down the street and soak up the sun.

Shortly after wveryone returned from the beach I decided to take a bike out for a local cruise and some photography. I didn't go too far and knew we'd be closing in on dinner soon. Taking some local shots in the warm sun kept me close to the cottage.

Cherie treated us for dinner to dinner at "The Paddock". The nicest place we had been too all week.. And the food was amazing! We all enjoyed our dinner! And Elle got to try some more clam chowder and it was GOOD!

To work off dinner we went back down to the Artist Shanty's so Cherie could check'em out. Ellie showed her around the pier and pointed out the famous Pirate ship.

From here we set out for dessert! Katie's Home made ice cream on Main St, Hyannis!
Main St. was hopping. We all got cones. Ellie got her usual Cookie Dough Ice Cream.

The ice cream was so good we went again on our last night.

Today was a great day!

Chips Ahoy!

Wednesday was he day we were anticipating Auntie Cherie!
She's going to stay with us for a few days. Woo-Hoo!
She arrived around 10 AM to an overcast day where Mother nature could not decide weather to rain or drizzle.

She arrived and settled in a bit. On this rainy day we decided to start our afternoon off with a lovely ocean side view lunch over at Tug Boats. We got their shortly there after 11. Elle & I had Clam chowda, J has tuna skewer's and Auntie chose the pulled pork sandwich since it had apparently been speaking to her...... :)

From there we set out to The Cape Cod Potato Chip Factory! The factory has self guided tours of the the facility. We hit a bit of traffic an oddly enough this seemed to be a very popular rainy day thing to do. The place was jamming!

There is nothing that is going to stand between me and my free bag of chips! Let's get in line. The rain held off while we stood around the corner in line. It moved along and we were in there in no time. The short corridor showed each station on how to make the chips with fun, well done illustrations explaining what's going on.

At the end of the line is the gift shop and our free samples. Auntie bought a few delicious bags! YES! Thanks Auntie.

Hmmm, all these chips to eat. I'm kinda thirsty. Johanna said "what better place to wash all these chips down than at the Cape Cod Brewery?" With complete agreement we got into the car and headed over to the brewery. We were warmly greeted by the staff and why wouldn't they be nice??? They work at a brewery! It took not time at all for us to begin our beer tasting. Ellie tasted the fine Cape Cod water while we three downed 3 types of beer, Red, Summer & Something else I don't recall cuz I was drinking...

The Cape Cod Red was excellent. I bought a Growler of it and a Baseball hat. Now, let's go home and finish drinking this thing! Well, Ellie & I got dropped off at home so J & Cher could go to Main St. Hyannis and shop a bit.

For dinner I made good use of our lobster pot with a pound and a half lobster while the girls ate pizza. And I washed it all down with some CC Red.... Vacation in every sip.

Tomorrow.... the lavender farm and pottery studio.

The Sea Gypsy

Early Bird Ellorie. That is the name the Pirate Captain gave Ellie when we arrived to board the Sea Gypsy. Before setting sail Elle needed to get her pirate look together so they had the kids pick out beads to wear, a pirate vest and of course get tattooed! Ellie got a star fish tattooed on her hand.

The ship was decked out like no ordinary boat. This was a pirate ship with a Pirate Captain, crew, rigging and cannons. Oh, and a hidden treasure that needed to be found! The little mates needed to take a pirate oath. Once a member of the crew they needed to put the treasure map puzzle together to locate the sunken chest. Now that they told which way the Capt needed to go they needed to learn a few pirate moves. The older crew kept the little mates busy on teaching them how to "ARHG", How to "HEAVE HO" and how to put all hands on deck!

We located the sunken treasure but all we hoisted up was a bottle. Inside the bottle was a note.... Slash, a former member of this very crew stole the treasure! And made of with it herself! OH NO!!!! OH WAIT! We're pirates and we hunt down dirty dogs like Slash to retrieve OUR treasure! ARHG! So the Captain told the kids to keep an eye out for Slash.

Slash didn't get far. She was out in the harbor in a sinking boat. Do we save her? NO WAY! We'll shoot her using our water cannons! YEARHG!!!! So the Capt made 3 passes on Slash's wounded boat each time blasting her with fierce water. Slash held on for dear life. At each pass the kids would run from side to side to man a water canon. On the fourth pass We approached Slash's boat. The kids prepared to fire their cannons.... but where's Slash, she's not on her boat.... SHE"S ON OUR BOAT! Slash is now on the edge of our bow. She realized she was out matched and decided to seize the Sea Gypsy. Slash never made it over the railing as she was pushed off into the ocean by the crew of the Sea Gypsy!

Celebrating the victory we continued on but we didn't know where to go. We found Slash floating about in the ocean with her sinking boat. She pleaded to come aboard and in doing so would tell us where she hid the treasure. The crew made her bark like a dog for entry.

With her she brought the crew a gift. Shark's Blood... it turned out to be red soda. As they all drank the Shark's Blood the Captain set out for the sunken treasure! Sure enough Slash did help and we hoisted up the treasure chest and each mate got to pull a fist full of treasure from the chest!

As any ship does after they pull treasure they did the limbo around the boat. ARHG!
We headed back to port with treasure in our pockets, shark's blood in our belly's and stories to scare 2 year olds! The crew decided to play dead as we entered the dock so to scare the future pirates for the next adventure! ARGH!!!!

From the dock we headed north to Spanky's clam shack to properly fill our belly's. And then home for a nap. Ahhh the pirate life is for me!

Too beach or not to beach?

We are finding the hardest question to answer is if we should go to the beach or go to the pool... If that's as hard as it get then I am clearly on vacation.

So instead of the pool as I suggested in my first post we elected to go to the beach. Cuz ya can't makes sand castles pool side! All three of us went into the once again very warm ocean and enjoyed the tide coming in. It's easy to stay in the water since it's so warm.

When we finally did get out we worked on a city of sand castles. We must have made 5-6. The pictures we took are on J's camera. They all had a unique quality. Elle really got into filling up her pail with water to make them. Seeing her this way makes me realize how I was when I was a kid at the beach and all my summers spent with Joseph and Eugene my childhood neighbors and friends. They would take me to the Cape almost every summer to spend a week or 2 at their summer house. I'm even looking up some of the places we used to go to "Pirates Cove mini-golf" and "The Sundae School ice cream parlor".

After the beach we decided we would use the outdoor shower... so cool! We want one at the house! Then head off into Hyannis to grab dinner at Spanky's Clam Shack. Well, we weren't the only one's with that idea... a 45 minute wait. NO THANKS! This is a hopping area were all the ferry's come in and out of to go out to the islands. It's kinda like Fenway on game day but everyday. Just our luck we went over to The Black Cat. Johanna asked if we could sit outside but there was a wait so the next best thing is to sit at a window seat. The hostess checked and sure enough! We had a great seat by the window! Is this vacation or what?

I got my fried clams... excellent! Elle had clam chowder and Johanna I think stayed on land with burger. It was a beautiful night and we could see the sun was on it's way down so we decided to stick around this port and check out the artist shanty's that are along the harbor.

Inside these shanty's are local artists selling their art. From jewelry, crafts, paintings and clothes. They are very cute and the idea is perfect for these artists to make a living in a very busy port! It was also dusk so the white lights in the trees above turned on for us. Johanna bought a beautiful necklace while Elle and I met the other shanty keepers.

From there we wandered over to get some ice cream and watch the ferry's come and go. Elle wanted to get back to the cottage she had a busy day but on our way home we drove home a different way and discovered a beach. The sun was ust about to set so we hopped out and took in the beach and the ocean once last time! The sky was orange and pink while Mommy & Ellie danced and ran on the ocean soaked beach.

The beach wins every time...

BEWARE: Tomorrow we are going to be pirates! ARGHHH!

Happy Heart Cottage, Hyannis MA

It's a beautiful Saturday and it's also the start of our vacation. Some early morning errands and packing fills up most of our morning so we can leave to arrive for our 3:00 check in at the Happy Heart Cottage.

It's great to have a GPS but it's also great to have Johanna who is well versed in traveling to the Cape. Hitting traffic inspired her to get us off the highway and get us here on her navigating ability. Hence her nickname "The Navigator". We arrived around 3:30. We promptly checked out the house and began to immediately unpack so we can scout out the area.

We are a very short walk to both a pool and a beach. We checked out both. Ellie really wanted to go swimming but the pool was closing in 20 minutes. So we headed back to the house to change into our suits (or as Ellie calls her suit her "Zoo-kini") and hit the ocean! Ellie and I went
swimming in a unusually warm ocean. It was Fantastic! I couldn't believe it. She and I were enjoying the waves brining us back into shore with her inner tube while Mom chilled out on the beach reading and soaking up the sun we have so missed.

Being in the ocean was so refreshing and an absolutely perfect way to start our stay here.

The Happy Heart cottage offers a large front & back yard (each with picnic tables), 2 bedrooms, 1.5 baths, an outdoor shower, a grill and a lobster pot! hehehe We're very comfortable here!

Along with refreshing us the ocean air also tuckered us out. We all had a wonderful night sleep.

We started the morning today with a very earl breakfast (7:30) which would fuel our
morning drive to find out what else Hyannis has to offer us. Discovering Main St, Hyannis we took in the quiet Sunday morning and did some shopping for some needed supplies. Flip Flops for Elle!There's an outdoor carousel on Main Street... It's like magic for a kid. So Elle took a spin where she discovered her feet could reach the foot rests! "Daddy I'm getting taller!!!!!" We make some change so Elle could go on some kiddie rides so we could build up an appetite since it's now close to lunch.

On our way I stopped to help a small group take a picture! I turn into an amateur studio when I see people not in the picture (since they're taking it). They were so appreciative they wanted to take one of us and would mail us the picture... they insisted but declined.

We enjoyed an outdoor table and some grilled salmon salad... Off to the pool this afternoon!

Simons Says

During a recent seminar the audience was asked to define what their beliefs are. To right them down to confirm them. Once on paper you're more likely to recall them and feel more committed to them. I thought what a great idea and at the same time what a difficult challenge.

At that moment it reminded me of a conversation I had with relatives during Thanksgiving. A well balanced conversation about value's and religion that was discussed with several people of varying belief systems. It was an excellent conversation.

The point that made the most sense to me was that you don't need to have religion to be respectful to one another. I've always thought this but just never heard it spoken. It doesn't have to be religion based or a system. That's it... Just respect other people's sex, sexuality, religion, politics, time, feelings and even interests... etc.

I thought it was profound and true and something that was worth remembering and using and writing down. I think it is really that simple for modern society.

I don't think I'm a spiritual person. I've never really gotten religion. It seems to create more conflict and dislike than peace. A division. We think knowing right from wrong is simple nature but it's not. It's taught and in those teachings is where the division starts. A universal religion of right from wrong couldn't work. Even though the premise seems perfect.

My beliefs are still working themselves out. But I know that a good start is being respectful of others. Which isn't a religion at all.... it's being a good person. It's sounds easy enough.

To go back to that Thanksgiving conversation for a moment. It dawned on me on why I was able to get something from this conversation I was apart of. The people who were involved in it listened to each other and took turns speaking. No one spoke over one another. No one argued with one another. We all heard each other and listened. My point of view was heard, and I listened to what other's brought to the table as well and took something from it.

I was apart of the conversation and I didn't need to talk over someone to be heard. Which is usually how social conversations have been going the last few years. I instantly remove myself from if I have to interrupt someone or talk over them. If I have to do that I doubt that they are interested in hearing another person speak. And I find if I participate that way I think it encourages that behavior and will ultimately alienate more people who might participate.

If it's a conversation of ideas and thoughts it should be that. I don't think using verbal force to get your point across is the proper art of conversation unless the situation requires aggression.

So is it really so easy to be respectful to others? I think what worked on Thanksgiving is that everyone had a chance to speak and listen. And there were some very strong personalities among the group. But all the participants contributed.

People say that they hate to hear their own voice. "God, do I really sound like that?" "I hate my voice!" If that's true why aren't people talking less and listening more?

Yesterday I played Simon Says at a work function. The facilitator was a Professional Simon. A simple kids game played by about 100 professional adults.

The 3 rules:

1. Don't talk.
2. Don't do anything unless Simon says you can.
3. Listen

This game showed us that listening isn't that easy.

LaSalette Shrine

Last night we visited an amazing holiday light park. It runs during the holiday season is ends Jan 4th. We had no idea what to expect and were pleasantly surprised.

Jon , Joyce, Jack & will joined us to check it out. We met in the parking lot of LaSalette Shrine. The light park is on the grounds of a church. It's a gorgeous park like church in Attleboro. After we bundled up and prepared for the chilly air we walked the park.

It's a Christian church so the lights were predominantly religious. It was spectacular. The decorations were impressive and the property was so fun to explore. The kids loved running around and marveled at the unique lights and sets.

The property is so picturesque. I'm curious to visit it in the spring to see the grounds lush and green and the pond's visited by swans and geese.

This will surely be an annual visit for the holidays!

Happy Holidays!

Wow.
It's been awhile since my last post. We've been busy with the holidays and I just can't seem to pull myself away from Facebook.com.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. We traveled up to Santa's Village and spent our annual weekend away with Johanna's side of the family. We love the traditional getaway with them. We got ina trip to Santa's Village which was a blast. Plus it was snowy and winter wonderlandish when we were there. PERFECT!

We've also had some snow of our own since Thanksgiving. We've had 2 sizable snow storms. The first we had easily over a foot of snow. The second was more recent with about 8 inches.



This is the week following Christmas and we all have off. Johanna had about 2 weeks off and I had the week between Christmas and New Years. It's been great spending all this time together asa family. Doing lots of fun activities in and out of the house.

We have a new addition to the family. A gerbil named Hermione (Her-mine-ey). She's Ellie's newest pet. A surprise to her as an after X-mas gift. She's been wanting one but with our holiday travel schedule we weren't able to have Santa deliver it. There's a great pet shop down the street and they helped us pick her out and a cage.



Ellie has recently discovered Harry Potter and loves the character Hermione. Hermione the gerbil has a small white spot on her head. Well, Harry has the scar on his head not Hermione but Ellie determined that the gerbil is a girl and not a boy so she could be Hermione. That's how the name came to be.



Today was a fun day. It's finally not freezing here so we could go ice skating. Providence has a beautiful outdoor rink in it's downtown area. We've been itching to go. Now that Elle is old enough we got her some skates and headed out. We plan to keep at it maybe some classes. She had a good time on the ice and did quite well. She wanted to fall on purpose and sometimes not on purpose. Interestingly enough while saying she couldn't skate all by herself she got her mind off of what she had to do and was able to skate alone. When she didn't think about doing it... she skated without realizing. She got carried away looking at the other kids zipping around.



The rink got busier as the morning went on and Elle's mood dipped just as the recent tempature.
With Johanna's quick thinking we walked over to Citron for lunch. Elle perked right up with some food in her belly and a platter of sorbet. HA! It's vacation!