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Monday, December 6, 2010

Chilly, Silly, Willy-Nilly; It's Monday!

Yes, the house number is written twice.  I have no idea why, but until we're repainting they'll stay that way!
 We are slowly decking our halls; this is last year's front door.
We don't usually decorate this early for Christmas; we keep the decorations
up through Epiphany, January 6th, so since we don't want skeletal remains of fresh greens
festooning the house ala The Addams Family, we put up our greenery closer to the Big Day.
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On Saturday, we left That Old House to entertain itself,
and we took off for the North Fork of Long Island,
for some maintenance at the beach house.


This is August 2010, at our family's beach house:


On Saturday, when we went out to install the Ice Eater under the dock,
it looked like this:
And if that looks cold to you, that's because it was!

Howard took the picture, above, after we got back from a late post-installation lunch
at the Soundview Restaurant in Southold, which, as its name suggests, overlooks Long Island Sound.

We had a great table, right at the windows:
Sorry about the schmutz.  No one could keep these windows free of salt spray spatters.
It wasn't crowded; we were lunching fashionably late in our sweatshirts and warm clothes,
between the lunch and dinner crowds.
That's sister Peg and her husband Bill across the table from us, cluttering up my nice picture of the restaurant.

We all had seafood.
It was fabulous.
And so were our well-deserved adult versions of tomato juice,
in keeping with the reds of the season.

 Well, at least Bill and Howard deserved them.
They were out on the dock in the bitter cold, with my brother Lindy,
doing the grunt work of installing the Ice Eater.

Peggy and I were in the warm comfy beach house, with hot coffee and fresh pastries,
chatting with Carol, Lindy's wife.

And men think they rule the world.

Last May, the Sound looked like this when our kids were skipping stones on its smooth surface:

 On Saturday, it looked a little more rowdy, and as if it could skip boulders all on its own.
 But still, so beautifully blue.

 Saturday flew by.
I had hoped to get to some of the little shops out on the North Fork of Long Island,
had hoped to get to a tree farm for a fresh wreath or two to hang on the beach house --
it looks so forlorn and bare in the winter -- and had hoped to work with Peggy in going through
more books and fabrics and patterns in my Mom's sewing room.

But the day got away from us,
and before we knew it, we were on the road back to That Old House.

(No traffic.  No traffic in either direction that day.
If you know the New York area, you know that is a Christmas Miracle.)

Meanwhile, back home, Howard's been stringing some lights in the lilacs,
and the little critters who co-habit the yard with us have been snacking on the Fall pumpkins:

Before: the background picture -- a perfect pumpkin.
After: the little pictures -- a pumpkin fulfilling its destiny as food.

We take the pumpkins and smash them enough to expose the seeds, then put them in
sheltered areas in the yard for the animals to munch on for weeks to come.

They only occasionally knock on the door and ask for a dusting of cinnamon and nutmeg.

It's Monday, it's only 18 days until Christmas, and I am still bumping boxes of Christmas stuff down from upstairs.  I love opening the boxes of stored decorations and ornaments.  It's like, well, Christmas!  -- Cass

Stop in and say Hi to Susan, at Between Naps On The Porch.  It's Metamorphosis Monday. Click here!
It's Blue Monday at Smiling Sally's blog.  She has the cutest snowmen featured today!  Click here.
And Mary, my fellow New Jersey girl, hosts Mosaic Monday at her charming Little Red House.  Click here!


 
I hope to be better at commenting this week.  I have tried to keep up with reading, but I'm afraid
my commenting has been spotty; it's just been such a very busy and distracting few weeks.  And for some blogs, there are so many hoops to jump through to post a comment that sometimes I move on to the next one.  Sorry!  I hate to admit that.

I use -- and love -- Blogger's spam protection.  It's amazingly effective, requires no effort on my part, and doesn't ask my readers to decipher impossibly wrinkled looking wiggly letters, or ask me to moderate each comment.
It's a Good Thing -- saves a blogger and her readers loads of time.
And don't we all need more Time?
Don't you just adore poinsettias?

27 comments:

  1. Your front door looks so festive, and I love, love, love those beach house pictures!


    Happy Blue Monday, Cass.

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  2. Hi Cass, Wonderful post, a beautiful view of the ocean while eating lunch. Take care and enjoy your week.

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  3. I am in love with your home! LOVE. Happy to have discovered you from Between Naps on the Porch, today. I look forward to coming back often.

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  4. Thanks for sharing your Saturday with us. Sounds like you had an enjoyable day and good food.
    Have a great week.

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  5. "men think they rule the world" ha!

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  6. Love seafood -- but we have the prime beef here on the prairie!!!!

    Love all your pictures of the ocean . . . I love oceans -- the prairie has lots of sand just no water!

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  7. Oops -- somehow, it wouldn't let me post under "me" -- the above comment is from Martha -- Lines from Linderhof (as is this one!)

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  8. What a neat idea, Cass, will have to do this with the pumpkins next year.

    Love your coastal pics ... & Yes! poinsettias are fabulous.

    Have a lovely Christmas week ~
    TTFN ~ Marydon

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  9. What a beautiful Saturday you spent !!!
    Yesterday I decorated the Xmas tree, but I have to prepare the cribs yet!!! Ciao, Flavia

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  10. Beautiful photos this week. I have not been around the blogosphere like I would prefer this past month. And with online holiday parties and more there is no such thing as a routine. I guess getting back into a rhythm will be a January goal.

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  11. Love the front door of That Old House. My sister just moved to Long Island this fall. I don't get to see many photos so enjoyed seeing these.

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  12. Looks like a fun day. I loved the waterside photos.

    The poinsettia shot is gorgeous.

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  13. Cass,
    Nice post. Chatty and inclusive! I am soooo far behind and here I am visiting....

    Carol

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  14. "They only occasionally knock on the door and ask for a dusting of cinnamon and nutmeg." Hilarious. Sounds like you had a nice weekend. And thanks for mentioning the comments. I feel like I need a part-time job to keep up with my humble blog and another part-time job to keep up with all the reading/comments. I am commenting as fast as I can. Sheesh!
    Best,
    Colleen

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  15. Those upside down, side ways, russian words drive me crazy...I'm sure I fail to jump through the hoops many times when I try to leave comments!!! Love the before after photos...gives a Southern girl a great photo of your beautiful area!!! I'm so happy you enjoyed your visit!!!

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  16. I gave no idea what an ice eater is, but it sounds like a cold job. Hope it didn't involve getting into the water. I'm behind on commenting also. Think it's the Holidays.

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  17. I love your photos. The beach house was really nice. Happy Blue Monday.

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  18. I love lake, beach houses and how they change through the seasons!

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  19. Cass, thanks for sharing more photos of the Long Island visit. I envy you having a home to enjoy on Long Island. Can't wait to see That Old House decorated for the holidays. Have fun! ~ Sarah
    PS
    I totally agree with you about the spam filter on Blogger. It works great!

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  20. Maybe it's because it's so much milder here at hallowe'en, but our pumpkins always descend into a horrid moldy mass long before the critters ever get to them.

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  21. What a fun time at the beach house area. Love that restaurant! Hugs- Diana

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  22. The photos of the restaurant by the sea brings back memories to me. When I lived in Fla, there was a terrific restaurant right on the end of the Boardwalk. You could look straight out at the water in the same way. Sadly the erosion of beach sand over the years has gotten worse every year. The last time I visited, there wasn't much sand left and the water kept coming higher and higher on the land and threatened the pilings of the restaurant and the boardwalk. Broke my heart!

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  23. Ummmmm, excuse me Jersey Girl - where did you get snow ????????

    We don't have any up here in Bergen cty .... hmpffffffff..... you're hogging it all aren't you ? ! ?

    gena
    www.thehouseonlavenderhill.blogspot.com

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  24. Hi Cass,
    Your home really is looking quite festive and lovely!

    And what a great day and pretty view! It's so cold here I would trade you in a heartbeat!
    -10 windchill this morning!!
    Hugs,
    Cindy

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  25. I love your front door and the garland, so beautiful and inviting. Isn't it something how the scenery changes with the seasons? The summer pictures look so nice and warm.

    I feel the same way about the comment posting thing, I just let Blogger deal with the spam and they do a great job. Can't wait to see what you do next at That Old House!

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  26. Your front door looks beautiful! you had very bad weather on your day out! hugs Catherine

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  27. Looks like you had a wonderful time.
    I look forward to seeing this year's decorations.

    Melinda

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Thank you for visiting That Old House; it's always exciting to find new comments -- they are treasured! Because of increasing spam, I have reluctantly eliminated "Anonymous" commenting. Legitimate anonymous commenters, please forgive me! You might try using "Open ID" instead. Blogger's spam software worked for a good long time, but, sadly, no longer.