In Other Entirely Unrelated News

1. School’s been out for a few days now. The small people are basking in the radiance of the unstructured life and going to great lengths to get on their siblings’ nerves, all in pursuit of entertainment. I love it.

2. Remember my new appliance nightmare that began last fall? Well, it’s still going, and it’s bigger and badder than ever. As of today, the entire unit (oven and stovetop) has been nonfunctional for over two weeks, we’ve had two no-show service appointments, a very late show appointment as we were pulling out of the driveway for another appointment, and a knock-and-run service call (as it sounds, I kid you not). After chasing down the knock-and-run both literally and via phone earlier today, we now have another guess as to the problem and a third new part on order. If I become president, I’ll write a law that allows people like me to bill them for my time and my dining out expenses. There’s Hope and Change that will help us all to Believe in America.

3. Recently, for my other writing gig, I had to meet with an interior designer. When I mentioned this to LCB over our morning coffee, he looked horrified (okay, maybe not horrified but definitely stricken) and the first words out of his mouth were, “You’re not going to meet with her here, are you?” gesturing at our house. Now, it’s not that I hadn’t had the same thoughts myself, mind you. But when a man with very little eye for this sort of thing reacts this way, it’s all bad.

4. I’m done painting the living room/eating area/kitchen area and the master bedroom. Now, I am working on the hallways, which in retrospect should have been done first, as I now have small people tearing through the narrow halls playing ninja and spy games. This does not bode well for the open paint cans and paint trays lying around, nor for my carpets. I will not be showing pictures of any of my handiwork. See #3 for why.

5. Okay, now for the fun stuff. Last week, we went back to the old house for a few days before the new tenants arrived. Overall, it was a blast. The highlights?

a.) In some of the storms this spring, we’ve been fortunate to have picked up an impressive amount of sand on our dune. At one point, the sand was at the bottom of the steps leading out to the beach. Over time, it’s built up to the bottom of the railing. We are most thankful, as this helps to protect our house from other storms that may be less giving and more taking. Our prayers are for a hurricane season that is mind-numbingly dull the world over

b.) Seaweed or some imitation seaweed-like debris lined the beach last week. I have no idea why, but I thought I’d share. Talk amongst yourselves.

c.) Storms bring out the waves, and waves bring out the surfers, so there was plenty of surfing going on last week as the storms brewed off the Carolina coastline. This, however, is a picture of a lone guy who apparently missed the The Storm Is Over memo. He sat out there a long time, presumably searching for waves, hitting one of the calmer days I’ve seen on this beach. Then again, sometimes I think some people surf the way others fish. It’s not so much about the waves. It’s about being out there.

d.) We went blueberry picking again this season, this time with the whole family. LCB spent most of the time unintentionally doing business via phone while picking, so the commentary was minimal by LCB standards.

My eldest directed us to the best blueberries and dodged the camera like it was leprosy-projecting, but the younger two were happy to pick.

e.) We made mounds, mounds and more mounds with the sand, attempting to hold back the sea. It didn’t work, but then again, this too, like fishing, was more about being out there.

f.) Recently, somehow my eldest son and I had a conversation about spies trained to camouflage themselves into any environment, a conversation he found fascinating.

Okay, this is the part where I now disclose that I was once a spy.

Except not. Try aspymom.com for that. Islands are my bailiwick.

But wouldn’t that rock if I had been one? The small people just laughed when I, with what I felt was strong acting and an unusually focused composure, tried to convince them of this.

Anyway, look closely at this picture. That’s my son’s attempt at blending in with his environment. After his younger siblings’ antics, it may have also been a little bit of an attempt for some alone time.

In fact, after the morning I’ve had, I may try camouflaging myself onto the recliner for the weekend’s duration.