I Put the World Away for a Minute

Hello, you lovely lovely folks!! I don't know who noticed but I was absent last week from my little bloggy corner. We had our annual vacation, and I'm not big on announcing when the house is empty :) and I forgot to schedule any posts so there you have my excuse note.

We left Saturday morning for Long Beach Island, NJ and made such excellent time my sister and I didn't want to jinx anything by calling attention to the lack of traffic. We had perfect perfect weather all week. I actually wouldn't have minded one rainy day to work on my paper-piecing project, but ah well. Sunny days abounded. And massive amounts of relaxation followed. And I do mean massive. I'm not a napper, but I could have curled up every day and slept my head off. I took a ton of pics (with my wee point and shoot--I didn't bring the new camera because I would be sick if something happened to it) so I'm going to break it into two posts for you.

On the approach to the beach in many many previous years, you would see grassy dunes on the sides of the paths, and then beach. They reworked the shoreline this year, and the approach to the beach was a longer walk that looked like you were about to step off the edge of the world and dance amongst the clouds--

If you looked left or right you would see these huuuuge expanses of sand that looked like the end of the world from some movie or another--

But if you walked a half dozen loping-sized steps more you'd see that all was right with the world--

That bench is where we sat every night after the lifeguards had gone home and the beach was almost deserted. The air was cooler and the breeze just enough to make you want a sweatshirt. The sun set behind us in the bay so there was no glare trying to sear your corneas. It made it easier to take pictures like this:

Any time and any place that the sky turns pink is my favorite spot to be. Those brief moments of the sky painted with a box of watercolors are so fleeting that I must stop and gaze, whether it be winter or summer that it happens.

Each morning seemed to start off a bit cloudy, but then the sun would rear its head and chase the clouds away.



The long shadows that come at dusk are my favorite. Everything is softer, and warmer, and tinged with gold. It is my favorite time of day, and starting to come earlier now (have you noticed the shift?)

I took a picture of my mom and I sitting on the bench, sea-gazing. It's the only one I could get her to approve for blog-posting, silly girl. If you look just left of center you'll see us--

Of course we didn't just sit and stare out to sea, though we could have. There was sea-shelling--

Sweet-treat beach eating---

--and sand-castle building and smashing.

Z-man is so good with littles, which surprises me for the simple fact that he's an only child who has always been surrounded by adults. As fast as he set those turrets she knocked them down, but he was good-natured about reconstruction. The energy that this kid has astounds me--hours upon hours in the ocean, playing football and paddleball, ready to keep going. I should take my cue from him as I'm sure I would have lost a few pounds last week as opposed to gaining a couple.

And let's not forget napping. Some were better than others at this, as the others were nosy and chatty and hot and then chilly and then hungry and then needing to trek back to the house for a loo-visit. Actually, there is no 'some,' there was only one who managed to sleep like a baby--

This little guy was so good it was a dream. Except for the night he spit up down the back of my shirt. That wasn't fun. I guess that's what I get for being a baby hog. But if I wasn't constantly bothering this kid then I wouldn't get pictures like this--

I can't believe I have to go back to work tomorrow. It hardly seems fair to make me return to my desk.... I'll be back with some pics of 'happenings.' Ta for now!