Fish or Cut Bait

My brother Will has some colorful fishing lures hanging in the garage at 165 Wonderstrand.

I don't fish, but Sis and her husband, Don, do, and I guess Will must, too. When I was putting the bikes away, I noticed his pretty fishing lures hanging in the garage at the Cape Cod house.

Nope, I don't fish in the literal sense, but I did fish for pleasure and peace the last several days. I fished and I fished and I fished. Here's what I reeled in:

1. Beauty coaxed by my daughter's hands. Figgy styled my hair not one, not two, but three separate days in the blue and silver bathroom. I didn't ask, she offered when I was lamenting about how I wish I could wear my hair down, not always pull the front part up off my face using a bobby pin or two. When I wear it down, it looks flat on top and bushy at the bottom. Do you want me to do your hair? she asked. She ran a little serum over it, spritzed on Blow Beach Blow Texturizing Mist, fingered it through and then used the hair dryer for a minute or two. My favorite part of all was that she was looking at me, looking into my eyes, smiling, touching my hair. It only took about 7 minutes tops each time, but I loved it and was grateful. She made it look good, somehow defined the curls so they felt feminine and stylish, not messy. I remember when she was little, she used to ask to do my hair, commanding great concentration and a lot of deep breathing as she wielded comb, brush and blow dryer in her small hands. [BTW, at about this time 15 years ago, she was placed on my belly in the delivery room at Beth Israel Hospital in New York City. In the morning, I'm making a red velvet cake.] blowny.com
2. Natural beauty. I loved my Audubon, in both the sun and in the whipping rain, with H. and Figgy and by myself. I stood looking out at the marsh, the heath, the bridges, the sky, contemplating. Looking out and looking in. Looking behind and looking ahead. Sometimes I felt like a loner, but that's okay. I liked the various women and men I met on the trails, who reported on birds and frogs they had seen. www.massaudubon.org/wellfleetbay/
3. Sparrow chocolate. Oh, the Hot Chocolate Sparrow. I held out till today to get the soft vanilla custard dipped in the hard chocolate shell. It's the best I've ever had. I also had one Iced Mocha Sparrow over the last six days and it too was divine. hotchocolatesparrow.com
4. Candy Manor fudge. I first learned of the Candy Manor in a cookbook I love by Lora Brody, called The Cape Cod Table. She raves about the place and gives a recipe for hot cocoa. Anyway, it's in Chatham, an upscale town that we usually visit for a day. I have decided that its fudge is the queen of all. I used to like the Sparrow fudge, but one taste of the Fluffernutter flavor at the Candy Manor, and I've switched my vote. candymanor.com
5. Lilly. I got to zip into In the Pink, the Lilly Pulitzer store in Chatham. What can I tell you, I adore the place. I got these really pretty rhinestone starfish earrings by Fornash, and a beautiful Lilly aquamarine and green Murfee scarf that was 40 percent off [I've wanted a Murfee for a long time]. My Figgy, in her semi-goth phase of black vests over pink lace dresses, made it known on the car ride back that she is officially a Lilly hater. But that's okay. She said it good-naturedly, and I know that distancing herself from my passions is part of the teen cycle. I used to love to dress her in Lilly when she had no say in the matter! inthepinkonline.com
6. Church chowder. The Methodist Church on Route 6 in Eastham has a chowder supper every Thursday night in summer, from 5:30 to 7. I actually wanted to eat out in Chatham, but it's pretty pricey, and H. had fresh rolls, garden tomatoes and cheese for sandwiches. But we passed the church at 6:59 and I raced in to get one dinner to go. That counted really good chowder, not so good salad, a couple packets of those little oyster crackers and strawberry shortcake, all for $9. What I liked most of all is the small-town idea of a chowder supper. They had quite a crowd.
7. Prayer by the sea. Well, not exactly--the Catholic church in Eastham merged with the one in Wellfleet, and the new one is on Route 6. My favorite parts: The apple tree bearing red fruit right near my parking space, the big shell that held the holy water and the cop on duty to direct traffic after Mass so we could all filter out of the parking lot and easily cross Route 6.
8. A drive-in movie. We hooked up the speakers at the Wellfleet Drive-in, sat on our lawn chairs and took in a movie under the moon and clouds. The moon and clouds were actually more compelling in this case. wellfleetcinemas.com
9. Fresh fish. Our Montclair friends Anne and Michael found Mac's by the pier in Wellfleet, and it's their favorite haunt. We missed them but did meet up with H.'s editor and her husband. I had broiled scallops and summer veggies. Yum. Also stole a couple of H.'s fried whole belly clams. macsseafood.com
10. Reading. I read, read, read, partly because I didn't have internet. I loved it. Got a new copy of The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, at my favorite book shop in Chatham. yellowumbrellabooks.net/
11. Sleep. A lot of it.
12. Donuts. I don't know if it's the old-fashioned New England sensibility and smarts in the kitchen or what, but the Cape really gets them right. Is there something in the air, some secret knowledge of deep-frying in the wee hours of the morning? A dozen Dunkin' Donuts pale in comparison to one perfect glazed sour cream-in-the-batter ring from Fleming's Donut Shack.
13. Walking. With Sug, many a time, and with H., and Figgy. At Great Island in Wellfleet, on the path by Coast Guard Beach and, in the dark of night, at Nauset Light Beach. www.nps.gov/caco/planyourvisit/nauset-light-beach.htm
14. Weather. The Cape is so exposed that you experience it more. The wind whipped, the rain stung, the plain white window shades slapped and flapped so loudly that they kept me up at night. At about 10:30 P.M., the wind fiercely blew a lamp down off the living room table, breaking the pretty white base. [H. earnestly gathered up the shards and glued them back together, best he could. I love that about him.] I liked the way the ocean looked today at about 5 P.M. It was rough and relentless at Nauset Light Beach. The flowering beach plum bushes up near the parking lot and the metal signs were taking a beating from the wind, but still standing. Roots run deep. 
15. Biking. I tooled around the neighborhood one day, and then took a ride with H. to the beach and back on Sunday. Realized I'm getting old, b/c I felt it in my hip joints when I got on and off the high seat. I want to get a new bike and keep at it so I don't get any older! I also loved that Figgy biked around, once with the laptop in her backpack. Yes, she plugged into Facebook at the Sparrow for a short while, but she had to bike there and back [about 20 minutes each way on the bike path, past ponds and purple butterfly bushes] in order to do so. idletimesbikes.com
16. Cleaning. It's not a pleasure, but it paves our way to pleasure. Whenever any of us leave the house after our stay, we clean it thoroughly. Today, H. hauled out all the garbage and recycling, Figgy cleaned the bathroom and vacuumed, I swept and mopped and scrubbed. Close and lock the windows, pull the shades halfway, turn off the water, lock the door behind you. Goodbye until next time. It's hard work, but it's part of the ritual.

I had quite a catch.


P.S. I can't bring myself to put the websites here for churches [#s 6 and 7].