The Cape Cod Love List

Sitting by the window at the Hot Chocolate Sparrow; had to finish an article and send it to my editor, while the little brunette fidgeted on her tablet, eager for Nikki and Anne to show up. Finally handed article in! My friend Anne doing a little work now and then we are off to Great Pond again! Her brilliant idea/bribe was to send Nik and Punch to the Red Balloon Toy Shop a quick walk away to each pick out a toy that costs $10 or less. Inspired!!!!! Gets them off our backs for a bit...we can write in peace.

The Love List:

1. As always, National Seashore Visitor Center on Route 6. Thank you, President John F. Kennedy for pushing to preserve The National Seashore. Thank you to your family for giving you Hyannis Port so you knew the Cape's beauty. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And at the Visitor Center, I love the auditorium, where Dad, little Figgy and I sat to watch short nature films about how the Cape was shaped by glaciers. I looked for Dad in those seats. Punchy loved the "touch me" box with seashells and skate egg cases. The gift shop at the center is excellent, too; got a book and a DVD of Junior Ranger songs to amuse Punchy. She likes them.
2. Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. We promptly renewed our annual family membership yesterday. I love that place SOOOOOOOOOOO much. 
3. The glass window at the Hot Chocolate Sparrow. You can watch the chocolate melting and spinning, the Rice Krispies Treats [available in summer only] getting hand-dunked carefully by a lady.
4. Reading in bed. Last night I read part of One Thousand Gifts by Mennonite Ann Voskamp. My friend Jean Rose gave it to me over a year ago....I flipped it open and found a chapter that I think will change my life. Seriously. It's about how when things are messy, you look for the beauty in them anyway. And you can't control them; it's God's plan. I got the message: I am not in charge of everything. I like the message.
5. My parents' glasses. Lined up neatly in the kitchen cupboards, the coupes my mother served fluffy strawberry cream [called fool?] in. The glasses Rite and Bob gave Mom and Dad when they were setting up their Cape Cod house. The tall tumblers that I love to fill with ice-cold water. [For some reason, I don't like drinking the well water up here, so I buy big gallon jugs.]
6. The little Log Cabin Farm outpost on Route 6 West in Eastham. I don't really stop there, but I love seeing the landmark. And I will never forget the year that Barbara, John and Liam rented a house with the Mernins and Barbara [a chef] stocked up on juicy, fresh Log Cabin Farm jewels and made us the most delicious dinner on the deck ever, including grilled lobster!!!!!
7. The air, the air, the air. We are on a sandy Cape, buffeted by breezes.....I went to bed hot, in heavy humidity but I think the wet blanket broke at some point in the middle of the night. And we three [Punch, Sug and I] slept peacefully past nine in our quiet space.