Crock season!

Yes folks..........it is Crock Season again! With the temps. getting lower, the Fall breezes it is time to dust off the Crock Pot!............days when you don't feel like startin' up the grill (by the way, the grill is GREAT to use year 'round).........you can put anything in the ole' pot..........pork roast or ribs, chicken or stew meat and add all your favorite seasonings and ingredients..............MMmmmm! Good! do it first thing in the morning and when you get home from work Wha La! you have the most mouth watering, dripping off the bone, melt in your mouth.........dinner! Easy clean up too! Just pop a few biscuits in the oven and you have a hearty Fall meal. Ahhh.................I love Fall! with all of its beautiful crisp leaf changing colors, the brisk fresh air.........pumpkins beginning to show up on stoops of homes, kids getting excited about Trick or Treating........the smell of cinnamon and apples baking.
So don't forget Crock season............and get Crockin"!!

More pics of the inside of the cottage

Here is more of a view of inside the living area.

This picture shows you the 3 doors leading into the 3 bedrooms of the cottage. The front bedroom and back bedroom have full size beds and the middle room.........has bunk beds. Up to 6 people are allowed to stay at the cottage at one time.

More on the cottage

Now I take you for a short tour of the cottage, this is the living area, the table is over by the window for 2 reasons (usually it is more in the center of the living area)..........one because at night I put the air mattress down to sleep on, and as you can see there is plenty of space. Two............it is great in the morning to sit at the table and see nature (skunks and bunnies) .....see the sun come up and feel the warm salt breeze. In the background you can see where the kitchen is............it has a back door leading out to the back yard where there is a picnic table and an outdoor shower area. Around the refridgerator (see it?) to the left is where the bathroom is.

This is another shot from the living area, looking out towards the front door.

This is the small kitchen area.....................there is a stove and refrigerator in there, I just couldn't get it in the picture because of the angle.

Living area again...............showing the couch at the front window.

So as you can see, the cottage is rustic, but cute and perfect for the beach!!

The cottage

I know everyone is anxiously anticipating on just what kind of cottage and what it looks like .................well here it is.......small but cute! More pictures to follow soon of the inside and some of the rooms .

Day 2 at the Beach!

Monday morning arrived with alot of noise outside the cottage................next door the Septic Truck arrived! to do it's job and right across the street a construction crew was busy with starting to "raise" a cottage. Needless to say it was all very loud and very smelly!

Luckily the Septic Tank did it's job rather quickly and then left. "Ahhh"............the smell of fresh septic sewage instead of the fresh early morning salt sea air to waft in the windows in the morning to start your day!

Cher and I had our morning coffee sitting on the front porch of the cottage and then decided it was time to go to the beach! So again I made sandwiches, plenty of water, other snacks and loaded them all into the cooler, gathered our beach chairs, blanket, towels, suited up and we were off! leaving the contruction crew to work on the cottage across the street!

I can only Imagine...

This is one of the most moving and inspirational testimonies of a Father's Love.......enjoy and reflect. I cry everytime I see it.........it will move you also to tears.

YouTube - Team Hoyt - Dick and Rick Hoyt

Beach Time!

So on August 25th Cher and I ventured to Matunuck Beach RI for a week of fun, relaxation and just laying around on the beach.
Saturday night we rolled in and the whole place was fogged in, but not to worry, we were on vacation! and that didn't matter at all.
Sunday morning brought a beautiful sunrise with the promise of temps in the upper 70's and low humidity. Yay!
We had gone to the local grocery store and purchased some food (some we had already brought with us) to stock up for the week, mostly breakfast and lunch items, as we had planned on dining out in the evenings at the local resturants in the area to get some great seafood! The place was wonderful, just a little beach cottage directly across from the beach. It has a great front porch for sitting out on to read, just watch the seagulls, the locals and any activity that was going on at the time. The cottage has 3 bedrooms, a small but cute and efficient kitchen, a bathroom and the living room area. It was all very "cottage" and very clean. The only thing it didn't have was air conditioning, but not to worry, it is cooler by the beach and we had fans..........2 borrowed by a friend Donna. Thanks Donna! they were a Godsend! It would have been pretty bad without fans. The beds were uncomfortable for me, old cottage beds that were kinda lumpy with springs. Not to worry again, I brought the trusty air mattress, and it worked just great in the living room area. The first couple of nights I didn't sleep to well, all the windows were open for that fresh sea air breeze, but I could not get over the uncomfortable feeling of someone trying to break in............just a trama from my past that creeps up on me in a situation like this.
Anyway...........after the 3rd night I slept much better and enjoyed the windows being open and taking in all the fresh salt air.
Cher on the other hand was not bothered at all by the beds, so she slept in the front bedroom which has 2 windows, so she got fresh air too!
I still woke up early like I do at home, can't seem to break that habit, even on vacation or the weekends, but it didn't take me long to fall back to sleep for an early morning nap before the sun came up. What a beautiful sight that is........to feel the fresh morning air, smell the fresh sea winds, have a cup of coffee all on the front porch in my PJ's! as the sun is rising. Our plans for the first day was just to suit up, pack a cooler with sandwiches and other goodies, beach chairs, blankets, sunscreen, books, LOTS of water and head to the beach! It was great.........the beach was not crowded the whole week we were there (guess everyone else was at Cape Cod :) ).......you could spread out your beach blanket, unfold the chairs, put up the beach umbrella, get out a book and just relax as the waves crashed in front of you, the sand sifting through your toes, seagulls flying here and there along the beach, watch the boats out in the water and the other people on the beach. There were a few people up on the balconey of one of the local resturants that over look the ocean. It was just great and so relaxing!!
There were some surfers there too, we watched them as they rode the waves and paddled out again, over and over.
That night after we got back to the cottage, showered and changed into clothes, we headed to the local resturant.......Joyces Family Pub.....it is right on the beach, very rustic. Then was the decision on what to eat. A firefighter named Brian that also works there as the chef came over to us to take our order. He wanted to know if we wanted clam chowder. I scrinched up my nose and said "no thanks, yuck, I don't like clam chowder." He said "you haven't tasted mine yet" with a sly smile. Cher ordered some as she LOVES clam chowder and he brought me a "sample", well let me tell you, I LOVED his clam chowder! It was great and the next night we stopped by on our way to the cottage after an afternoon outing and ordered more To Go! We had gone by another local eattery and purchased the BEST Lobster rolls in all of New England I do believe. We had a feast that night.

Anyway, getting back to the first night..............I ordered some fried shrimp (it was ok but not the best I have ever had) and Cher ordered a Ruben. We were tired after our first day at the beach, sun tired you would say, but relaxed and fresh, so after dinner we went back to the cottage for the night.

Next blog.............Second day at the beach-Monday-cottage raising and Septic Truck "parfume"? "Whew"!!