De-stressing

Fish of Another Color

Today was a day for de-stressing. A day for sitting by the lake, where every breeze off the water blew more stress off me and back into the swamp. Today was a hazy (Caused by all the smoke from the Canadian wildfires), lazy (Well, that’s on me), day of summer. It was a beach day. The first of many such days that I hope to enjoy while I am here this summer. Yesterday, we drove up from Ann Arbor. Trading the heat from there, for afternoon showers. Arriving at the cabin, it was quite a bit cooler than where we had come from. Saw a turkey in the parking lot, with her flock of turkey nuggets. After dinner, we visited Anne and Bill for a while before we trundled off to bed. We were too tired to make the bed, so we just slept in our sleeping bags. I dreamed of no more driving. We have already recovered some today. We went to town, bought gas and groceries, recycled, had lunch at Penny’s. At Meijer’s I managed to hook a trophy Walleye.

Moving Slowly


Yesterday, in addition to Hans Blix and his inspectors, we also were visited by a gardener and some other guy who was measuring the house to create a floorplan. The gardener and his guys will be tasked to make the front yard look nice. You know, give the place curb appeal. Today, we spoke with a painter named Armin, who is not Armenian, but he is a surfer and also a friend of our realtor. When weather conditions are just right, fifty feet waves form off of Pebble Beach. Armin likes to surf those waves. We are also getting a plumber and a handyman for a few little things, like a Jacuzzi that has not been run in at least twenty years. The building inspector did not even test that thing. He said his insurance would not let him do that. I guess my parents are not the only people who bought a Jacuzzi and never used it.

Today, we hauled a carload of books to the Carmel library. Afterwards, we asked the nice ladies there for a recommendation for lunch. They had a great one, Pizza Heaven. Great food and no tourists. Chef’s kiss! I have finally been able to claw back all of my father’s savings. Tomorrow, when Frank and Chris come home, we will divvy up the money. Day-by-day, we are moving along. It seems to be moving slowly at times, but soon, all too soon, it will end in a rush. 

 

Strawberry Trees & Blueberry Pizza


And green gelatinous onion soup. Such was the fare that we found in Pacific Grove. The Strawberry Tree is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Mediterranean, whose weather this area shares. It is the national tree of Italy. While not as tasty as real strawberries, the fruit is edible and can be used in cooking. Our mission was to get Anne knitting it public. Her favorite local yarn store held a session. Meanwhile, I walked down to the coast. I did not see any marine mammals, unless you count scuba divers, but I did see plenty of tourists.

Afterwards, we lunched at Hops & Fog, a local microbrewery with an eclectic menu. Anne ordered the vegan onion soup, with onion, coconut milk, white wine, white pepper, finished with green thyme oil. If you twirl it with your spoon, it swirls. I ordered their blueberry pizza. Think blueberry pancakes with a crust. It is made with vanilla Chantilly, blueberry compote, balsamic glaze, powdered sugar and strands of fresh basil. It was scrumptious. 

Speaking of fog, we are well into the June gloom now. Every evening the fog rolls in, enveloping all we can see. A full moon is about to occur, but we will be oblivious to it, except for slightly brighter fog at night. When we awake everything outside is grey. About midmorning it begins to burn away and by noon we have California sunshine again. This weather pattern does somewhat limit one of the main selling points for the house of its view. However, the drips that form each morning on the railings represent the only moisture that we can depend upon until the rainy season. Because of this nightly fog the vegetation around us is still noticeably greener than even a few miles inland.