Devious Vacuuming

Here’s a question.  Why are there ride-on mowers but not ride-on vacuums?

I know, a reasonable person will say that it’s about the size and the ability to maneuver in small places, under furniture, etc..  Okay, well what about an iPod hookup or cup holder?  How about putting all of the living room furniture on a hydraulic lift, so I can flick a switch and vacuum under everything without making it a major project?

Do you know that some gas grills now come with built-in speakers for an MP3 player and coolers?

It seems that every product that is traditionally marketed towards men is loaded with conveniences, gadgets and upgrades.  What about an upgrade for the rest of us?

My vacuum just sucks.   I feel ripped off!

The temperature has been climbing into the eighties the past few days.  Here in New England, that brings on a serious outbreak of Summer Fever.  All seems right with the world.  Flowers are blooming, the Red Sox are beating the Yankees and people are flocking to the beaches in April.

We are no exception.  We took a day trip out to Ipswich, MA.  Ipswich is fondly known by many as home of the fried clam.  It’s just a short drive up the road from Essex, MA, where Woodman’s of Essex,  is purported to be the originator, frying them up since 1916.

We stopped at the Clam Box on High Street in Ipswich, MA.  We passed this place many times on our way to Crane Beach and have always wondered why there were lines of people waiting.  Sometimes the line has been as long as two blocks when we’ve passed so we thought that they must be doing something right.

The Clam Box

Well, they are.  The fried clams and scallops were great.  The wait was a bit long.  There were probably twenty people ahead of us when we got there and we waited at least an hour to get in to order.  It was another half an hour before we got our food, because they were changing the oil at 2:30 and we happened to get to the window at just the right time.  It seems they also cook to order, so there’s no chance of  getting food that has been sitting there awhile.  That makes it worth the wait in my opinion. It was a great day so we waited outside at the picnic tables and just took it all in.

Our lunch at the Clam Box

I wouldn’t recommend eating in the inside dining area, it’s just too hot and stuffy.  Also, why is it that every seasonal restaurant or beach facility has hot air driers for your hands in the bathrooms?  When the temperature starts climbing, the last thing you want is to blow more hot air into a small confined space.  I know, paper towels are not good for the environment.  I get it.  But, hot air blowers are not good for people who are already swooning from the heat.  Enough of that rant.

We got to Crane beach shortly after 3:00.  We were a bit surprised at the amount of people still heading to the beach so late in the day, but the weather was really great.  I think it’s one of the better beaches in the area to relax or walk on.  We have been members of The Trustees of Reservations for the past few years now and always felt that it was worthwhile.  Seeing how they care for this stretch of shore tells me that it is.

Crane Beach, Ipswich, MA

The water's edge, Crane Beach

Water and sand, Crane Beach

You can find out more about The Trustees of Reservations and Crane Beach at the URL below:

http://www.thetrustees.org/pages/294_crane_beach.cfm

Not many adults braved the cold water, but there were quite a few kids playing in it.  I went in up to my knees.  After the cold water numbs you, it’s not that bad really.  We went for a long walk up and down the shoreline to alleviate the guilt of eating the fried food.  Actually, I didn’t feel much guilt at all.  Life is short, eat a clam!

Flying a kite

Here’s another photo from the Patriots’ Day celebration in Lexington.  This caught me off guard.  I wasn’t expecting to see merchandise table at the reenactment.  The child sized tricorn hats were $5.00 but the adult sized hats were $25.00.  I think that they could have reversed the prices.  If we brought a child with us, and they wanted a hat we would’ve shelled out the money for one.  We weren’t moved to buy one for ourselves though.  Actually, I’m not sure that I would wear one if it was free.  I try to wear my geek on the inside.  Of course if they sold these hats at a Pat Benatar concert…well, let’s just hope that never happens.

All the rage in the 17th and 18th Centuries

A few months back we went to see Disney on Ice with some of our nieces and nephews.  The kids had a good time watching the show, but I was really disgusted with the whole Disney marketing machine.  I don’t believe that there was one souvenir available that you could buy for $5.00. The lowest priced item we saw was a sno-cone in a “collectible” plastic cup that was $10.00.  Is this the same company that brought us The Wonderful World of Disney every Sunday night?  The times have changed.  I’m still trying to shake the nightmarish image of a giant crab on ice skates. I can’t be positive, but I think he’s the one who stole my wallet.

Kudos to the Lexington Lions Club, for keeping the prices affordable for parents and for helping to get children interested in American history.

Yesterday was Patriots’ Day and we’re still recovering from waking up at 3 am to join the the celebration.  Here in Massachusetts, it’s now celebrated every third Monday in April to commemorate the anniversary of the battles at Lexington and Concord on April 18, 1775.  These battles were the start of the Revolutionary War.   For several years now, my husband and I have wanted to go the the battle reenactment in Lexington, MA.  This year we were finally able to.  We’re glad that we listened to everyone who told us to be there to stake out a spot no later than 4 am.  They were right.   As the fog lifted a little bit and the sky brightened people started arriving with ladders to see over the gathered crowd.

Since we had never been before, we didn’t really know where on the green the battle would take place or the best viewing area.  We ended up at the entrance to the green on the Buckman Tavern side and were able to see the reenactors running onto the green.  Watching the battle you really get a sense of what the militia was up against.

Here are a few of the pictures that we took while we were there.  I hope that you enjoy them.

Minuteman Statue in Lexington, MA

Minutemen in the early morning hours on the Lexington Green.

Minutemen readying for the approaching British troops

The British Fife and Drum Corps

British Regulars fire on retreating Minutemen

Helping the wounded

As the smoke clears

The British move on to Concord

I’ve been working on becoming a better writer.  Part of the purpose of this blog is just to get me writing on a more regular basis and with any luck the quality will start to improve.

A friend sent me, “The Complete Artist’s Way; Creativity as a Spiritual Practice,” by Julia Cameron.   We’re going through the chapters and tasks together even though we’re on opposite sides of the States.  In some way, we’re hoping that we will be able to encourage each other to keep defining and working on our goals.  I think that we’re both approaching this with an open mind and a, “can’t hurt, might help,” attitude.

From what I’ve read so far, the book is about giving yourself permission to be creative.  It hit a nerve since part of what holds me back is the value that I place on my creative life.  It is somewhere far below doing laundry and almost anything else on the to-do list. I enjoy the time that I spend writing, or sketching, but I always feel guilty if there’s real work to be done.

Time to get rid of the excuses and start writing.

I’ve been without a vehicle since Tuesday morning.  It’s a long story that involves a tree removal guy, a bucket truck, my Jeep and some very bad language.

Normally, I’ll get a chance to grocery shop during the week when the stores aren’t so busy, but this week, because of the accident that was out.  Now that we’ve reached Friday, I feel like there’s nothing left in the house to make a decent meal.  I know that I’ll probably hear some snickering from the husband about the leftovers, but I’m a housewife, not a magician.  So tonight, it’s black beans and chicken over brown rice.  Still should keep me well within my allotted calories for the day.

Counting calories is going pretty well thanks to the Lose It! application from FitNow that I downloaded to my iPhone.  It really does make counting calories pretty easy and will allow you to customize your food and exercise entries.  I’ve added calorie counts for the Wii Sports games that I play.

While it may not be what most people consider “real” sports, the Wii games can still burn some calories so I make sure to add them to my daily totals.

I just started jumping rope again as part of the effort to get in shape.  Who knew it could be so difficult?  I barely made it through one hundred jumps before the wheezing started and the rope was put away until tomorrow.

There was a time, not so long ago, that I could jump rope all afternoon and sing a song while doing it.  Those days appear to be gone.  Who am I kidding, it must have been at least  35 years ago.  It has been a while.

Along with the jump roping, I’ve also added the Lose It! application from FitNow to my iPhone.  It has some really easy to use features.  You can keep track of your food intake and excercise throughout the day and can use this program as a tool to help you reach your weight loss goals.

My aim is to lose 1 1/2 lbs a week and 35 lbs total.  I think that figures to about 23 weeks to the goal weight.

The first day has not been easy.  I’ve got 451 calories left in my daily calories bank, and still haven’t eaten dinner yet.  I didn’t plan the dinner menu in advance, but it looks like it will be some Tilapia, brown rice and chopped spinach.  That will leave me with 54 calories left between dinner and bedtime.  It looks like menu planning will have to be more of a priority and I’ve got to find some filling low-calorie snack options.

It’s finally opening day for Red Sox baseball.  Here in New England opening day is a marker of sorts.  It means that summer is finally on it’s way.   It’s also when my husband’s attire changes from winter sweaters to Red Sox gear and hawaiian shirts regardless of the actual temperature.  Let’s hope that our boys will still be going strong well into October!

Outside of Fenway Park before a game